{"1": {"fulltext": "Author\\nTitle\\nImprint.\\n16\u00e2\u0080\u0094 \u00e2\u0099\u00a67373-2 aPO", "height": "3700", "width": "2614", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3675", "width": "2568", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "s\\n/a", "height": "3675", "width": "2568", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "AN HISTORICAL SKETCH\\nOF\\nMerrick, Long Island,\\n1643-1900.\\nWritten for the Merrick Library\\nBY\\nCHAS. N. KENT.\\nThe Merrick library,\\nMERRICK, N. Y.\\n1900.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "S Oo\\no\\nu^ i\\np. F. McBreen Sons,\\nPrinters,\\n218 William Street,\\nNew York.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "TO\\nEDWARD C. CAMMANN,\\nWHOSE UNTIRING ENERGY AND ZEAL\\nMADE POSSIBLE\\nTHE MERRICK LIBRARY\\nIN ITS\\nPRESENT COMPLETE FORM,\\nTHUS INSURING ITS\\nFUTURE SUCCESS AND GROWTH,\\nTHIS VOLUME IS\\nDEDICATED\\nBY\\nThe Author.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "I\\ni", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "Here in the Country s heart\\nWhere the grass is green,\\nLife is the same sweet life\\nAs it e er hath been.\\nTrust in a God still lives\\nAnd the hell at morn\\nFloats with a thought of God\\nO er the rising corn.\\nGod comes down in the rain\\nAnd the crop grows tall\\nThis is the country faith.\\nAnd the best of all.\\n\u00e2\u0080\u0094Norman R. Gale.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "PREFACE\\nOut on Long Island, is a phrase which to dwellers in\\nManhattan and Brooklyn is synonymous with pure air, temperate\\nclimate and fresh ocean breezes. Long Island is the natural\\nsuburb of these two great cities, and offers so many advantages\\nto summer residents and for permanent homes, that its capacity\\nin some parts has already been reached, while new villages or\\nsettlements are constantly springing up. The writer selected\\nhis summer home upon the South Side, in Merrick, nearly ten\\nyears ago. His subsequent experience there has proved he\\nthen made no mistake. A love for the place, with an ever\\ngrowing desire to do it justice is his excuse for all that follows.\\nDuring the progress of the work he has consulted and now\\nquotes from: Histories of Long Island, by Nathaniel S. Prime,\\nBenjamin F. Thompson, and Silas Wood; Colonial History of\\nNew York, American Archives and Documentary History of\\nNew York (Lenox Library); History of New York, by Thomas\\nJones Legends of Fire Island Beach, Edward Richardson\\nColonial Documents (Union League Club); McMaster s History\\nof the People; Disosway s Early Churches, and Daniel Neal s\\nHistory of New England.\\nIn giving copies from old documents the original spelling\\nhas been preserved.\\nThe author is indebted for valuable information to Mrs.\\nElijah Smith, Mr. Gilbert Smith, Mr. George T. Hewlett, Mr.\\nWilliam E. Hewlett, Mr. Frank Miller and Mr. Chauncey\\nSmith to all of whom he acknowledges his obligations with\\nmany thanks.\\nCHAS. N. KENT.\\nMerrick, September, 1900.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "TABLE OF CONTENTS.\\nPAGE\\nChapter I. Introductory ii\\nII. Early Settlement and Name 14\\nIII. Land Titles 16\\nIV, The Indians on Long Island 21\\nV. The Merrick Indians 23\\nVI. Early Settlers 26\\nVII. Land Divisions 33\\nVIII. The Will of Jonathan Smith 35\\nIX. Highways 38\\nX. Industries 44\\nXI. Schools 47\\nXII. Churches 49\\nXIII. The Railroad 56\\nXIV. The Merrick Water Co 58\\nXV. The Merrick Library 61\\nXVI. Camp Meeting Grounds 64\\nXVII. Retrospective 66\\nXVIII. In Conclusion 69\\nAppendix 73\\nIndex 77", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "AN HISTORICAL SKETCH\\nOF\\nMERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nCHAPTER L\\nINTRODUCTORY.\\nLand embraced within the boundaries of Heemp-\\nstede appeared, to English colonists, as early as 1640,\\nmost favorable for agricultural increment, healthful sur-\\nroundings and permanent homes, of any upon Long Isl-\\nand s shores. Here an attempt at colonization was ac-\\ncordingly made in the spring of that year.\\nWinthrop writes: Divers inhabitants of Linne agreed\\nwith Lord Sterling s agent, one Mr. Farret, for a parcel\\nof the isle near west end, and agreed with the Indians\\nfor their right. It is elsewhere recorded that they\\nbought of Farret the privilege of buying of the Indians,\\na tract eight miles square, in consideration of a payment\\nto him of four bushels of maize. Unfortunately for\\nthis first colony, the title of Lord Sterling to the whole of\\nLong Island, under an original grant from James I, was", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "12 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nnot recognized by the Dutch governor, Kieft, who, in\\n1639 purchased of the Manhassetts all land east of the\\nRockaways to Fire Island, and north to Martin Gerret-\\nsen s Bay now Great Neck. The Dutch, moreover,\\nbeing in possession, with military power to enforce their\\ndecrees, while Sterling had naught but his paper grant\\nfrom the crown, soon made it too hot for the Linne Set-\\ntlers, and they were glad enough to escape with their\\nlives, losing the four bushels of maize, which Farret de-\\nclined to restore.\\nIn Neal s History of New England (1720) there is\\ngiven the following account of this proposed settlement:\\nThe Inhabitants of Lyn being -Straitened for Room\\nwent over into Long Island, and having agreed with the\\nLord Starling s agent, and with the Indian Proprietors,\\nthey began a Settlement at the West End of it; but the\\nDutch giving them a great deal of disturbance, they\\ndeserted their Plantation in those Parts and settled to the\\nnumber of an Hundred Families at the East End of the\\nIsland, where they built the Town of Southampton.\\nReports concerning the land first spied out by the\\nLinne people, the fertility of the great plains, the large\\ntracts of woodlands free from underbrush and suitable for\\npasturage, and its delightful climate with health-giving\\nproperties, appear as we shall hereafter see in a second\\nand successful attempt at colonization three years later.\\nThe Indian names for Long Island were Matowacks\\nand Manatey. Governor Nicolls, who succeeded", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "INTRODUCTORY. I3\\nDutch Peter, called it Yorkshire, divided into three\\nridings. By an act of the Colonial Assembly, passed\\nApril loth, 1692, it was thereafter to be known as Island\\nof Nassau; but this designation was repugnant to the\\ncolonists; although the act has never been repealed it\\nsoon became obsolete, and after the lapse of years is\\nrarely met with, even in legal documents.\\nHempstead was so called by the emigrants who settled\\nthere, from a town in England known as Hemel Hemp-\\nstead; and was written Heetnstede by the Dutch, from sev-\\neral villages of like name in Holland.\\nMerrick is in the southern part of Hempstead, on the\\nSouth Bay, east of Freeport and west of Bellmore,", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER 11.\\nEARLY SETTLEMENT AND NAME.\\nThe township of Hempstead was the first settled in\\nQueens County. The colonists are said to have come\\nprincipally from Yorkshire in England during the reign\\nof King Charles I, when both civil and rehgious liberty\\nwere prostrated by the illegal and tyrannical extension of\\nthe royal prerogative and by the intolerance of the estab-\\nlished church. They tarried for a time in Wethers-\\nfield, Massachusetts, but soon passed on to Stamford,\\nConnecticut, and from thence sixty-six families crossed\\nthe Sound to Hempstead, in 1643. Among them John\\nCarman and John Smith decided to press on further\\nsouth. Carman got as far as what is now the foot of\\nGreenwich Street in Hempstead Village, where he\\npitched his camp and staked out his future home; but\\nSmith, who appears to have been of a somewhat more\\nventuresome spirit, continued on his way until he arrived\\nat the beautiful meadow lands in Merrick, and saw be-\\nfore him the Great South Bay. The Eldorado had been\\nreached. Confident that there could be found no better\\nplace, a confidence, which, it may be safely said after a\\nlapse of two hundred and fifty years, was not misplaced,\\n14", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "EARLY SETTLEMENT AND NAME. I5\\nhe threw himself upon the ground among the friendly\\nIndians surrounding him, and declared his intention of\\nhere making his home. He asked To what tribe do\\nyou belong? Merrick, was the answer. Then,\\nsaid Smith, we will name the place Merrick, and so it\\nshall ever be.\\nThompson, who is regarded as the best authority in\\nmatters appertaining to Long Island, writes the name\\nMerric, Meroke and Mcrikoke. Flint prefers Merikoke\\nand Meroke, while the older settlers adhere to Merock,\\nMeroqiic and Merikoke. Whatever may have been the\\ncorrect spelling, and doubtless there is authority for\\neach, the Merrick of to-day derives a clear title to the\\nname from its Indian inhabitants. The only other like\\ngeographical divisions are Merrick County, Nebraska\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\nso called after Elvira Merrick, wife of Henry W. De Puy,\\nspeaker of the House, when the county in question was\\norganized. It is not unlikely that these people were\\nsometime dwellers upon our shores, and have thus en-\\ndeavored to perpetuate a recollection of their ancestral\\nhomes; and there is also a Merrick in Massachusetts, on\\nthe Connecticut River opposite Springfield.\\nIn old deeds and wills, one comes across Little Mer-\\nrick and Greater Merrick, a distinction now quite\\nunknown. Greater Merrick included all land west of\\nwhat is now Merrick Avenue to Mud Creek; and Little\\nMerrick all land between Mud Creek and Merrick\\nRiver.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER III.\\nLAND TITLES.\\nSmarting from oppressions of the English government\\nto which they had for so long a time been subjected, our\\ncolonists brought with them a keen sense of right and\\nwrong, and a determination to deal justly with all men.\\nHence, we find them early endeavoring to obtain by\\npurchase from the Indians in possession, both an honor-\\nable, and, so far as possible, a legal title to that part of the\\nIsland since known as Hempstead; this secured, they\\nnext bargained for and were granted by the Dutch gov-\\nernor, Kieft, a patent confirming the title and freeing\\nthem from Dutch control. Lord Sterling s pretensions,\\nunder letters from the crown, appear to have been wholly\\nignored, owing, doubtless, to the sad fate of those who\\nattempted a settlement in 1640, and were finally expelled\\nby the Dutch, after losing their four bushels of maize,\\nwhich was paid to Sterling s agent.\\nRev. Robert Fordham and John Carman were selected\\nas agents to treat with the Merikoke and Marsapeague\\nIndians. An agreement was speedily made for the pur-\\nchase of land in question, confirmed by writings, duly\\nsigned. Payments were to be made at intervals, and the\\nr6", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "LAND TITLES. I 7\\nconfirmation deed was to be executed and delivered,\\nwhen final payments, thus provided, had been made. All\\nthis accomplished, the deed was issued and delivered in\\nthe words and form following:\\nJuly the 4th, 1657. Stilo novo.\\nKnow all men by these Presents, that We, the In-\\ndians of Marsapege, Mericock, and Rockaway, whose\\nNames be underwritten, for ourselves, and all the rest of\\nthe Indians that doe Claime any Right or Interest in\\nthe Purchase that hempsteed bought in the year 1643.\\nAnd within the bounds and limitts of the Whole tract\\nof Land, Concluded upon with the governor of Man-\\nhatans as it is in this paper Specified, Doe, by these p rs-\\nents, Ratifie and Confirme to them and their heires for-\\never, freely, firmly, quiettly and Peaceably, for them and\\ntheir heires and success rs for Ever to enjoye without\\nany Molestacon or trouble from us, or any that shall\\npretend Any Clayme or title unto itt.\\nThe Montooke Sachem being present att this con-\\nformacon.\\nIn Witness whereof Wee, whose names bee here un-\\nder written, have hereunto subscribed.\\nThe Marke of Takaposha.\\nThe Sachem of Marsapeague.\\nThe Marke of Wantagh.\\nThe Montake Sachem.\\nThe Marke of Chegone.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "1 8 merrick, long island.\\nThe Marke of Romege.\\nThe Marke of Wangwang.\\nThe Marke of Rumasackromen.\\nThe Marke of\\nThe Marke of Woronmcacking.\\nIn the presence of us,\\nRichard Gildersleeve.\\nJohn Seaman.\\nJohn Hicks.\\nVera copia concordans cum originalis scripsit, per me,\\nJohn James, cler.\\nWee, the Indians above written, doe hereby acknowl-\\nedge to have received from the Magistrates and Inhabi-\\ntants of Hempsteed, all our pay in full satisfaction for\\nthe tract of land sould unto them, according to the\\nabove and within written agreement, and according to\\nthe pattent and purchase. The Gen bounds is as fol-\\nVoweth: Beginning att a place called Mattagarretts\\nBay and soe running upon a direct line, north and south\\nand from north to south, from Sea to Sea, the boundes\\nrunning from Hempsteede Harbour due east to a pointe\\nof Treese adjoining the lands of Robert Williams, where\\nwee left marked trees, the same line running from Sea\\nto Sea. The other line beginning att a marked tree\\nStanding att east end of the greate plaine, from that tree", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "LAND TITLES. I9\\nand running a due south line and att the South Sea,\\nby a Marked tree, made in a Neck called Maskutchoung\\nand from thence upon the same line, to the South Sea.\\n-And we whose names are hereunto subscribed, do further\\nIngage ourselves and our successors, to uphold and\\nmaintain this our present act, and all our former agree-\\nments to bee just and lawfull; that the aforesaid Inhabi-\\ntants of Hempsteed Shall Enjoye the Said Lands ac-\\ncording to the Equity-marked bounds with all privileges\\nthereunto Any way belonging or Appertaining, for them,\\ntheir heires and success for Ever. And we doe binde\\nourselves to save and defend them harmlesse from any\\nmanner of Claime or pretence that shall bee made to\\ndisturbe them in their right, or any p te thereof, hereby\\nbinding us and our success to cause them to Enjoye\\nthe same Peaceably without Any Molestacon or Inter-\\nrupcon for them, their heires and successr for Ever.\\nWhereunto we have subscribed, this eleventh day of\\nMay, anno 1658. Stilo novo.\\nWitnesse:\\nWaautauch. Tackapousha.\\nChe Know. Martom.\\nSayasstock. Pees Komach.\\nSubscribed by Wacombound, Montauk Sachem, after\\nthe death of his father, this 14th February, 1660, being\\na generall town meeting of Hempsteed.\\nA true coppy, Compared with the Originall and both\\nof them being written by me. John James, Clerk.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "20 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nThe Montauks claimed a somewhat uncertain sov-\\nereignty over all other Long Island clans, and, to avoid\\nany possible complications, our colonists insisted that\\nthe deed in question should also bear the signature of\\nthe great Montauk, as complete evidence of transfer; so\\nWacombound comes to the next town meeting and\\nmakes his acknowledgment. It will, of course, be un-\\nderstood that the signatures consisted of the grantors\\nwritten identification, the Chiefs marks being in indi-\\nvidual forms as selected by themselves.\\nIn November, 1664, Kieft s royal patent was issued,\\nbut contained a condition precedent that one hundred\\nfamilies should be settled in the township within five\\nyears. The patent was granted to Robert Fordham,\\nJohn Stricklan, John Lamoree, John Carman, John\\nOgden, and Jonas Wood, but was understood to em-\\nbrace the sixty-six families from Stamford, and the land\\nof the Great Plains on Long Island from the East\\nRiver to the South Sea and from a certain Harbour,\\ncommonly called and known as Hempstead Harbour,\\nand westward as far as Martin Gerretsen s Bay.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IV.\\nTHE INDIANS ON LONG ISLAND.\\nAt the time of the first settlements by Dutch and Eng-\\nHsh, there were resident on Long Island thirteen tribes,\\nor, more correctly, clans, of Indians, in some degree de-\\npendent upon each other, all acknowledging a certain\\nallegiance to the powerful Montauks. There is a gener-\\nally expressed belief that these Indians descended in a\\ndirect line from the Delawares, but as their language was\\nthat of the Narragansetts, it is more probable they were\\nan offshoot of the Algonquin races in New England.\\nThey were divided as follows\\nCanarsee: Kings county and Jamaica.\\nRockaway: Rockaway and a part of the adjoining\\nterritory.\\nMerric or Meroke: From the middle of the island,\\nsouth to the bay, and from Rockaway to Marsapeague, or\\nto the west line of Oyster Bay.\\nMarsapeagiie: A part of the same eastern land as the\\nMerokes, and extending into Suffolk county.\\nMatinecock: From Flushing, through Queens county\\nto Fresh Pond in Suffolk county, on the north side.\\nNesoquake or Nissaqiiogue: From Fresh Pond to\\nStony Brook.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "22 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nSeatalocot or Satauket: From Stony Brook to Wading\\nRiver.\\nCorchang: From Wading River to Southold.\\nManhassett or Manhanset: Shelter Island.\\nSecatogne or Secatang: From the Marsapeagues to\\nPatchogue.\\nPatchogue: East to Southampton.\\nShinecock or Shinecoc: From Canoe Place to Mon\\ntank.\\nMontauk: The Montauk peninsula.\\nAs a rule these various clans were friendly to the\\nwhites, gave little trouble, and were always ready for a\\ntrade; but soon after colonization began, there was a\\nnoticeable diminution in their number. In an old history\\nof New York, written by Dunton, now very rare but ex-\\nceedingly interesting, it is recorded (1670): There is\\nnow but few Indians, and those few no ways hurtful. It\\nis to be admired how strangely they have decreased, by\\nthe hand of God, since the English first settling in these\\nparts.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER V.\\nTHE MERRICK INDIANS.\\nWe have already seen that our pioneer settler, John\\nSmith, was cordially greeted, upon his arrival at the\\nmeadows, by the assembled Indians, and he seems ever\\nthereafter to have maintained friendly relations with\\nthem. Their camp was upon what was called The\\nNeck, and their burying ground in the nearby field\\nwhich adjoins the property now owned by Mr. Hugh V.\\nRoddy, on the west. There is some authority for the state-\\nment that the Merricks were a branch of the Rockaways,\\nand those writers who maintain this theory spell the name\\nMerock, indicating the latter syllable as derived from the\\nfirst one in Rockaway. But so far as can be learned the\\nMerricks were entirely independent of their western\\nneighbors, although for a long time they paid tribute to\\nthe Marsapeagues on the east. Tradition has it that when\\nJohn Smith saw this tribute delivered he asked for an\\nexplanation, and, on learning the full story, told the Mer-\\nricks it was an imposition, and advised them not to sub-\\nmit to any such demand. His advice was followed j\\nfurther payments were refused, and the angry Marsa-\\npeagues sought revenge in the slaughter of Merrick pigs,\\nsheep and cattle. Again Smith came to the rescue. A\\n23", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "24 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\npetition was sent to the colonial governor; he referred it\\nto the famous John Underhill, who, with a company of\\ninfantry, appeared at Fort Neck, and so effectually de-\\nfeated the Marsapeagues in a pitched battle that they\\nnever after recovered from the blow. In an old court\\nrecord (1699) it is stated that the marriage of John\\nUnderhill, Jr., and Mary Prior is pronounced null, and\\nthey are fined \u00c2\u00a35 apiece for breach and contempt of law,\\nand to pay iio more if they shall not be legally married\\nbefore the next court, which being neglected they are\\nfined iio each. The son appears to have been a worthy\\ndescendant of the Indian fighter, John.\\nBut the fate of the Merricks, like that of all other clans,\\nwas sealed. They are represented as being of a remark-\\nably cheerful disposition, so much so as to have gained\\nthe sobriquet of the merry Indians, by which name they\\nwere often designated. The last of this race, Henry\\nJanuary, married, in 1809, Squaw Betty. One child,\\nSarah, was born to them, and she in due time married a\\nPatchogue Indian with the somewhat doubtful Indian\\nname of Tom Strong. He came to Merrick, and together\\nthey built a little house of logs in a clearing, less than\\nhalf a mile northeast of the present railroad station. Tom\\nand Sarah both died of smallpox within a few days of\\neach other, leaving three young children, Nautchie,\\nJeanette, and Raphael. They were taken to the home\\nof Mr. George Hewlett, who lived in the house now\\nowned and occupied by Miss Kate V. Barnum on the", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "THE MERRICK INDIANS. 25\\nSouth road, and were educated and cared for by him until\\nboth Nautchie, Jeanette, and Raphael married negroes\\nand disappeared from view. With them the Merrick\\nIndians became extinct.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VI.\\nEARLY SETTLERS.\\nThe Smith families were early in evidence on Long\\nIsland. Indeed, they were, from the outset, so numerous\\nthat something more than the simple surname, even with\\nthe Christian prefix, was deemed essential to properly\\nidentify them. Hence it came about that the first settler\\nin Merrick, John Smith, was known as John Rock Smith\\nand John Smith Rock, he being thus designated because\\nof his ingenuity in building his house in Stamford around\\na rock too large for removal, which was thus made to do\\nduty as part of the wall, and also as a back to the fire-\\nplace. His descendants are still known as the Rock\\nSmiths, and at the present day include nearly all Smiths\\nliving in Merrick. There was also a Jonathan Black\\nSmith, so identified, not from occupation, but from a\\ndecidedly unbleached countenance. Elsewhere resided\\nthe Block Smiths, whose progenitor placed before his\\nhouse a horse-block for the convenience of his wife. The\\nWeight Smiths possessed the only set of weights and\\nmeasures in their neighborhood. Incidentally it may be\\nstated that there were living in Patchogue not many years\\nago five William Smiths. A book of Smith Wills re-\\nlates that each of the five was identified by a nickname\\n26", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "EARLY SETTLERS. 2^\\nknown and utilized among their acquaintances. Point\\nBill resided on a point projecting into the bay. Pea-\\ncock Bill owned a bird from which the prefix was de-\\nrived. Wheelbarrow Bill constructed an improved\\nbarrow having three wheels. Submarine Bill invented\\na contrivance for examining the bottoms of vessels.\\nEleven-Dollar Bill, clerk in a store, took from a cus-\\ntomer for a fifty-cent purchase one of the old-fashioned\\ntwo-dollar state bank bills, giving in exchange ten dollars\\nand fifty cents, with the subsequent statement that he\\nsupposed the two Fs upon the bill meant that it was an\\neleven-dollar bill.\\nThe Carman family early sent representatives to Mer-\\nrick from the settlement on Hempstead Plains. To John\\nCarman was born, January 9, 1645, the first white child in\\nthe settlement. He was christened Caleb. The Car-\\nmans and Smiths intermarried, and appear to have held in\\ncommon land westward from the eastern line of what is\\nnow the property of Mr. H. H. Cammann, on Merrick\\navenue. There is also evidence that these two families\\npre-empted the entire territory from Merrick river, east\\nto Cove Spring Landing, Merrick Cove, and from the\\nbay north to Hempstead Plains.\\nJohn Rock Smith settled west of the present lakes on\\neither side of Merrick road his house on the north and\\nbarn on the south side. Jonathan Smith Black laid out\\nhis farm east of Merrick path, which afterwards became\\nthe Hempstead turnpike; and Jonathan Smith Rock set-", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "28 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\ntied to the west, there being between them a wedge of\\nland, known as the Hewlett farm. It is reported that this\\nwedge was contributed equally by the two Smiths to\\ninduce the Hewletts to settle thereon.\\nRichard Valentine had land, undescribed, in Merrick\\nas early as 1657. He was a town marshal and man of\\nsome parts.\\nOne of the first houses was built by Jonathan Rock\\nSmith. It is still in existence, and stands back from the\\npresent residence of Mrs. Elijah Smith. The house of\\nMr. William E. Hewlett was erected at about the same\\ntime.\\nFrom carefully preserved records now in the possession\\nof Mr. George T. Hewlett and Mr. George M. Hewlett\\nit appears that the first of that family to reach America\\nwas one of the judges who passed sentence of death upon\\nKing Charles (1648). The name in the King s death\\nwarrant is differently spelled, and it is supposed to have\\nbeen purposely changed afterwards to avoid pursuit and\\ndetection. The first Hewlett settlement (about 1649)\\nwas on Riker s Island, near Hell Gate; the house was\\ndestroyed by Indians, although the family, being warned,\\nescaped, and we next hear of them in Hempstead whith-\\ner they probably migrated. There were then three broth-\\ners, George, John, and Lewis, and one sister. George and\\nJohn both died unmarried, the former at Hempstead, the\\nlatter at Cow Neck. Of the others there is no record.\\nThe first George Hewlett to come to Merrick settled be-", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "EARLY SETTLERS. 29\\ntween Whale Neck and New Bridge road, including\\nwhat is now known as Cedar Swamp. There is also\\nrecord of an early Hewlett settlement upon the farm of\\nMr. George M. Hewlett, which has always remained in\\nthe family. The original house has been incorporated in\\nthe more modern residence occupied at the present time.\\nAn old clothes press brought from England is still in its\\ngarret, as well as portraits of Colonel Hewlett and his\\nwife. The people were largely tories in the early period\\nof our struggle for independence. Washington wrote to\\nthe Committee of Safety (1776): The inhabitants of\\nL. I. have discovered an apparent inclination to lend a\\nhelping hand to subjugate their fellow citizens, and\\nJonathan Sturges writes to Governor Trumbull Long\\nIsland has the greatest proportion of tories of any part of\\nthis colony. The women, too, assumed a royal attitude,\\nand went even greater lengths to signify their devotion to\\nthe crown. We may be pardoned, perhaps, for copying\\nthe following statement from an old record A young\\nwoman in our town [Hempstead] formed an intimacy\\nwith a Highlander in the British army. When the\\nBritish were about to evacuate the island she was miss-\\ning. The distressed father expressed his apprehensions\\nto the commanding officer That his daughter had eloped,\\nand was now in the Company of her lover. Forthwith\\nthe men were drawn up, and the father walked along the\\nranks, wherein he discovered his daughter, in Highland\\nUniform, and in the guise of a soldier, by the whiteness", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "50 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND,\\nof the skin where the garter is usually tied. The Hew-\\nletts were among the leaders of the Royalist party, and\\nat times were in imminent danger, but finally a declara-\\ntion of submission to the Continental Congress was\\ndrawn up, and among its signers were John Carman,\\nJohn Smith Rock, William Smith Black, Benjamin Hew-\\nlett, Benjamin Hewlett 2d, Joseph Hewlett, George\\nHewlett, and John Hewlett. The Hewlett coat of arms\\nrepresents two owls upon a shield, with the mottoes\\nTo stake one s life for the truth, and By courage, not\\nby craft. The name was sometimes spelt Hulit, and also\\nOwlett, the latter probably derived from Yorkshire\\ndialect and the representative owls. In the last genera-\\ntion of our first George Hewlett s descendants there were\\ntwelve brothers and sisters. Of these Mr. George T.\\nHewlett and Mrs. Mary Willetts are now (1900) the sole\\nsurvivors.\\nAs an illustration of the deserved prosperity and enter-\\nprise which have ever characterized the Hewletts the fol-\\nlowing, copied from an old newspaper dated February\\n28, 1800, will serve as an example The curious are\\ninvited to a sight of one of the most astonishing produc-\\ntions in nature, a large ox, raised by Mr. George Hewlett.\\nHe is to be seen at Mrs. Delouf s, Flymarket. Admit-\\ntance, one shilling. To give an idea of this ox, it need\\nonly be mentioned that he is nineteen hands high, seven-\\nteen and a half feet in length, and nine feet in girth, form-\\ning a tremendous mass of animation. Not to view him", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "EARLY SETTLERS. 3I\\nas he now stands argues that want of curiosity which\\ntends to enlarge the mind. And again, in 1831, we\\nread: George Hewlett, of Merrick, has a cornstalk on\\nwhich grew thirteen perfect ears.\\nDuring all these early years the Indians were friendly,\\nand gradually acquired some of the ways of the pale-faces,\\namong which was a not too moderate liking for corn\\nwhisky and another well-known liquid, sometimes smug-\\ngled in from the Indies. They continued to occupy the\\nNeck, reserving, as was the custom in alienating lands,\\nthe rights to hunt, fish, and gather nuts. This condition\\nis found in most of the Indian deeds. The longevity of\\nearly residents is a matter of frequent comment, and,\\nindeed, the record, so far as subsequent generations are\\nconcerned, is still a remarkable one. Long life and Long\\nIsland are intimately associated with each other. It was\\nrecorded in the New York Gazette (1732) Last week\\nthe wife of William Humphreys, of Hempstead, was\\nbrought to bed of a daughter, which child s grandfather\\nhath a grandmother yet living, being of that age that she\\ncan say Grandson, send me your granddaughter that\\nI may have the pleasure to see of my issue one of the fifth\\ngeneration.\\nThe constabulary was the militia, and that there was a\\nfrequent demand for their services a single incident will\\nillustrate: John Jackson s Store, west of the Mill-dam\\nat Merrick, was robbed by some Whale boats under Cap-\\ntain Dickie. The Militia went in pursuit. The western", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "32 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\ndivision was under Joseph Raynor, and the eastern under\\nGeorge Hewlett. Dickie was captured, and sent to New\\nYork. Not long afterwards, George Hewlett, with two\\nfriends, was gunning on the marsh, when a whale boat\\nrowed up, took his gun, silver sleeve buttons, and some\\nmoney, and consulted whether they should take their hats\\nand coats.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VII.\\nLAND DIVISIONS.\\nAlthough title to the township was made sure from the\\ntime of settlement in 1643, lands were held in common\\nuntil 1647, when the first division took place among the\\noriginal sixty-six owners. Other divisions rapidly fol-\\nlowed, and Akers of Medowe given out to the Inhabit-\\nants of Hempstead, says Flint, is a frequent entry in the\\nold town books. Town meetings fixed the day to begin\\ncutting salt grass, before which no one had the right to\\nuse sickle or scythe, for the marshes were held, last of all,\\nin common. In 171 2 the commons contained about 6,000\\nacres. In 1723 officers were appointed to divide the\\nindividual land of Hempstead, and to lay to every man\\naccording to his just right, and to doe the work according\\nto justice. But as late as 1792 we find a farm described\\nas pleasant, salubrious, zvith the great privilege of Com-\\nmonage in the plains and marshes, enabling the proprietor\\nto keep what stock he pleases.\\nAmong the early transfers by deed is that of Richard\\nElloson and wife to John Smith Rock, son of John Smith,\\nof land on the north side of the Neck, called Rockaway,\\nadjacent to a place called hungry harbor. This was in\\n33", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "34 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\n1676, and seems to indicate that our first Smith was still\\nprosperous.\\nA deed of a part of the undivided land transferred by\\nWilliam Vallentine to Joseph Smith, of Hempstead,\\nQueens County, on Nassau Island, in 1770, is in the\\nfollowing words\\nIn consideration of the Just and full sum of five\\nshillings well and trewly paid by Joseph Smith, son of\\nJohn Smith, wefer, the receipt whereof I do hereby ac-\\nknowledg myself to be therewith fully satisfyed, con-\\ntented, and paid, have by these presents, given, granted,\\nsold, and convayed unto him, the said Joseph Smith, son\\nof John Smith, his heirs and assigns forever, that is to\\nsay, a ninepence patten wright is to be taken up in the\\nUndevided land in the township of Hempstead, which\\nsaid Pattent Wright Descended from William Valentine.\\nIn one of the early recorded wills Silvanus Smith\\nleaves to his sons the salt and fresh Meadows on the\\nSouth Neck called Great Merock and Little Merock.\\nThe will of Jonathan Smith Rock appears worthy of\\nfurther record, as quoted from in the following chapter.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER VIII.\\nTHE WILL OF JONATHAN SMITH,\\nBe it known unto all men by these presents, that I,\\nJonathan Smith, of the Township of Hempstead [Mer-\\nrick], Queens County, on Nassau Island; yeoman on this\\nThirtieth day of May, In the year of our Lord, one thou-\\nsand Seven Hundred and forty-six, being very week and\\nInfirm of Body, but through Marcy my understanding\\nat this time pritty well; and well knowing that my final\\nchange Draweth nigh, and that this mortal Body must\\ngive up this transitory Life; therefore I am willing to\\nsettle my worldly estate in peace and Tranquility among\\nmy famaly; but first of all I recommend my Soul to God\\nthat gave it to me, in hopes through ye merits of Jesus\\nChristte to Inherit Salvation and my Body I bequeath\\nunto the earth, to be buried with a Christian Like Burial\\nat ye De Scretion of my Executores hereafter named and\\nappoynted. And as touching such worldly estate Where-\\nwith it hath pleased almighty God to Bless and Bestow\\nupon me, I will, devise and dispose of in ye following\\nmanner: First of all, my will is that all those just debts\\nwhich I doe owe to any manner of persons shall be fully\\nSatisfied, Contented and paid in Such manner as is here-\\nafter mentioned and expressed. Item, I will, order and\\n35", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "J MKRkICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nbequeath unto my eldest son, Jonathan Smith, ye sum\\nof five shilHngs New York money, and also my Large\\nBible, to him and his heirs and assigns forever. Item,\\n1 will, give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Eliza-\\nbeth Smith, and to her heirs and assigns forever, my\\nRiding mare that I have, as also all and Singular my\\nmovable or personal estate of what Nature or condition\\nSoever (except what I shall dispose of hereafter) that\\nis to say, ye use and benefit thereof after the same is sold\\nby my executors at public Vendue. Item, I will, give and\\nBequeath to my sd well beloved wife ye use and benefit\\nof my East Room in the House where I now Live with\\nye Appurtenances, and the one third part of ye use ot\\nmy farme of Lands, c.. During her Widowhood. Item,\\nI will, give and bequeathe unto my Daughter, Phelina\\nSmith, her heirs and Assigns, one fether Bed with full\\nfurniture thereunto belonging, as also thirty pounds of\\nLawfull money of New York, to be paid unto her In\\nsome convenant time after my decease, by my executors\\nout of my movable estate. Item, I will, and bequeath\\nunto my three Daughters that are married, viz.: Eliza-\\nbeth, the wife of Ezekiel Matthews; Jane Haviland, the\\nwife of Benjamin Haviland, and Hannah Bedle, to each\\nof them one cow and calf, and to each of their heirs and\\nassigns forever. Item, I will, give and bequeath unto\\nmy daughter Philena her Riding side Sadie and her duch\\nSpinning Wheal to her own disposall. Item, I will and\\nbeciueath unto my son, John Smith, and to his heirs and", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "THE WILL OF JONATHAN SMITH. 37\\nassigns my Stalion, a cow calf and a g;un which he now\\nhas in keeping. Item, I will, and bequeath unto my son\\nHenry Smith, his heirs and assigns, two four year old\\nStears and a Gun. Item, I will, and Bequeath unto my\\nson Cornell, his heirs and assigns my new Gun, a pair\\nof four year old Stears and a gray mare which are to be\\nsold at Public Vendue (with ye rest of ye moveables)\\nand ye money arising therefrom, to be paid unto him\\nwhen he shall arrive of full age.\\nIn witness hereunto I have set to my hand and Fixed\\nmy seal ye day and year above said.\\nHis\\nJonathan A Smith.\\nmark and seal.\\nThe house containing ye east room, given to his wife\\nis still standing in rear of the present residence of Mrs.\\nElijah Smith, and to this lady the writer is indebted for\\na copy of the above will and many other valuable docu-\\nments.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER IX.\\nHIGHWAYS.\\nThe old Merrick Path beginning near the present\\nHempstead turnpike and passing east of the house of\\nMr. Benjamin Seaman, in a northely direction to the\\nplains, probably first did duty as a road in this part of\\nthe new township. It is said that one with sharp eyes\\ncan still discern its outlines. It was simply brushed out,\\nand indicated more distinctly by blazed trees. This\\npath, later on was known as the Hempstead Road and\\nthen, as the turnpike.\\nThe Merrick Road, or as sometimes designated the\\ngreat south road, came next in order. It was built in\\nsections, not continuously; and not until about 1850\\nwas it completed between Merrick and Freeport. Before\\nthat time its local terminus in Merrick was west of Mer-\\nrick river, where a connection was made with the south-\\nerly Freeport road, southwest to the old mills and again\\nin a northerly direction into Freeport village.\\nAt about this time (1850) a company was organized\\nfor the construction of the South Oyster Bay Turnpike\\nincluding the Merrick Road from Babylon to the old\\nHempstead Turnpike in Merrick, and thence north to\\nHempstead Plains. The work seems to have been ac-\\n38", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "HIGHWAYS. 39\\ncomplished with but little delay and resulted in pretty\\ngeneral satisfaction to all but stockholders. The original\\nroad in Merrick ran within twenty feet of the front door\\nof Mr. John J. Hewlett s house, now occupied by his son\\nMr. William E. Hewlett. When the Commissioners\\nreached that point, in laying out the new turnpike, to\\nobviate an unnatural curve, the course was laid further\\nsouth, as the road now runs. To this the senior Hewlett\\nstrenuously objected, urging as a sufficient reason there-\\nfor, that it would cut him off and leave his house too\\nfar away from the travelled thoroughfare. A still more\\npotential argument on his part was a refusal to take ad-\\nditional stock in the company if the change was insist-\\ned upon. This might have brought the company to\\nterms, had there not been unfortunately for Mr. Hew-\\nlett another householder further west who insisted with\\nequal pertinacity, that the southerly course should be\\nconfirmed, in order that he might thus secure a larger\\ndoor yard, and agreeing in consideration therefor, to\\ntake and pay for more stock than would otherwise be\\npurchased by Mr. Hewlett. Such diplomacy was irresist-\\nible and the road was changed accordingly.\\nThere were regular lines of stages on the new turnpike\\nfrom Babylon to Hempstead thence to Jamaica and\\nBrooklyn. South Oyster Bay had a postoffice, and one\\nwas soon after established for Merrick in the old hotel\\nand store combined on the Hempstead Turnpike north\\nof the present railroad crossing. The building was de-", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "40 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nstroyed by fire in 1896. The Merrick postofifice was a\\ngeneral point for distribution, and the nearest station for\\npeople residing in Freeport.\\nTo the west of Mr. Cammann s present residence, and\\nextending from the road in a northerly direction was a\\nhigh board fence erected to screen from view objection-\\nable farm buildings further on. In course of time, how-\\never, the southerly boards of this fence were cut off at a\\nreasonable height so that stages might the more easily\\nbie seen from the house as they passed to and fro upon\\nthe Merrick Road.\\nThe Plank Road to Jamaica was built about 1854. It\\ncommenced at the junction of Hempstead Turnpike with\\nthe Merrick Road and extended over the latter in a\\nwesterly course, bridging Freeport swamps, and furnish-\\ning a direct thoroughfare between that village and Mer-\\nrick. The new road was not a profitable investment and\\nwas soon acquired by the town.\\nMerrick avenue, extending from the Bay north to the\\nrailroad and thence to and beyond the camp grounds, is\\nperhaps as fine a road with its surroundings as can be\\nfound on Long Island. It is, the greater part, beautifully\\nshaded, and has a macadam foundation. Previous to\\n1850, however, it was but a cow path, more particularly\\ndesignated as Whale Neck Road, from the stranding of\\na whale at Whale Neck Point; which whale was later sub-\\ndivided and transferred in carts over the cow path to set-\\ntlements further north. A pair of bars then closed Mer-", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "HIGHWAYS.\\n41\\nrick avenue to the public at its junction with the Merrick\\nRoad. The necessity for making the path a highway\\nsoon became apparent, and it was accordingly set apart\\nfor that purpose and reconstructed. Freight from the\\nMerrick dock, at the foot of this avenue, before the days\\nof a railroad, was then received from vessels and con-\\nveyed in wagons to all parts of the surrounding country.\\nIndeed, at this period, nearly all freight to and from\\nHempstead and New York was so transferred. The good\\nship Native of America, commanded by Capt. Thomas\\nRaynor, made regular trips between the two ports.\\nWithin the last ten years the older roads have been\\nsupplemented by:\\nKirkwood avenue from the Hempstead Turnpike\\nnear the residence of Mr. Benjamin Seaman, east to\\nMerrick avenue, and south of the Merrick Library.\\nLindemere avenue, from the southerly end, and\\naround the east side, of the south lake to Merrick road\\nthence northerly, bordering the handsome grounds and\\nresidence of Mr. P. R. Jennings, to a junction with Kirk-\\nwood avenue.\\nWynsum avenue, from the Merrick Road, west of\\nMiss Barnum s, north to the railroad station.\\nWillomere avenue, from Merrick road around the\\nwesterly side of the south lake, to its southerly end.\\nBordering these avenues about the lake are some of the\\nmost desirable building lots still attainable. It is pre-\\ndicted that in the near future they will become the center\\nof handsome residences.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "42 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nTo go back to an earlier date, we find what might now\\nbe called private roads, but laid out by Commissioners,\\nand entered in the town records. The following is a copy\\nof one of these entries:\\nArticles of agreement made by the owners of a cer-\\ntain tract of Meadow Lands Lying in the Township of\\nHempstead on Little Merrick is as follows: Whereas, we\\nthe subscribers whose names are hereunto Written, Do\\nagree for Ourselves, our heirs and assigns forever that we\\nwill take a Road that the Commissioners Shall Lay out.\\nOne Rod Wide In Leu of all other Rights or Priviledge\\nthat we Heretofore have had, to Pass to and From our\\nMeadow, For the Use of Carting the Hay Cut on our\\nRespective Meadows, Said Road to Begin at Duryea s\\nBars, Running as the Path Now Runs to the Bars Near\\nJacob Smith s and Timothy Titus House, and from\\nthence To the Island as the Cross Way Now Is. One\\nRod Wide Eastwardly from the Ditch on the West Side\\nof Said Crossway. The Priviledges above written are no\\nOther ithan the Priviledges we had In the Old Road\\nwhich we have given for the New One. In witness\\nWhereof We set our Hands, Nov. 9, 1809.\\nRemarkably good roads are found in Merrick and in\\nno part of the Island are there more delightful drives or\\ngreater attractions.\\nThe Merrick Road, extending from Brooklyn to the\\nextreme eastern towns, is macadamized a good part of\\nthe way, with hardly an elevation above the general level", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "HIGHWAYS. 43\\nduring the first sixty miles of its course. Merrick ave-\\nnue, with its prolongation, Whale Neck Road, is paved in\\nlike manner and so also is the greater part of the old\\nHempstead Turnpike. Intersecting roads usually with\\nhard and substantial beds extend in all directions. One\\nmay drive or ride towards any point of the compass, a\\nlonger or shorter distance, and return to the starting\\npoint without going a second time over the same ground.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER X.\\nINDUSTRIES.\\nAgriculture naturally occupied the early attention of\\nour colonists and has remained a principal occupation.\\nRecords show enormous crops gathered from productive\\nsoil, good prices in return for the same, and a gradual in-\\ncrease in the comforts and surroundings of the farmer.\\nNevertheless, we find him complaining of exorbitant\\ntaxes, illegal assessments, and protesting to the Colonial\\nGovernor his inability to pay them. It is on record that\\nthis contention came to naught, but once resulted in an\\nedict from Governor Lovelace to lay such taxes upon\\nthem in future as may not give them liberty to entertain\\nany other thoughts but how they shall discharge them.\\nThis was in 1668.\\nThe Merrick River was then a stream of some import-\\nance and for years a source of great value within the\\nhamlet. Upon its banks were no less than four paper\\nmills. The first, about a quarter of a mile north of the\\npresent railroad track was owned by Gilson WilHs; Joseph\\nSmart had another, still further north; the next belonged\\nto Isaac Willis, and the last to F. S. Molineaux, but is\\nnow transformed into a grist mill. They all did a thriving\\nbusiness for years and furnished a good market for all\\n44", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "INDUSTRIES.\\n45\\nstraw, farmers could bring to them. Rags came from\\nNew York and were returned in the form of white paper,\\nby a regular line of packets, having a dock below the pres-\\nent residence of Mr. Gilbert Smith. There was every evi-\\ndence oi a long continued prosperity in this branch of\\nmanufacture, when that which has proved so destructive\\nto the Eastern End of Long Island the Brooklyn\\nWater Works Company by authority from the legis-\\nlature, reached out into the township, like the octopus\\nsucking through its tentacles, water from streams and\\nsprings, to its reservoirs and conduits, until the streams\\nran dry, the mills were closed, and so the industry came\\nto an end. The several fulling mills which had long done\\na thriving business were also obliged to close for the\\nsame reason.\\nFlotsam and Jetsam were terms well known and\\nunderstood. A copy of one recorded document bearing\\nupon goods of this nature appears of sufBcient interest to\\nwarrant its repetition:\\nTn March, 1814, the Privateer Mars ware Drove on\\nShore near the New Inlet, by the British Cruisers, and\\nset on fire by them. We, the Subscribers, saved Sum\\nproperty from her. Jacob S. Jackson and Thomas\\nTreadwell made an agreement with the ajent and part\\nowner, Peter H. Schenck tcj Save the property from her\\nto the Halves and Deliver said property when saved to\\nNew York to said Schenck and to have the one haff of\\nthe neate proceeds for saving the same. And the above", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "46 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nsaid property or part of it Whare Delivered to Mr.\\nSchenck at New York by James Bedell, which said\\nSchenck refused to make a settlement for. Now we the\\nsubscribers do agree that the sum of money that ware\\nlodged in the hands of Patrick Mott should go towards\\nbringing a sute against Mr. Schenck, and if not a suffi-\\ncient sum to carry on the sute, we the Subscribers agree\\nto pay all charges that may a Crew in carrying on said\\nSute.\\nFebruary the 14th, 1816.\\nAs a means for promoting industries, building\\nchurches, establishing schools and divers other public\\nworks, the lottery was frequently resorted to and was\\npretty generally in vogue. In 1763 the Reverend Samuel\\nSeabury recorded in his diary The ticket No. 5866 in\\nthe Light House, drew in my favor, by the blessing of\\nGod, \u00c2\u00a3500, for which I now record to my posterity my\\nthanks, and praise to Almighty God, the Giver of all\\ngood gifts. Amen.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XL\\nSCHOOLS.\\nThere is abundant evidence, says Prime, that the\\nfirst settlers of all these towns, from East to West, con-\\nsidered the establishment of schools as second in import-\\nance to nothing but the institutions of the gospel, and\\nmany of them were as careful to bring their school\\nmasters as their ministers with them. Flint records\\nthat schools must have been opened immediately after\\nthe colonists settled in Hempstead. As early as 1671,\\nwe find an order, signed by Governor Lovelace, to the\\noverseers of Hempstead commanding them to cause\\nspeedy payment to be made to Richard Charlton, who\\nkept a school; otherwise he will have good remedy\\nagainst you at Law. In 172 1 there was a school on Cow\\nNeck, taught by George Sheresby.\\nThe first school house in Merrick was built early in\\nthe last century. It was of rough boards and timbers\\nhewn from logs from its size evidently not intended for\\na large number of pupils. The remnants of this building\\nmay still be seen in rear of Mr. WilHam E. Hewlett s res-\\nidence, where until fallen into decay they did duty for\\nmany years as a chicken house. The old boards and logs\\nbear indications that the boys then, as well as now, had\\n47", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "48 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\njack knives and knew how to use them; they record, cut\\ndeep in the wood, initials of many a girl and boy, long\\nsince passed away and of whom there is probably no\\nother memorial extant.\\nThe second school house, on the Merrick Road, east\\nof Mr. Hewlett s, was erected in 1844, and used until\\nthe modern building further east was completed in 1892.\\nIn this second edifice many of the present residents of\\nMerrick received their education; and for years this\\nschool produced the best scholars and gave the most\\nthorough instruction of any on Long Island. The early\\nteacher lived on the premises, sleeping over the school\\nroom, and cooking his frugal meals upon the rough\\napology for a box stove. It is said of one, that his chief\\nnutriment was derived from buckwheat cakes in their\\nseason, and other kinds of cakes during the rest of the\\nyear. An old boy remembers that this teacher was\\nfamous for his skill in cooking; and when the process\\nwas about to commence the scholars gathered around to\\nwatch him flop the cakes on top of the hot iron.\\nThe present school building is modern throughout; the\\nschool itself is under the supervision of a competent\\nboard of education and the instruction of youth is care-\\nfully provided for.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XII.\\nCHURCHES.\\nIn Merrick, writes Thompson, the Methodists have\\na meeting house erected in 1830, and another east in\\n1840. This first meeting house referred to has been\\nidentified as one which stood near Hempstead Turnpike\\nin Freeport about one mile north of the Merrick Road;\\nit was formerly known as the Sand Hill Church. The\\ngrave yard with its head stones is yet to be seen in the\\nstill kept inclosure where the building formerly stood.\\nThe edifice east, to which Thompson refers, was prob-\\nably the Merrick school house, where services were oc-\\ncasionally held and a regular Sunday school maintained.\\nThe early settlers were largely of the Congregational\\nand Presbyterian denominations. Partaking of Puritan\\nteaching they had a very strict regard for the Sabbath\\nand observed its hours with what they called rigid sanc-\\ntity. The town of Hempstead, in which of course Mer-\\nrick was represented, voted in 1650: If any person\\nneglect to attend public worship without a reasonable\\nexcuse he shall pay five guilders for the first ofifence, 10\\nfor the second and 20 for the third, and for after ofifence,\\nliable to increased fine or corporal punishment or banish-\\nment.\\n49", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "50 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nIncidentally may be noticed a custom in Church of\\nEngland parishes of burying the dead beneath the church\\nedifice and round about its walls, the clergy under the\\nchancel, pewholders beneath the pews they occupied in\\nlife and the poor outside. A Long Island epitaph of the\\nperiod reads as follows:\\nHere I lie, outside the Church door,\\nHere I lie, because I am poor;\\nThe further in, the more they pay,\\nBut here I lie, as snug as they.\\nThe first building erected within Merrick precincts for\\nreligious services, was undoubtedly the Union Chapel,\\ncommenced in the fall of 1875, completed in the summer\\nof 1876, and dedicated Sunday, August 27th of that year,\\nby Methodist Elder Graves. Mr. Raynor P. Seaman,\\nwho has done so much good work on Long Island, was\\nthe builder and he wrought well, as he always does, in the\\ntask then entrusted to his supervision. The chapel, as\\nits name indicated, was for all Protestant denominations,\\nbut for no one of them in particular. It stood, where it\\nnow stands in an altered shape, on the west side of Mer-\\nrick avenue, midway between the depot and the Merrick\\nroad. Mr. Charles Fox, president of the old south side\\nrailroad, and Mr. William E. Hewlett were largely inter-\\nested in its erection and contributed liberally thereto. Mr.\\nJoseph Carman gave the land. Services were held for\\nseveral years with considerable regularity, but there was", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "CHURCHES. 51\\nnever a settled minister, his place being supplied by\\nstudents from the Seminaries, engaged for each Sunday\\nat the rate of seven dollars and fifty cents and expenses.\\nLarge congregations resulted for a time, but gradually\\ninterest in the services declined. It became difficult to\\nmake the necessary payments and reimburse the young\\ntheologians. Efforts were made to transfer the property\\nto other denominations in the nearby villages, but with-\\nout success, and it was finally sold at foreclosure.\\nSteps were then taken for the formation of a church\\nmission under Episcopal jurisdiction and for repurchas-\\ning the Union Chapel property, which was speedily ac-\\ncomplished.\\nA list of those who contributed to this purpose and the\\namounts given were as follows:\\nGeorge T. Hewlett $25.00 Arthur Welwood. $20.00\\nCornelia Van Wyck 15.00 Mrs. Hugh V. Rod-\\nWm. G. Low 100.00 dy 5.00\\nJohn A. King 100.00 George Hewlett 10.00\\nAugustus J. Hew- George M. Hew-\\nlett 80.00 lett 10.00\\nWhitehead H. Hew- J. T. Hewlett 15.00\\nlett 250.00 B. H. Seaman 1500\\nCharity T. Seaman. 50.00 Trinity Church,\\nMary Willets 25.00 Rockaway 69.48\\nEliza Searing 25.00 Trinity Ch. S. S.,\\nCharles Hewlett. 15.00 Rockaway 70.00\\nJohn L Lott 25.00 F. B. Baldwin 10.00", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "52 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nGeorge W. Bergen $25.00 Charlotte L. Hew-\\nJoseph S. Wright.. 10.00 lett $150.00\\nRhoda Wright 5.00 Charlotte L. Hew-\\nBirasall Post 5.00 lett 50.00\\nRev. John C. Hew- Mrs. William H.\\nlett 25.00 Hewlett 50.00\\nPeter T. Hewlett. 10.00 Frankie M. Hew-\\nRobert A. Davison. 10.00 lett 38.20\\nCarman Cornelius. 25.00 Mrs. William E.\\nAlfred S. Smith 20.00 Hewlett 5.00\\nJoseph H. Willetts. 10.00 Mrs. J. I. Lott 50\\nCarman Foreman 25.00 Frank M. Munn. 17.00\\nFrancis Miller 5.00 Mrs. Charles Mor-\\nCharles V. Combs. 25.00 gan 50.00\\nE. B. Sexton 20.00 Thomas H. Clowes 5.00\\nIn addition to the above there were the following gifts:\\nMrs. Whitehead H. Hewlett, organ.\\nMrs. D. R. Wright of New Haven, Communion\\nService.\\nCharlotte L. Hewlett, Bible, Prayer Book, Book of\\nAltar Service, Hymnals, Book Marks and half a dozen\\nPrayer Books for pews.\\nJulia H. Hewlett, Lectern hangings, one dozen Prayer\\nBooks, one half dozen Hymnals.\\nTrinity Church, Rockaway, Altar.\\nPrayer Book Society by Mrs. George H. Sexton, fifty\\nPrayer Books, fifty Hymnals.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "CHURCHES. 5S\\nFrankie M. Hewlett, three Hymnals, with notes.\\nTo furnish a bell, $176.58.\\nThe total cost of church and furniture was:\\nChurch building and lot $1,000.00\\nPews 390.00\\nCarpet 22 1 .56\\nChancel furniture 70.00\\nRepairing, etc 37-31\\n$1,718.87\\nThe Reverend L. S. Russell was in charge of the Mis-\\nsion from December, 1882, until October, 1885. He was\\nsucceeded in turn by the Reverend J. A. Locke, the Rev-\\nerend W. A. Brewer, the Reverend C. A. Jessup, the\\nRev. W. W. Love, and the Reverend C. F. Olmstead. Of\\nall these, Mr. Brewer was longest in charge and left with\\nhis people the kindest recollections.\\nThe church edifice was consecrated by the Right Rev-\\nerend Bishop Littlejohn, July 26, 1887, and its title vested\\nin the Trustees of the Diocese.\\nIn 1887 a fund was started for building a rectory; a fair\\nwas held for the benefit of this fund and $200 realized\\ntherefrom. Plans were obtained, the work was com-\\nmenced, and the rectory speedily finished. It is one of\\nthe few good houses of its character in the diocese.\\nApril nth, 1890, the church and parish were incorpo-\\nrated under the name of The Church of the Redeemer.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "54 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nThe first officers were: Rector, Rev. Wm. M. Dow-\\nney; Wardens, Bezaleel Sexton, Herman H. Cammann;\\nVestrymen, Benjamin Seaman, George Hewlett, William\\nHewlett, Theodoret Bartow, Theodore Arms, Frank\\nMiller, P. Gildersleeve, Hugh V. Roddy.\\nThe death of Mr. Sexton, senior warden, in 1891, was\\na great loss to the parish. The people among whom he\\nlived have caused to be placed in the chancel of the\\nchurch a memorial window to commemorate his good\\ndeeds and hold in loving memory the name of their first\\nsenior warden.\\nGround was given (1891) by Mr. Cammann upon\\nwhich to erect a parish house. Authority to build was\\nobtained from the vestry and in April of the following\\nyear, the new building was opened and has since been\\nin constant use.\\nChanges in the church edifice of a pronounced char-\\nacter have several times been made, and repeated as cir-\\ncumstances required, until now, this corporation, with\\nchurch, rectory and parish house has as complete a\\nproperty as exists elsewhere on Long Island.\\nThe Rev. Mr. Downey resigned in the spring of 1892.\\nHe was succeeded by the Rev. W. A. Crawford Frost, who\\ncame in the fall and remained until May, 1896, when he in\\nturn was succeeded by the present incumbent, the Rev. J.\\nW. Barker, D.D.\\nThe present vestry is composed as follows: Wardens,\\nH. H. Cammann, P. R. Jennings; Vestrymen, Benjamin", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "CHURCHES. 55\\nH. Seaman, William E. Hewlett, Frank S. Miller, Arthur\\nWelwood, Charles N. Kent, Charles A. VVelwood, Rich-\\nard P. Kent, E. C. Cammann.\\nIt may be of interest to the reader to know that the\\nfirst Episcopal Church building on the Island was erect-\\ned in 1734 at Setauket, and called first, Christ Church,\\nafterwards Caroline Church, because of gifts received\\nfrom Queen Caroline. It still stands upon the original\\nsite in a goodly state of preservation and has for its rec-\\ntor a man of much antiquarian research, the Rev. Dan\\nMarvin. In olden times the preacher could look from his\\npulpit through a window, upon the nearby rectory and\\nits adjacent garden. One hot July afternoon, says an\\nold Chronicle, the church was full of British officers.\\nMr. Lyons was preaching, but in the midst of his sermon\\nhe chanced to look out of this window, and saw a sight\\nwhich caused him to interpolate the following unpremed-\\nitated remarks, addressed to the officers: Here am I\\npreaching the blessed Gospel to you, and there are your\\nredcoats, in my garden, stealing my potatoes.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIII.\\nTHE RAILROAD.\\nThe Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad was incorporated\\nApril 15th, 1832, and the first cars on Long Island ran\\nover this road April i8th, 1836. It was extended by the\\nLong Island Railroad Company, to Hicksville, in 1837,\\nand on the 25th of July, 1844, a through train ran from\\nBrooklyn to Greenport for the first time.\\nThe South Side Railroad was built in 1866. Mr.\\nCharles Fox, then a resident of Merrick, became its pres-\\nident. The first train from Jamaica through Merrick to\\nBabylon went over this road October 17th, 1867. Great\\nthings were anticipated in a local way because of the\\nplace being then a railroad town; but no depot, and not\\nso much as a waiting room of any kind whatsoever could\\nbe secured the people were told the road could not af-\\nford it. A freight car was asked, as a means for tempor-\\nary refuge, but not even that was granted there was no\\nspare car to be had. Finally under the leadership of Mr.\\nWilliam E. Hewlett, people got together on Christmas\\nday (1867) and, before night, built, at their own expense,\\nthe first depot. It was not a grand afifair, being only\\ntwelve feet by six and open at the front, with a shed roof,\\nbut it appeared to give satisfaction and was used for some\\n56", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "THE RAILROAD. 57\\ntime. An oil painting of this building is owned by Mr.\\nHewlett.\\nNow, in 1900, there are thirteen daily trains between\\nMerrick, New York and Brooklyn, and the time required\\nto City Hall, Manhattan, is one hour and fifteen minutes.\\nThis will doubtless be decreased still further, as time goes\\non.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XIV.\\nTHE MERRICK WATER COMPANY.\\nUntil within a comparatively few years the exhaustless\\nsupply of pure water on Long Island was proverbial. We\\nhave already seen of what use and value it became in the\\nMerrick River, and this was but a single instance among\\nmany that might be cited of the thrift and prosperity ex-\\nisting along the banks of numerous other water courses.\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0Says Prime: In traveling on the South Side of the\\nIsland from Gravesend to Canoe Place, you necessarily\\ncross one of these streams almost every mile till you\\nhave counted some sixty or seventy on your journey. It\\nwas only necessary to drive a pipe from three to six feet\\ninto the ground and attach thereto a pump, in order to\\nsecure a bountiful supply of the best and purest water\\nanywhere obtainable. Windmills were called into requi-\\nsition and the landscape was dotted with them in every\\ndirection. But, most unfortunately for the interests of the\\npeople, the Brooklyn Water Company was permitted to\\nenter this garden spot of the State and withdraw, through\\nits reservoirs and pumping stations, not only the surplus,\\nbut even the ordinary supply derived from surface and\\nsubterranean streams and springs. A more disastrous\\nand far reaching catastrophy to the rights of citizens and\\n58", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "THE MERRICK WATER COMPANY. 59\\nproductiveness of soil was never recorded. Streams\\ndried up; water wheels became idle, for there was no\\nlonger power to turn them; mills fell into decay and vege-\\ntation sufifered. This condition still exists in a lesser de-\\ngree at the present day, but it is only a question of time\\nwhen eviction of the Brooklyn company will follow; and\\neven now, from the numerous suits and injunctions\\nentered, it is more amenable to the rights of the people,\\nand guards against the useless waste which at one time\\ncharacterized its action.\\nThe Merrick Water Company was incorporated June\\n8th, 1895. The object stated was to furnish pure water\\nin abundant quantities, distributed through pipes under\\nground to citizens desirous of obtaining it and making\\napplication therefor. A site was selected, just north of\\nKirkwood and west of the Church property on Merrick\\nAvenue. Numerous pipe wells were driven a distance of\\n38 feet; a windmill of large capacity was erected, 85 feet\\nfrom the ground, and a tank, holding 16,000 gallons\\nplaced upon its tower, 40 feet high. Pipes were laid in\\nthe various avenues, and the supply of pure water thus\\nfurnished has been sufScient and never failing. The en-\\ntire village can thus be furnished, and arrangements have\\nbeen made, so that whenever necessary the present mo-\\ntive power of the company can be supplemented by\\nsteam or other agent.\\nBut hardly had the Merrick company completed its\\nplant, ere the Brooklyn concern began to lay pipes, sink", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "6o MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nwells and erect a pumping station within limits from\\nwhich the Merrick company by previous right and oc-\\ncupancy derived its own supply the one corporation, be-\\ncause of its power and magnitude, apparently going\\nbehind both Statute and Common law, usurping rights\\nheld existant by the Courts, and paying little or no atten-\\ntion to those of the smaller and local company. But, as\\nalready predicted, it is believed these encroachments are\\nshort lived and will be followed by a not far distant ex-\\ntermination of the very objectionable neighbor so\\nunneighborly in its present contentions.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XV.\\nTHE MERRICK LIBRARY.\\nWe find record of Parish and Sunday School Libraries\\nwith limited resources, for a score or more of years; and\\nstill earlier there may have been a small collection of\\nbooks in the public school. But no attempt worthy of no-\\ntice in this direction was made until the spring of 1891,\\nwhen the proprietors of the Messenger, a monthly parish\\nnewspaper, founded The Merrick Free Circulating Li-\\nbrary. It first saw light in the hay loft of a vacant stable\\nand boasted fully fifty volumes upon improvised shelves.\\nDuring the first summer, its patrons numbered from\\ntwelve to fifteen weekly. In the fall of that year the li-\\nbrary was removed to a building altered for the purpose\\non Merrick Avenue, and the change resulted in an in-\\ncrease of volumes and readers. Again, in 1892, another\\nremoval became necessary and in this last resting place\\nit remained until the fall of 1895, when new quarters were\\nestablished in the Tank Tower of the Merrick Water\\nCompany.\\nApril 2 1 St, 1897, the present Merrick Library was in-\\ncorporated. In anticipation of this a building had already\\nbeen commenced, made possible by generous donations,\\nand the work was speedily pushed to completion.\\n61", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "62 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nThe new building is on the northeast corner of Kirk-\\nwood and Merrick Avenues, occupying a delightful site,\\nbeneath the shade of beautiful trees, and with a well kept\\nlawn in front. It is perfect in construction and appoint-\\nments and justly merits, as it has received, the approval\\nand patronage of a community residing even far beyond\\nthe limits of Merrick. Upon its shelves there are now\\nover twelve hundred volumes, and the number is con-\\nstantly increasing. Taken as a whole, the collection is\\nsuperior to that of the average village library, and the\\ntrue book lover will here find an occasional work not\\nelsewhere easily discovered, which would merit special\\nattention in the valuable collections of Manhattan and\\nBrooklyn.\\nBooks are loaned to any person, applying for them,\\nwho is known to the librarian or introduced by a mem-\\nber, and the library is open at convenient hours for the\\ndelivery of books and use as a reading room. It is fur-\\nnished with small tables, stationery and other conveni-\\nences for patrons.\\nThere is always to be had a complete file of the leading\\nmagazines, illustrated weekly newspapers, reviews and\\nreligious periodicals. Maps modern and ancient adorn\\nthe walls, while for those desiring to consult books of\\nreference, which may not be taken from the building,\\nevery facility is afforded.\\nAny person who pays $2 annually becomes therebv a\\nmember of the association when elected by the Board of", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "THE MERRICK LIBRARY. 63\\nTrustees. The payment of $25 at one time constitutes\\nlife membership.\\nIn connection with the Library is a museum of Long\\nIsland reUcs and curiosities which promises to be of very\\nconsiderable interest and value.\\nThe oi^cers at present are: President, Edward C.\\nCammann; Vice President and Treasurer, Richard P.\\nKent; Secretary, E. B. Willetts, Jr. Librarian, Miss Lina\\nMiller; Trustees, H. H. Cammann, Chas. N. Kent, P. R.\\nJennings, E. C. Cammann, Richard P. Kent, Wm. E.\\nHewlett, J. W. Birch, E. B. Willetts, Jr., Charles N.\\nKent, Jr.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVI.\\nCAMP MEETING GROUNDS.\\nThe Long Island Camp Meeting Association, after ex-\\nperimenting in various places, during the previous five\\nyears, reorganizing in 1869, in Merrick, selecting the\\ngrounds they have since occupied, for their first meeting,\\nand agreeing to purchase for permanent use if found\\nsuitable. The first convocation approved the purchase\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0which was accordingly made at the close of the first as-\\nsembly. The grounds are situated less than a mile north\\nfrom the depot, east of Merrick avenue, or, as it is there\\ncalled. Whale Neck Road. They embrace nearly sixty\\nacres and the first cost including avenues, grading, water\\nsupply and necessary buildings was $26,000.\\nAt present (1900) there are nearly sixty houses within\\nthe enclosure, most of which are occupied during the\\nsummer months, when the average population is about\\nthree hundred. During regular camp meeting sessions\\nthis number is largely increased. We have known, said\\nthe Superintendent, as many as ten thousand here at\\none time; but, then, he added, that was before the days\\nof Coney Island and Long Beach! Cottages one story\\nhigh rent during the season for $30 and those two stories\\nhigh bring from $50 upwards.\\n64", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "CAMP MEETING GROUNDS. 65\\nThe association was early incorporated, and granted a\\nspecial act by the Legislature under which it is authorized\\nCO purchase and hold real estate to the extent in value of\\ntwo hundred thousand dollars, and to possess an income\\nof not exceeding thirty thousand dollars. One hundred\\nacres of land, with the property thereon, is made exempt\\nfrom taxation. The trustees are authorized to issue scrip,\\npayable, as the interests of the association will permit, to\\nthe amount of seventy thousand dollars. All surplus\\nmonies are to be applied to the loan fund of the M. E.\\nChurch Extension Society.\\nThe present Secretary and Superintendent is Mr. J. E.\\nLucky, of Brooklyn.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVII.\\nRETROSPECTIVE.\\nIn some particulars those of the most important the\\nMerrick of to-day is not unhke the Merrick of 1643.\\nNatural causes have but served to augment its attrac-\\ntions and the especial purity of its atmosphere remains\\nuncontaminated and unchanged. There is something re-\\nmarkable in this last feature, which from a scientific\\nstandpoint has never been satisfactorily accounted for.\\nWithin Merrick s boundaries, and for a short distance\\neast and west, breezes from off old Ocean in crossing the\\nGreat Bay undergo a radical change whereby the harsh\\nand salty elements in the air disappear, leaving it remark-\\nably soothing and invigorating to a degree found only in\\nthis particular locality.\\nIt is certain that the land from the Bay northward has\\nbeen making in during a long period of years possibly\\nsince or even before the settlement of our first Rock\\nSmith and his associates. Opposite Merrick docks, exca-\\nvations, at a depth of nearly four feet, discover remains of\\na curduroy road, used, as is remembered by old set-\\ntlers, for the wagons and ox carts in which all freight ar-\\nriving by boat from New York was transported to Hemp-\\nstead and other villages by way of Whale Neck Road.\\n66", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "RETROSPECTIVE. 67\\nDuring the summer of 1899 a large bathing pool with\\nbath houses adjoining was constructed, west of Merrick\\nCanal, south of the boat house. In the course of excava-\\ntion, beach sand was reached at an even depth of nearly\\nfour feet, and, upon the sand, Indian pot sticks, four in\\nnumber sound and strong as if but recently cut from\\ntrees were upturned; nearby as if to shade those who\\nwatched the kettle boil, suspended from the pot sticks,\\nstood the stump of what had been once a large maple\\ntree larger indeed than is now often met with. The\\nstump, at its top was at least two feet belovi the present\\nland surface.\\nBut while the land has thus been making in, the south-\\nerly beaches, under prevailing winds and tides, undergo\\nconstant changes in both directions. Said one, familiar\\nfrom observation: The sand on this beach is a chang-\\ning all the time. Hollers now ll be hills by me by. The\\nwind ll scoop out a hold and pile up a hill in no time. It\\nhandles sand about the same way it drifts snow.\\nIt is claimed by some well informed people, that at a\\nperiod it is not now possible to designate there was no\\ngreat South Bay waves direct from the Atlantic, with\\nno intervening sand bar rolled in upon Merrick marshes\\nand Merrick s southern shore was then the true ocean\\nbeach. The sand formation now dividing bay from ocean,\\nwe are told, is of more recent origin an aggregation of\\nshifting sands, accumulated by constant motion of wind\\nand tide.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "68 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nThere may also be noted, in passing, the existence of a\\nstrong belief, frequently found in old documents, that the\\nwhole of Long Island was at one time a part of the main\\nland connected therewith from east to west, a sepa-\\nration having been wrought by volcanic upheavals.", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "CHAPTER XVIII.\\nIN CONCLUSION.\\nThe writer s personal attachment to Merrick; his\\nstrong appreciation of its many advantages for suburban\\nhomes, and the friendships which have there been formed\\nand augmented, resulted in a desire to know more of its\\nhistory and hence, during otherwise leisure hours these\\npages have been written.\\nThe future of Merrick may be predicted with a moder-\\nate degree of accuracy. Its comparatively slow growth\\nin the past is due to natural causes which will ultimately\\nshow advantageous results. Speculation in lands, the\\nbane of so many suburban towns, has here never been at-\\ntempted. Corner lots at a bargain, Country homes at\\na great sacrifice, and other like announcements never\\nappear in connection with our real estate. With its broad\\navenues and cultivated acres, its attractive residences and\\nbeautiful lawns, the remaining land is largely held by\\nthose who can so afiford to keep it, until such time as a\\ntransfer is effected not in lots measured in square feet,\\nbut in acres to would-be residents of some means and\\nreputation, who will join with those already here happily\\ndomiciled, in making Merrick an aggregation of homes\\nof the better class, free from the petty annoyances of an\\nordinary country village.\\n69", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX.\\nCopy of the original commission issued to Jonathan\\nSmith (Rock) Merrick:\\nBenjamin Fletcher, Capt Gen ll and Governor in Chiefe\\nof his Maj ties Province of New Yorke, and all the Territ-\\ntories and Tracts of Land depending thereon in America,\\nVice Admirall of the Same; his Majties Leut. and Com-\\nmander in Chiefe of the Militia and of all the forces by\\nSea and Land within his Ma j ties Collony of Connecticutt,\\nand of all the Forts and places of strength within the\\nSame\\nBy Virtue of the power and Authority to me given by\\nhis Maj tie under his great Seal of England, I doe hereby\\nconstitute and appoint you, Jonathan Smith, to be Quar-\\ntermaster of the Troope of Millitia Horse Whereof\\nDaniel Whitehead is Captaine. You are therefore carefully\\nand and dilligently to discharge the duty of Quartermaster\\nto the said Troope by doeing and performing all and all\\nmanner of things thereunto bellonging, and you are to ob-\\nserve and follow Such Orders and Directions as you shall\\nfrom time to time receive from me or any other your\\nSuperior officer or officers, according to the rules and\\ndiscipline of Warr, in pursuance to the trust hereby Re-", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "74 MERRICK, LONG ISLAND.\\nposed in you, and for soe doing this shall be your suffi-\\ncient Warrant and Commission. Given under my hand\\nand Seal att Arms Att fort William Henry in New\\nYorke on the ninth day of Jully in the ninth year of his\\nmajesties Reigti, Anno Domino 1697.\\nBen Fletcher.\\nBy his Excellencies Command.\\nDan Honan.\\nNote. The original of this commission is in the pos-\\nsession of Mrs. Elijah Smith, Merrick. She also has a\\nsimilar commission issued to the same officer, but signed\\nby George Clinton, Admiral of the White Squadron of\\nher Majesties fleet.\\nExtract from Philip Hone s diary\\nJanuary 14, i8j^.\\nThe rage for speculating in lands on Long Island is\\none of the bubbles of the day. Men in moderate circum-\\nstances have become immensely rich merely by the good\\nfortune of owning farms of a few acres of this chosen\\nland. Abraham Schermerhorn has sold his farm of 170\\nacres at Gowanus, three miles from Brooklyn, at $600\\nper acre. Four years ago, having got out of conceit of it\\nas a residence, he offered it for sale at $20,000, and would\\nhave taken $18,000. To-day he pockets $102,000 and re-\\ngrets that he sold it so cheap", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "INDEX.", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "INDEX.\\nPAGE\\nAir, pure 66\\nAppendix 73\\nArms, Theodore 54\\nBaldwin, F. B 51\\nBarker, Rev. J. W., D.D... 54\\nBarnum, Miss 24, 41\\nBartow, Theodoret 54\\nBergen, Geo. W 52\\nBirch, J. W 63\\nBrewer, Rev. W. A 53\\nBrooklyn Water Works,\\n45, 58, 59\\nCammann, E. C 55, 63\\nCammann, H. H., 27, 40, 54, 63\\nCamp Meeting Grounds. .40, 64\\nCarman, Caleb 27\\nCarman, John, 14, 16, 20, 27, 30\\nCarman family 27\\nCarman Foreman 52\\nCaroline Church 55\\nCharlton, Richard 47\\nChegone 17\\nChe Know 19\\nChurch, contributors to 51\\nChurches 49\\nBurials in 50\\nClowes, Thomas H 52\\nCombs, Charles V 52\\nCornelius Carman 52\\nDavison, Robert A 52\\nDickie, Captain 31\\nPAGE\\nDowney, Rev. Wm. M 54\\nDepuy, Henry W 15\\nDutch Peter 13\\nEUoson, Richard 33\\nEpitaph 50\\nFarret, Mr 11, 12\\nFloatsam and Jetsam 45\\nFordham, Robert 16, 20\\nFox, Charles 56\\nFrost, Rev. W. A. C 54\\nGildersleeve, P 54\\nGreater Merrick 15, 34\\nHempstead,\\nII, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19\\nHewlett, Augustus J 51\\nHewlett, Benj 30\\nHewlett, Benj., 2d 30\\nHewlett, Charles 51\\nHewlett, Charlotte L 52\\nHewlett, Col 29\\nHewlett, Frankie M 52, 53\\nHewlett, George,\\n24, 30, 31, 32, 51\\nHewlett, George M. 28, 29, 5 1 54\\nHewlett, George T. .28, 30, 51\\nHewlett, John 28, 30\\nHewlett, Rev. John C 52\\nHewlett, John J 39\\nHewlett, Joseph 30\\nHewlett, Julia H 52\\nHewlett, J. T 51\\nLofC.\\n77", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "78\\nINDEX.\\nPAGE\\nHewlett, Lewis 28\\nHewlett, Peter T 52\\nHewlett, Whitehead H 51\\nHewlett, Mrs. Whitehead H. 52\\nHewlett William E.,\\n28, 39, 54, 55, 56, 63\\nHewlett, Mrs. Wm. E 52\\nHewlett, Mrs. Wm. H 52\\nHighways 38\\nHumphreys, Wm 31\\nIndians 21\\nIndians, Merrick 23\\nIndustries 44\\nJackson, John 31\\nJames, John 18\\nJanuary, Henry 24\\nJanuary, Sarah 24\\nJeanette 24\\nJennings, P. R 41, 54, 63\\nJessup, Rev. C. A 53\\nKent, Chas. N 55, 63\\nKent, Chas. N., Jr 63\\nKent, Richard P 55, 63\\nKieft, Gov 12, 16, 20\\nKing, John A 51\\nKirkwood Avenue 41\\nLamoree, John 20\\nLindemere Avenue 41\\nLinne Settlers 11,12\\nLittle John, Bishop 53\\nLittle Merrick 15, 34, 42\\nLocke, Rev. J. A 53\\nLongevity 31\\nPAGE\\nLong Island, Indian Name\\nfor 12\\nLott, John 1 51\\nLott Mrs. John 1 52\\nLottery 46\\nLove, Rev. W. W 53\\nLovelace, Gov 44. 47\\nLow, Wm. G 51\\nLucky, J. E 65\\nMartom 19\\nMerrick Avenue 40\\nMerrick, Elvira 15\\nMerrick Library 61\\nMerrick, Mass 15\\nMerrick Path 38\\nMerrick Post Office 39\\nMerrick Road 38\\nMerrick Water Co 58\\nMiller, F. S 52, 54 55\\nMiller, Miss Lina 63\\nMills 44\\nMontauks 20\\nMorgan, Mrs. Charles 52\\nMunn, Frank M 52\\nNassau, Island of 13\\nNautchie 24\\nNeal s History of N. E 12\\nNicolls, Gov 12\\nOgden, John 20\\nOlmstead, Rev. C. F 53\\nPees Komach 19\\nPlank Road 40\\nPost, Birasall 52", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "INDEX.\\n79\\nPAGE\\nRailroad 56\\nRaphael 24\\nRaynor, Capt. Thos 41\\nRaynor, Joseph 32\\nRoddy, Hugh V 23, 54\\nRoddy, Mrs. Hugh V 51\\nRomege iS\\nRumasackromen 18\\nRussell, Rev. L. S 53\\nSayasstock 19\\nSchools 47\\nSeaman, Benj. H.,38, 41, 51, 54\\nSeaman, Charity T 51\\nSeaman, Raynor P 50\\nSearing, Eliza 51\\nSexton, Bezal eel 54\\nSexton, E. B 52\\nSexton, Mrs. Geo. H 52\\nSheresby, George 47\\nSmith, Alfred S 52\\nSmith, Mrs. Elijah 28, 37\\nSmith family names 26\\nSmith, Gilbert 45\\nSmith, John 14, 23, 33\\nSmith, John Rock 26, 33\\nSmith, Jonathan Rock 34, 35\\nSmith, Joseph 34\\nSmith, Silvanus 34\\nSmith, William Black 30\\nSo. Oyster Bay Turnpike. 38\\nSouthampton 12\\nSquaw Betty 24\\nStages 39\\nPAGE\\nStamford 14, 20\\nSterling, Lord 11, 12, 16\\nStricklan John 20\\nStrong, Tom 24\\nSturges, Jona 29\\nTackapousha 17, 19\\nTitles\u00e2\u0080\u0094 land i6\\nTrinity Church, Rockaway.. 51\\nTrumbull, Gov 29\\nUnderbill, John 24\\nUnderbill, John, Jr 24\\nValentine, Richard 28\\nValentine, William 34\\nVan Wyck, Cornelia 51\\nWaautauch 19\\nWangwang. 18\\nWantagh 17\\nWashington, Geo 29\\nWaucombound 19\\nWelwood, Arthur 51, 55\\nWelwood, Chas. A 55\\nWhale Neck Road 40\\nWilletts, E. B., Jr 63\\nWilletts, Joseph H 52\\nWilletts, Mrs. Mary 30, 51\\nWillomere Avenue 41\\nWood, Jonas 20\\nWoronmcacking 18\\nWright, Mrs. D. R 52\\nWright, Joseph S 52\\nWright, Rhoda 52\\nWynsum Avenue 41\\nYorkshire 13", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "iHOU", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3433", "width": "2265", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3457", "width": "2162", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3696", "width": "2574", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00kent_0088.jp2"}}