Footnotes to Long Island History
Ancient Town Rulings
July 26, 1955
by
Thomas R. Bayles
(This is
the last of a series of articles written by Advance historical writer
Thomas R. Bayles in connection with the Setauket-Brookhaven town
tercentenary celebration.)
Many
interesting orders and regulations enacted at the town meeting of the
early settlers in the years before 1700 appear in the records of
Brookhaven town.
A town
meeting held on April 6, 1663, ordered that all the inhabitants of the
little settlement at Setauket should be partners with Daniel Lane in the
purchase of the land he bought from the Indians in the Little Neck,
excepting “such persons as will not pay the Minister’s Rate.” This
indicates that any of the settlers who did not pay the church tax were
not allowed to share in this division of lands.
On June 10,
1672, an agreement was entered into between the townspeople and Richard
Warning and Samuel Ackerly “to keep the said inhabitants cows, taking
them in due time in the morning between Goodman Jenner’s corner and
Robert Ackerly’s hollow and to bring them back again at night, and if in
case the said cowkeepers should lose any cows, to be careful to go, the
same way the next morning and so from day to day until they have found
them.”
Their pay
was to be two shillings six pence per day, to be taken half in Indian
corn and half in wheat and peas. In addition a pound of butter per cow
was to be given to them.
In 1662, a
man by the name of Richard Bulleck came into the town and bought some
timber and planks from John Ketcham for the purpose of building a boat.
The townspeople, learning of this agreed to give him four months time to
complete his boat and leave the town, and instructed him not to make any
disturbance or buy any land in the town.
At a town
meeting held December 18, 1685 it was voted “that Mr. Samuel Erburne
shall go to Yorke to confer with the Governor about our lands within our
patent: and to get a new patent, and that the town is willing to find
the Governor 20 sheep for a present forthwith.
Early
slavery was practiced, as is shown by the following record dated
December 9, 1672. “Robert Hudson of Ry. sold a negro man name Antony,
that was John Ogden’s of Ry. to Richard Floyd of Brookhaven, to be
delivered in this town of Brookhaven, to the above said Floyd, sound
winde and limb, and in consideration of the same, the said Richard Floyd
doth ingaege to pay forty aight pounds sterling to Elavander Brian of
Milford, Conn.”
A town
record of December 13, 1677, states that Isack Rainer of Southampton
sold a negro man named Samboe, to John Thomas of Setauket, and the “said
Iseck Rainer, doth ingaege to bring him safe and sound, winde and limb,
and deliver him unto the above said John Thomas at Setauket.” The
payment was 19 barrels of good whale oil.
An order
adopted by the town on July 1674 states: “wheras there have been much
abuse and prophaneing of the Lord’s day by the younger sort of people in
discoursing of vaine things and Running of Raesses. Therefore we make
an order, wheras if have been too coman in this towne for young men and
maieds to be out of their father’s and mother’s house unseasonable tiems
of niete, it is therefore ordered that whosever of the younger sort,
shall be out of their father’s or mother’s house past nien, of the
clock, at niet, shall be summoned in to the next court, and ther to pay
cort charges, with what punishment the cort shall se cause to lay upon
them, ecksept they can give suffissient Reason of there being out late.”
Wheras God
have been much dishonored much pressious time misspent and men
impoverished by drinking and tippling, ether in ordnery of other private
houses, therefore we macke this order that whoe soe ever shall thus
transgress, or sett drinking above two hours, shall pay five shillings,
and the man of the house for letting them have it after the time fixed,
shall pay 10 shillings, except strangers only.”