HISTORY
OF CORAM
by Osborn
Shaw, 1947
Coram is the
oldest settlement in the middle of the Town of
Brookhaven. The early name of the place appears to have
been Wincoram and, from the few entries in the early
Brookhaven records on the subject, Wincoram was the name
of an Indian who lived here as late as May 1703.
The main road
running through here, leads from New York to Riverhead
where it divides, with one branch leading to the Towns of
Southampton and East Hampton and the other or north
branch leading to the Towns of Southold and Shelter
Island. Southampton and Southold are the oldest
settlements in New York State.
This road was
known as " the Country Road," the "Kings
Highway" and the "Post Road" and in later
years, the "Middle Country Road." There is no
authority whatever of calling it "Jericho
Turnpike", here in Suffolk County. It is now a
State-owned road and is the oldest road running through
Suffolk, Nassau, and Queen's counties. It was used by the
early colonists as the connecting link between New York
and the East End settlements. By 1677 there were enough
travelers using it to induce William Satterly, the first
of his family in Brookhaven at Setauket, to seek a grant
from the Town to keep a tavern or ordinary for such
travelers. The following entry appears in the second book
of the Brookhaven records under the date of Sept. 6,
1677.
"William
Sattery doth ingaege to cup the ordnery at wincoram he
and his haires for ever and upon condition the towne have
granted and given to the said William sattery and his
haires a hundred akers of uplands around wincoram and
whom the saide william sattery shall sattisfy to his
content in Reson."
This is the
earliest evidence of anyone having lived here in Coram,
except old Wincoram and other Indians.
The first
record of a child being born here was Elizabeth Barnes
born April 6, 1685 at 9 o'clock in the morning. She was
the daughter of "Martha" Barnes who I think is
the same as Matthew Barnes, one of the men who introduced
offshore whaling industry from East Hampton and
Southampton along the Atlantic coastline of Brookhaven.
In 1728,1731,
1735, and 1739 the whole central section of the Town was
laid out into four divisions with each division
subdivided into 55 lots. These lots were given to the
heirs and assignes of the original town proprietors and
it was from that period that Coram and Middle Island
began to develop into scattered settlements.
By Dec. 10,
1749 Coram had grown enough to be called a "village
of the Town" and the large families of Smiths,
Hulses and Overtons made up the population, followed
later by the Hammonds, Stills, Davises, Nortons,
Yaringtons, Wallaces, Bishops and Daytons and probably
others.
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