THE
DIVISION OF THE LONG LOT
History of Suffolk County
1882
Errors may exist in the table, or wrong
impressions arise from it in consequence of the following
causes:-The same names were so often preserved In
families that what appears in the list as one man drawing
lots In different divisions made many years apart may
have been two or more men, belonging to as many
successive generations. On the other hand the reckless
orthography practiced in olden times upon proper names
has doubtless caused in some instances the same
Individual to be represented on different lists by
different names. Then again it appears that the names of
some men were preserved its representing their estates or
rights in common long after the men themselves were dead.
The records also may have led us into error by the
occasional omission of the distinguishing affixes junior
and senior to names that are otherwise duplicated. The
lists furnish evidences which support suspicion of these
inaccuracies, but we are hardly warranted in attempting
to correct them.
The following explanations refer by the numbers to the
different divisions in the table:
1. The division of Old Field of 1661 was made in six-acre
lots.
2. The second division of Old Field was made later, in
lots of three and four acres, the numbers in each class
commencing at 1, &c. The figure and letter a attached
to each number denote which class is meant.
3. The tract of meadows at Fireplace belonging to the
tract of upland and meadows bought of Tobacus June 10th
1664. It was probably divided in l670, agreeable to a
resolution of the trustees on the 16th of January of that
year.
4. The lots In Newtown, memorandum of which is dated
1667, contained two classes, a division to the original
settlers and another to the new purchasers.
5. A memorandum of this " first lootmente " is
dated 1668, and appears to have reference to no
particular division of lots, but was simply designed to
show who were shareholders in the town, and the number of
shares held by each man. The names of Henry Brooks,
Thomas Smith and William Frost, however, show evidence of
having been placed on the list at a later date. The
records otherwise show these men to have been admitted to
proprietary rights respectively August 1671, March 16th
1672, and September 26th 1672. The name of "Mr.
Bayly', was on the list, but was crossed, and this agrees
with the fact that John Bayles was a resident here from
March 14th 1669 to April 22nd 1674.
6. The meadows lying between Connecticut and Mastic
rivers, called the " New Purchase," the final
deed for which was obtained, after repeated attempts,
September 19th 1674. The division is dated 1675.
7. The date of this division is uncertain. It was laid
out about the year 1680 and was located near the Old
Man's.
8, 9, 10 and 11 were divisions of meadow in different
part of the town. The last one was largely made up of
patches here and there, some of the individual shares
being described as follows: 11 Thomas Ward, at Stony
Brook;" " Zachariah Hawkins, at W.
Meadow;" " Henry Brooks, on Ward's
Island;" "Mr. Lane, on the olde field
Beach;" " Robart Wolie, wethin ye olde field
Gate;" "Samuel Dayton, by the Mill Creek;"
" William Frost, by John Hallat in ye meadow mill
creek;" 11 Samuel Akerly, by Richard Woodhull
close;" "John Wade, between Richard Woodhull
& Nathl. Brewster;" "Win. William, by John
Wood's house;" and " Joseph Mapes, by William
Satterly barn, on the east side of the Mill creek."
12. This was land upon which most of the village of
Yaphank lies.
13. Extending from the east line of the town west to
Miller's Place, it was bounded on the south by the
Country road and reached north to the sound except where
land already appropriated intervened along the north
side. This division was completed May 4th 1729, by
Richard Woodhull and Nathaniel Brewster, surveyors.
14. These lots covered a tract from the Smithtown line to
the Connecticut River, and from the Country road south to
Winthrop's patent, on the Middle Island line. (This line
runs from a point near Swezey's mills at Yaphank westward
to a point about four and a half miles south of the
Country road at the Smithtown line.) The survey of this
division was completed May 4th 1731, by the same
surveyors as the above.
15. The east division on the south side, commonly called
" Great Division," was made December 10th 1733,
the survey being made by Nathaniel Biggs and Samuel
Smith. This comprehended a tract bounded north by the
Middle Island line, south by an irregular line along the
northern bounds of lands already taken up, east by the
west line of Smith's patentship and west by the "
Little Division." The irregular line spoken of- the
south bound of both " Great Division " and
" Little Division " -ran from a " White
Oak tree nere yamphank " [creek], ass the path Runs
[south Country road from Southaven] to bever Darn Swamp,
and then Runing due Sothwest untill it comes to a Due
North Line from a pine tree in the beed of Dayton's swamp
[Osborn's Brook], said to bee Robert Rose's bound
tree;" thence running due west to the line of
Winthrop's patent. The stump of" Robert Rose's bound
tree" was replaced by a permanent stone fixed there
by a committee of town trustees January 26th 1872. This
division extended nearly three miles.
16. This, called " Little Division," lay
between the one last mentioned and Winthrop's patent,
being bounded north and south by the exten-sion of the
same lines as the north and south bounds of the other. It
was laid out at the same time and by the same man. Its
extent east and west was about four-fifths of a mile.
17. The West Division of Long Lots extended from the west
line of the town to a point about Selden, where it joined
the East Division of Long Lots, and from the Country road
north to the irregular line of the various parcels of
land along the north side that were otherwise disposed
of. It was laid out March 10th 1734 by Samuel Thompson,
John Wood, Thomas Strong and Samuel Smith.
18. This was bounded north and south by the continuation
eastward of the same bounds as the last named, and
extended eastward from that division to the Wading River
Great Lots, joining that division between Middle Island
and Coram, about seven and seven-eighths miles east of
the Smithtown line. It was laid out at the same time and
by the same men its the last.
19. This division of " skirts " was the
clearing up of the " odds and ends" after the
two divisions north of the Country road bad been made. It
was made about the year 1735.
20. A small division lying at Middle Island, between a
former one (12) and the Country road, and reaching from
the head of Connecticut River to the line of Smith's
patent. It was laid out April 20th 1739.
21. A division near Nasseekeag, extending in a
northeasterly and southwesterly direction about one and
one-eighth miles and being about two-thirds of it mile in
width. This was laid out April 24th 1739, by Robert
Robinson and John Smith.
22. Another small division near Nassekeag, being a
triangular piece, laid out May 2nd 1743.
23. Lots on the South Beach from Whalehouse Point to Long
Cove, a distance of three miles 54 chains, surveyed and
divided in June 1774.
Besides the above divisions there were others of smaller
size in different parts, mostly about the north side, in
the neighborhood of the original settlement. Among these
were the home lots in the original town plat; the 20-acre
lots laid out April 3d 1716, lying west of the town; the
" Equalizing Division," ordered June 5th 1721;
the Sheep Pasture Division at Old Man's, laid out
February l4th 1737; the Sheep Pasture Division southeast
of the town, laid out April 6th 1738; the West Meadow
Neck Division, and the 30-acre lots.