EASTERN NEW YORK TIMELINE - 1655-1659

1655

Apr 3

Maidstone (East Hampton) votes to send a delegation to Connecticut next month to discuss a merger.

May 28

Maidstone severely limits the amount of alcohol that can be sold or given to an Indian.

Jul 6

Maidstone apportions meadowlands around Hook Pond to the Reverend Thomas James, Lion Gardiner, Ananias Conklin, Thomas Chatfield and William Hedges.

Oct 3

Maidstone elects Thomas Baker, Lion Gardiner, and John Mulford as town representatives for the coming year.

Dec 3

Mulford, Gardiner and Baker write to Connecticut governor Thomas Welles, asking him to support their attempt to banish accused thief Arthur Chandler, when spring comes.

State

The approximate date the Seneca establish a town in an area known as the Dann-Mack site. today in Mendon township, probably abandoning the site by 1670 and moving on to found Totiakton (Rochester Junction). ** Exiled Scot Alexander Lindsay Glen secures a patent to land north of the Mohawk River, opposite Schenectady. ** Maidstone starts a school in Samuel Parson's home. ** Dutch explorer and patroon David Pietersz De Vries draws an illustration showing the diverse fauna to be found in New Netherland.

1656

Feb 12

Maidstone promulgates laws against striking anyone, or bearing false witness. Fines are set, with medical expenses levied against the attacker.

Feb 22

The Dutch States General ratifies its 1650 agreement with the United Colonies, changing the boundary between the two to a line drawn south from Oyster Bay.

Mar 19

Maidstone sends Thomas Baker, John Hand and Lion Gardiner to Hartford, to form a union with the Connecticut colony. Later in the month Hartford takes Maidstone under its protection, placing a local deputy in the General Court.

Jun 2

The cornerstone is laid for the first church in Beverwyck (Albany) by the congregation of the Reformed Dutch church.

Sep 6

Mohawk Indians request that the Dutch not sell rum to their people.

Oct 7

Maidstone proposes fines for anyone selected Constable, Secretary or Townsman who refuses to serve.

Nov 24

Maidstone restricts Indian activity, ruling against renting them land, or allowing wigwams to be set up in town without permission. They are not allowed to travel through town on the Sabbath.

State

The last 600 Erie surrender to the Iroquois. ** Fort Orange (Albany) trappers take 30,000 beaver pelts. ** Lawyer Adriaen van der Donck's Description of New Netherland.

Netherlands

A pulpit is built that will end up in Albany's 1798 First Dutch Reformed Church.

1657

Feb 4

Maidstone forbids the planting of Indian corn within eight feet of any outer fence, and the forming of any corn stack or haystack on that same ground.

Apr 7

Maidstone shifts the General Court from the first three days of April to the first three of March.

Jul 9

Maidstone agrees to pay the Reverend Thomas James's ú50 salary in redeemable merchandise credit.

Sep 17

Peter Schuyler, future first mayor of Albany, is born there, to Dutch immigrant merchant Philip Schuyler and his wife Margaretta Van Schlectenhorst.

October

A petition, signed by 24 parishioners (including 16 Germans) - to have Lutheran pastor Johannes Ernestus GÅtwasser remain in New Amsterdam - is circulated. Among the

signers is cobbler Jochem Beeckman.

Oct 1

Early Maidstone settler Ananias Conklin dies.

Oct 5

Robert Bond and William Mulford inventory Conklin's estate.

Oct 7

Maidstone votes fines for anyone selected Constable, Secretary or Townsman who refuses to serve without good cause.

Nov 3

Maidstone rules that matters to be brought before the town council by outsiders should always be done through a resident of the town.

State

Father Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot visits the Senecas at Boughton Hill (Ganagarro).

1658

February

In Maidstone Lion Gardiner's daughter Elizabeth Gardiner Howell falls ill, accuses Joshua Garlicke's wife Elizabeth of being a witch and cursing her. When Elizabeth Howell dies the next day an investigation is called for.

Feb 19

The court at Maidstone, presided over by village justices Thomas Baker, John Hand and Joihn Mulford, hears testimony against Goody Garlicke from Samuel Pasons, Arthur Howell and William Russell.

Feb 23

Father, Lion Gardiner, and husband, Arthur Howell, agree that the latter will become legal guardian for Elizabeth Gardiner Howell's infant daughter, including portions of Elizabeth's state received from the Gardiners.

Feb 24

Elizabeth's nurse Goody Howell, and her mother, both make depositions before John Mulford, John Hand and Thomas Baker. Both women testify that Elizabeth told them Goody Garlicke was tormenting her.

Feb 27

Testimony continues. Goody Brookes says Mrs. Gardiner told her Elizabeth was bewitched by a woman. Goody Burdsill testifies that she heard Goody Davis's infant died because she was cursed by Goody Garlicke. Goodman Vaile and his wife refute this, claim Davis gave her child to an Indian woman to nurse and it died of starvation.

Mar 11

Goody Burdsill gives further testimony, says she heard Mrs. Howell accuse Goody Garlike of 'jear'ing her.

Mar 19

The Maidstone council assigns Thomas Baker and John Hand to travel to Connecticut on government matters, escorting Goody Garlicke there for trial.

April

Mary Schott and Francis Weekes, two Hempstead, Long Island, non-Quaker women, are fined 20 guilders for attending a Quaker meeting.

May 3

Maidstone places itself under the Connecticut government.

May

Goody Garlick's trial for witchcraft takes place in Hartford, Connecticut's Court of Magistrates, governor John Winthrop presiding.

May 20

The Connecticut Court exonerates Goody Garlicke, but commends Maidstone authorities for their diligence.

May 22

Maidstone signs a treaty with Montauketts chief Wyandanch, negotiating pasturage at Montauk for seven years and first refusal if the land is ever sold.

Nov 13

Chief Wyandanch agrees to convey half of the whales washed up on the beach to minister Thomas James and the other half to Wyandanch's friend Lion Gardiner, paying only what they deem fair for any whales after the first one.

Nov 30

Maidstone extends its eastern boundary.

State

Settler Alexander Lindsay Glen erects a mansion on the bank of the Mohawk opposite Schenectady. ** Albany's first courthouse is built.

Indians

The Iroquois, backed first by the Dutch, then the English, begin nine years of devastating warfare against the French.

1659

Mar

Maidstone (also now being referred to as East Hampton) formulates laws regulating taverns, which must be licensed by the town.

Apr 19

Maidstone requires landowners to mark their fences with their initials and to keep their livestock penned up except for grazing times on common land.

Apr 25

The directors of the Dutch West India Company write to Stuyvesant, inquiring about a petition for land and mineral grants in the Catskill Mountains made by Garrit Jansen Kuiper and Abel de Wolfe. Stuyvesant will stall, not supplying the information.

Jul 14

Wyandanch gifts Lion Gardiner with a patch of land between Huntington and Seatacut, for his aid in conflict with the Naragansetts in 1653. The sachem dies later this summer, reportedly poisoned.

Sep 20

Several Esopus Indian men are hired by Dutch settlers in Ulster County. When the work is finished one of the natives, liquored up, fires a gun in celebration. Things get out of hand when settlers and soldiers attack the natives, most of whom flee. They return the next day and destroy crops, kill livestock and destroy buildings.

November

Unrest among the Esopus Indians compels the Fort Orange (Albany) authorities to call for the building of a stockade around the settlement. It's left open on the Hudson River side at first but soon all residents living along the river are ordered to erect new fences the same height as the stockade, within eight days.

State

Under 500 Metoac Indians still remain on Long Island.

England

Howell's English Proverbs refers to the wisdom of the men of Gotham.

(c) 2011 David Minor / Eagles Byte

EASTERN NEW YORK Timeline - 1650-1654

1650

Jan 23

Maidstone (East Hampton), Long Island, settlers Thomas Baker, Robert Bond and John Mulford, meet with Southampton representatives to set common boundaries, both sides agreeing to keep hogs and cattle away from the lines.

Apr 27

Lion Gardiner writes to Governor Winthrop to ask that a minister be provided for Maidstone. He lists the books on religion that he can supply a young candidate.

Sep 29

The Treaty of Hartford divides Long Island, along a line from western Oyster Bay directly south, between the Dutch and the English, allowing the Dutch to keep their Hartford lands. Peter Stuyvesant represents the Dutch.

Oct 3

Maidstone elects a constable and four deputies to act as a court, passes legislation concerning town meetings and cast-up whales. ** United English Colony commissioners meet in Hartford, Connecticut, resolve to take Maidstone under their protection, while allowing the town to remain independent.

Nov 27

Maidstone contracts with Vinson Meigs to build and operate a mill, paying him 50 pounds sterling in produce, meat or wampum, and twenty acres of land. The town will transport the timber and millstone to the site. The work must be completed by next June 4th.

Dec 12

Philip Pieterson Schuyler, having arrived from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, earlier in the year, marries Margretta van Schlectenhorst, at Fort Orange (Albany).

1651

Mar 7

The Connecticut General Court summons Maidstone, Long Island, settler Ralph Dayton to appear before it to register the colony and receive new laws for its governance. All settlers will fence their property, load guns for shooting wolves only outside a one-mile perimeter from the village, and keep their dogs confined when the animal's in heat.

Apr 16

Maidstone receives a receipt for its grant from Connecticut.

May 14

Maidstone assigns each householder a strip of land behind his home for his private use, apart from common lands and woodland.

May 19

Maidstone decides that when cattle break through fences and cause harm the animal shall be marked by a piece of wood on its horns.

Aug 23

Maidstone agrees to pay the Reverend Thomas James, its first minister, 45 pounds sterling a year, tax-free land, and the first grain ground every Monday.

Oct 7

Maidstone's General Court calls for a three-man committee to officiate for the coming year, instructs Daniel Turner to find a home with a local family or leave the area, and gives homeowners six weeks to acquire a ladder capable of reaching the top of any thatched roof.

Nov 6

Maidstone establishes a watch for beached whales, places John Mulford in charge. Provision is made to arm each adult male.

Nov 17

Maidstone residents make plans to build a meeting house, agreeing that in the meantime Thomas Baker will be paid 18 pence for each time meetings are held at his house.

1652

Mar 23

An official deed is issued in Connecticut in acknowledgment of the transfer of New York's Shelter Island from the Long Island tribes to Captain Nathaniel Silvester and Ensign John Booth.

Apr 1

New Netherland director general Pieter Stuyvesant establishes the village of Beverwyck (Albany), the second municipality in the future New York State, after Breuckelen (Brooklyn).

May 4

Maidstone arranges for laying out further lots on the "East plaine" and confirms the claims of Ralph Daiton, William Edwards, and Thomas Osborne, Sr.

May 8

Maidstone orders the platting of town lots on the plain, with provision for a road to the village of Wainscott.

May 17

Maidstone orders every landowner with half a dozen cows to provide a bull as well; six pence in stud fees will be paid for every cow impregnated, for the rest of the year.

Jul 2

A son, Gysbert, is born to Philip Pieterson Schuyler and Margretta van Schlectenhorst in Beverwyck (Albany).

Jul 7

Maidstone's General Court orders that the Accabonacc meadows be divided into three parts to facilitate the harvesting of salt hay. Roads are ordered into the northwest meadows, with 30 acres of hay left uncut for the time being.

September

The Indians of eastern Long Island sends sachem Checkanoe (Cockenoe) to Hartford, Connecticut, to plead for their property rights before the Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England. No copy of any previous deed transfer can be found; the commissioners find for the tribes.

Sep 15

Maidstone requires property owners to mark their boundaries, with a fine of 2s 6d for every lot not marked.

Oct 15

Maidstone encourages those with grievances to let them be publicly known.

Nov 2

Maidstone's General Court rules that each man shall vote on each debated issue by show of hand or be fined 6d.

Dec 3

Maidstone appoints Thomas Talmage town whale watcher for the year.

Dec 27

A second, repeat, sale of Long Island Indian lands to colonial purchasers take place.

State

The Van Schaick family is awarded a land patent at Beverwyck (Albany). ** Escaped Royalist Grissel Sylvester Lloyd, young bride of James Lloyd, arrives at Shelter Island, bringing box plants from her garden back in England. The Lloyds are among the first white settlers on the island.

1653

Jan 3

Maidstone orders that half the townspeople be sufficiently armed each Lords Day, subject to a 12d fine, and to bring their arms to town on one day's notice.

Feb 2

Maidstone decides to invite Southold weaver "Goodman" Morgan to relocate, promising him 5 pounds sterling and free land.

Mar 26

Maidstone bans selling provisions to Indians during harvest time. Any doing so will be fined 6d for each pound of bread or quart of meal.

Apr 26

Maidstone, fearing plots by the Dutch in New Amsterdam, forbids Indians to enter town, especially when armed.

May 6

Maidstone rules that the watch will arrive at dusk; if any man fails to show up a replacement will be hired at the delinquent's expense. Also shot and powder will be ordered from Connecticut, to be paid for by butter or cheese at Clarke's home, at Michaelmas.

May 9

Maidstone decides that no citizen shall live away from town without letting three others know the details of his absence. A fine of 40 shillings shall be leveled for each day's unexplained absence.

Jun 9

Maidstone (East Hampton) authorizes a highway west to Georgica.

Jun 13

William Edwards of Maidstone (East Hampton) sues a Mrs. Price for accusing his wife of lying. Thomas Baker testifies that Mrs. Edwards has blamed her husband for bringing her to a godless place without ministers or magistrates. Edwards drops the suit.

Jun 23

Maidstone orders a watering pond to be dug at a spring east of the village, by all those owning cattle. Ralph Dayton and Thomas Baker are named as overseers of the project.

July

Word arrives in the colonies that England and Holland have signed a peace treaty.

Aug 2

Maidstone calls for the town's cattle to be driven out to Wainscott each day, with Thomas Osborne having the first turn, then rotating among the owners.

Jul 5

Two meadows outside of Maidstone, one at Accabonac and one at Northwest, are apportioned out to the townspeople.

Sep 16

Maidstone agrees to give "Goodman" Davis 7 1/2 acres of land after he brings in two more crops on the plain east of the village.

Nov 3

The Iroquois sign a general peace with the French at Montreal.

Dec 9

Maidstone votes to abide by the laws of Connecticut.

State

English settlers from Hempstead are colonizing the Hicksville, Jericho, Oyster Bay and Westbury areas of Long Island.

Indians

Jesuit father Antoine Poncet, captured by the Mohawks under Tekarihoken, in Canada, is brought through the Black River area.

1654

Feb 4

A daughter, Geertruy, is born to Philip Pieterson Schuyler and Margretta van Schlectenhorst in Albany.

May

Pogatticut (Yoki), Grand Sachem of the Long Island tribes, dies near the shores of Little

Peconic Bay between the two forks of the island. He is succeeded by his brother

Wyandanch, the sachem of the Montauks.

May 23

Maidstone moves the house next to Joshua Garlicke's off the Common and converts it to a prison.

Jun 8

Several male residents of Maidstone are accused of sexual self gratification.

Jun 10

The total of Maidstone men charged rises to four.

Jun 26

Three of the four accused in Maidstone, servant Daniel Fairfield, a servant of Joshua Garlicke, and John Davis, are whipped, while Fairfield is pilloried as well. The fate of the fourth man, John Hand, Jr., whose father is on the investigating committee, is unrecorded.

Jun 29

Maidstone agrees to a request from Connecticut to assist England against the Dutch.

Oct 3

Maidstone votes to adopt a version of the Connecticut constitution.

Oct 24

Maidstone signs a Covenant, incorporating the town on religious principles in the Connecticut manner. 40 inhabitants sign.

Nov 9

Maidstone passes legislation placing Lion Gardiner in charge of whale watchers, calling for a road across the swamp to the plain, requiring each man to initial the corners of his property, and placing Thomas Baker in charge of the Ordinary (tavern).

State

Title to the Westchester County Town of East Chester is acquired from the local Indians and confirmed.

(c) 2010 David Minor / Eagles Byte