Setauket, Alias Brookhaven
The birth of a Long Island Town with The Chronological Records 1655-1679
by
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HISTORY FORWARD
The following work is the result
of my research. This has been a work of
love and respect for a courageous people whom I first met in a graveyard and
then got to know through their own written history. These men and women had courage and determination
that allowed them to remain and fight the machinations of the contriving
Captain John Scott. When he abruptly left the continent in 1665, the townsmen
reshaped their goals and even accepted the odious yoke of control from
Mother-England in the form of royal governors; all so they might create a town
in a
They struggled with every day
needs: a house from raw materials, a
mill that couldn't work because the dam kept breaking down, the reticence of blacksmiths to
commit to village work, the difficulty they underwent to find commodities that
allowed them to seek not just existence, but comfort in their life, and
finally, the long search to find their own minister, one that would enrich
their faith and yet accept their varied beliefs to unite them in worship.
Truly, those people who remained
to fight and to create a viable plantation had a difficult struggle, but they
persevered. Yes, as the historians Will and Ariel Durant said, "some
individuals are better equipped than others to meet the tests of
survival"* and in this history we find out just who they were.
A note regarding some of the
documentation that while in quotes, gives no source. Most of these may be found
under the dates mentioned in the Chronological Records in the second section of
this book.
*Will and Ariel Durant, Lessons in History, ( NY, Simon & Schuster, 1967) 19.
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About the Book
Setauket, Alias Brookhaven is a
story of a people who left
This is a tale of the struggles
of those men and women to create a place for themselves
as they passed through hostile Indians, arguing Puritans, and controversial
religious views. How did they arrive at and settle in among the virgin forests
and sandy
The people's first efforts were
to clear the land and plant life- supporting crops. They built shelters, then converted them to homes in the 1670s; they sought
commodities to support their increasing numbers, which brought them to whaling
on the south shores.
At first protected by the Colony
of Hartford, what happened when that support was withdrawn and the Duke of York
took over?
Who was Captain John Scott and
how did he manage to threaten their claim to Setauket ?
This story is based on the study
of town records and old documents. The records from 1655-1679 have been put
into chronological order and included in this book; with the addition of a name
index, research
About the Author
The author previously wrote the
books, Home Weddings and Receptions and Setauket's Religious Beginnings.
After a house fire interrupted
her Anthropology courses at SUNY, the author began the study of Setauket.
In search of original documents,
she traveled from
The author completed her
preliminary work by putting the three printed books of town records in
chronological order. The results of this work is,
Setauket, Alias Brookhaven.
The mother of three and
grandmother of two, now lives in retirement in