June 12, 1640

"On June 12, 1640, the 'Founders' knelt in thanksgiving for their safe arrival in their permanent homesite in their 'New World.' They knelt in a pleasant meadow, fronted by the vast Atlantic and backed by the towering primeval forest, (today known as 'Old Towne.')

"Here was born the first English Settlement in the State of New York, Thomas Halsey was one of those stalwart Fathers."

from "Thomas Halsey & the Olde Halsey Homestead: A Short History" by Edna Lee Potter

"Indian Deed of December 13, 1640"

275th Anniversary of Southampton | 1915

 

"the place for their descendants to possess both freedom of body and mind--Long Island."

Brooklyn Daily Eagle | 14 March 1915

History of Lynn, Massachusetts | 1897

"Half-Baked"

Jesse Halsey c1937

(Hoping that possibly out of the process there may be matured a wholesome loaf of bread or, more likely, a small pan of biscuits.)

There follow some random memories and observations out of experience that ultimately might find their way into a brief autobiography.

When I read about the peasantry of France or the yeomanry of England, I always rather proudly assert to myself, “that is the pit from which I was digged,” ‘though the farming element of New England does not, so far as I know, have attached to it any similar term.

In 1640, my ancestors settled on eastern Long Island. They bought land from the Indians and wrested a living from the soil and the sea. The wife of my paternal ancestor, the pioneer, Thomas Halsey, was carried off and murdered by the Indians, but the local tribes pursued the murders up into New England and executed them. There is no record of any further serious disturbance between whites and Indians.

Occupations of Colonial Southampton

by Mrs. Edward P. White | circa 1932

The people who first settled Southampton were all English men and omen. We would like to know just what each man did in England before he came. Some left beautiful homes to come, others came to find a home. Some came for faith, some for adventure, some to make a living. Each man put a certain amount of money into the venture, and received three acres of village land, the farm land which he tilled, and the wood land [on] which built his home and kept his home fires. Besides the common pasture land, there was undivided land in which the first settlers had rights that were passed on to their children.

In 1649, nine years after the town was settled and one year after the people moved to the new village on Towne street, there were twenty-nine families; in 1657, there were sixty-one. In the beginning, every man was a farmer, because everything that the family ate or wore or used had to be made or raised on the farm. But if we read the Town records carefully, we find other occupations growing in number as the town grows in size. The Reverend Abraham Pierson was a staunch leader. He was a man of learning and judgment as well as a preacher of sound doctrine. Not only did he preach on the Sabbath, but he framed the laws, married the people, baptized their children buried their dead, visited them in sickness, advised them in difficulty, and corrected them in wrong-doing.

CAPTAIN OF SHIP—Captain Daniel Howe was the captain of the sloop that brought them from Lynn, Massachusetts. They engaged him to make three trips a year to the mainland, and although he never settled here, he had his allotment of land. Later when Sag Harbor became a port, many Southampton boys found work on boats. In 1791, John Price, master of the packet Speedwell, ran from that port to Hartford, and Luther Hildreth, Master of the sailing sloop Industry, ran to New York “every fortnight or oftener, wind and weather permitting.”

TOWN OFFICERS—We know that magistrates and other officers were elected by the General Court. The town clerk was paid for writing wills and letters, but most of these men served without pay. “The secretary shall have four shillings per annum for keeping the towne books, but none for the General Court.” “Richard Mills, recorder of lands shall have two pence for every paper drawn.”

SOLDIERS—Every man was a soldier. He had to take his turn watching the fields while others worked, and in carrying his gun to meeting on Sunday. He must also belong to the train band, that is, take military training with the rest. WE find a captain of the train band elected very early in the history of the settlement. In the deed made with the Indians, the settlers promised to help defend them against all enemies. There were times, too, when rumors of Indian troubles made it necessary for every man to “bear arms.” In the town record of October 9, 1642, “It is ordered that every man in this town that beareth arms shall watch and ward and come to trayenings [trainings] in their coats.”

COWKEEPER—The General Court appointed a cowkeeper or herdsman to watch the cattle. He must see that they did not wander on the planted lands. The town record, 1643, reads, “It is ordered that whosoever shall be cowkeeper and shall according to his agreement have his wages due unto him, that it shall be lawful for the said herdsman to, with the marshal, levy said wages on the person who shall make default therein.”, which is an old fashioned way of telling us that the cowkeeper had to collect his pay from the man whose cows he watched. A very old man once told us that he could remember an old Indian who kept the gate for the Gin into the Little Plain. October 1643, the record reads, “It is ordered no cattle shall go without a keeper from the first of January to the tyme that every man’s Indian corn shall be carried home from the Playne of each side of this towne.” The Great Playne was the west, and the Little Playne east. Cattle meant cows, goats, sheep or hogs. Each owner of a fifty pound lot was entitled to pasture “8 cow kind.” Six sheep or goats were equal to one cow or one horse. Persons pasturing more than their share had to pay one shilling sixpence per head.

FENCEVIEWER—Another occupation that sounds strange to us is Fenceviewer or Haywarden. This is a very old occupation and comes down through many generations of Anglo Saxen people. It means a warden of the hedges or fences. In 1657, John Jessup and Thomas Halsey were appointed to view the fencing about the great and little Plains. At the same time it was voted, “every inhabitant of the towne that hath fencing in or about the Great and Little Playnes and Ox Pasture shall at both ends put his rails in his own posts, and this is to be done in the present month.” A custom that comes down from very ancient times is “viewing the bounds.” In England, the whole population turned out—the bounds of the parish must be followed exactly, over fences, houses, walls, up and down ladders, across roofs, through fields and woods. Young boys were always taken on the trip. They would remember longer; and in Germany, the boys were given a sound spanking at the Bound [boundary] Tree to impress the place on their minds. In Southampton, the work was done by men appointed, and under the date of January 7, 1643, we read, “Justice Cooper shall take two young men with him and visit Bound Tree about four miles beyond Parker’s, and set their names upon said tree to keep the said Bounds in memory.” The Duke’s Laws, made in 1665, provided for viewing the bounds once in three years. It was called “Triennial Perambulations.” When we find an old oak standing alone in a field, or at a corner of an unused wood lot, it is probably a Bound Tree—a tree that has marked the boundary of long ago.

BLACKSMITH—“At a Towne Meeting in June, 1641, it was granted by the inhabitants of this towne that Jeremy Veale, blacksmith, from Salem shall have a hundred pound lott, provide he come and settle here before January next, and that o his power, he be in readiness to doe all the blacksmith work that the inhabitants do stand in need of!” We wonder what the inhabitants did for a blacksmith before Jeremy Veale came. Probably every man had been his own blacksmith. Another question, “Where do you suppose the first blacksmith shop stood?”

At the same town meeting, four other men are provided with a fifty pound lot on condition that each one “make use of his trade to the best of his power.” If they do not, the “lotts shall return.” We can but wonder what their trades were. Maybe one was a shoemaker. Grandfather used to tell us that the shoemaker sometimes came late in the fall to make the shoes, because there were so many families and only one shoemaker to go around.

MILLERS—In 1644, the town granted Edward Howell forty acres of land if he would promise to build a mill to supply the necessities of the town. This mill is the old watermill at Water Mill, standing today near the spot where Edward Howell built his. The town furnished the mill stones. One came from a rock at Millstone Brook (at Sebonac), and the other from a swamp in the brick kiln (at Long Springs). We find that a man named Ludlam was engaged as miller, and ye Mill Path soon became a well travelled road.

FULLING MILL—Later there was fulling mill at Sagg Swamp, and to this day, when the water is low, the timbers of the old mill may be seen. After the sheep were shorn, the wool was spun. When the cloth was woven, it must go to the fulling mill to be cleansed, shrunken, and thickened. All these processes have now passed from the work of the home.

FISHING—As well as being a farmer, every man was a fisherman. The waters abounded in good fish, clams, oysters, scallops. The settlers were not slow in using them for food. As early as 1645, the General Court ordered that when a whale came upon the beaches, no one should take any part thereof, “but shall send word to the magistrate that it may be shared. He will receive five shillings, but if he find one on the Sabbath Day he shall receive nothing.” In an old book written in 1670, we find this: “Upon the south shore of Long Island in winter lie stores of whales and grampasses, which the inhabitants look to make a trade catching to their no small benefit.

TEACHING—We have seen that Richard Mills was the first school teacher. In 1694, John Mobray was employed to teach the school at twelve shillings “per scholler” for a six months term. The fact that Richard Mills had so many other jobs shows that teaching was poorly paid. Either Richard was a jack of all trades or (what is more likely) a very smart man. We know that he was the first inn keeper. Another inn keeper, John Cooper, kept a tavern and sold horses and had the exclusive right of catching and selling fish in Mecox and Quaquantuck creeks for four years.

CARPENTER—On the fourteenth day of November, 1650, John White undertakes to make a pair of stocks ordered by the General Court. In December of the same year, Richard Post is ordered to make “a sufficient bridge” of lumber in the new highway, “and the same Richard Post is to have for the said work, the summe of twelve shillings trewly paid as soon as the work is done.” We have already seen how Richard Post and Ellis Cook built the meeting house on the Towne Street for the new village.

INTERPRETER—Thomas Stanton was paid four pounds “for his paines about interpreting between the townsmen and the Indians about setting forth the bounds of their lands.”

MILLWRIGHT—A mill wright was one who set up the machinery in the mill. The Southampton mill or watermill must have a good report in the other towns on Long Island for in January, 1676, we find this order in the Huntington Town records: “That the constable and overseers shall with as much speed as possible send to Southampton a man that is a millwright to see if he will be willing to come to this town to agree with our town about a mill to the end we may obtain our expectation of having a good mill.”

BRICKMAKER—The first brickmaker was John Berwick who lived in Mecox. The earliest record of his work is in 1677. The old bricks were more irregular than ours, sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, sometimes highly glazed. They were made at the brick kiln back of Hampton Park. Some of its remains are seen today. There was another one at Sebonac. When the chimney of the Old Post House on Main Street was built over, a brick was found dated 1684, which accords with the time the house was built.

DOCTOR—We do not know just how early the town had a doctor of medicine. Most mothers were doctors in their own families. Every garden had its bed of herbs, hops, fennel, tansy, catnip, cammomile, [sic] and many others. The older women usually acted as neighborhood nurses, and girls were taught by their mothers to go out and “watch” with the sick. In 1698, Dr. Nathaniel Wade was living in Bridgehampton, but does not seem to have been successful, as he was ordered by the town to “forbear to meddle with his patient” any more. If you walk into any of the old graveyards, you will find the graves of many infant children. Doctors were few, and medical knowledge was scanty. Many a mother early earned the epitaph of Amy, wife of Zebuon Howell, whose grave is in the old South End Burying Grounds. “She was a faithful wife and a good mother.”

The census of 1686 gives the number of inhabitants, “old and young, Christians and hethen [sic], freemen and servants, white and black, 786. And two merchants. To bear arms, 176 soldiers and troopers. The number of marriages, christenings, and burials, 175.”

SLAVES—Slavery existed in the early days of Southampton. There were three types of servants. First the indentured servants who served for a certain term of years. The town records tell us that Edward Howell took the one-year-old child of two of his servants. She was to be “provided with meat, drink, apparel, and necessaries until the said child should be of the age of thirty years.”

Sometimes Indians bound themselves out for a term of years, sometimes their guardians did. There is this account from the East Hampton town records. “John Kirtland sells to the Rev. Thomas James my servant, Hopewell, Indian, aged 16, whom I bought of his guardians, being an orphan and not one year old for the balance of the term of 19 years, at the end of that time he [is] to receive ten pounds and a suit of clothes.” The boy was six years old when he was sold, and would be free when we was twenty-five. He was sold to a minister. This shows that people of these early days had no thought of wrong in keeping slaves. It is strange to us to read of a man buying in open market in New London a captive Indian girl about thirteen years old named Back. The man gave the girl to his wife, “and on my wife’s death to pass on in fee to her children.”

Negro slavery was common, altho’ we find many masters giving freedom before the Act of 1788 providing for it. In some of Southampton’s homes today, the names of “Aunt Tempie,” or “Uncle Silas,” or “Old Pomp” are cherished in loving memory of their faithful service in days long past.

Courtesy Lizbeth Halsey White Files, Southampton Historical Museum Archives and Research Center

Tercentenary Pageant of Southampton Town

Alma E. Bishop, knocking on door; Abbie Halsey, seated on left

The Book of the Tercentenary Pageant of Southampton Town

“Founded For Freedom”

August 14-15, 1940

By Abigail Fithian Halsey

Episode One

The XVIIth Century

Scene 1

The Founding

The Commentator:

Behold an Indian village at the head of North Sea Harbor. The wigwam of Nowedanah, chief of the Shinnecocks, is in the foreground. In front of it the young women of the tribe are engaged in a corn planting ceremony while the elder ones go about their daily tasks. Soon the warriors return from the hunt. They lay their spoils before the fires and commence a dance of Happy Hunting.

During the dance we perceive a sloop coming up the harbor. A brave runs in bringing the news and hard on his arrival we see a band of English Puritans land Conscience Point. The first woman on shore exclaims, “For conscience sake we’re on dry and once more.”

The Puritans approach the Indians. They signify their desire for land. Some men of the party come forward with a chest containing sixteen coats. At the sight of the splendor the Indians agree to sell.

They draw up an agreement. “We do absolutely and forever grant to the parties above the mentioned, to them and their heirs and successors forever, all lands, woods and waters from the place where the Indians hayle their canoes out of the north Bay to the south side of the Island, from thence to possess all lands lying eastwood, to have an to hold forever.”

But the Indians also demand corn to be paid after the second harvest and the Puritans promise to give the Indians protection from their enemies.

They then smoke the pipe of peace and guide the colonists to Old Towne where the settlement is made.

Original Undertakers:

Edward Howell

Edmund Needham

George Welbe

John Cooper

William Harker

Thomas Newell

Thomas Terry

Josiah Stanborough (who came later)

Daniel Howe, Captain of the vessel

Edmond and John Farrington

Thomas and Job Sayre

Hentry Walton

Allen Bread

Thomas Halsey

Richard Odel

Philip and Nathaniel Kyrtland

Thomas Farrington

Episode One

Scene III

Early Days and Early Ways

The Narrator:

The new Towne Street in 1649.

The Colony has grow ad prospered. Each freeholder owns his three acres of land on the street but farms and woodland are still common. Incomers must buy on the Great Plains. We see two fence-viewers “perambulating the bounds” nd with them a small boy who will be spanked at the bound, the better to impress his memory. The chimney viewers and cow keepers are busy. A group of young women are quilting a bride quilt for Margaret Howell whose banns are up. Next month she will marry Rev. John Moore of Southold. The unhappy Edmund Shaw sits despondent in the stocks ffor his excessive indulgence at John Cooper’s Tavern. Young Peregrine Stanborough takes his stripes for stealing green apples from Thomas Sayre’s orchard. Sarah Veale, attended by her faithful husband, Thomas, sits with a cleft stick on her tongue, while the Constable recites publicly “exhorbitant words of imprecation” she ahs used to the village reprobate, George Wood.

The Commentator:

Into this peaceful scene break two Pequot Indians. Phoebe Halsey (wife of Thomas) is coming from her home with her little daughter, Elizabeth. The Indians drag phoebe into the house and scalp her. The child escapes. Thomas Halsey, his three sons, and the nearby men puruse the murderers. They are met by Wyandanch, Chief of the Montauks, friend of the white man, who has caught the murderers. He delivers them to the Magistrates, who put them into the pillory until they can be sent to Hartford.

First Interlude

Children Play In The Olden Way

Their Games:

Farmer in the Dell

Looby Lou

London Bridge

Bull in the Ring

Once there was a Lassie

Episode Two

The XVIIth Century

Scene I

Town Meeting Day During the American Revolution

The Narrator:

Our great day of the year has come again. The street is filled with men, women and children from the length and breadth of the town of Southampton. Peddlers crying their wares and visiting Indians scurry about. The Town crier calls the meeting. The election is interrupted by a rider brining news of Lexington. Jesse and Elias Halsey and a friend set off by row boat to Connecticut. Scarcely are they out of sight when the post rider gallops in with news that Fort Ticonderoga has fallen to the Americans.

At once Captain John Hulburt assembles his Company of Minute Men. The first Stars and Stripes made by the women of Southampton Town is presented to the departing company.

Col. William Erskine of his Britannic Majesty’s Army rides in with his Aides coming to demand provender, to be refused at the Town’s peril.

When he has ridden away the dejected people return to their homes while Captain Elias Pelletreau, the old silversmith, organizes a home defense.

SECOND INTERLUDE

An Anthem to Liberty Sung by the United Choirs of Southampton, Hampton Bays, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor

Halsey Genealogical Record

After the news of the Battle of Lexington had reached Long Island, Jesse Halsey (1739-1818) and his brother, Elias Henry, with three others rowed across Long Island Sound in a row boat and joined the Continental Army.

They signed the Articles of Association in May 1775, both Elias Henry and Jesse won the rank of captain in the Revolution. Both Jesse and Elias Henry were lieutenants in Colonel David Mulford's regiment. Elias Henry became a captain of a privateer in the harbor of New London. He was killed in the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781.

Another brother, David Fithian, was also a captain in the Revolution and died in 1790.

Captain Jesse Halsey was also a lieutenant on Col. Mulford’s Reg’t. p. 1055, 993 (see Mather’s Refugees), received commission Sept. 29, 1775.

See Calendar of Historical Mss Vol. 1, p. 120. Also, New York in the Revolution, p. 169-172.

Captain Jesse fought in the Battle of Monmouth and heard the famous reprimand given by George Washington to General Charles Lee when the later had ordered retreat of the regiment he was leading. The claim has often been made, in the effort to make Washington something more than a human, that he did not use profanity at this time. Captain Jesse said that the most forceful language was used by Gen. Washington at this time and that his indignation was righteous and well timed. Captain Jesse lived to be 79 years old and walked with a crutch the remainder of his life.

He had eight children, seven of whom were born previous to 1776 and the youngest child, Abigail (Ludlow), was born after the Revolution. Six girls and one boy, Charles Fithian, lived to grow up, marry, and have families. Captain Jesse and his wife, Charity White, are buried in the Watermill Cemetery. It was discovered that no stones remained to mark their graves. Seventy-five descendants, paying one dollar each, contributed to the fund, which marks their final resting place. They secured a government stone for Captain Jesse and had one made like it for Charity, and placed a fund with the cemetery association which gives them perpetual care. The fund also provided a D.A.R. marker for Capt. Jesse.

GENEALOGICAL RECORD NO. I 

THOMAS HALSEY I to REVEREND JESSE HALSEY

Thomas (I)                  B. Jan. 2 1592; In Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, Eng.

                                    D. Aug. 27, 1678; Came to Mass. 1637. Southampton 1640.

                                    M. (I) Phebe____ 1627 in England

                                    Murdered by Pequot Indian 1649

                                    (II) Ann, widow Edward Johnes

                                    Chn: Thomas, Daniel, Isaac, Elizabeth

Daniel (II)                   B. 1630 (“Goodman Halsey of Wickapoqu3”)

                                    D. 1682

                                    M. Jemima dau. Richard Woodhull

Daniel (III)                  B. Aug. 31, 1669; Wickapogue

                                    D. Feb. 28, 1734

                                    M. Amy Larison

Henry (IV)                  B. Wickapogue, Feb. 28, 1700; Lived in Scuttlehole.

                                    D. 1740

                                    M. Sarah, dau. David Fithian, of East Hampton

                                    Chn:

Jesse (V)                     B. May 18, 1739; Capt. Revolutionary War

                                    D. 1818, Watermill

                                    M. Jan. 14, 1761; Charity, dau. Charles (1716-1791) and Sarah Howell White

                                                            B. 1741            

                                                            D. 1816            

Charles Fithian (VI)    B. Feb. 11, 1771; Scuttle Hole. Bridgehampton

(Miller)                        D. Oct. 25, 1814

                                    M. Phebe, dau. Capt. Wm Rogers Hayground. 1802

                                    B. May 14, 1778

                                    D. Oct. 13, 1839

                                    Chn. Henry, Jesse, Edward, Mary, Hannah

Henry (VII)                 B. Watermill (miller), Aug. 19, 1803

(Capt. Henry)              D. April 11, 1880; Southampton, L.I.

                                    M. Jan. 21, 1828; Eliza, dau. Barzillai and Frances Howell Halsey

Charles Henry (VIII)  B. Oct. 10, 1830; New York City

                                    D. Aug. 9, 1906; Southampton

                                    M. Melvina Dunwreath, dau. Thomas and Phebe Hudson Terry

                                                B. June 5, 1842

                                                D. June 2, 1887

Jesse (Rev.) (IX)         B. May 3, 1882

Cincinnati, Ohio         D.

                                    M. Helen Haynes dau. Robert and ­­­____ Haines Isham, Lake Placid, NY

                                    [Ed note: Frederick and Laura]

                                    B. May 18, 1889

                                    Chn.

Charles Henry, B. April 6, 1911, St. Anthony, Newfoundland

                                           Frederick Isham, B. Aug. 22, 1912, St. Anthony, Newfoundland

                                           Helen Augusta, B. Feb. 8, 1914, Cincinnati

                                           Wilmun Haines, B. Sept. 30, 1920, Cincinnati; D. May 20, 1928, Cincinnati

[ed note: text says Wilman, but inscription to Living A Living Hope: Suggestions for Funeral Services. Halsey, Jesse. Confirms it Wilmun]

                                           Abigail Fithian, B. Aug. 9, 1922, Southampton, L.I.

GENEALOGICAL RECORD No. II

THOMAS HALSEY I through his son Tomas to REVEREND JESSE HALSEY No. 1

Thomas (I)                  B. Jan. 2 1592; In Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, Eng.

                                    D. Aug. 27, 1678; Came to Mass. 1637. Southampton 1640.

                                    M. (I) Phebe____ 1627 in England

                                    Murdered by Pequot Indian 1649

                                    (II) Ann, widow Edward Johnes

                                    Chn. Thomas, Daniel, Isaac, Elizabeth

Thomas (II)                 B. 1627

                                    D. 1699

                                    M. Mary B. ____ D. Dec. 20, 1699

                                    Chn.

Josiah (III)                  B. Feb. 15, 1656

                                    D. 1732; buried Flying Point Cemetery

                                    M. I. Sarah Topping, Sept. 12, 1678

                                    M. II. Mary

                                    Chn.

Deacon Josiah (IV)     B. 1692

                                    D. 1744; buried Flying Point Cemetery

                                    M.

                                    Chn.    

           

Israel (V)                     B. ____ Watermill

                                    D. Nov. 19, 1774

                                    M. Mary, dau. Joshua Halsey and Martha Wilmun

Wilmun (VI)               B. Aug. 2, 1749

                                    D. 1785

                                    M. Ruth Rogers, March 9, 1773; B. May, 25, 1751  D. Jan. 19, 1815

                                    Chn. Susanna Jane, Barzillai, Sylvanus, Wilmun

Barzillai (VII)             B. 1776

                                    D. Feb. 25, 1849

                                    M. Frances, dau. Capt. David and Mehetable Halsey Howell; Nov. 2, 1799

                                    Chn.

Enoch, B. 1801

Amanda M. Stephen Rose; Elmira

Eliza (VIII)                 M. Henry Halsey

GENEALOGICAL RECORD No. II

THOMAS HALSEY I through his son Isaac to REVEREND JESSE HALSEY

Thomas (I)                   B. Jan. 2 1592; In Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, Eng.

                                    D. Aug. 27, 1678; Came to Mass. 1637. Southampton 1640.

                                    M. (I) Phebe____ 1627 in England

                                    Murdered by Pequot Indian 1649

                                    (II) Ann, widow Edward Johnes

                                            Chn. Thomas, Daniel, Isaac, Elizabeth wife of Richard Howell

Isaac (II)                      B.

                                    D. About 1703

                                    M. Mary

                                    Chn.

Isaac B. 1665 D. March 23, 17__

                                           Joseph B. 1668 D. April 17, 1725; Elizabeth, N.J.

                                           Joshua

                                           Mary, Samuel, Elizabeth, Thomas

Joshua (III)                  B. 1675

                                    D. 1734

                                    M. Martha, dau. Isaac Wilmun

                                    Chn.

Abigail M. John Post

Experience M. Nathaniel Halsey

Irene M. Wm. Foster

Mary M. Israel Halsey

Martha M. Joshua Sayre

Prudence M. David Woodruff

Mary (IV)                   Dau. Joshua Halsey and Martha Wilmun

                                    B. before 1744

                                    D. Aug. 24, 1782

                                    M. Israel Halsey, son of Joshua and Martha Wilmun Halsey

Wilmun (V)                 B. 1747

                                    D. Jan. 15, 1786

                                    M. Ruth Rogers

                                    Chn. (For continuation record see No. II)

All dates taken from genealogical records Howell History, Early Southampton and family record of Charles Henry Halsey, 1830-1906; Compiled by Lizbeth Halsey White, Southampton, L.I. N.Y. April 1932.

William De Normandie

William De Normandie
b:14 Oct 1024; Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Norma
d: 09 Sep 1087;
Hermentrube, near Rouen, Franc

son: King of England Henry I
b: 1070; Selby, Yorkshire, England
d: 01 Dec 1135; St Denis, Cher, Centre, France

granddaughter 1. Empress Matilda Of England
b: 05 Aug 1102; London, Middlesex, , England
d: 10 Sep 1167' Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-N

grandson 2. King of England Henry II
b: 25 Mar 1133; Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loir
d: 06 Jul 1189; Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, Fr

3. King of England John
b: 24 Dec 1167; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Engl
d: 12 Oct 1216

4. King of England Henry III
b: 01 Oct 1207, Winchester
d: 16 Nov 1272, Westminster

5. Earl of Lancaster Etc Edmund Planb: 16 Jan 1245
d: 05 Jun 1295

6. Earl of Lancaster Henry Plantagen
b: 1281, London, England
d: 22 Sep 1345, Bayonne, Normandy

7. Lady Eleanor Plantagenet
b: Bet. 1302–1328
d: 11 Jan 1372

8. Alice Fitzalan De Arundel
b: Bet. 1327–1355d: Bet. 1362–1437

9. Eleanor De Holland
b: 1373; Upholland, Lancashire, England
d: Bet. 1409–1468

10. Alice De Montacute
b: Bet. 1345–1427
d: Bet. 1376–1504

11. Alice De Neville
b: Abt. 1430; Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
d: Bet. 1408–1515

12. Elizabeth Fitz Hugh, Baroness Vau
b: 1451; Ravensworth, Yorkshire, Englandd: 28 Feb 1513; Harrowden, Northamptonshire, Englad

13. William Parr
b: 1480, Kendal Castle, Westmoreland
d: 10 Sep 1546, Horton, Northamptonshire, England

14. Elizabeth Parr
b: 1499, Kendal, Westmorland, England
d: 05 May 1531, Thenford, Northamptonshire, England

15. Fulke Woodhull
b: 1530, Thenford Manor, Northamptonshire
d: 25 Nov 1613, Thenford Manor, Northamptonshire

16. Lawrence Woodhull
b: Bet. 1569–1598, Thenford Manor, England
d: Bet. 1623–1683

17. Richard Woodhull
b: 13 Sep 1620, Theuford, Northampton, England
d: 17 Oct 1691, Setauket, Town of Brookhaven, L

18. Jemima Woodhull
b: Abt. 1646, Southampton, Suffolk, New York
d: Unknown, Suffolk, Long Island, New York

19. Daniel Halsey
b: 31 Aug 1669, Southampton, Suffolk, New York
d: 28 Feb 1734, Southampton, Suffolk, New York

20. Henry Halsey
b: 28 Feb 1700, Wickapogue NY
d: 1740

21. Jesse Halsey
b: 18 May 1739, Southampton, Suffolk, New York,
d: 1818, 21st great grandson

22. b: Charles Fithian Halsey
d: 25 Oct 1814, Southampton, Suffolk, New York
11 Feb 1771, Southampton, Suffolk, New York

23. Henry Halsey
b: 19 Aug 1803, Southampton, Suffolk, New York
d: 11 Apr 1880, Southampton, Suffolk, New York

24. Charles Henry Halsey
b: 10 Oct 1830, New York, New York
d: 09 Aug 1906, Southampton, Suffolk, New York

25. Jesse Halsey
b: 03 May 1882, Southampton, Suffolk, New York
d: 12 Jan 1954, Southampton, Suffolk, New York

26. Charles Henry Halsey
b: 16 Apr 1911, Newfoundland and Labrador, CA
d: 07 Aug 1993, Southampton, Suffolk, New York

[Ed note: record courteous genealogist Con Crowley.]

from East Riding of Yorkshire

by Jesse Halsey

Long Island, which sprawls like a great Leviathan across New England’s south shore, with its substantial head abutting rock ribbed Manhattan and its flukes kicking out to sea. It was once named Nassau, indication its Dutch attachments. But the Dutch influence, except for gambrel roofs, never reached beyond the west end, nor did they long hold there. The east end belonged to Connecticut and later to New York (when the Netherlands disappeared) and was known as the East Riding of Yorkshire. There was I born—though the name had long since been changed.

In the spring of 1640 a sloop with twenty settlers left Lynn, Massachusetts, sailed through the Sound and landed on the west end of Long Island. Shortly after landing there they were arrested by the Dutch Authorities, the leaders taken to New Amsterdam where they were reprimanded and let go. They promised to leave Cow Bay and go elsewhere. Back tracking, the rounded Orient Point, sailed ‘round Shelter Island, entered Peconic Bay and landed in a little harbor that they called North Sea. The first woman to alight on the meadow is aid to have ejaculated, “For Conscience sake, I’m on dry land. “ At any rate the spot is called “Conscience Point” unto this day. They landed on June 12, 1640.

Four miles to the north on the Atlantic seaboard they started their little village. “Old Town Pond” saw the first log houses: in a few years the settlement pushed west to a lake called by the Indians “Agawam.” They named their village Southampton.

Among these immigrants, one of the original “undertakers” as they were called was Thomas Halsey who came to Lynn in 1638. I have visited the ancient manor house in Hertfordshire whence he came. The English branch of the family still flourishes with a son of the present generation in Parliament, another in the Church, and a third an Admiral in the Navy. But that is another story.

These men and women were Puritans. They had come truly, for conscience sake, though hope of economic betterment doubtless had its influence. Some of them were second sons of families that would be classed as “landed gentry.” More were of Yeoman stock. Some wrote Esq. after their names, some “Mr.” before and some plain names.

Their colony was built around their church. Literally and figuratively this was true.

Here follows a sample of their laws, transcribed for the old town records still preserved in the office of the town Clerk. (Within two months I have seen and read the old Indian deed by which they bought their land—a whole township for a few coats and bushels of corn--, also the Patents granted by Governor Donghan and Governor Andrus under which South Hampton and East Hampton still in a measure operate, defying to this day in some particulars such as access to the ocean and the land under the waters, the laws of the State of New York.) These rights have been defended within my lifetime in the highest tribunals of the State by the town trustees (one of whom was my father). These ancient rights found their first expression in numerous laws like to the following, all based on Old Testament legislation but soon modified to meet a changing situation.

“1. TRESPASSES. If any man’s swine, or any other beast, or a fire kindled by a man, damage another man’s field, he shall make full restitution for the grain and time lost in securing the swine, &c. Exod.xii.5.6—Lex.xxiv.18. But if a man turn his swine or cattle into another’s field, restitution shall be made of the best he possesses, though it be much better than that which is destroyed. Exod.xxi.34.

“2. If a man’s ox or other beast gore or bite and kill a man or woman, whether child or of riper age, the beast shall be killed, and no benefit of the dead beast reserved to the owner. But if the ox or other beast were wont to push or bite in former time, and the owner hath been told of it, and hath not kept him in, then, the ox or beast shall be forfeited and killed, and the owner also put to death; or else fined to pay, what the judges and person damnified shall lay upon him. Exod.xxi.28,29.

Thus they planned and planted and thus they builded through four pioneering years houses, a school, a church. Then there grew dissension among them. The minister, Abraham Pierson (his son was the first President of Yale College) maintained that citizenship and voting rights in the town meeting were contingent upon membership in the church. This was the policy of “the New Haven” colony. Others held for a separation, that a citizen might vote though not be a communicant. This was the “Hartford” custom. The liberal element out voted the minister so he with his followers left Southampton, going to the mainland under the New Haven jurisdiction. When New Haven and Hartford joined as Connecticut (under the Hartford pattern), Mr. Pierson, true to conviction, moved onto New Jersey and planted Newark.

Our ancestor, Thomas Sr. stayed on, was elected to officers of trust in the town. A house he built still stands, older than any in Plymouth. From that day to this his descendants have held such positions as were in the gift of the citizens of the citizens of the township assembled in that pure democracy known as the “town meeting,” an institution which persisted until a couple of decades ago. (The year I left the village for a somewhat belated college training, I was nominated for town clerk. Such things were in the family tradition.)

Notes for the Tree

Direct Line of Ancestors: Halseys in England and America 1510-1682

Thomas Halsey I immigrated to Lynn, MA, around 1638 and moved to Southampton, NY, in 1640. The first authentic record mentions the Halseys as Lords of the Manor of Tanesley in Cornwall, England, as early as the year 1189. In 1458, a branch of the Halsey family settled at Great Gaddesden and later became lessees of the Rectory of Gaddesden. In March 12, 1545, when came the dissolution of religious houses, Henry VIII bestowed the estate upon William Halsey. At that time the donation consisted of 4000 acres and it was on this estate in 1591, in the old mansion designated the Golden parsonage, that Thomas Halsey I the pilgrim to America was born.

The Golden Parsonage was situated a short distance from the river Gadde in Hertfordshire, England, about 28 miles north of London. The present heir and occupant of the property, Thomas Frederic K Halsey, M.P., is a descendant of the elder brother of immigrant Thomas Halsey. The great grandfather of the present owner tore down the original structure in 1773 after a fire and erected Gaddesden Place, the present residence. Gaddesden Place was designed by James Wyatt. About 3000 acres remain of the original grant. Reportedly, in a letter dated "Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, March 23, 1885," and addressed to Jacob L. Halsey, Vice President of the Manhattan Life Insurance Company, NY, Thomas Frederick Halsey acknowledges the clear and undoubted right of the descendants of Thomas Halsey, born at Great Gaddesden, to bear the Halsey Arms.

In 1994 I visited the Halsey homestead which is about 28 miles north of London. It was not easy to find [before the interwebs] and involved a very lucky cab ride and a lot of walking. But it was worth the trip.

****

William Halsey I was born 1510 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England. He married Alice Ringsall. She was born Abt. 1510 in Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England. She died 1557 in Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England. He died 1546 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England.
William Halsey II is the son of William Halsey & Alice Ringsall. He was born 1536 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England. He married Anne in 1590 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England. She was born Abt. 1536 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England. She died on 20 Sep 1608 in Hemel, Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. He died on 16 May 1596 in Hemel, Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. 


Robert Halsey is the son of William Halsey & Anne. He was born 1565 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England. He married Dorothy Downs about 1590 in Great Gaddesden, [parish], Hertfordshire, England. She is the daughter of John Alley & Esabel. She was born 1567 in Linslade, [parish], Buckinghamshire, England. She died on 23 Sep 1620. He died on 12 Oct 1618. 

Thomas Halsey I is the son of Robert Halsey & Dorothy Downs. He was born on 02 Jan 1592 in Parsonage, Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England. He married Elizabeth Wheeler Abt. 1625 in Cranfield, Bedford, England. He died on 27 Aug 1678 in Southhampton, Long Island, Suffolk County, NY.

Elizabeth Wheeler is the daughter of John Wheeler & Elizabeth. She was born Abt. 1604 in Cranfield, Bedford, England. She died 1649 in Southhampton, Long Island, Suffolk County, NY.

Daniel Halsey is the son of Thomas Halsey I and Elizabeth Wheeler. He was born Bef. 1630 in Cranfield, Bedford, England. He married Jemima Woodhull. They were married Abt. 1668 in Southhampton, Long Island, Suffolk County, NY. He died Abt. 1682 in Southhampton, Long Island, Suffolk County, NY.  

"Useful positions"

Among his numerous descendants, scattered all over the country, several have won their way to distinction and useful positions.

--"Biographical Sketches: Halsey, History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, 1629-[1893], Volume 2, Alonzo Lewis and James Robinson Newhall

"for time out of mind"

from The Halsey Family and the Gaddesden Estate

No one knows where the Halseys came from. There are villages called Halse in Somerset and Northamptonshire, and over the North Sea the surname Hals occurs in the Low Countries. Halseys have lived on the hilly ridge between Hemel Hempstead and the Chiltern Escarpment for time out of mind. In the 1300s the name emerges from the mists of the Middle Ages. The earliest legal document in the family archives dates from 1458, recording that Richard Halsey, with other parishioners, covenanted with the Prior of King’s Langley to pay 10 shillings (50p) to the poor of Great Gaddesden, a payment which is still made annually to the Vicar.

The third William Halsey applied for the grant of a Coat of Arms. This regularised the arms he had been recorded as using. It is described as an: ‘argent on a pile sable three griffins heads erased of the field, the crest a dexter forearm proper, sleeved gules, cuffed argent holding a griffin’s claw erased or.’

In the early 1600s a Thomas Halsey sailed to Lynn in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He eventually settled in Southampton, Long Island, New York, where his family still live. The house he built in 16[66], now a museum, is [one of] the oldest ‘saltbox’ house in New York State. Apart from the cedar shingles, it is a typical English seventeenth century farmhouse.

*Renovations done to the Halsey House in 2003 determined the home was built in 1666 by Thomas Halsey's son Thomas Halsey, Jr., and not, as long believed, in 1648 by the English-born Thomas Halsey.