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Beverly C. Tyler

Rob Von Bernewitz, TVHS cemetery chair opens the ceremony. Photo courtesy of Beverly C. Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler and Scott Ferrara

A dedication and presentation was held this past Saturday, June 28 at the Old Bethel Cemetery for Abraham Tobias who died on Dec. 23, 1898, aged 65 years. Organized by the Three Village Historical Society and descendants of Abraham Tobias, the ceremony at his grave was conducted by members of the Society of the Grand Army of the Republic Post-210. As part of the tribute, a GAR star was ceremonially placed beside his gravestone in Stony Brook, a recognition made possible through the coordination and dedication of his descendant, Simira Tobias.

Grave of Abraham Tobias, Old Bethel Cemetery

At 24, Corporal Abraham Tobias, son of Jacob and Rachel Young Tobias, served honorably with the 26th regiment, United States Colored Infantry, from January 1864 until the end of August 1865, when the regiment was mustered out. Cpl. Tobias fought in several key battles in South Carolina where the regiment lost 30 men and two officers killed in action or mortally wounded.  During the regiment’s 1864-1865 deployment, they lost a total of five officers and 145 enlisted men to combat, disease, drowning and other causes.

GAR spokesman, George Munkenbeck, noted that Tobias must have been considered a good leader of men, as he was promoted to Corporal within two months of his service. Tobias’ story, later used as an obituary, was printed in the “The Port Jefferson Echo,” December 24, 1898. It stated:  “Setauket – Abram Tobias, a resident of this village and a veteran of the Civil War, we fear is fighting his last battle. He is confined to his bed with little hope of recovery. That he is a colored man detracts nothing in these days from the need of praise due him and all who in those perilous times risked all for home and country.”

The commemorative event featured a ceremonial demonstration by the GAR, including a live-fire Three Volley Salute using a black powder rifle.

Members of the GAR Post-210 honor Corporal Tobias.

Several community leaders delivered remarks, including Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), Setalcott Tribal Chairs Helen Sells and Robert Thompson, Setalcott member Chiitra Wells, Rev. Lisa Williams of Bethel AME Church, and Town of Brookhaven Historian Barbara Russell. Sells noted that Abraham, as well as many other men and women who joined the fight in all the wars, did so for the community, not just for the African American community, but for everyone in all communities. 

Based on census records, Tobias probably lived with his family in East Setauket. The 1850 census lists his father, Jacob, a waiter; his mother Rachel; Samuel, 24, boatman; Silas, 21, boatman; Abram, 20, farm laborer; and Isaac, 14, farm laborer. The 1865 census for Jacob and Rachel listed only Abraham and Isaac living in the household.

A film commemorating the USCI’s 26th Regiment, called “Civil Warriors,” was released in 2011.   

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian. Scott Ferrara is Three Village Historical Society Archivist.

By Beverly C. Tyler

Driving along Main Street in Port Jefferson, turn east onto East Main Street and bear right at the historic Biddle fountain reproduction onto Prospect Street. On your left at number 115  is the home of the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson in the John R. Mather house and grounds. Mather was a famous shipbuilder in Port Jefferson and a descendant of local shipbuilders. He built the home in the 1840s and added the present front of the house in the 1860s. His son John T. Mather bequeathed funds to create a community hospital. The J.T. Mather Memorial Hospital opened on New Year’s Eve 1929.

My wife Barbara and I were welcomed to the house by guide Cathy Duffy who began with the 1860s parlor filled with period pieces, maritime paintings and artifacts. The next room, listed as the library, includes a wonderful collection of half-hull models used as one of the first steps in ship design and construction. One of these half-hull models is of the schooner yacht “Wanderer” which was built in East Setauket in 1857 and became an infamous slaver, transporting more than 600 enslaved Africans from the west coast of Africa to Jekyll Island, Georgia in 1858.

In the next room, in a case labeled “Recent Acquisitions” is a painting of the “Wanderer.” This room, guide Duffy noted, is the main exhibit room for the 2025 exhibit “Treasures From Our Attic.” The “treasures” here also include hand-made quilts, costumes, samplers, and three dresses. The most interesting item was a paper dress made for an 1876 masquerade party. The dress was constructed from current issues of Harper’s Weekly and was worn by the party hostess, Mrs. James E. Bayles. Engraved pictures showing scenes of the day decorated almost every inch of space on her dress. The other two dresses are a wedding dress and a Campfire Girl’s uniform labeled “Woodgatherers.” It includes a beaded necklace of “badges” earned.

The grounds and buildings include a tool shed with maritime tools and artifacts, the Dr. R. Sherman Mills general store and post office, and a replica of a sail loft on the lower level. The archival building includes a large collection of documents and photographs which is available to researchers by appointment. 

For me, the number one attraction on the grounds is the Spinney Clock Building, which was added to the property in 2000. Inside are more than 200 magnificent clocks donated to the historical society by Tex Spinney. The collection ranges from tall grandfather clocks to mantle clocks with beautiful hand-painted scenes. A grandfather clock, made by Tiffany, is nine feet six inches high with a fully carved case. A black marble astronomical clock includes a barometer and calendar and a mouse clock strikes “hickory, dickory, dock.” Volunteer clock enthusiasts from the Spinney Clock Collector’s Guild maintain the collection and offer classes in the care and repair of antique and newer timepieces.

When you visit the John Richard Mather house, be sure to pick up the three free “Historic Walking Tour guides that describe the homes, sites, businesses and features of the historic Port Jefferson downtown and harbor areas. Each guide covers a specific concentrated area with a minimum of walking, so enjoy this area, rich in history and beauty.     

Mather’s home, the surrounding museum buildings and the consignment shop are open Wednesday –  Sunday 12-4 P.M. through October 5th.

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. WWW.TVHS.org 

By Beverly C. Tyler

Along Old Post Road in East Setauket are a number of old farmhouses. One of the most interesting and best preserved is the circa 1730 Sherwood-Jayne House which is owned by Preservation Long Island. The home, first built by Matthias Jayne, and owned by a succession of his descendants, was enlarged over the years, but it retains much of its original appearance both inside and out. The house sits on a large area that retains a farm-like atmosphere with a colonial barn, ice house and a number of other structures. A carefully pruned apple orchard stands just to the west of the house along Old Post Road. To the left of the barn and behind the orchard is the entrance to the walking trail. The three-mile circular trail meanders through the wooded area where red-tailed hawks are known to nest. However, the trail is a bit difficult to follow as trail markers were not evident to me on opening day. 

A guided tour of the historic house is not to be missed. On May 31st, I was met at the front door by guides Kitty and Jill who described the house and grounds as a “central Long Island farmscape.” Matthias’ son William doubled the size of the house following the end of the Revolutionary War. Known locally as “Big Bill the Tory,” William, who lost his wife Tabitha in 1785, was responsible for the architectural details which provide a unifying appearance to the colonial structure. 

The Sherwood-Jayne farm is a part of the Town of Brookhaven’s East Setauket Historic District, one of five historic districts in the Three Village area. The farm represents the  character of the historic district with its many private historic farmhouses, dating from the end of the 17th century through the early years of the 20th century. 

The interior of the house features both original wall paintings and spectacular paneling. The paneling is believed to be from a nearby colonial house that was the birthplace of Benjamin Tallmadge, leader of the Culper spy ring. Howard Sherwood,  who purchased the house in 1908 from the third great-granddaughter of Matthias Jayne, collected the paneling and the interior furnishings.

As detailed by Preservation Long Island, “Howard Sherwood, an American decorative arts collector and Preservation Long Island founder…is responsible for the building’s current appearance as a restored colonial-era farmhouse with early twentieth-century Colonial Revival alterations…” One of the interesting records kept by Sherwood is a “Sheep Register” which details his project to use sheep on the farm. He wrote, “Along in the summer of 1932, Charlie and I bethought ourselves of sheep as a means of keeping the East field down and in shape. Accordingly, the following fall and winter, Charlie cut and set the posts to fence it and in April ‘33 I secured the necessary wire fencing, together with a stretcher to stretch it and staples to fasten it…” 

A small spiral-bound copy of his register is available for visitors to see during the house tour. Neither sheep nor any other farm animals are currently housed on the Sherwood-Jayne farm, however the tour of the two floors of the house has many surprises including wide pine floorboards salvaged from Bridgehampton’s “Old Wick’s Tavern; A beautiful pine corner cupboard from a center-hall house north of Syracuse, NY; historic coverlets; period floor covering reproductions and much more.      

Preservation Long Island offers Saturday tours of the Sherwood-Jayne Farm House (c. 1730), 55 Old Post Road, Setauket at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. through Oct. 11.  Tickets are $10 adults, $5 ages 10 to 18, free for children ages 9 and under. To reserve your spot, visit www.preservationlongisland.org/tours/.

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. www.TVHS.org 

By Beverly C. Tyler

As the shipbuilding era was ending in Stony Brook and East Setauket in the 1870s, the Long Island Railroad was completing the North Shore Line to Port Jefferson. The coming of the railroad made it possible for people and products to travel quickly overland and opened the Three Village area to tourism, especially from New York City 

Until the railroad came, most travel and commerce to and from Long Island ports was conducted by ship. As the railroad became more efficient and reliable, tourism began to increase, especially during the summer months. Hotels, tourist homes and summer cottages opened in Stony Brook and Setauket, as they did throughout Long Island, to accommodate the influx of visitors. 

By 1902, there were six hotels or tourist homes in Stony Brook and ten in Setauket-East Setauket which offered weekly rates. In Stony Brook, the Pine View House, run by Israel Hawkins, advertised as a family recreation summer boarding house with accommodations for 25 guests. Guests at the Pine View had the use of a beach house at West Meadow Beach.

In East Setauket, Shore Acres was a large boarding house overlooking Setauket Harbor. Shore Acres was run by Mr. and Mrs. William D. Oakes and had 30 rooms and one bathroom with a wash basin in each room. “In the large dining room on Sundays, the meal was usually chicken, slaughtered on Saturday evening, fresh garden vegetables and homemade ice cream.” (Long Island Museum 1981 exhibit Summer at the Shore). Boating and bathing were popular activities during these summers and Shore Acres had its own docks and boats for the use of guests. As noted by Barbara Russell, “Later, Mr. Oakes had a motorboat and would take boarders over to Whitehall Beach to spend afternoons.” (Down the Ways – The Wooden Ship Era) 

In Setauket, the Lakeside House, now the Setauket Neighborhood House, had accommodations for 25 guests at $6.00 to $8.00 per week. The Lakeside House was run by my grandfather Captain Beverly Swift Tyler.

In 1879, he was master and 3/8 owner of the “Willow Harp”. She was a coastal schooner and carried coal from New Jersey to East Setauket. Beginning about the turn of the century, Captain Tyler, who then spent much of his time running the Lakeside House, would take guests on sailing outings on his catboat “Madeline” which was anchored in Setauket Harbor.

After he married my grandmother Edith Griffin in 1912, who first came to Setauket to stay a week at the Lakeside House with her sister Carolyn, she became the Lakeside hostess and manager of the kitchen and boarding house staff. Lucy Hart Keyes, born 1900, commented that she worked at the Lakeside house as a young girl and that Mrs. Tyler was “an easy person to work for.”  

In 1906, my grandfather built the catboat “Setauket” in an area behind the Lakeside House. The “Setauket” was the second boat he built, the first being the “Madeline,” which, according to Roger Tyler, Captain Tyler’s nephew, “was built with the comments and help of friends and neighbors whose advice he took and later regretted. When the ‘Setauket’ was being built and comments were again offered, Captain Tyler this time pointed out that the ‘Madeline’ was their community boat and that he was building the ‘Setauket’ by himself.”

Sailboats and the harbors and inlets of the Three Village area were part of the attractiveness of the community at the turn of the century. Captain Tyler used the “Setauket” to take guests on excursions on the Sound and around Setauket and Port Jefferson Harbors. The “Setauket” was also built to race in local competitions in Port Jefferson Harbor. When the “Setauket” was built, Captain Tyler sold the “Madeline,” which was a fairly good racing catboat. Roger Tyler said that the “Setauket” was raced in Port Jefferson and was a consistent winner against all competition including the “Madeline.” Tyler commented that, “it got to be so that they wouldn’t tell Bev when a race was to be run and a few times he found out about them only just and hour or so before the race, but raced and won anyway.”

The tourism era in Setauket and Stony Brook continued strong until World War I. Captain Tyler sold the Lakeside House to Eversley Childs in 1918. Childs, who – the story goes    only wanted the tourist home for its liquor license, which he transferred to the St. George Golf and Country Club gave the Lakeside House to the community for its use. A number of other tourist homes in the Three Village area continued into the 1930s.  

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. http://www.TVHS.org

It’s a National Celebration of the birth of America – and it kicked off right here in the Three Villages. On May 2, the Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a special celebration titled “250 Years STRONG” at the Setauket Neighborhood House.

While many might not know- across the country events are being planned to mark America’s Semiquincentennial.  It was 250 years ago that the “Shot Heard Around the World” rang out during the battle of Lexington and Concord – considered to be the first military engagement of the Revolutionary War.  On Long Island, the Strong family played a pivotal role during the Revolution through their actions in the Culper or Setauket Spy Ring.

The Culper Spy Ring is credited by George Washington as being a major factor in turning the tide of the American Revolution by providing valuable intelligence to at great risk to themselves.

The Anna Smith Strong Chapter was named for a courageous member of the celebrated Culper Spy Ring, and hosted an event commemorating her role and honoring the American spirit.

Participants enjoyed an evening of history, community and celebration in a picturesque setting – the Setauket Neighborhood House. Keynote speaker and local historian Margo Arceri spoke of the remarkable life of Kate Wheeler Strong. There were raffles, awards and patriotic provisions provided by chief sponsor, David Prestia of Bagel Express. Costumes were optional but fun!  People came in Revolutionary War dress to make things more festive.  Sponsor Michael Rosengard of North Island Photography & Films created an art installation (that included Anna Smith Strong’s clothesline and more) and was the official event photographer. 

Recognized at the event for their historic preservation and education contributions were:  Margo Arceri, local historian/Tri-Spy Tours/Three Village Historical Society; Beverly C. Tyler, author/historian/Three Village Historical Society; and Gloria Rocchio, President of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization. 

The Anna Smith Strong Chapter received Proclamations from NYS Senator Anthony Palumbo, NYS Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay, Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright and Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico and Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich.

There was an entire ‘regiment’ of sponsors that helped guarantee the success of the event: Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, Krista’s Design Studio, Margo Arceri, Scott Heaney Mill Creek Agency, Inc., Legislator Steve Englebright, The Setauket Neighborhood House, Guy Nicosia/ CEO Strategic Planning, Beth Shatles, Joe Ventimiglia Fine Art, P Mones and Herb Mones, Island Federal Credit Union, Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay, Colleen Keneflick, Dr Nora Galambos, RADIANCE by the Harbor, and the Reboli Center for Art and History.  In addition, dozens of local businesses donated raffle prizes.  

Several of the community’s leading organizations showcased their activities, literature and programs in the Lakeside Room including the New York Marine Rescue, Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, Ward Melville Heritage Organization, Three Village Community Trust, Three Village Garden Club, Reboli Center and the Rocky Point Historical Society who all shared information and more. 

Interest was ‘revolutionary’ – and the event quickly sold out. Money raised will go towards education, historic preservation and patriotic/veteran’s endeavors.  Check the DAR’s website for further information on the event or to see what will be happening during the upcoming year: https://annasmithstrongnsdar.org

Revolutionary War era Whaleboat “Caleb Brewster” being built at Bayles Boat Shop in Port Jefferson. Pictured are John Janisek, Walter Saraceni and Bill Meyer. Photo by Bev Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

Born in East Setauket in 1747, Caleb Brewster attended the one-room schoolhouse on the Village Green in Setauket. His classmates probably included other members of the Culper Spy Ring, Austin Roe, born 1748; Abraham Woodhull, 1750; and Benjamin Tallmadge, 1754. These friends trusted each other as children, later they would need to trust each other as Patriot spies.

Culper Spies Abraham Woodhull and Caleb Brewster meet at a secret cove in Conscience Bay. 1951 Vance Locke mural in Setauket School auditorium.
Photo by Bev Tyler, courtesy of Three Village Central School District 

At 19, Brewster signed on a whaler bound for Greenland. When they returned, he shipped out on a merchant vessel crossing the Atlantic to London. Sometime in the early 1770s, by now an expert seaman and having trained as a blacksmith, he returned home, joined the Brookhaven Minutemen and took part in the 1776 Battle of Long Island in Brooklyn. With British forces controlling Long Island, Brewster joined the Continental Army and was soon commissioned as a Lieutenant of artillery. As a whaleboat captain, he joined in a couple of raids on Setauket.

 In January 1777, Brewster was able to join an artillery company at Fairfield, Connecticut, directly across Long Island Sound from Setauket Harbor. With available resources and time, he put together a force of three whaleboats to attack British and Loyalist ships on the Sound and to gain intelligence on British activity on Long Island. He was able to report all this activity to his close friend Benjamin Tallmadge, a dragoon officer stationed near Fairfield.

In February 1777, General Washington tasked Tallmadge with running Long Island spy, Major John Clark, who operated on his own and provided good intelligence on the British on Long Island and in New York City. Washington recognized Tallmadge’s ability to gain valuable intelligence and made him second-in-command under intelligence chief General Scott. Tallmadge had Major Clark route his intelligence through  Brewster who regularly traveled between Fairfield and Long Island. When Clark suddenly left Long Island in September 1777, it left Washington with only the intelligence reports from Brewster’s contacts on Long Island. 

On 8 August 1778, General Washington wrote to Brewster,  “Let me entreat that you will continue to use every possible means to obtain intelligence of the Enemys motions…and give me the earliest notice of their Sailing from the hook…this matter may be of great Importance to the French Fleet at, & the enterprize on, Rhode Island..and whether any Troops have Imbarked for Rhode Island or else where within these few days. I am Sir Yr Most Obedt Servt G. W——n.”

Later the same month, Washington agreed to Tallmadge’s plan to organize a spy ring based in Setauket that would route intelligence through  Brewster and his whaleboats, a route already well-established from British Long Island to Patriot Connecticut.  

Caleb Brewster’s gravesite at The Old Burying Ground in Fairfield, CT.

Robert Brush was a Long Island native who lived in Connecticut during the war. Brush wrote in his pension application, “I continued to go with Caleb for three or four years and the number of these expeditions varied from one to four times a month and lasted from two days to a week or more. The object was to get intelligence from the British…At one time we had a skirmish with a boat crew of a Privateer after they had landed on the Island…Another time we were lying on the Island concealed,  a party of horse commanded by one Ishmael Youngs a Tory came in search of us and passed within fifty yards of our concealment but did not discover us.”

After the war, Brewster, as he did for so many of his men, reported that “Robert Brush was a good and brave soldier” and “frequently volunteered his services on different occasions under me during the war on difficult and dangerous services, whilst I was engaged in secret service in Long Island Sound by order of General Washington.” 

Joshua Davis, in his pension application reported, “I remained in the New York Regiment but I was also detached and employed in what was called the whaleboat service. I was serving…on board a whaleboat under Captain Caleb Brewster, who commanded a small fleet.” He served until the end of the war.

Davis’s widow, Abigail, wrote that her husband, under the command of Capt. Brewster, went from Fairfield to Long Island, “for the purpose of getting Information from the enemy which service was performed in a Whale Boat as often as once a Week.” Her husband continued in the whaleboat service until the Peace.” 

Brewster’s crews of sailors were recruited from the ranks of the men he commanded and a number of Long Island men like Davis and Brush. Brewster also had trusted associates including Lt. George Smith of Smithtown and Captain Abraham Cooper Woodhull, a cousin of Setauket’s spy chief Abraham Woodhull, who was captain of one of Brewster’s whaleboats. 

In addition to twelve men, each whaleboat had a small swivel gun on the bow powerful enough to put a hole in an enemy boat below the waterline or disable a mast with a lucky shot when close in. Brewster’s three whaleboats were a potent fighting force, able to attack and capture the sloops, schooners and small British and Tory brigs that patrolled the sound or the plunderers,  who regularly attacked residents on Long Island and along the Connecticut shoreline. 

774 map of Long Island, Long Island Sound and New England. Digital copy by Bev Tyler from “The Refugees of 1776 from Long Island to Connecticut” by Frederic Mather

On December 7, 1782, Brewster and several of his whaleboats chased and attacked three enemy boats about mid-sound and captured two. Brewster was wounded when a musket ball went through his chest. He continued to fight until the enemy was captured and then collapsed. Every man on the enemy’s boats was either killed or wounded. Brewster spent many months recovering in the hospital in Black Rock. In February and March 1783, he took part in a battle off Stratford Point and commanded a Fairfield sloop which captured the British armed vessel “Fox”. Still not recovered from the boat fight, he returned home to convalesce. Brewster married Anne Lewis of Fairfield, Connecticut in  1784, and purchased a home and farm in Black Rock, Connecticut in 1788.

In 1793, Brewster was commissioned Lieutenant of the Revenue Cutter “Active”. He later became commander. In 1809, Capt. Brewster took a party of dignitaries, including the governor, on a pleasure cruise around Long Island and was later presented with a silver trophy cup which is now at the Fairfield Historical Society. Brewster retired from active service in 1816, and died in 1827 at the age of 79. Anne died in the cholera epidemic in 1834.

The story of Caleb Brewster, his whaleboats and crews, should be the subject of more stories that talk of bold actions and swift attacks, of boats and crews that appear and disappear into Long Island coves and across Long Island Sound, all the while providing vital intelligence to General Washington on British forces. The British never laid hands on Brewster, although he gave them plenty of opportunity. 

Brewster was never officially recognized for his actions. Yet his trips across Long Island Sound occurred much more frequently than is recognized by the extant intelligence reports. Brewster became the linchpin for the Culper Spy Ring as he brought both verbal and written reports from British-held Long Island and New York City through Patriot-held Connecticut to General Washington. 

Brewster and his crews were as vital to the American victory as the few U.S. Naval vessels and Continental Congress-authorized privateers, who gained lasting fame for their exploits up and down the Atlantic coast. 

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. Website: TVHS.org 

Fischetti site excavations during the summer of 1981. Three Village Historical Society photo

By Beverly C. Tyler

For over 8,000 years, indigenous people, Long Island’s original settlers, have lived here. Today Native Americans still live in Brookhaven, where their ancestors settled in coastal villages.

Setalcott Indigenous People village, Vance Locke mural at the Setauket School.
Courtesy of TVHS

According to what we know today, the first settlers reached North America at least 13,200 years ago, possibly coming across the land bridge from Asia to Alaska; these Asiatic people were the first humans on the continent. However, there are now a few other sites in North and South America, including one near Pittsburgh, PA that indicate that humans were here earlier. 

Some of the earliest North Americans are called Clovis people. Clovis refers to the Clovis Point that was used as a spear point to hunt and kill the elephant-like Mammoths and Mastodons that populated North America at that time. The Clovis point is unique to North America. It, apparently, was not developed until humans crossed into North America. During a 300 year period Clovis people spread all over North America, including Long Island, and hunted the Mastodon and Mammoth to extinction. The Clovis culture existed from about 13,200 to 12,900 BP (Before Present), coming to an end at the same time that the last Mammoth disappeared from North America. A number of Clovis points have been found on Long Island.

There are three recognized periods of Native American culture. The earliest is Paleo-lndian culture. Paleo means “of ancient origin” (Webster’s New International Dictionary). This period extends from about 12,500 to 8,000 BP. The second period is called  Archaic culture. This is the hunting & gathering period which extends from about 8,000 to 3,000 BP. The third period is called Woodland Culture, the period when Native Americans first practiced agriculture and provided the first indication of the use of clay pottery.This period extends from about 3,000 to 1,000 BP.

The period that ended the isolation of Long Island Indians is called Late Woodland culture. This second part of the Woodland period extends from about 1,000 to the calendar year 1600. Native Americans reached their highest level of art and culture during this period, which also includes the first contact with European explorers, hunters, trappers and settlers.

First residents

We don’t know all the details about life on Long Island before the Europeans came because the people living here did not leave us a written or photographic record of their lives.

Fischetti site artifact – clay pot sherd. Three Village Historical Society collection/photo

Archaeological excavations have given us most of the details of how people lived in this area as early as 5,000 years ago. One of the most famous sites in New York State was a shell midden, along Aunt Amy’s Creek, named The Stony Brook Site, excavated by State Archaeologist William Richie, in 1955. From archaeological digs by Richie and others, we know that between 5,000 to 3,000 years ago, the native people were hunters and gatherers, dependent upon hunting local animals and gathering plants, stones and clay for food, shelter, tools, clothes and medicines.

The Fischetti Site is a prehistoric Native American site that was discovered during a cultural resource investigation (evaluating the building sites to see what, if anything, is there that might be of cultural/historical significance) of a proposed residential development in November of 1980. Salvage excavations (a more intensive archaeological dig because of the press of time) continued through October of 1981.

Artifacts from the Fischetti site in Setauket, along West Meadow Creek, are from what appears to have been a site for manufacturing stone tools and spear points. 

Fischetti site artifact – stone tool. Three Village Historical Society collection/photo

The site was probably selected by the Native Americans due to the availability of drinking water and food and shelter from the elements. It was occupied by Algonquin Indians about (circa) 3300-1000 B.P. We know the Algonquian used this location then because of the type of arrow and spear points and blades recovered. The major activity here, on the edge of Stony Brook creek, was making stone tools. We know this by the large quantities of stone flakes and roughed-out stones. Although native Long Island quartz was utilized, some flints (darker, almost black in color) from upper New York State and Connecticut were recovered, indicating some trading with other native groups.

The almost total absence of food remains at the site shows that this was not the location of a village. However, a village site–The Stony Brook site–existed approximately 700 meters (765 yards) to the south, along what is now known as Aunt Amy’s Creek, during the same time period.

This stone tool manufacturing site (Fischetti Site) was an area separated from the village, since the making of stone implements involved the hazardous work of chipping stone, resulting in flakes of sharp stone pieces flying all over the area. This area was still in use by Woodland Native Americans (circa 3000 B.P . To 1600) as pieces of clay pottery appear in the upper layers of the site. (From a report by Edward J. Johannemann and Laurie S. Billadello-Long Island Archaeological Project)

The artifacts taken from the Fischetti Site are part of the collection of the Three Village Historical Society. Artifacts from the Richie Site are a part of the collection of the New York State Museum.

Fischetti site artifacts – projectile point. Three Village Historical Society collection/photo

For thousands of years the Indians used natural resources, wood, stone and animals, to make their housing, tools and clothing. About 3,000 years ago, their way of life changed with the introduction of three things: pottery, the bow and arrow and horticulture. Like the earlier American Indians, the Woodland Indians continued to rely on natural resources.

Vance Locke pictures a Setalcott village along the shoreline of Setauket in what archaeologists call the Late Woodland Period from about 1,000 years ago to about the year 1600. 

There is a hunter, a woman making wampum and women grinding corn. Men are smoking fish and spearing fish from a trap. There are many other details in this scene that can be observed. The Setalcotts relied on the use of local trees and plants in their daily lives. Many of the native trees and plants can be found along the nature trails in the Frank Melville Memorial Park and Sanctuary in Setauket. Many are listed in the book Native and Near Native by Albert Hostek.

It is important for me (personally) to say, “I wish to acknowledge that I am sitting on the land of the Setalcott Indigenous people in Setauket and I pay respect to the Setalcott people whose land is where I live.” 

Beverly C. Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. WWW.TVHS.org 

Circa 1900, East Setauket Main Street looking east. The home of Charity Jones is set back behind the last store on the right. Three Village Historical Society Photo collection

By Beverly C. Tyler

Just before the turn of the 20th century, the Three Village area presented a vastly different appearance than it does now. The shipbuilding era ended three decades before and the industries that manufactured pianos and rubber goods had come and gone. The community had only the tourist trade and some coastwise shipping and fishing to supplement the farming that had been its backbone since 1655. 

The roads through the villages were unpaved and in the late winter the narrow streets would be rutted and muddy. When it rained it was sometimes difficult, often impossible, for a horse and carriage to travel the  loam and clay roads. Where the roadway passed near an underground spring it was also often flooded. Traveling by foot was more common than today and a necessity when the roads were impassable.

The local area had fewer homes and they were often unpainted. The older shingle-covered houses presented a light gray, somewhat drab appearance as they stood alongside the uneven winding roadways.

Farms dominated the landscape through the early years of the 20th century and the fields were occasionally broken by small areas of woodland or meadow and by orchards of apple trees. 

Throughout the 19th century trees were cut to be used as firewood. Most of this wood was cut into cords and shipped to New York City to heat the many homes there. The areas where the trees were cut down were cleared of stumps, plowed and planted. Some fields were left as meadow for grazing or to recover from too many years of farming. In most places you could look from wherever you stood to where the field disappeared over a hill. The view would be broken only by a house or a small stand of trees.

The hamlet of East Setauket consisted of a group of small stores and a few homes. Surrounding the small village were fields and meadows sloping gently down to the harbor. The creek that still runs under the road divided the little commercial area almost in half and was crossed by a narrow wooden bridge that provided an unobstructed view of the stream below.

Old Shinglesides by Howard Chandler Christy July 16, 1926. Original postcard, collection of Beverly Tyler

At the east end of the village, on the south side of the road, were three homes belonging to members of the Jones family. Two of the homes, still standing in their original locations just east of the Three Village Church, belonged to Captain Benjamin Jones and his brother, Walter Jones, Jr., sons of Walter Jones, Sr. and Charity Smith Jones.

Benjamin had been master of many ships including the “Mary and Louisa” which was built in Setauket and which sailed on a three-year voyage to China and Japan while he was her captain. Walter and Charity’s home, known as Old Shinglesides, was built in 1754 and was bought in 1760 by Ebenezer Jones, Walter’s father. Walter lived there from the time he was married on Jan. 28, 1824 until he died on March 23, 1877.  As detailed in the Three Village Guidebook, “the house was called the Mansion House by members of the Jones family because it was the home of Walter, Sr., the then patriarch of the clan.”

In 1895, Charity Smith Jones, then in her 90th year, was still living in the home where she raised her family. The Mansion House was still an impressive structure both inside and out. The kitchen included a brick oven and a black settle. The dining room and sitting room were both lined with wainscoting. The sitting room included deep window seats, a number of cozy chairs and a big fireplace. The parlor, across the entry hall from the sitting room, was elegantly paneled on the ceiling and three walls with a large fireplace on the west wall. Sitting in this parlor, Charity Jones was described in an article in Popular Monthly as, “a sweet-faced old lady who is the pink of antique perfection from her spotless black cloth slippers to the white handkerchief over her head.” In the article she talked about her life. “I was born in 1806, and Captain Jones brought me to this house when I was a bride of eighteen. That was in 1824, and the house was just as old then as it is now. Yes,” she adds, with a snap of pride in the faded eyes, “I have lived in this house bride, wife and widow for seventy years, and when Captain Jones died he left it all to me.” 

The Mansion House stood on its original site until 1962 when it was moved to make room for the construction of the post office (now Elaines restaurant). Restored by Ward Melville, the house now sits comfortably along Gnarled Hollow Road overlooking a small pond. Charity Jones died on Aug. 11, 1897 in the 92nd year of her life. She is buried in the Setauket Presbyterian Church graveyard in company with many other, even older, local residents.

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. www.TVHS.org 

By Beverly C. Tyler

In 1986, Glenda Dickerson, a theater arts professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, began an oral history project with her students, interviewing members of the African American Christian Avenue community. This resulted two years later in a four-day theater program which she described as a “living exhibit…a portrait of a community past and present.” 

“When William Sidney Mount painted ‘Eel Spearing at Setauket (Fishing along Shore)’ in 1845 on contract for George Washington Strong he made, as far as we can tell, an exact representation of the landscape, but the people – painted later in his studio- are the past. The boy is thought to be William Sidney Mount himself and the woman, by tradition and folklore, is Rachel Holland Hart. They are perhaps a look back at an even earlier time when the 19th century was only in its infancy.” according to the exhibit and play “Eel Catching in Setauket” by Glenda Dickerson. It was Mount’s painting that inspired Dickerson to title her project “Eel Catching in Setauket.”

Before the theater experience, theater-goers were treated to a bus ride from the university to the African American Christian Avenue community, with a tour of the Bethel AME Church, graveyards and Legion Hall and then a meal shared with members of the community. 

In the play, the actors portraying the members of the Christian Avenue community, the members themselves who contributed their oral histories, and the theater-goers, described by Dickerson as “eel catchers,” were together on the stage as joint parts of the play. Dickerson wrote in the souvenir journal and theater program, “An eel catcher is a person who loves people and old pictures and history and characters and folklore and drama and textures and art and fun and laughter and doesn’t mind experiencing them all at one time.” 

Theodore Green, a descendant of Rachel Hart, was Glenda Dickerson’s guide and advisor, for the eel catching oral history project. In his story “The Hart-Sells Connection” in the Three Village Historical Society book “William Sidney Mount: Family, Friends, and Ideas”, Green wrote, “The woman is recognized to be Rachel Holland Hart, a housekeeper for Judge Selah Brewster Strong 3d…At the time the picture was painted, she was fifteen years of age…In planning the picture, Mount may have recalled scenes from his own childhood, when he was taught fish-spearing by an old Negro by the name of Hector.”

In the opening of the theater experience, Lynda Gravatt, portraying Rachel Holland Hart said the words Mount credits to Hector, “Slow now, we are coming on the ground. On sandy and gravelly bottoms are found the best fish. Look out for the eyes, there! Ha! Ha! He will grease my pan tonight.”

Seated behind Gravatt were the members of the Christian Avenue community. For the play, they took premier places on benches and pews in the Stony Brook University Art Center’s theatre as a dramatic feature of the presented living history.

As described by Dickerson, “The purpose of this living exhibit is to paint a portrait of a community, past and present. When you walk into the exhibit, it will be like walking into [the] souvenir journal. You will hear some of the same words. You will see the same photographs. You will see the stories leap to life as though from your own imagination.

“The photographs, the artifacts and the actors will tell stories that are sepia-toned, ebony, butterscotch and tea-rose, just like the women and men who shared their memories and their personal belongings with the project.

“The personal artifacts in the exhibit are not only displayed under glass to be contemplated in solitude and silence; they are living testaments to the warmth and generosity of Christian Avenuers. The prayer caps and church hats worn in the drama are not costumes, but actual items worn by the community. The pages of the souvenir journal, which document Bethel AME Church’s long and rich history will come to life as you read them. The eel spear Rachel Holland Hart carries is an authentic one.

“The magic circle of Christian Avenue – past and present – will stay with you. The trees have dappled the Avenue in the same way for a hundred years; the houses have held their secrets that long. Bethel’s bell has toiled seemingly forever. And the people have walked the Avenue from Setauket’s beginnings. Some of the folks lay in Laurel Hill, others in Bethel Cemetery; some have moved to far-flung places, others are still there. In my vision, they are one with the eelers and other workers who first came to Setauket, not voluntarily, and stayed to make history. In my vision, the autumnal elders will live forever, safe in the magic circle, shining like springtime. On Christian Avenue, it is forever Indian summer.” 

Beverly C. Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. WWW.TVHS.org 

Thomas Jesaitis proudly standing with his field of corn. Photo courtesy Bev Tyler’s collection

By Beverly C. Tyler

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and particularly to the present government of Russia of whom I have heretofore been a subject; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”  Naturalization oath taken by Thomas Jesaitis on May 24, 1919.

Al and his wife Doris Jesaitis in front of their East Setauket home.
1986 photo by Bev Tyler

Alphonse (Al) Jesaitis remembered fondly his parent’s story of their immigration to America in 1904. “He (Thomas Jesaitis) married my mother (Olga)…a Finn.  She was at Helsinki and she was a dressmaker. He started to travel to the United States. They went to Germany, then from Germany to Scotland and that’s where Ann (Al’s sister) was born. Then from there they went to Brooklyn.They had to go on a boat and they come on steerage.They didn’t have much money.”

After Thomas arrived in New York in 1904, he went to work as a stevedore on the docks. Ann Hilliard, Thomas’ daughter recalled. “Father came over first.  He got a room and when we came here we slept on the floor.” Thomas and Olga Jesaitis’ next three children, Alfonse, Thomas and Olga, were born in Brooklyn between 1905 and 1908.  The last two, Val and Anthony, were born in Setauket.

Al Jesaitis remembered those years. “They decided to come to Setauket. Of course, they were talking to some peopleto a lot of Lithuanians and Polish and, of course, then they thought they could come out here. He got a job as a groundsman with Tinker (Poquott)… So he worked there for a while and then when Tinker died…he went to the shipyard (in Port Jefferson) because that was the time that they were paying a pretty good salary…That was during World War I. So he worked there for quite a while and he used to get a part-time job at noon time to oil the booms – the top of the booms – the thing that swings around. After he did it for a while he said ‘Gee, I got too big a family, I might fall out and get killed.’  So he quit. But he didn’t quit his regular job.

“We bought a place up at Barker’s farm on the end of Old Post Road [now Old Post and Canterbury Blvd.]. When we were there for a while, the main thing he was interested in was becoming a citizen of the United States. So Mrs. Bartow took him to Riverhead in a Model T Ford to get his first papers. Of course to get the second papers and finally become a citizen you had to wait three years…That automatically made my mother a citizen…When he came home he was happy ‘cause he made the first step. So he went out in the woods and he cut a big hickory tree – nice slim tree – trimmed it all up and he said, ‘this is gonna be our flag pole when we become a citizen.’

 Al Jesaitis in his fireman’s rig. Photo courtesy Bev Tyler’s collection

“So three years later [on May 24, 1919], Mrs. Bartow took him back, he got his papers and he came back and he was happy, and up went the flag. And when the flag went up, course all the kids went out. And then my sister Ann, she took an enamel dish pan and a big wood spoon – you oughta see that dish pan after she got through – banging, banging, banging, you know. Then we were singing and I forget just what the song was, whether it was ‘My Country T’is of Thee’ or whatever it was, but we all sang it. That was the happy day. That’s why it’s so important about having the flag up there cause it means something to me to have a flag – we always have a flag up.” 

Al Jesaitis joined the Setauket Fire Department at the age of 18, eventually serving as chief from 1952-54. During those years Jesaitis started firefighter training. He served in the Navy during WWII and learned how the Navy fought ship fires. He also served as a Setauket school board member. During that time Ward Melville asked him to review properties for new schools. “In only one case did I disagree with Mr. Melville,” he said. “There was this moonshiner set up where the Nassakaeg school was to be built. We didn’t know who they were and I was afraid they would stay in the woods around the school. Of course we went ahead with the school. Charlie [Bickford] and I took the empty moonshine barrels to Randall’s, cut them in half and made planters out of them.” After Setauket’s merger with the Stony Brook School District, Jesaitis left the board to become Three Village School District Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds.

Jesaitis had a soft, wry sense of humor, and together with his best friend, Charlie Bickford, he could tell amusing and believable stories about the people in Setauket. Jesaitis was asked once about what was done with the chamber pot that was kept under the bed to use on cold nights when going to the outhouse was the last thing on people’s minds. “Well”, he said, “we’d just leave it until morning, it froze, of course. Then we’d take it down to the kitchen and put it on the stove to thaw.”  He made it sound so logical that the story was never questioned. Jesaitis and Bickford got a good chuckle out of that.  

Al Jesaitis  died on Oct. 1, 1992.  He was the proud son of immigrant parents who, along with hundreds of thousands of others, came to America to find a better life and in turn made life better for all of us. 

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730, www.TVHS.org