running across Long Island at Riverhead. This territory was possessed by four tribes of Indians, the first of which was the "Manhansetts," of this island, whose Sachem was called "Yoco." The second was the "Montauks," living on the southern strip of Long Island, east of Easthampton, and whose Sachem was called “Waiandance." The third was the "Shinnecocks," living in the region of Canoe Place and eastward to perhaps Easthampton, the Sachem of which was called, at this time, "Witaneymen" or "Weenaganim.' The fourth tribe was the "Corchaugs," who possessed the whole of the northern strip of Long Island now comprised in the townships of Southold and Riverhead, whose Sachem was called "Momoweta."

The Sachems or chiefs of these four tribes were brothers, the oldest of them being "Yoco," the Shelter Island Sachem. He was the Grand Sachem, and was called "the Sachem of Paumanack," meaning "the land of tribute" or "contributing," as the eastern end of Long Island was termed; derived, as we have seen, from the fact that the Indians in this region paid tribute, first to the Pequoits and afterwards to the English of New England; Indian names, be it remembered, being invariably descriptive of locality and characteristics. Our Yoco, however, was not only Grand Sachem of these four tribes, but over all the tribes of Long Island, at least as far west as Hempstead. He thus had ten or fifteen Sachems under him to whom his word was law; the four Sachems of the tribes in this region having taken under their protection all the other tribes as far west as the Rockaways in Hempstead town. This protectorship was agreed upon and confirmed May 29, 1645, by Rockouw, the great Sachem of Cotsjewaninck (Ahaquazuwamminck). See Colonial History of New York, Vol. XIV., p. 60, and Plymouth Colonial Records, Vol. IX., p. 18. Our Indian Chief Yoco was the principal party in making the various conveyances of land to the English, in the eastern half of Long Island, as the deeds of those early days will show. It was from him that Lion Gardiner purchased Gardiner's Island, May 3, 1639. In the deed of conveyance his name is given as "Yovowan" and his wife's as "Aswaw."

But we must return again to our starting point in the year of 1637, for that year is of importance to us, not only as bearing the first reference to this island, but as the year in which the Earl of Sterling, having acquired the whole of Long Island and its adjacent islands, through a grant from the English colony of Plymouth, given upon request of King Charles the First, commissioned one James

Farrett to be his agent in disposing of this territory, for which service he was given the privilege of selecting as his own ten thousand of the best acres of the whole domain. With this commission bearing date of April 20, 1637, a copy of which can be seen in the Town Clerk's office of Southampton, Mr. Farrett sailed early in 1638. Upon his arrival in the new world he examined the whole of the territory covered by his master's patent; and, as one has well said, "with unerring judgment chose Shelter Island together with its little neighbor, Robbins Island, as his portion," according to the terms of his commission. By virtue of this choice and grant our island was first known among the English as "Mr. Farrett's Island.” It is thus referred to in the deed of Southampton drawn up in 1639 or '40, which can be seen in the Southampton Town Clerk's office and is known as "Mr. Farrett's patent." Mr. Farrett, however, did not make this island his home, but simply selected it for his own commercial purposes. He soon disposed of it to a Mr. Stephen Goodyear, a merchant of high standing in the New Haven Colony, who bought it in the early part of 1641, and who shortly after the purchase became Deputy Governor of the New Haven Colony. Some three or four months after purchasing it, Mr. Goodyear sought to dispose of this island to the New Haven Company, as the following entry, bearing date of August 30, 1641, will show, namely: "Mr. Goodyear propounded his purchase of Mr. Farrett's Island to the town, but it was not accepted." Not being able to dispose of the island, it continued in his possession for ten years, or until 1651, when he sold it to a company of four gentlemen by the names of Thomas Middleton, Thomas Rouse, Nathaniel Sylvester and Constant Sylvester. The amount that these gentlemen paid to Mr. Goodyear for Shelter Island was "sixteen hundred pounds of good merchantable muscovado sugar," or a cash equivalent of from fifty to one hundred dollars.

As the years during which Mr. Goodyear remained the owner of this island are memorable ones in the history of England, the mother country, and the memorable events of that decade bear directly on the settlement of this island by at least one of the four gentlemen who purchased it in 1651, we will tarry a moment to dwell upon this period. As you know, it is the period taken up by the English revolution under Oliver Cromwell, that political upheaval which dethroned King Charles the First and his son and successor, King Charles the Second. It is the period of the Long Parliament. It is

running across Long Island at Riverhead. This territory was possessed by four tribes of Indians, the first of which was the "Manhansetts," of this island, whose Sachem was called "Yoco." The second was the "Montauks," living on the southern strip of Long Island, east of Easthampton, and whose Sachem was called “Waiandance." The third was the "Shinnecocks," living in the region of Canoe Place and eastward to perhaps Easthampton, the Sachem of which was called, at this time, "Witaneymen" or "Weenaganim." The fourth tribe was the "Corchaugs," who possessed the whole of the northern strip of Long Island now comprised in the townships of Southold and Riverhead, whose Sachem was called "Momoweta."

The Sachems or chiefs of these four tribes were brothers, the oldest of them being "Yoco," the Shelter Island Sachem. He was the Grand Sachem, and was called "the Sachem of Paumanack," meaning "the land of tribute" or "contributing," as the eastern end of Long Island was termed; derived, as we have seen, from the fact that the Indians in this region paid tribute, first to the Pequoits and afterwards to the English of New England; Indian names, be it remembered, being invariably descriptive of locality and characteristics. Our Yoco, however, was not only Grand Sachem of these four tribes, but over all the tribes of Long Island, at least as far west as Hempstead. He thus had ten or fifteen Sachems under him to whom his word was law; the four Sachems of the tribes in this region having taken under their protection all the other tribes as far west as the Rockaways in Hempstead town. This protectorship was agreed upon and confirmed May 29, 1645, by Rockouw, the great Sachem of Cotsjewaninck (Ahaquazuwamminck). See Colonial History of New York, Vol. XIV., p. 60, and Plymouth Colonial Records, Vol. IX., p. 18. Our Indian Chief Yoco was the principal party in making the various conveyances of land to the English, in the eastern half of Long Island, as the deeds of those early days will show. It was from him that Lion Gardiner purchased Gardiner's Island, May 3, 1639. In the deed of conveyance his name is given as "Yovowan" and his wife's as "Aswaw.”

But we must return again to our starting point in the year of 1637, for that year is of importance to us, not only as bearing the first reference to this island, but as the year in which the Earl of Sterling, having acquired the whole of Long Island and its adjacent islands, through a grant from the English colony of Plymouth, given upon request of King Charles the First, commissioned one James

Farrett to be his agent in disposing of this territory, for which service he was given the privilege of selecting as his own ten thousand of the best acres of the whole domain. With this commission bearing date of April 20, 1637, a copy of which can be seen in the Town Clerk's office of Southampton, Mr. Farrett sailed early in 1638. Upon his arrival in the new world he examined the whole of the territory covered by his master's patent; and, as one has well said, "with unerring judgment chose Shelter Island together with its little neighbor, Robbins Island, as his portion," according to the terms of his commission. By virtue of this choice and grant our island was first known among the English as "Mr. Farrett's Island." It is thus referred to in the deed of Southampton drawn up in 1639 or '40, which can be seen in the Southampton Town Clerk's office and is known as "Mr. Farrett's patent." Mr. Farrett, however, did not make this island his home, but simply selected it for his own commercial purposes. He soon disposed of it to a Mr. Stephen Goodyear, a merchant of high standing in the New Haven Colony, who bought it in the early part of 1641, and who shortly after the purchase became Deputy Governor of the New Haven Colony. Some three or four months after purchasing it, Mr. Goodyear sought to dispose of this island to the New Haven Company, as the following entry, bearing date of August 30, 1641, will show, namely: "Mr. Goodyear propounded his purchase of Mr. Farrett's Island to the town, but it was not accepted." Not being able to dispose of the island, it continued in his possession for ten years, or until 1651, when he sold it to a company of four gentlemen by the names of Thomas Middleton, Thomas Rouse, Nathaniel Sylvester and Constant Sylvester. The amount that these gentlemen paid to Mr. Goodyear for Shelter Island was "sixteen hundred pounds of good merchantable muscovado sugar," or a cash equivalent of from fifty to one hundred dollars.

As the years during which Mr. Goodyear remained the owner of this island are memorable ones in the history of England, the mother country, and the memorable events of that decade bear directly on the settlement of this island by at least one of the four gentlemen who purchased it in 1651, we will tarry a moment to dwell upon this period. As you know, it is the period taken up by the English revolution under Oliver Cromwell, that political upheaval which dethroned King Charles the First and his son and successor, King Charles the Second. It is the period of the Long Parliament. It is

also the period of the Westminster Assembly, that ecclesiastical body which formulated our Confession of Faith and Catechism. It is the period in which Puritanism and Presbyterianism, after a whole century of oppression, came to the top, and Prelacy and Episcopalianism went to the bottom. Because of this change in public affairs, the exodus of Independants and Puritans which had been going on for upward of twenty years, ceased. So far as the Puritans were concerned, it had lasted twelve years, during which some thirty thousand of these God-fearing men had come to America's shores. Now, however, the King had been checked in his persecution. A struggle for supremacy between the King and Parliament had arisen. He endeavored to dissolve his Parliament, but was thwarted and driven into exile; afterwards taken prisoner, tried, condemned and beheaded in 1649. Oliver Cromwell was victorious. The royalists were crushed; and in turn they now sought out an asylum where they might take refuge. Hearing of the success of the Pilgrims and Puritans in this land, they turned their attention to this new world, and so they, like the Pilgrims and Puritans before them, took refuge in America. "Had there been no Oliver Cromwell," says one writer concerning our island, "Had there been no Oliver Cromwell, Shelter Island would have had a very different, and doubtless much more prosaic history," for it was that overthrow of the King by Oliver Cromwell that led the first settlers upon this island to leave England and come to America's shores. You can see then how the events of those years in England influenced the history of Shelter Island.

Then, too, the events that happened on this side of the Atlantic during those years are important to us. For here, too, there was a struggle for supremacy, between the Dutch who had settled about the Hudson River, and the English who had settled in New England. Both nations contended that Long Island with its adjacent islands belonged to them, and sought to take possession. But as both could not possess it, they at last agreed to divide it between them; the Dutch to take the western half and the English the eastern half; the dividing line to extend across the island from the western boundary of Oyster Bay straight to the ocean. This agreement was signed September 19, 1650, and was sent to England and Holland for ratification. England, however, refused to recognize the claim of the Dutch, and the result was a war, in which the Dutch were badly defeated. Such was the condition of things when Mr.