Assembly, which I suppose you have received afore this time. As the spring vacancy draws nigh, I begin to think of coming home, and I believe I shall want to bring home a pretty large bundle, as a good many of my shirts begin to wear out and some of my stockings, together with these I designed to have brought home, my cloath for a coat and some of my books which I make no use of, which I fear I shall not be able to perform, as having nothing but a pillow case which I was put to great difficulty with when I went home last, unless I had a pair of saddle-bags or some other conveniency, or could get a passage directly home in some boat, tho' I have not heard from you, whether you designed to send a boat on purpose. I should be glad to hear whether it is worth while to bring all the things home which I have mentioned or in what manner I shall act, and I remain with love to all, your loving and dutiful

son,

"JONATH. N'LL. HAVENS."

The third trustee of the original board, Mr. William Bowditch, was born on this island about the year of 1751. He was the son of Joel Bowditch and Bethiah Case. His father was one of the twenty men who founded the Town in 1730.

Mr. Bowditch at the time of his selection as Trustee was Overseer of the Poor. He continued to serve the Town in various offices until 1794, when he was chosen Supervisor, which office he held for twenty years. Thus from 1784 to the time of his death, in 1820, he served the Town in almost every capacity, a period of thirty-six years. While as trustee he served this society from its incorporation, 1785, with the exception of three years, likewise until his death, a period of thirty-two years. He is best remembered as Squire Bowditch, and is considered by some to have been the moving spirit in the building of the present sanctuary.

That Board of Trustees has continued in existence down to the present time, and as it is characteristic of such Boards to continue in existence as long as the corporation which they represent continues to exist, and further, as this corporation gives every evidence of unending life, it is fair to assume that the Board will continue to exist until the end of time. Besides this, as the Rev. Mr. Harries said in his historical discourse, we may properly date the origin of this congregation from the time of the completion of the first meeting house, namely, in 1743. So that this assembly has existed

by regular succession one hunderd and fifty-five years. You will notice that we are thus speaking of the existence of the religious assembly or congregation on this island, not the church, for as yet we have not reached the time when God in His Grace gathered together a body in which to dwell a sanctuary "made up of living stones."

At this date it is said there still lived quite a large number of Indians on the island. This conflicts somewhat with a previous statement that upon the purchase of the island from the Indians the latter left the island. Perhaps not all, but only a portion. However, what is here said is substantiated by good and sufficient evidence. The huts and wigwams of these remaining Indians formed quite a village on Sachem's Neck. In 1790 more than half of these were destroyed through fire, which broke out in one of them one morning, and spread to the rest, as they were pitched so near together. Some of the aborigines are remembered by those living and present with us at this time. The last of this race became the subject of a remarkable conversion, under the early ministry of the Rev. Daniel M. Lord, who speaks of her in particular in one of his sermons as follows:

"Of the fruits of this precious refreshing from the presence of the Lord twelve were gathered into the church at one communion season. Among these was one, the last of the aborigines who was born on Shelter Island. She had lived in ignorance and in the detriment of sin, without God and without hope in the world. More than fourscore years had made its deep furroughs on her brow. She had often sold herself to letchery and rum. It may be said for many, many years that no one cared for her soul. But God's time came, when all her race had been laid in the grave, and all those whom she had known in her youth were beneath the clods of the valley, then it was that God's word was spirit and life.

"The small amount of truth which she had heard, for she could not read in all her lifetime, had a resurrection. She was created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, that she might walk in them. There are those present to-day (1856) who remember the bowed form but robust frame of Betty Tobs Caeser. They remember also the change that came over her. How she adjured the intoxicating cup and forsook her wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts and returned unto the Lord, who had mercy and abundantly pardoned. They saw the change and admired the grace that kindled in her heart

the flame of love to God and to man. Not this alone, there are some still lingering on these mortal shores who have listened to her voice. in prayer and have been constrained to feel that her lips were touched with hallowed fire. Nor can they forget the scene of the last conflict of the dying Indian saint as visions of unutterable glory burst upon her sight. Each who witnessed that closing scene felt for the Christian to die is gain. Twenty-one years are past and yet the vision of that hour stands out before me as the sun of yesterday. Oh! death where is thy sting. Oh! grave where is thy victory. Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

In looking over the first inventory of this religious corporation we notice that no real estate is mentioned, though it is well known that a church building existed on this island. We are led to ask, therefore, to whom did that building belong? It belonged to certain freeholders on this island who were instrumental in its erection. All its pews were under the control of certain families, who possessed the sole and exclusive right to the same. In 1806 the parish sought to increase the seating capacity of the original building, and so they passed the following resolution: "Voted that the Pews occupied by Benjamin Nicoll, William Bowditch, Sylvester Dering, and James Havens, be made narrower so as to make room for a Pew in front of James Havenses pew and the next seat and another in front of William Bowditches Pew and the next seat, and that the Pews of Benjamin Nicoll, William Bowditch and Sylvester Dering, and James Havens be moved back at the expense of the Parish, to be paid by the Trustees out of the Public monies in their hands, that any person wishing to build a pew in either of these places, left for the purpose, may do it, by application to the Trustees on the following conditions, to wit, that they build the pews at their expense, keeping an exact account thereof, to be delivered to the Trustees, and that they, their heirs and assigns have use, &c., and occupy those pews untill called for by the Parish, when Parish shall pay the person who built them, their Heirs and Assigns, the price the Pews cost, after which they shall deliver them to the society." In 1808 the Parish sought to get control of all the pews, as the following minutes of that date will show: "Voted that the Trustees consult the owners of Pews in the Meeting House, and know of them if they will sell them, and at what price, and if all the owners of Pews will sell, to call a Parish meeting that the Parish may determine to

purchase them or not." The purchase was never effected; and the whole system of ownership continued until the original building passed out of use because of decay.

Looking once more at that inventory, we see that the amount of personal property is given as £166 14s. 71d., or about $830. This shows that the legacy of Brinley Sylvester, amounting to £100, given in 1752, had increased to one and two-thirds of the original amount. It continued to grow so that the Trustees in the next inventory of 1793 reported it as about amounting to £188, or $940. The Society was thus in position to secure the preached Word, and did so by applying to the Presbytery of Long Island at its spring meeting, held at Southampton Apr. 21, 1789. The following item is to be found in the minutes of that date: "Mr. John Taylor, a candidate for the ministry from Connecticut, was appointed to preach at Sag Harbor and Shelter Island, they applying for supplies."

About this time Mr. Stephen Burroughs, author of "Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs," was engaged to teach school in this place. He speaks at some length in his "Memoirs" of his labors here as a school teacher, and mentions a number of citizens of that date with whom he lived and mingled.

Under date of Oct. 1st, 1795, we have the first reference in our Town records to the slaves that were on this island. According to the second census list there were thirty-three slaves on Shelter Island in 1776. These were owned as follows: five by Mr. Thomas Dering, fourteen by Mr. Nicoll Havens, two by Mr. Daniel Brown, ten by Mr. William Nicoll, and two by Mr. Obadiah Havens. Twenty-one of these were male and the balance were female negroes. At the close of the Revolution the chief principle in the bringing about of which was "that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," measures were taken to abolish the custom of slavery which had existed among the various colonies from their very inception. On February 22, 1788, the Legislature of New York passed an act for the manumitting of slaves within the Empire State. According to this act, slaves under the age of fifty years who were physically able to support themselves and thus not liable to become a charge upon the Town, could be given their freedom by their owners upon application to the overseers of the poor and justices of the peace of the county, subject to their approval. In accordance with this mea

sure, on October 1, 1795, Mr. Sylvester Dering, Mr. Henry Dering and Mr. Nathaniel Gardiner applied for the privilege of manumitting a negro woman slave called "Matilda," of which they were the owners. These gentlemen being sons and son-in-law of Mr. Thomas Dering, deceased, had by inheritance come into possession of this slave, and now desired to give her her freedom. The privilege was granted, and Matilda was, according to the Town records, the first slave to gain her freedom on Shelter Island. In 1799 Rensselaer Havens sought the same privilege for one of his slaves, named "Dick," which was granted. The same year Samuel B. Nicoll released three of his slaves, who were father, mother and child, named respectively, Cade, Elizabeth and Armenie. In 1801 Desire Havens released a negro woman called "Fide." In 1806 Sylvester Dering did the same for one called "Violet," while in 1821 his widow released a slave called "London." Under date of June 1, 1804, Sylvester Dering makes affidavit to the birth of "Achilles, a male negro child born of a slave" belonging to him, and born the 10th day of February, 1804. These comprise all the references toward slaves and slavery as it existed on Shelter Island to be found in our Town records.

In 1794 it was voted "That one years Interest of the monies belonging to the Freeholders and Inhabitants of this Town for the support of the Gospel be appropriated by the Trustees for that purpose: and paid into the hands of Benjamin Nicoll, James Havens and Sylvester Dering, who are hereby appointed our Committee to procure a Person to Preach the Gospel in this place and to pay the same as they may agree, not exceeding the rate of four dollars for each Sabbath." The same year we find this curious entry in the Town records: "At a Special Town Meeting (held April 29th, 1794) called for the purpose of regulating the clam fishery, it was resolved that a tax of three pence, for every bushel of clams dug by noninhabitants of the island, the proceeds of which save 20% was to be paid into the hands of the Religious Society for the purpose of supporting the gospel or maintaining a school on the said island as the freeholders and inhabitants of said island shall at their annual Town Meetings direct." The way they, however, disposed of this tax was to repeal it the next year; at the same time directing what revenue had been received from it should be placed in the hands of a School Committee consisting of William Bowditch and Ezekial Havens, to be disposed of by them for school purposes. The reso