HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY with illustrations, Portraits & Sketches of Prominent Families and Individuals. New York: W.W. Munsell & Co.; 1882. pp. 49-55.
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CHAPTER I.

CIVIL HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY- CRIMES AND PENALTIES- THE COURT-HOUSE- OFFICIALS.

FROM the first settlement of the towns till the English conquest in 1664 minor offenses were tried in the town courts, without appeal; but graver cases were appealable to the Dutch governor in New Amsterdam. In 1665 Richard Nicolls, the English governor, ordered a convention to assemble at Hempstead, which promulgated "the duke’s laws," a written copy of which remains on file in some of the towns to this day. In 1683 the General Assembly repealed some of the objectionable laws, and appointed town courts to be held monthly and a court of sessions to be held annually at Jamaica; also a yearly court of oyer and terminer. At this session of the Assembly Queens county was created from what had been Yorkshire. In I691 the courts of common pleas and general sessions were organized more definitely. Most of the court records have been dispersed or lost. A few tattered volumes may be yet found in the clerk’s offices of the several towns. A volume of the minutes of the common pleas and general sessions from 1720 to 1774 is still preserved in the county clerk’s office. Judge Lewis Morris has left a volume of his minutes of the supreme court and oyer and terminer from 1722 to 1746. The judges were pompous. Those of the supreme court wore red silk gowns, flowing wigs of powdered hair, breeches buckled at the knee, stockings and shoes fastened on with very large silver buckles. They had a high sense of their dignity. A body of soldiers at the beginning of a court escorted the judges from their lodgings to the court-house, attended with much company, in great pomp, with trumpets and other music before them. One Samuel Bownas having (in 1702) preached against the sacraments and baptism of the Church of England, the chief justice, John Bridges, had a desire to have him indicted for that offense. He charged the grand jury, having first called over their names, and sent them out to find a true bill against him. Bownas had taken the precaution to lay before the jury some minutes of his proposed defense, and when they returned into court they presented the bill against him indorsed "Ignoramus." The judge was very angry and demanded their reasons. A grand juror answered, "We are sworn to keep our deliberations secret." The judge was nettled and replied: "Now Mr. Wiseman speaks! You are not so sworn, and I have a mind to lay you by the heels (that is, put you in the stocks) and fine you." The grand juror replied, "Neither grand nor petit jurors are to be menaced, but are to act freely and to the best of their judgment." Now the judge, finding he had not children to deal with, began to flatter, and requested the jury to take back "the bill " and resume consideration on it. Next morning the judge asked the foreman, "How find you the bill?" Answer: "As yesterday." The judge then charged the jury with obstructing justice. The clerk then by Order of the judge called over the jurors singly to show their reasons. Some refused to say more than "That’s our verdict"; others said, " How unreasonable for the court to try to perjure the jurors by revealing their secrets!" The jury stood 15 to 7. This angered the judge so that he adjourned the court for six weeks, ordered the prisoner to be kept closer than before and threatened to send him to London. In October 1703 the prisoner was again put on trial; the sheriff called 18 men for a grand jury, but they too came into court with their bill signed "Ignoramus," which made some of the lawyers say, by way of a joke, that they had got into an ignoramus county. The prisoner was led into court and discharged. In 1702 the governor ordered the attorney-general to take measures in the supreme court for the removal from office of Justices John Talman and Jonathan Whitehead for speaking disrespectfully of the Holy Scriptures. In 1719 some inhabitants of Jamaica complained to the governor of "the evil doings" of several of the justices of the peace, and "pray that they may be ousted from office. They are: (1 Jonathan Whitehead, who is a common pleader for money at the petty courts of justice, whereby he makes £60 per year, and is a card-player also. He daily vexes and teases the people of Newtown (for a debt which he says they owe him) before petty justices’ courts, and once tried to rescue a prisoner out of the officer’s hands. (2) John Smith, who would not notice informations made against one John Turner for speaking treasonable words against the king, and where he was sole judge has given a contrary judgment, once for the plaintiff and again for the defendant. (3) John Clement favored Whitehead, a brother justice, in a case where the defendant, refusing to pay an unjust assessment, was tossed from town to town to wait on 9 courts successively. (4) William Cornell has out-braved the law and taken upon himself in his petty justice’s court to give judgment on a case of £3, expressly against the letter of the law, and has been indicted for robbing persons of their fish and clothing. (5) John Hunt has been an instrument of oppression to his poor neighbors in Newtown. He once summoned a man before him for an act done out of the county, referred it to arbitration, then resumed the action; and cast the defendant. Again, upon the accidental breaking of a shoe-buckle in his presence, he called a court and gave judgment against the defendant for six shillings damages and three dollars costs, without allowing him time to prepare his defense He has also assumed the office of constable, and summoned a man to appear before himself in his own court, gave the plaintiff four shillings more than his debt, and allowed six shillings to himself, there being no evidences. And to crown all they have, after agreement in cabal, unitedly and arbitrarily turned out our church wardens, fined each and given out executions against them without signifying their sentence, and have also invaded the privileges of the vestry in giving away the people’s money without the vestry’s consent." The justices were not removed from office. In 1773 Governor Tryon by a writ of supersedeas removed Samuel Smith, of Jamaica, from his office of justice of the peace. In 1705 Roger Mompesson, chief justice, held a court in Jamaica and sentenced one Samuel Wood to be burnt on the cheek, near the nose, with the letter T (signifying thief) for stealing money and goods from John Marsh. In 1724 the judges of the supreme court ordered Richard Bradley, attorney-general, to prosecute the justices of Queens county for the insufficiency of their jail. In 1702 some people of the county complained to the General Assembly of the erection of a court of chancery, with its exorbitant fees and arbitrary orders. In this court the Rev. Joshua Bloomer entered a suit for the recovery of his salary. The governor, being chancellor, awarded him his salary from the day of his induction, 1769 to 1774, each party to pay their own costs. -In 1727 Adam Smith, for scandalizing Justice Johannes Van Wyck, was fined 20 shillings. -In 1744 Ephraim Cheeseman at the court of sessions covered his head with his hat and refused to take the oath, under pretense of being a Quaker; but as he had no certificate thereof he was committed to prison and fined three shillings and costs. -In 1733, Justice James Dickinson coming into court and telling them that they (the judges) would not do him justice, the sheriff was ordered to take him into custody. On his submission and petition he was discharged. -In 1729 one Jacob Forman was tried for counterfeiting. The court ordered the constable to keep the jury from meat and drink, fire or candle, till they agreed. -In 1742 one Abraham Shulter pleaded guilty to his indictment and the court ordered him fifteen lashes on his naked back immediately. Before the present century Queens county had no district attorney, but one from New York performed that duty. The more eminent lawyers also resided in New York. Among them were : Jacob Regnier and Major Bickley, 1710; John Chanlers, 1723; Dongan, Rice, Kelly, Bragg, William Smith, 1727; Lodge, Lurturg, 1730; Benjamin Nicolls, Anthony White, 1740; Crannel, 1753, Duane, Emmot, 1757; Reade, 1758; Burnet, Alsop, 1760; Benjamin Kissam, 1762; McKesson, 1769; Joseph Reid jr., John Jay, 1770; Willetts, DePeyster, 1772; Helme, Murray, 1772. The practitioners in the inferior courts were residents in the county, such as : Samuel Clawes, father and son, 1710-53; Peter Chook, 1687; Slos and Whitehead Hicks, 1760; Slos and Daniel Jones (who finally rose to eminence), 1760; Riker, 1763; Abner Skinner, Eliphalet Wickes, B.F. Thompson, William H. Barroll, Thomas C. Pinckney, 1825; W.T. McCoun, Wessel S. Smith, &c. In the early settlement of the county crimes of a deeper dye were unknown. The settlers were a sort of communists. They early took measures to keep interlopers and strangers of unknown character out of their bounds, no sojourner being allowed to stay over a day and a night unless his host would become surety for his good behavior and save the town from any expense on his account. By degrees, however, bad men got among them. They had also slaves, who being ignorant and brutal, and sometimes overworked and ill-treated, became lawless. The overseers of the towns could inflict the milder punishments, but an appeal could usually be taken (under the Dutch) to the director-general in New York. Under the English government courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction were established. There was no jail in the county before 1670, and criminals were sometimes sent to New York for imprisonment. For smaller offenses the punishments were speedy. Offenders were banished, whipped, set in the stocks or pillory, and sometimes branded or "stigmatized" with a hot iron. For slaves the punishments were more severe. In New York for murdering the whites they were broken on the wheel, suspended alive in an iron case by chains to a gibbet and left to starve. We will now give some instances of the peculiar punishments inflicted by our ancestors in Queens county: January 8th 1856 the court sentenced John Smith, of Newtown, for stealing pigs, to be beaten severely with rods, and then to be marked and banished. July 5th 1667 Thomas Etherington, of Newtown, was sentenced to sit for two hours in the stocks, for stealing two hens; and his wife for her misbehavior to sit two days at the same, on the next monthly court day. In 1668- "If John Jacobson don’t return the goods he stole he shall be turned out of Newtown." October 4th 1671 William Hubbs was sentenced to a fine of 5 pounds or to an infliction of ten stripes for hog stealing. In 1672 Andries, a slave of William Lawrence, was given 39 stripes and branded on the forehead with a hot iron for stealing some linen at Jamaica. January 15th 1764 John Jennings, for abstracting law papers, was set in the stocks for two hours, with a paper pinned on his breast, signifying his crime. February 9th 1674, there being no "lock up" at Flushing, the court sent one James, "a dangerous fellow," to New York to be kept in prison there. July 14th 1694 the town of Newtown voted that a pair of stocks be set up. They got worn out by exposure to the weather, and April 3d 1711 it was again voted to build a pair of stocks for the town’s use. William Howard was chosen "negro whipper" of Oyster Bay from 1717 to 1722 John Taylor was chosen "town whipper" from 1733 to 1737; James Rosell from 1738 to 1740; William Ingram in 1741, and in 1733, At town meeting, John Baker was chosen whipper "for Hempstead and the bounds thereof." December 4th 1727 David Wallace and David Wilson, for passing counterfeit bills, were sentenced to stand in the pillory at Jamaica one hour, then to be placed in a cart so as to be publicly seen with a halter about their necks, brought to the public whipping post, and there to receive, the former thirty-nine lashes, the latter twenty-eight stripes; after which they were to be imprisoned, the former six months and the latter three months. April 4th 1727 Newtown voted that William Tallier should be the "general whipper" for the town. February 20th 1755 Quamino, a slave, having threatened a witness, the court ordered him twenty lashes on his bare back. January 18th 1772 Hempstead paid Benjamin Hall £1 for making a pair of stocks for the town’s use, and in May 1784 paid £2 IS, for building another pair. April 4th 1772 Joseph Price was chosen whipper for the town of Jamaica. In 1773 the town of Hempstead ordered a "cage" to be erected as a place of confinement for lesser criminals. April 6th 1784 the town of Oyster Bay voted that one or more pail of stocks be erected where the justices thought necessary. The town of North Hempstead voted in 1785 that stock~ be erected at the public expense, and in 1806 that stock be erected at William and Dobson Allen’s inn, Manhasset. November 10th 1788 the county court sentenced John Green for horse stealing to receive thirty-nine lashes or his naked back "this afternoon, and thirty-nine more to-morrow, and then to depart the county." November 8th 1790 David Devoe, for stealing a horse worth £5 was sentenced to receive immediately thirty-nine lashes on his bare back, "and the like infliction every forty-eight hours until he shall have received one hundred and fifty-six lashes, and then to depart the county." January 11th 1791 John Bellard, of Newtown, was whipped. June 11th 1791 there was paid Jonah Hallett, sheriff, £ 8s "for executing a wench Nelly and whipping sundry persons." April 4th 1797 it was voted in town meeting that a "cage" be erected in Jamaica. October 12th 1808 there was paid Nicholas Wyckoff, sheriff, $12.50 as the expenses of executing Benjamin Tuin. John Williams, constable, was paid $1.50 for attending said execution. The last whipping noted on the record occurred October 6th 1810. February 2nd 1708 an Indian "Sam" and a negress, slaves of William Hallett jr., of Newtown, for the murder of their master, his wife and five children, were burnt at the stake at Jamaica, and put to all torments possible for a terror to others. Water in a horn fastened to a pole was reached to their mouths to allay their thirst and so prolong their sufferings. Two more negroes were executed as accessories to the crime. December 17th 1714 Deborah Gryce was executed at Jamaica for causing the death of her infant child, January 1st 1715 a free negro woman was executed for the same crime. December 30th 1726 Samuel, a negro slave of’ John Foster, was hanged for burglary. September 15th 1733 Edward King, a tinker, was hanged for killing William Smith on the road near Flushing, by a stab in the breast with a knife. October 13th 1740 Richard Combs was hanged for burglary in robbing the house of John Hinchman, in Jamaica, of money and goods. November 2nd 1784 William Guthrie and Joseph Alexander were hanged at Jamaica for robbing the house of Thomas Thorne, on the east shore of Manhasset. October 15th 1790 Nellie, a slave of Daniel Braine, was hanged for setting fire to the house of J. Vanderbilt, town clerk of Flushing, whereby all the town records were consumed. October 25th 1793 Absalom, a negro, was hanged for a robbery and assault on Miss Elizabeth Mercier on the highway in Newtown. September 8th 1808 Benjamin Tuin was hanged for killing Adam Gordon with a hoe at Jerusalem; both colored; cause jealousy. March 12th 1853 Thomas Atchison was hanged for the murder of Rulef Voorhies, of Hempstead. January 15th 1875 Lewis Jarvis and Elbert Jackson, blacks, were executed for the murder of Jackson Jones at Jerusalem. December 10th 1875 William Delancy was executed. It is not easy to ascertain when the first court-house and prison was erected, as for many years after the settlement of the towns the higher grades of crime were tried and punished in New York. In 1674 the court of Flushing, for want of a jail or "lock-up," sent one James, "a dangerous fellow," to New York for safe-keeping there. For minor offenses the towns had "a cage" for brief imprisonment. In January 1666 it was ordered that a sessions-house and prison be built in Jamaica, and that £10 be levied on the several towns for that purpose. The people of Jamaica agreed to keep it in repair for 21 years, on condition of being allowed to worship in it on Sundays. The contractor, William Hallett, failed to perform his contract, and in 1669 the court decided that the building must be completed by next Christmas day or he be fined £20. In 1702 Samuel Bownas, a Friend, was imprisoned here for preaching against the Church of England. He complained of being put in a small room made of logs, which had been protested against as an unlawful prison. His friends, however, furnished him with a very good bed and all things necessary to life. In 1708 divers of the principal inhabitants of Queens county petitioned the General Assembly for the enactment of a law to repair or build anew the County Hall (as it was then called) and the common jail. In 1708 an act was passed to enable the supervisors to sell the old hall and prison, and to confirm the purchase of new ones. The proceedings seem to have been dilatory, for in 1720 a bill was brought into the Assembly to empower the justices of the county to sell the hall and jail in Jamaica, and build another where they should think most convenient. In 1723 they were authorized to merely repair the old buildings; but in 1724 another bill was introduced in the Assembly to enable the justices to finish and complete the building already erected. It was not a perfectly secure prison, for in 1738 two prisoners broke jail, and were advertised very minutely. One, William Wiggins, had gray hair and a very long visage. He wore a homespun coat, old sheep-skin breeches and a broad-brimmed beaver hat. The other, Amos Langdon, was slow of speech, had on a gray worsted coat, old leather breeches, dog-skin shoes and a narrow-brimmed beaver. George Reynolds, under sheriff, offered £13 reward for their recovery. In 1771 Thomas Willett, sheriff, gave notice that two Jews, Levi Moses and Theodorus Benjamin, having been imprisoned many years for debt, broke jail. The jail was much used for the imprisonment of debtors. Joseph Smith and Nathaniel Pearsall lay there many years. Though they offered to give up all their property, their creditors were inexorable. They finally (1741) petitioned the General Assembly for relief. Negroes found roaming around the country without a pass were also liable to be taken up and put in jail. Thus in 1762 William Watts arrested a negro fellow in the meadows near Jamaica, who probably spoke either Spanish or French, for he would not speak English. In 1764 Daniel Hewlett put a negro man in jail who said his master’s name was Joseph Hendricks. "The owner may have him (if he don’t get out of jail) on paying for trouble and charges." He wore a hat with no brim, old stocking-leggins, blue breeches and no shoes. During the Revolutionary war the British commander tore down the old court-house and carried off the materials to construct barracks and huts for the soldiers stationed in and around Jamaica, so that at the peace in1783 there was no place for confining prisoners. They were kept under a guard of militia temporarily and then sent off to New York for safe keeping. Very considerable expenses were incurred in thus escorting prisoners to and from the city by a body of mounted militia. The old stone Presbyterian church was used as a courthouse in 1784, when two robbers were sentenced to be hanged at Beaver Pond. In that year the agitation of the site of a new jail and court-house had been commenced. The eastern people petitioned the Legislature to have it set at the west end of Hempstead Plains; the western people prayed that any future building might be at or near the old site in Jamaica. The Legislature, taking all the petitions into consideration, decided (March 31st 1785) on a geographical center, and that £2,000 should be raised by the supervisors to build a court-house and jail within a mile of the "Windmill Pond" at or near the house of Benjamin Cheeseman, near the south bounds of North Hempstead; "and that till it be completed courts shall be held at Jamaica." The judges of the court of common pleas were authorized to superintend its erection with good economy. The bill of Judge Timothy Smith for such superintending from May 13th 1785 to June 2nd 1787 was at the rate of £50 for six months; and yet the taxpayers of that day thought he was unnecessarily spinning out the job What would they have said could they have witnessed the process of the erection of the present one? February 8th 1787 the sheriff petitioned the Legislature for an act to remove the Queens county prisoners from the jail in New York to the jail just completed in Queens county. In 1790, February 9th, the first capital trial was held here before Judge Robert Yates, when, on motion of Aaron Burr, attorney general, two negro slaves, Nelly and Sarah, for arson, were sentenced to be hanged on Friday, October 15th, at some public place in the neighborhood of the court-house. In 1798 the sum of £200 was raised for completing the court-house. On court days there was usually considerable excitement about the house and grounds. Farmers and others otten made a holiday of it. Many resorted thither to transact business and meet acquaintances. Stands and booths for the sale of oysters, cake and beer, and other refreshments abounded. Hilarity went beyond due bounds, according to a complaint made to General Jay by Cadwallader D. Colden, assistant attorney general (January 29th 1799), wherein he says: "The court of Queens county is at all times the least orderly of any court I ever was in. The entry of the court-house is lined on court days with the stalls of dram sellers and filled with drunken people, so as to be almost impassable." About 1825-27, when the sheriff was prohibited from selling liquor in the courthouse, he evaded the law by erecting a shed against the front of the building, and so sold liquor and passed it through a window into the court-house. On Sunday night, January 18th 1801, Walter Dunlevy, who was sentenced to fourteen years’ imprisonment in the State prison for manslaughter, was rescued from this jail by his confederates. Two armed men came to the bedside of Willett Lawrence, under sheriff, bid him keep silent at his peril, took the key and let out the prisoner, and then locked in the sheriff. Dunlevy was discovered on a ship bound for Europe, and put for safe keeping in the Bridewell at New York. Political meetings, fairs and other public gatherings were often held at the court-house, and the New Market race course was near it till 1821; but latterly the opening of the North Hempstead turnpike and several railroads had made other places of more convenient access. There were formerly three inns or houses of entertainment, viz.: Daniel Seely’s, who also kept a blacksmith shop; Cheeseman’s, and that of the incumbent of the court-house. As the prisoners were then few there were several spare rooms. He also prepared dinners on court days. The lack of accommodations on court days provoked great deal of dissatisfaction among the judges and lawyers, and after a great deal of maneuvering and jobbery it was decided that a court-house and jail should be erected at Long Island City. The new edifice was formally turned over to the board of supervisors March 29th 1877. The Legislature had, in 1872, appointed commissioners to build it and appropriated $150,000; but in 1875 the Legislature voted $100,000 additional, and put the building in the hands of the supervisors to complete it. The edifice is three stories high, of Roman architecture, built of brick with granite trimmings. The interior trimmings are hard wood oiled. The first floor contains the sheriff’s and supervisors’ rooms, with spacious vaults and also reception rooms. On the second floor is the court-room, and at the sides are the judges’ rooms, waiting rooms, and rooms for the jurors, grand jury and district attorney. The jail is in the rear. It will accommodate 200 prisoners. The entire cost of the building was $276,000, with an addition of $2,500 for gas fixtures and furniture. The building was formally occupied by the sheriff in April 1877. We close this sketch of the civil history of the county with lists of its officers and representatives in legislative bodies.

County Judges.- A court of common pleas was established for the county in 1691. The judge was assisted by two or more justices. Judges were appointed as follows: Thomas Hicks, 1691; John Coe, 1699; Thomas Willett, May 1702; John Coe, July 1710; Thomas Willett, 1723; Isaac Hicks, 1730; David Jones, 1734; Isaac Hicks, April 6th 1738; James Hazard, 1740; Thomas Hicks, November 23d 1748; John Lloyd, February 14th 1784; Benjamin Coe, March 5th 1793; John W. Seaman, March 13th 1806; Cary Dunn jr., January 26th 1809; Effingham Lawrence, April 23d 1818; James Lent, February 5th 1823; Singleton Mitchell, May 2nd 1829; Benjamin W. Strong, April 8th 1834; David S. Jones, January 17th 1840; Henry I. Hagner, April 18th 1843; Isaac E. Haviland, March 5th 1846; William J. Cogswell (vice Hagner, deceased), 1849; Morris Fosdick, November 1849; Elias J. Beach, November 1857; John J. Armstrong (the present judge), November 1865. Surrogates.- Probate of wills was formerly vested in the court of assizes and courts of sessions. In 1692 the governor had this prerogative. In 1721 a surrogate was first appointed for Queens county. The incumbents have been as follows: John Bridges, January 4th 1721; John Messenger, October 23d 1735; Samuel Clowes jr., November 23d 1748; Thomas Braine, 1754; Samuel Clowes, Edward Dawson, April 23d 1767; James Robinson, February 5th 1784; David Lamberson jr.,February 24th 1816; John D. Ditmis, June 6th 1820; John W. Seaman, February 14th 1821; Nicholas Wyckoff, March 4th 1826; Henry I. Hagner, April 8th 1834; William J. Cogswell, appointed September 7th 1849, vice Hagner, deceased; Morris Fosdick, November 1849; William H. Onderdonk, November 1865; James W. Covert, November 1869; Alexander Hagner, November 1873; Garret J. Garretson (appointed in place of Hagner, deceased), May 1880; Charles De Kay Townsend, November 1880. County Superintendents of Common Schools (office created April 17th 1843, and abolished March 12th 1847).- Pierpont Potter, 1843; Timothy Titus jr.,October 6th 1845. School Commissioners.- Benjamin W. Downing, April 1856. Prior to 1857 school commissioners were appointed by the supervisors; since then they have been elected by the people. Queens county was divided into two districts. The commissioners have been as follows:- 1st District: Benjamin W. Downing, 1858; Charles W. Brown, James W. Covert, William H. Peckham, Eugene M. Lincoln, Andrew T. Provost, Charles E. Surdam; 2nd District: Daniel Clark, 1858; Dr. William D. Wood, Isaac G. Fosdick, Garret J. Garretson, Isaac G. Fosdick. Sherrifs.- Counties were first erected in 1683. Sheriffs for Queens county have been appointed or elected as follows: Thomas Willett, 1683; John Coe, December 13th 1689; John Lawrence, January 19th 1691; John Jackson, March 21st 1691; John Harrison, December 1st, 1692; John Lawrence, 1698; Peter Berrian, 1699; Zachariah Mills, 1700; Thomas Hicks, 1702: Thomas Cardale, 1703; Thomas Jones, 1704; Elbert Willett, 1705; Thomas Cardale, 1706; Thomas Willett, 1707; Cornelius Willett, 1708; William Creed, 1709; John Everett, May 6th 1710; Alexander Baird, 1712; Benjamin Hicks, 1718; Samuel Willett, 1720; Benjamin Hicks, 1723; Thomas Hicks 1727; Adam Lawrence, 1735; Henry Hicks, December 15th 1738; Adam Lawrence, 1744; John Van Wyck, 1747; Adam Lawrence, February 10th 1753; Thomas Willett, 1770: Uriah Mitchell, February 4th 1784; Jonah Hallett, February 1st 1788; Dr. Daniel Mirema, February 4th 1792; John Fleet, February 4th 1796; John B. Hicks, February 7th 1800; James Mitchell, August 11th 1801; Nicholas Wyckoff, February 22nd 1806; John B. Hicks, March 15th 1810; Jonathan Howard, February 8th 1811; John B. Hicks, March 12th 1813; Jonathan Howard, February 13th 1815; Richard Cornell, February 9th 1819; Bernard Bloom, July 10th 1819; Samuel Mott, February 12th 1825; also elected in November 1822, and the following in November of the years mentioned: John Simonson, 1825; Samuel Mott, 1828; John Simonson, 1831; Thomas Tredwell, 1834; Elbert Tredwell, 1837; Jonathan T. Furman, 1840; John A. Searing, 1843; Isaac Willetts, 1846; Robert S. Seabury, 1849; George S. Downing, 1852; Bernardus Hendrickson, 1855; Joseph Curtis, 1858; Jacob Platt Carll, 1861; William Durland, 1864; George Durland, 1867; Armstead C. Henry, 1870; Charles A. Sammis, 1873; Benjamin F. Rushmore, 1876; Alonzo B. Wright, 1879. County Clerks - were formerly clerks of the common pleas, of the sessions and of the higher courts. Since 1821 they have been chosen at the November elections. Clerks of Queens county have been designated as follows William Nicoll, 1683; Andrew Gibb, June 20th , 1688 Daniel Denton, December 20th 1689; Andrew Gibb March 24th 1691; James Clement, deputy. December 16th 1693; Joseph Smith, July 1710; Andrew Clark, 1722; Thomas Jones, February 28th 1757; Whitehead Hicks deputy, 1757; Samuel Clowes, April 30th 1781; Robert Hinchman, November 1783; Abraham Skinner, February 4th 1764; Daniel Kissam, March 12th 1796; Walter Burling, June 10th 1812; Edward Parker, June 6th 1820; Samuel Sherman, February 4th 1821; Samuel Sherman 1822 (P. Potter, vice Sherman, resigned); John Simonson 1836; Abraham D. Snedeker, 1842; Abraham D. Snedeker, 1845; John C. Smith, 1848; Martin I. Johnson, 1851; Monroe Henderson, appointed vice Johnson, deceased, March 29th 1855; Stephen L. Spader, 1855; Elisha B. Baldwin, 1858; Jonah T. Hegernan, 1864; Robert Burroughs, 1867; John H. Sutphin (the present incumbent), 1870. District Attorneys.- The office was created in 1801. Before that time the attorney general or his assistant officiated in our courts. Nathaniel Lawrence took the position February 16th 1796, and Cadwallader Colden January 16th 1798. In and after 1818 the county had its own prosecuting officer, taking the office as follows: Eliphalet Wickes, 1818; William T. McCoun, 1821; Benjamm F. Thompson, 1826; William H. Barroll, May 3d 1836; Alexander Hadden, 1842; John G. Lamberson, June 16th 1847; William H. Onderdonk, 1853; John J. Armstrong, 1859; Benjamin W. Downing (the present attorney) 1866. County Treasurers: John Bowne, 1683; Daniel Whitehead, 1884-89; William Lawrence, 1700; Cornelius Willett, 1714; Benjamin Hicks, 1723; David Jones, 1732; Thomas Hicks, 1747; John Willett; Valentine H. Peters, 1757; Daniel Kissam, 1759; George Townsend, 1783; Martin Schenck, 1787; John M. Smith, 1793; Judge William Ludlum, 1800; Silvanus S. Smith, 1817; Lawrence Denton, 1825; Platt Willets, 1836; Robert Cornwell, 1848; Lewis W. Angevine, 1851; Thomas H. Clowes, 1854; Lewis W. Angevine, 1857; Charles A. Roe, 1867; George W. Bergen, 1872; G. Edward Carll, 1875; Francis B. Baldwin, 1878. Members of Assembly.- Before the Revolution (1691-1775): Thomas Cornell, 1737-59, 1761-64; Benjamin Hicks, 1725-37; Isaac Hicks, 1716-39; Thomas Hicks, 1701, 1702; Thomas Hicks 2nd, 1759-61; John Jackson, 1693-1716; David Jones, 1737-61, (speaker) 1745-52; Daniel Kissam, 1764-75 Nathaniel Pearsall, 1691; John Robinson, 1691-83; Zebulon Seaman, 1759-75; Jonathan Smith sen., 1701, 1702; John Tallman, 1701, 1709, 1710; John Townsend, 1709, 1710; John Treadwell, 1691; Daniel Whitehead, 1691, 1701-3; Jonathan Whitehead, 1704-9; Thomas Willett, 1701, 1710-25. From the Revolution to the present constitution (1777-1847): Benjamin Birdsall, 1775-83; Stephen Carman, 1788, 1819; Samuel Clowes, 1789-96; Benjamin Coe, 1777-1806; Whitehead Cornell, 1788-98; Lewis Cornwall, 1796, 1797; Isaac Denton, 1800; John D. Ditmis, 1802, 1804; Daniel Duryea, 1786; Philip Edsall, 1777-82; John Fleet; 1812-14; Jonah Hallett, 1800, 1801; Isaac Hicks, 1792, 1793; John D. Hicks, 1820-23; Elias Hicks, 1839; Jarvis Jackson, 1826, 1827; Thomas B. Jackson, 1833-35; Elbert F. Jones, 1845; Henry F. Jones, 1829; Samuel Jones, 1786-90; William Jones, 1816-26; John A. King, 1819, 1840; Benjamin T. Kissam, 1820-23; Daniel Kissam, 1796, 179; Daniel Kissam, 1808, 1819; D. Whitehead Kissam, 1786; Daniel Lawrence, 1777-83; John W. Lawrence, 1841, 1842; Joseph Lawrence, 1784, 1785; Nathaniel Lawrence, 1791-96; Francis Lewis jr., 1788; Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, 1791; Abraham Monfoort, 1800-03; Jacobus Monfoort, 1808; Robert Moore, 1798, 1799; William Mott, 1798, 1807; Timothy Nostrand, 1822; Hendrick Onderdonk, 1784; William Pearsall, 1796, 1798; Harry Peters, 1794; Joseph Pettit, 1800-2; Samuel Riker, 1784; Colonel John Sands, 1784, 1785; John Schenck, 1787-91; Henry O. Seaman, 1803-8; John W. Seaman, 1806-8; John L. Skidmore, 1798, 1801; Abraham Skinner, 1784, 1785; John M. Smith, 1796-99; Wessell S. Smith, 1847; Richard Thorne, 1787; Nathaniel Tom, 1781-83; Dr. James Townsend, 1784-87; William Townsend, 1808-11; Thomas Tredwell, 1820-31; John Willis, 1846; Solomon Wooden, 1814, Samuel Youngs, 1794; Samuel Youngs, 1843, 1844. From 1847 to date: Francis H. Baldwin, 1870; George E. Bulmer, 1877-81; B. Valentine Clowes, 1880; Townsend D. Cock, 1880; Isaac Coles, 1862; Obadiah J. Downing, 1866; Charles T. Duryea, 1863, 1864; Henry D. Hall, 1862; John S. Hendrickson, 1858; David R. Floyd Jones, 1877, 1878; John Keegan, 1878; Edward A. Lawrence, 1858, 1859; Henry S. Lott, 1863; Charles McNeill, 1864, 1865; John B. Madden, 1868, 1869; James Maurice, 1851, 1866; Robert L. Meeks, 1859; James I. Oakley, 1871-75; Alvin T. Payne, 1876; James B. Pearsall, 1869, 1870; William E. Pearse, 1879; John Pettit, 1850; L.B. Prince, 1871-75; James Rider, 1855; John A. Searing, 1854; Francis Skillman, 1867, 1868; Sylvanus S. Smith, 1852, 1853; Wessell S. Smith, 1848, 1849; John S. Snedeker, 1856; Seaman N. Snedeker, 1856; Stephen Taber, 1860, 1861; John D. Townsend, 1861; William Turner, 1865; William B. Wilson, 1867; William Jones Youngs, 1878, 1880. State Senators.- 1777 to 1846: De Witt Clinton, 1799-1802, , 1806-11; Henry Cruger, 1793-96; John D. Ditmis, 1817-20; Elbert H. Jones, 1813-15; David R. Floyd Jones, 1844-47; Henry Floyd Jones, 1836-39; Dr. John Jones, 1777, 1778; Samuel Jones, 1791-99; John A. King, 1823; John Lawrence,1788-90; Jonathan Lawrence, 1777-79, 1790-95; Andrew Onderdonk, 1797; John Schenck, 1793-96,1799-1806; John I. Schenck, 1828-31; Samuel Townsend, 1784-90. From 1847 to date: John Birdsall, 1880, 1881; William Horace Brown, 1850, 1851; Townsend D. Cock, 1872, 1873; Monroe Henderson, 1862, 1863; John A. King, 1874, 1875; Edward A. Lawrence, 1860, 1861: James M. Oakley, 1878, 1879; L. Bradford Prince, 1876, 1877; James Rider, 1856, 1857. Delegates to the Provincial Congress and Convention: Jacob Blackwell, Joseph French (declined), Thomas Hicks, Rev. Abraham Reteltas, Jonathan Lawrence, Daniel Rapelye, Joseph Robinson, Benjamin Sands, Waters Smith, Richard Thorne, Nathaniel Tom, Dr. James Townsend, Samuel Townsend, Cornelius Van Wyck, John Williams, Zebulon Williams. Delegates to Constitutional Conventions.- 1801, to fix the number of senators and assemblymen: De Witt Clinton, James Raynor, John Schenck, John W. Seaman. 1821, to amend the constitution: Elbert H. Jones, Rufus King, Nathaniel Seaman. 1788, to ratify the federal constitution: Stephen Carman, Samuel Jones, Nathaniel Lawrence, John Schenck. 1846, John L, Riker. 1867, to revise the organic laws of the State: Solomon Townsend. 1872, constitutional commission, John J. Armstrong. United Slates Senators .- John Lawrence, appointed November 9th 1796; De Witt Clinton, appointed, February 9th 1802; Rufus King, appointed February 2nd 1813, and January 3d 1820. Representatives in Congress.- Thomas B. Jackson, 1837-41; John Lawrence, 1789-93; John W. Lawrence, 1845-47; James Lent, 1829-33; Samuel Riker, 1807-09, 1813-15; George Townsend, 1815-19; Dr. James Townsend, 1791-93; Luther C. Carter, 1859-61; James W. Covert, 1877-81; John A. King, 1849-51; James Maurice, 1853-55; Stephen Taber, 1865-69; Dr. William W. Valk, 1855-57; Perry Belmont, 1882-84. Presidential Electors.- 1860 William C. Bryant (at large), John A. King (latter also in 1872); 1876, Parke Godwin. Governor, John Alsop King, 1857, 1858. Lieutenant Governor, David R.F. Jones; also secretary of state 1860, 1861.
CHAPTER II....Early Schools and Studies The Establishment of Academies
HISTORY of QUEENS COUNTY  MAIN
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