Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Historic Yaphank - Where the Past Greets the Present
March — April, 2016
Robert Hawkins House
P.O. Box 111
Yaphank, NY 11980-0111
www.yaphankhistorical.org
631-924-4803 -Swezey-Avey House
Main Office
631-924-3401 - Hawkins House
Gift Shop
Meetings: Third Thursday of the
Month; 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House.
Newsletter Editor: Peggy Judd
Inside this issue:
President’s Message
…2
Slavery in Yaphank … 3-4
General Meeting Programs
…5
From the Curator
... 6
Upcoming Events
…7
Board of Directors
President - Robert Kessler
Vice President - Peggy Judd
Treasurer - Audrey Kessler
Recording Secretary Kayann Donaldson
Corresponding Secretary Marie Desch
Librarian - Olive Archer
Historian –Tricia Foley
Historian Emeritus Karen Mouzakes
Curator - Helen Kalbach
3-Yr. Trustee - Liz Horan
2-Yr. Trustee - Kathy Schmidt &
Tony Germano
Join Us for Tea!
Saturday, April 30 th, 2016
2:00 pm
At The Hawkins House
There will be a delicious array of assorted tea sandwiches,
scones with clotted cream, assorted pastries for dessert, and “Lady Grey” tea.
Donation is $25 per person.
Please call Kay Donaldson to make your reservations at 631-395-9870.
We hope to see you there.
The Gift Shop will be open after the Tea for your shopping pleasure.
And ladies, wear your Victorian finery if you wish.
Victorian Finery
Although we welcome our attendees to dress in their Victorian
finery, since we all enjoy “dressing up”, it’s difficult to imagine that we
would be comfortable wearing the “costumes” Victorian ladies were
required to wear to each tea party. This brief description will make
you glad that rules concerning appropriate clothing have changed over
the years.
In Victorian times, the hostess of the tea wore a floor-length gown of
silk or other seasonable fabric. Lace was permissible as was a certain
amount of jewelry. Guests wore luxurious lace-trimmed gowns known as “teagies”
with or without a train. Gloves and hats were also an essential part of the attire and
even if somewhat inconvenient, gloves, bonnets, and hats were worn throughout the
tea. Regardless of what we wear while enjoying our tea, the words of Henry James still
apply:
There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to
the ceremony known as afternoon tea.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 2
Letter from the President
The following is a brief update about some of the projects that we have been working on in Yaphank.
The Society has been supporting the efforts of the Coalition to Save the Yaphank Lakes to finally get our Yaphank
Lakes cleaned up. Willow Lake was dredged in 2013 and it was supposed to be followed up by Diver-Assisted Hand
Vacuuming to remove any remaining invasive plants that were still in the lake. Unfortunately, this did not happen and
some of the invasive plants have returned. The Town of Brookhaven needs to do some more testing before this
project can get addressed and scheduled.
However, we do have good news regarding Lily Lake. At a recent meeting with Supervisor Ed Romaine, he told us
that the cleanup of Lily Lake will be done in 2017. Some of the steps necessary to get this project done have already
been started. We hope to eventually have both our lakes back in good condition.
The spillway at Willow Lake is also getting rebuilt. This project, along with the installation of a fish ladder, the
rebuilding of the bulkhead, and the planting of new trees and bushes will begin this summer. The center island at Mill
Road, where it passes over the Carmans River, is also a project that is in the works. Funding is being sought for this
work.
The Society is seeking a long-term lease with Brookhaven Town for the Swezey-Avey House. A long-term lease is
required to apply for certain grants. The first round of grants for the Swezey-Avey House will be used to help the
Society apply for National Register status for the house.
In the meantime work continues on all of our other projects at the Homan House, Booth House and Hawkins House.
Robert Kessler
Correction:
In the January/February 2016 issue of the Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter, one of the granting organizations was incorrectly identified.
The correct name is the Gerry Charitable Trust, established in 1987 by Roger and Peggy Gerry, not the Gerry Foundation. The correct name and
information appears in the Web version of our Newsletter.
Welcome New Member
 Christopher Reilly, Coram, NY
Funds for this newsletter were provided by
the Suffolk County Legislature,
Kate Browning, 3rd Legislative District.
Thank You !
Renewal Dues Reminder
Your membership is important to us. Dues are currently payable for the Yaphank Historical Society 2015-2016
membership year. Please see current member types and dues rates on page 7. Please include your current email
address when you send in your dues. We look forward to hearing from you soon. If you have already submitted your
dues, your payment is much appreciated.
Page 3
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Slavery on Long Island and In Yaphank
By Karen Mouzakes
The first slaves arrived from Barbados to Shelter Island in The Registrations of slave children by Yaphank
1654, which was 72 years before the settlement of slaveholders (copied exactly as they appear in Town
Millville (Yaphank) in 1726. By the mid 1700s the buying Records) are as follows:
and selling of slaves was an internal, private matter.
When slave owners died, their slaves were passed to their
--“Nathaniel Tuthill made return that he had a male
descendants through wills.
child Born of a Slave of his on the 2nd of November 1803
child’s name is Sebra. Entered for the Abolition of
It was primarily the Quakers who pushed for the
Slavery. Mordecai Homan Town Clerk”
Abolition of Slavery in New York. In 1781, the New York
State Legislature passed a law liberating those slaves who
served three years as soldiers in the Revolutionary War
and later laws freed those slaves who had become wards
of the state when Tory estates were confiscated.
--“Robert Hawkins made return that he had a female
child Born of a Slave of his on fifth day of September
1811 Named Margett Cicera.”
The U.S. Census of 1790 showed 2,236 black people as
living in Suffolk County. 54.8% of slaveholders had one
slave, while 88.7% owned less than five. (The nearby
estates of the Manor of St. George and the William Floyd
Estate had many slaves.)
“5th Day of November 1805 at said Meeting Application
was made to sd Trustees by Samuel Homan in Behalf of
John Homan Sent to Manumate and set free A Certain
Negro woman Now a Slave to sd John Homan Named
Phelis---sd Trustees & overseers of the Poor Having
Examined sd slave find Her to be under fifty years of
age and Sufficient Ability to Maintain Herself Do
Hereby Manumate and set her free. Attest Issac Hulse
Town Clerk”
--“A Negro Girl Named Katura Born a Slave of Robert
New York State Law in 1788 encouraged manumission
Hawkins Junier on the Seventeenth Day of September
(voluntary emancipation by slaveholders.) Unless they
1804.”
were set free, all Negros and mulattoes who were slaves
would remain slaves. The children of these slaves would The manumission of slaves was also recorded in
remain slaves. The law prohibited harboring runaways, Brookhaven Town Records. Those concerning slaves in
buying or selling slaves, and/or selling liquor to them. Yaphank were as follows: (again copied exactly as
Only slaves who were able to support themselves could be appearing in the Town Records)
liberated.
Yaphank’s slave owners were farmers and millers with
the names of Hawkins, Homan, Tuthill and Swezey. Their
slaves lived in their homes, rather than slave quarters.
These slaves tilled the farm acreage and worked at the
mills. African American women cooked and cleaned for
the family. They minded the children. Many times slaves
were loaned and hired-out to work for neighbors.
Sometimes they were given the opportunity to earn an
independent income from their very limited free time.
New York State Legislation in 1797 declared that slave
children born after July 4, 1799, would be free when males
reached 28 and females turned 25 and that slave children
had to be taught to read. As a direct result of this law,
Brookhaven Town Records began to show the registration
by slaveholders of the children of their slaves.
Registration assured that slaves would be freed when they
came of age. Gradual abolition had begun.
Alexander Smith, an “upright and honorable” slave,
lived in the Robinson-Mills-Tuthill House.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 4
Slavery on Long Island (continued)
In May of 1814, Robert Hawkins made application to manumit his slave Margett whose female child he registered in
1811. Apparently, though Margett was now free, her female daughter remained the property of Robert Hawkins.
Manumissions, on Long Island, were relatively rare with only 857 cases recorded in over 200 years of slavery. An
1817 New York State Law stated that all slaves born before July 4, 1799 would be set free. No slaves to be held of any
category were to be held after 1827.
If slavery ended after 1827, and it is recorded that New York’s last slave Mary Pine died in 1847, how do we explain
Yaphank’s Alexander Smith? He is a slave described by L. Beecher Homan in his 1875 book Yaphank As It Is And Was.
And I quote,
“Alexander Smith was a slave born in Coram Dec. 15, 1849. He was purchased, along with his sister, by
Nathaniel Tuthill of Yaphank. Tuthill was one of the most exacting men. Alexander Smith had an excellent
disposition and character. He had wonderful inventive facilities. He could adjust all complicated parts of a
steam engine. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and he was regarded as upright and honorable.”
Sources:
Brookhaven Town Records, 1798 to 1856
Hartell Anne, Slavery on L.I.
History of Suffolk County 1882, “Slavery in Brookhaven Town”
Hofstra University, “Slavery on L.I.”
Homan, L. Beecher, Yaphank As It Is And Was
Mulvihill, William, “Slavery on L.I. an Overview” L.I. Forum,
Winter 1995.
U.S. Census, 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820
Spring Cleaning—
A Ritual to Consider
Spring is almost here.
Along with thoughts of the
warm weather to come and working outside in the
garden, there is the tradition of the “Spring Cleaning
Ritual” to consider. We just have to be grateful that the
ritual has come a long way since Victorian times.
First of all, in Victorian times, spring cleaning was
women’s work. “Menfolk” were only called on to move
heavy furniture and to roll up carpets. Secondly, there
were no vacuum cleaners or rug shampooers. Carpets
were hung outdoors on a clothesline and the dirt was
“beaten” out of them. There were no commercial dry
cleaning establishments to take care of any draperies and
curtains. And most of the drapes were of heavy material,
like velvet. They needed to be handled more gently than
carpets, so the dust and dirt were shaken out of them,
not beaten. Fine net curtains needed to be hand washed,
stretched, and carefully hung on the clothesline to dry.
Diluted vinegar and water in a pail substituted for the
bottled glass and/or all-purpose liquid cleaners in use
now. Soft cloth rags took the place of disposable paper
towels that are relied on today. Once the rags did their
job of washing and polishing windows, the rags needed to
be washed, dried and stored, ready for their next
assignment. And there was no space-age, specially
equipped washing machine ready for that job.
Floors were swept, not vacuumed, and then scrubbed
clean, often using a brush and working on hands and
knees close to the dirt. Depending on the type of surface,
the floors were then polished with a light application of a
beeswax and paraffin mixture. A long session of polishing
followed. Special dishes and silver were taken out of
storage and cleaned and polished. Again, no dishwasher
appliance was available to help with that task. Cleaning
chores were extended into every drawer, cabinet and
closet and the entire house was refreshed as part of the
ritual. The end of winter meant one thing: it was time to
give home and family a clean slate to welcome the new
season.
Time and progress have changed the need for this
annual ritual; cleaning house is now an ongoing (never
ending???) project with a disregard to the calendar.
Today’s homemakers tend to address needed household
tasks whenever they find the time. We also have lots of
help—vacuums, chemicals, services and appliances.
However when spring approaches there seems to be a
desire to open windows and start cleaning out the
remnants of winter. So while we probably don’t
completely commit to an actual Victorian-style “spring
cleaning ritual”, we do like to give home and family a
“clean-as-possible” welcome to the new season.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 5
General Meeting Programs
The Yaphank Historical Society hosts special programs of local and historic interest presented at our General
Meetings. Please note that attendance at any of our events is not limited to members only. We hope to see
members, friends, and guests at any of our upcoming events. Everyone is welcome.
The WPA in Suffolk & Nassau Counties
A presentation by Jim (Zak) Szakmary
March 17, 2016
Please join us at our General Meeting on Thursday, March 17, at 7:30pm, at the
Swezey-Avey House. Our Guest Speaker will be Jim Szakmary, History
Researcher for the Suffolk County Historical Society. Jim has long been interested
in and studied the famous Roosevelt New Deal Program. As part of the WPA
program, two murals by Robert Gaston Herbert were painted for the walls in
what was originally the Suffolk Home in Yaphank, NY. The building is now a Suffolk
County office building. These murals still adorn the walls. It will be interesting to
hear about the other Long Island “who, what, and where” efforts of this very
successful program.
WPA Mural by Robert Gaston Herbert
The Forests of Long Island:
A Cultural and Natural History
A presentation by John Turner
April 21, 2016
Please join us at our April General Meeting to be held on Thursday, April
21st, at 7:30pm, at the Swezey-Avey House. Our guest speaker will be John
Turner. John holds many titles, most notably Deputy Commissioner of
Planning for the Town of Brookhaven, and Open Space Program Coordinator
for Brookhaven Town’s Division of Land Management. John is an Author,
Lecturer, and Naturalist, and co-founder of Alula Birding & Natural
History Tours, a Long Island based tour company. He brings extensive
environmental experience and knowledge to discuss the topic of one of Long
Island’s most important natural resources---its forests.
Land, Sea and Sky: The Artwork of Old Mastic
A presentation by MaryLaura Lamont
May 19, 2016
Please join us at our May General Meeting to be held on Thursday, May
19 , at 7:30pm, at the Swezey-Avey House. Our guest speaker will be
MaryLaura Lamont, Naturalist and Park Ranger, at the William Floyd Estate.
Her program will cover a variety of art styles---works done in pencil, colored
pencil, pens, watercolors, and oils.
The artwork was created over a long period of time, from the 1850s to the
1970s. Some of you may remember a presentation given by MaryLaura a
few years ago covering the artwork of Katherine Floyd Dana. Some of her
work appears again in this presentation, along with many more artists.
th
“Beach Party Set in Motion”,
by Katherine Floyd Dana, 1856
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 6
From the Curator— Slipper Chairs
By Helen Kalbach
On first seeing a slipper chair one may think “The people must have been really short at that time - - - look how low
the chairs are!” The chairs first appeared in the early 18th century in styles such as Rococco, Renaissance Revival,
Queen Anne and Victorian. The chairs were short legged, 15 inches from the floor, with no arms. The chairs were
normally made of woods such as mahogany or cherry with upholstered seats and backs. They might be very plain and
slip-covered, all-over padded, upholstered and tufted, matched to fancy décor with embroidered brocade fabric and
trim, or simple, boxy and covered in serviceable linen or cotton. Some chairs featured fancy carved backs instead of
upholstered backs.
The chairs were primarily in ladies’ bedrooms. Ladies of the Victorian era wore many clothes and in most cases
needed help getting dressed. That was the era of laced corsets, camisoles and petticoats. After putting on all those
clothes, they needed more help donning long stockings and shoes. So the slipper chair was born - - - a comfortable
chair with short legs that a woman could use to sit down on and put on her stockings and slippers. No arms meant
that those voluminous skirts could spread out over half the dressing room while her ladyship donned her slippers!
Dressing is a little different now! No more corsets and petticoats, but slipper chairs are still very useful and not only
in the bedroom. Due to the diminutive sizes and statures, these slipper chairs can be used for seating in tight or small
spaces. The only place they are not useful is as a dining chair because their height makes them too short for
traditional tables. In today’s form, slipper chairs can be found in any room including living rooms. Now they are the
type that features a wide tight rectangle for seating and another tight rectangle for the back.
Recently, the Historical Society was fortunate to purchase a wonderful example of an elegantly carved Victorian
slipper chair. The mahogany back and re-upholstered seat are a wonderful addition to the mid-1800s Hawkins House
master bedroom. From the photographs of the chair you can see the workmanship of the time period. We thank Mrs.
Eleanor Consoli for thinking of the Society as a safe haven for such a lovely chair.
Our Victorian slipper chair.
Carved lions are part of the intricate back of our
Hawkins House chair.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Yaphank Historical
Society
MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2016
UPCOMING EVENTS
March General Meeting
Thursday, March 17th, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest speaker will be Jim Szakmary, History Researcher
for Suffolk County Historical Society
Program: “Works Progress Administration (WPA) in
Suffolk and Nassau Counties”
(The Famous Roosevelt New Deal Program)
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Spring Cleaning and Dusting
Saturday, April 9th, 10:00—4:00pm
Volunteers needed!
Help get our historic houses ready for our Spring Events.
Spend a few hours during the day cleaning and
share a wonderful buffet supper.
Supper served at 5:00pm at the Swezey-Avey House.
Call Committee Chair: Jean Didamo, 631-909-1457
April General Meeting
Thursday, April 21st, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest Speaker will be John Turner, Naturalist, Author,
and Land Management Specialist
Program: “The Forests of Long Island: A Cultural and
Natural History”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Page 7
Spring Victorian Tea
Saturday, April 30th, 2:00—4:30pm, Hawkins House
Donation is $25 per person
Always a sold-out event, so please reserve early.
Reservations: call Kayann Donaldson, 631-395-9870
May General Meeting
Thursday, May 19th, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest Speaker will be MaryLaura Lamont, Naturalist and
Park Ranger, William Floyd Estate
Program: “Land, Sea and Sky:
The Artwork of Old Mastic”
(A collection of mixed media artwork dating from
the 1850s to the 1970s)
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Spring Community Yard Sale
Saturday, May 21st, 9:00am—4:00pm
(rain date Sunday, May 22nd)
Set up on the Hawkins House Lawns.
Call 631-924-4803 or 631-924-2241 with questions.
June General Meeting
Thursday, June 16th, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest Speaker will be Karen Mouzakes,
Society Historian Emeritus
Program: “The Evolution of Yaphank’s Historic Lakes and
Why We Love Them”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Keep current with all our events and projects
Visit our website—www.yaphankhistorical.org
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Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Thank You To Our Supporters
If you are interested in having your business card printed in the Yaphank Historical Society newsletter, you may do so for a $50
donation per year. Please leave a phone number message at the Swezey-Avey House, (631)924.4803
OR (631)924.2241. Our members support our local businesses.
www.big-li.com
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
244 E. Main Street
Yaphank, NY 11980
631-924-5083
Sunday Services: 8:30 & 10 A.M.
Sunday School at 10 A.M. Service
494 Long Island Ave., Medford, NY 11763
Showroom: 631-289-8086
Millwork Factory: 631-924-4195
Automotive Products, Inc.
14 Todd Court Extension
Yaphank, NY 11980-0540
631-567-2000