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Home My WebLink AboutMK-12E , BUILDING-STRUCTURE INVENTORY FORM FOR OFFICE USE ONLY UNIQUE SITE NO, NEW YORK STATE HISTORIC TRUST QUAD OFFICE OF PARKS AND RECREATION SERIES ALBANY, NEW YORK (518) 457-3753 NEG. NO. YOUR NAME: FJX411s Ucli�qpn� Box ?OEs DATE: J"3Y 1973 E S: . ORGANIZATION (if any): Mattituck fli.storieal Society, Mattituck, Long I�land, N. Y. IDENTIFICATION. BUILINGN CEME`PEFtY OF THE MA'1"!'ITUCK PB'ESB7(' ERIAN CHURCH 1, BUILDING N�($�; 2. COUNTY: •,uc TOWN/CITY:—SOUthvld VILLAGE.--&ttituck, 3. STREET LOCATION: Sound Ave ;—Wwd*ftMai" Rd. 4. OWNERSHIP: a. public ❑ h private 5. PRESENT OWNER:Mattituck Prednteriau ADDRESS: Sand Avenue, Nattituck 6. USE: Original:. Present: sane 7. ACCESSIBILITY TO P B Exterior visible from public road: Yes No ❑ DESCRIPTION Interior accessible: Explain 8. BUILDING a. clapboard ❑ b. stone IN c. brick ❑ d. board and batten ❑ MATERIAL: e. cobblestone ❑ f. shingles ❑ g. stucco ❑ other: 9. STRUCTURAL a. wood frame with interlocking joints ❑ SYSTEM: b, wood frame with light members ❑ (if known) c. masonry load bearing walls❑ d. metal (explain) e. other 10. CONDITION: a. excellent ❑ b. good c. fair ❑ d. deteriorated ❑ 11. INTEGRITY: a. original site ❑ b. moved ❑ if so,when? c. list major alterations and dates (if known): 12. PHOTO: 13. MAP: Lore tq,N,L n c?l c-t or p.4 C h t.VtJ� `�'�6 11 Ch J� O or HT-1 I 14. THREATS TO BUILDING: a.none known CX b.zoning ❑ c. roads ❑ J ' d. developers ❑ c. deterioration f. other: 15. RELATED OUTBUILDINGS AND PROPERTY: a. barn❑ b. carriage house ❑ C. garage ❑ d.privy ❑ e. shed ❑ f. greenhouse ❑ i. landscape features: Includes a number of mature trees, j. other: 16. SURROUNDINGS OF THE BUILDING (check more than one if necessary): a.open land30 b. woodland ❑ c.scattered buildings M d.densely built-up ❑ e. commercial ❑ f. industrial ❑ g. residential ❑ h.other: Church and grounds of church 17. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF BUILDING AND SURROUNDINGS: (Indicate if building or structure is in an historic district) so The grounds of the church and the cemetery, provide a quiet, green area for the center of the village. 18. OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF BUILDING AND SITE (including interior features if known): SIGNIFICANCE 19. DATE OF INITIAL CONSTRUCTION: Shortly after 1715 ARCHITECT: BUILDER: 20. HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE: Shortly after 1715, .James Reeve donated lig acres of his land for a burying ground. The first meeting house for the Presbyterian Church was erected soon after this on the site of the present church. 21. SOURCES: The 250th AraiversalZ Year Publication of the Hattituek Pre rico Gnrch blished 1965. MK-12E 1 l I particularly of the small variety, precludes this explanation A possible Solution to the puzZlc presented by the appearance of Lamson- like winged death's heads in the central section of the Island may be in the western Connecticut Valley.This sandstonc-rich region was a Inaprr center of gravestone production throughout must of the Ihti{i I820 period. Gravestones were shipped to large numbers across the tiound. I hr location of the Lamson-like stones suggests that they were.hipped from New Haven or some port to the west. Possibly, a Comiccticut carvct, noting the t popularity of Lamson stones, silliply began to carve cones."1 hcsc IlLly have been carved for a Long island market--hut not exclusively, as they appear in western Connecticut as well. Thr inhabitants of the East End, who had access to the genuine Lamson product, inay not have found the sandstone versions appealing. It these sandstone markers were not protilurc•d by the Lamson.+, the failure of the Lamsons to extend their market to the is puzzling. Conceivably, the additional cost of transporting the stones lurther west put 1+;21 them at a disadvantage with the Connecticut copies lit they were copies) in terms of price"Or perhaps their workshop was s.tttsfird with tete orders they i were already taking and the brothers simply had no interest in expanding t their market. Lamson slate death's heads on Long Island hear dates Irom 17 12 to 1756, with the largest number carved between 1730 and 17;6.The large Lamson- style sandstone death's heads bear dates from 17.1; to 1761); nine of the fourteen extant examples were carved in the 1730's and 1740's. The small Lamson-style stones are carved with dates ranging from 1742 to 1766 with the 1750's being the peak decade. The deaths of Nathaniel and Catch, in ' { 1755 and 1769 respectively, correspond with the demise of the winged death's head as a popular funerary moti#. Their sons carried un the family trade but abandoned the distinctive style which made their fathers'work so striking and powerful. The Rounded Decith's-lead Stones The less ornate, less menacing, rounded death's heads first carved in the Boston area may have been a late modification of the type of death's head cut by Mumtord and his contemporaries. They began to appear on Lying Island in the 1730'x, and they grew increasingly numerous until the winged death's head disappeared around 1760. These stones tend to he about two and a half feet high and a bit over a foot wide. The death's head is round, smooth, :and considerably less threatening than the Lamson style skulls. The wings, too tend to arch in a gentle curve rather than thrusting out aggressively as they do oft Lamson stones. The holders are usually quite narrow, with rudimentary scrollwork capped by two or three enclosed circles. These memorials are common from Oyster Bay east. The I'cicg Potter stone, Huntington, 1764, is a typical stone of this type tillustratedl" Turned out in large numbers in simplified design, the rounded skull frequently shows a lack of originality in design and care in execution. The Rounded alruth'+ helarrf ihures Ila-111111. tlrro.wr• rel t'c•lvr !'motor, 170.4, ,oral Crohn features of skulls of this type tend to he cut with a tt:w basic strokes in a low Wright (mire it rirrN.1*r,atr%1. t lay relief. Thor are, as can be expected, a few stoic,, which rise above the z —— general level and catch the eye. The John Wright stone, 1749, Oyster Bay (illustrated), boasts an extra mortality symbol, erosshoncs carved over the skull. An even more striking example is tht• Hannah, John, and Rethiah 26 The Gravestones of Early Dong Island, R.F. Welch, 1983 k MK-12E Hudson stone, 1754, Mattituck (illus.p.28). This singular gr-ivestone stands �oiut�not holy beea�use oaf its triptych-like shape, but because it provides such poignant evidence of the high rate of child mortality. These memorials were turned out by several Boston area sto-accutting tamilies, the Codners, Emmeses, and John Homer. Their markers are practically 4 identical. s New York-Area Winged Death's-Head Stones -� In Prospect Cemetery in Jamaica stand two squat gravestones which appear to be the typical rounded-skull type adapted from slate nO Sandstone. 7 These stones mark the resting places of Nicholas Evcret. Esquire, 1-23, and '` i his son, Nicolas Evcret, 1731 {illus.p. 28). The markers art nearly identical, although the younger Everet's is slightly smalcr and less ornate. No doubt the stones were cut by the same hand after the yl7ungcr Everet's ? I death. Where they were cut and by whom is difficult to ascertain.The style ; is that of the New England rounded skull, but there appears to be tit)other ' L example of this type in sandstone. By 1730, New York-area cutters were +' beginning to meet the local demand for gravestones. All but three of the , ; stones in this cemetery are definitely traceable to New York crattsmen. These reasons support a New York attribution for thz Evcret stones. In the same cemetery are two other winged death's heads in sandstone which have no companions on Long Island.These are the gravestones of Dr. Israel Smith, 1734 (illus. p. 28), and Thomas Smith, 1723. The tympanum on each of these stones is smallish and the carving deep. The skull itself is not detailed, though it does present a somewhat wild-eyed appearance. A ` medieval-style crown over the skull symbolizes the triumph nt death over life while heavy, blunt wings carry it quickly through time. A long, thick- stemmed, petaled flower appears in each border. At the very butra>m of the Israel Smith marker, just where the stone is broken off, is the signature "Turner."Aside from cutting his name on this gravestcnc,Turner seems to _ have left no other trace of himself.This type of stone h:,s also boar reported tiur �u+,aaaa in New Jersey. Its provenance seems to be the New York City area. Yet another type of sandstone winged skull is typified by the Capt. Samuel Payton stone, 1740, St. George's Church, Hempstead (illus. p. 281. These stones, undoubtedly products of a lower Hudson workshop, range anywhere from one-and-one-half feet to three feet tall. They feature an outsized, heavy, square-jawed skull sometimes topped with a crown and supported by two high-arching,steep-sloping wings.The carving is bold and deep, and the overall impression is of massiveness. These stones are not ,yery common but are distributed over a wide area from Iaatrlaica to Sagaponack. Skulls and Crossbones While the winged death's head enjoyed wide currency tram the late seventeenth to the mid-eighteenth century,plain skulls and crossbones,the Plain skulls and crossbones appear on ancient symbols of death, were infrequently used. Long Island boasts three Abigail Mulford stone. 1764, and the type3 of plain skulls and crossbones_Two slate examples stand at opposite the Sibil Thorne .stone, 1754, ends of the Island.The Abigail Mulford stone, 1764, East Hans tamlillustra- ted}, is a rough, thickish slate on which is carved a naturali.tic skull in profile sitting over a pair of crossed bones. The second slate example is the Welch, R.F. , The Gravestones of Early Long Island, 1580-1810, 1983.27 S , MK-12E ' - 57 i Ir fS �f finrtfr�r;r��a x • , .. , n Both the Israel Smith and Samuel n Pawtin stones, 1734 and 1740, are 1 r�� * h New York area winged death's Treads F •. `/r , ... in sandstone; note the crown on the Smith stone. The rounded-skull stones of the Hud- son children, 754, illustrate rhesigh rate of child mortality. The hverei stones. 1723 and 1731, a father-son pair, shrew the rounded skull adapted to sandstone. Welcb, R.F. , The Gravestones of Early Long Island, 1680-18109 1983- 2k MK-12E I V lI"hair"model is capped by a ridge-shaped wig incised with swirls to depict locks and curls. The "haired" models also include eyelashes and eyebrows cut in the same fashion- A fine example of the wigged version is the Nathaniel Smith, Esq.,stone, 1765,East Moriches)illus.p.35).As might be expected, the stones carved with wigs and eyebrows also bear more ornate border work and are carved with thistles and acorns filling in the gaps in the scrollwork. Occasionally, John If's soul effigies are found with the wig, eyebrows, and eyelash ridges cut in outline but without the detail work of strands and striations. This usually occurs on smaller markers but can he seen most vividly on the Rev. Ebenezer White stone, 1756, in Sagaponack. John Stevens II had a brother, William, who also carved gravestones. William's gravestones are similar to his brother's without being quite so rigidly stylized. The soul effigy is more naturalistic but without the refinements and detail that would appear in the carving of John Stevens III. William's stones resemble some of the soul effigies carved with hair and eyebrows in an unfilled outline. i The hairless soul effigy is the more common of John li's markers. Both varieties were carved in several sizes ranging from a little over two feet to more than four in length. Stevens's stones are well distributed all over eastern Suffolk. They thin out rapidly in the western sections and Nassau, and are represented by only one extant example in Queens. Dates of the common pre-Revolutionary soul effigy run between 1712 and 1775. The enormous popularity of John Stevens If and other Rhode Island gravestone carvers was achieved largely at the expense o their fellow stonecutters in Massachusetts.John 11's great commercial success was part X IF -61W"--U ^ of a larger economic transformation in which Newport took over much of 4A Boston's Long Island Sound trade. This is clearly indicated by the precipi- tous decline in the number of Massachusetts gravestones erected on Long I k Island after 1760. t .#r Of the three John Stevenses,it is the third who had the most pronounced artistic aspirations. He was the only one who signed his stones and the one we know most about.John Stevens III's artistic motivation is manifested by his attempts to integrate neo-classical influences coming from Europe into American craft patterns. Alan Ludwig believes John III was the first major stonecutter to use neo-classical symbols, which he probably adapted from r engravings."If so,this excellent cutter must bear the blame for introducing the bacillus which eventually destroyed the American gravestone-cutting tradition, though it is doubtful it could have been kept from taking hold anyway. Known examples of Stevens's work date from 1769 to 1789 in New England the Long Island dates of his work fall between 1770 and 1788.John III never carved mortality symbols, preferring to depict the soul in its glory. His images were frequently dressed in togas and often had their hair combed i forward as in Roman portraiture.Carving on the blue-black slates his family i The image on the well-preserved Es- received in undressed blanks from a nearby quarry, Stevens cut delicate, er Halii ane. 1773 bears an naturalistic portraits showing the effigy in three-quarter profile or full- expression of con/ince. Note the de- faced. The relief is generally shallow, but the faces are well defined, ! tail on the stone's borders. The sim- pler Revue children stone 1772, also allowing for full development of expression.The hair on the effigies, when bear decorated borders, not combed forward, is typically shown as curling locks falling down the side of the face. On some men's stones, such as the excellent Samuel Hurttting stone, 1773(illus. p.35), eighteenth-century wigs are shown.The interior of the tympanum is sometimes cut with half-moon or rectangular i Weleh, R.F. , The Gravestones of Early Long Island 1680-18101 1983. i 36 I F MK-12E devices, while borders were most frequently patterned with a thick-leafed, foliate design. The best example of Stevens's work on Long Island,a stone which ranks with anything of his found elsewhu+re,is-the often photographed and rubbed Esther Halli stone, 1773, Mattituck(illustrated).The stone itself,a little ��► '� bee r than tree feet tall, is uz excellent condition,being cut on the typical Stevens blue-black slate which secrw,darker than most.Centered inside the tympanum, which is bordered with a multi-rectangle pattern, is the three- ?I quarter profile of the glorified soul of Esther Halliock, her hair arranged in flowing locks which fall along the side of t e ace,T €expression is one of confident expectation as the face looks slightly upward and away from i 1 earth.The wings are full,well articulated,and so arranged that they seem to be pushing the soul towards heaven. The borders of the stone attest to t Stevens's technical proficiency. The double lines which frame the inscrip- p r� il `�yl tion,dividing the writing from the pilasters,bulge with a half-circle on each k side of the border. Inside the bulges are small circles in the center of which 4; ' are Tudor rose-style flowers.The flowers are also found in the border finials and terminals. The remainder of the borders are cut with a checkerboard ` scroll pattern, while clearly incised at the bottom is the signature, "Cut by 'k �, John Stevens, Jun'." Infant death was such a common occurrence in the eighteenth century, stones marking the common resting place of two or more childen are sometimes found.An example of such a memorial carved by Stevens can be found in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Southold. Here, rather than create a three-tympanum stone, as some stonecutters did, Stevens carved three small individual stones, putting his initials "JS"on only one. These three small stones mark the resting places of Kentury, Mary, and Abigail Reve who died between the third and the eighth of October, 1772 (illustratedl. The hair ridges on these stones have no striations which may be due to their small size or to the fact that the stones were inexpensive. It is also possible that the plain ridge was meant to represent a baby's cap.The borders are carved with four petaled flowers and thistles incised with a cross-stitch pattern. Stevens was a prolific cutter and is known to have advertised. An ad he placed in the Newport Mercury in 1781 boasts, "The stone in which he works is allowed by the best judges to be superior to any commonly found in America."39 His commercial success as a cutter meant,however, that he had to turn out stones quickly. Consequently, visitors to the old burial grounds on the North and South Forks, where most of his stones are found, will soon come to detect what might be called the "stock"John Stevens ill stone. These stones feature a full-faced soul effigy with shortish hair combed forward in the Roman manner. The borders are usually cut with a thick-leafed, foliate design (illustrated). Some authorities have sensed in Stevens the frustrations of a man who harbored artistic ambitions but whose commercial success prevented him from achieving it. Nevertheless, his accomplishments in the field of gravestone cutting places him in the highest echelon of those carvers whose identity is known. The Zerviah Nnnttirtg stone, 1780, is John Stevens III had a son, Phillip, who carried on the family tradition of an example of John Stevens Ill's gravestone carving. However, Phillip abandoned the soul effigy styles his "stock"pattern. father had used and carved plain markers bearing only inscriptions. The Abigail Rhodes stone, 1806, Southampton, looks like his work. With that marker, the Long Island history of the Stevens Shop comes to an end_ Welch, R.F. , The Gravestones of Early Long Island 1680-1810 1983- 37 MK-12E 63 more abstract style of Connecticut Valley soul effigies though somewhat more polished and wearing a wig that is a throwback to the styles of the mid-eighteenth century. The wings are also atypical for this kind of stone. Closely related to the Connecticut Valley ornamental style are those cut by the Manning family of eastern Connecticut. Their stones, unlike the sandstone markers from the Connecticut Valley, are cut in granite, and are generally plainer, without the detail and ornamentation of the Connecticut �. Valley ornamental stone. The faces snl-tra.�V�Iar�ning soul effigies, such as the Abigail Hand stone, 179r, Sagaponack (illitstrated), bear grotesque features and goggle-eyes, a telknique which pisfo shapes the downturned mouth.The effigy's hair, or Crown ef._RA&reousness,starts wildly from the head, reinforcing the generally savage appearance of the stone. All the secondary motifs tend to be of a simple scroll motif,while the wings display no detailing whatever. The Daniel Moore stone, 1791, Bridgehampton (illustrated(, is an example of the Manning style cut on a "cradle back" stone.Several members of this family cut stones in similar styles.The Hand stone shows similarities with those carved by Rockwell Manning,while the Moore stone bears greater resemblance to Frederick's work.On Long Island, Manning stones are far less common than Connecticut Valley stones and are limited to seven examples on the East End. The Common Style Post-Revolutionary Stone In addition to the ornamental Connecticut Valley stones and their relatives from the eastern part of Connecticut, other gravestones of less . ornate design were imported acznd and erected in the burial ,. grounds of Long Island, Parti tttituck, y in Suffolk County.One of these stones, y,w, 85, witf its Indian-like symbol, doesthe Samuel a cr stone, not fit easily in any catego The e-were,however,two varieties of a single ' z style cut in such numbers and so widely distributed that they deserve to be called the common post-revolutionary style. These stones, found from the two Forks and Gardiner's island to as far west as Oyster Bay, appear tobe descended from the flared-wing variety of the 17401s.After a period of thirty years or so the flared-wing variety evolved into a more attenuated and less floral version. Some of these stones bear dates as early as the 1760's,but it is likely that these are replacement stones. The greatest number in this style bear dates from the 1780's and 1790's-Like the other symbol-carved stones, they barely outlasted the turn of the century; the latest date found is 1807. The basic soul effigy design for these stones was aparently developed by Peter Buckland of Hartford County.However,other cutters such as Charles Dolph, Isaac Sweetland, crafstmen in the Middletown arca and the Hili family made them as well. In appearance these stones are very much alike,usually two to three feet in height, cut in a rather low-grade brown sandstone (except for two odd slates found in the churchyard of the Whaler's Church in Sag Harbor).Many Stones cut by the Manning family: are disintegrating while much older stones near them are in excellent the Abigail Hand stone and the condition.The only real difference found in these stones,a difference which Daniel Moore stone, both 179I, ex- mirrors that in the ornamental style, is that one group utilizes an inverted Mbit the family's idiosyncratic soul teardrop soul effigy while the other version utilizes a more naturalistic effigies. representation. The lane Osborn stone, 1802, East Hampton (illus. p. 64), exemplifies the first, and the Sally Halsey stone, 1804, Sag Harbor (illus. p. 64), is a superlative representation of the second. Otherwise the 63 Welch, R.F. , The. Gravestones of Early Long Island, 16,9C-1810, 1983. MK-12E C� Cq J-- > 0 > 0 CD Li E 0C 0 wU LL. 71. Georgica Burial Ground ................ ..................... .......................... ............. ....................... Georgica 72. South End Burial Ground ................ ........................................................................I............. East Hampton 73. North End Burial Ground ..................................................................................................... East Hampton 74. Amagansett Burial Ground .............................I...,........... Amagansett * 75. Parsons Burial Ground .... .... Springs 76. First House Burial Ground ...........................I............ Montauk 77. Prebyterian "Whalers" Churchyard ................................... ...................... Sag Harbor 78, Edwards Burial Ground Sag Harbor 79, Payne-Byrams Burial Ground ............................. North Haven 80. Presbyterian Churchyard ,t' ........................................................ Shelter Island • 81. Baiting Hollow Burial Ground Baiting Hollow 82, Riverhead Cemetery ................................ Riverhead ...................................................................... .................. 83. Aquebogue Burial Ground ...I............ Aquebogue 84. famesport Burial Ground ...... jarnesport 85-Mattftzrajt-Presbyterian Churchyard A-- Mattituck. W ......................................................... ................. ............. 847—Cutchogue Burial Ground Cutchogue 87. Presbyterian Churchyard . .......................... A& Southold 88, Conkling Burial Ground Southold .................................................................................................. 89. Stirling Cemetery Greenport ............................ ............. ......... ........................................ 90. Terry Burial Ground Orient, 91. Beebee Burial Ground Orient 91 Brown's Hill Burial Ground Orient 93, Village Burial Ground Orient .............................................. ...................... The Gravestones of Early Long Island, 1680-1810, R.F. Welch, 1983 84 ,tf MK 12E 67 gg�j 2�0 A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK. I. The tioIl1ld Shore is beginniiig to attract the attention of ln►rchasers, and values of nortliside properties have + risen �o11-,idCrabhl in the past scar. The hills that line the :h()rc present most attraclive huildinq sites. The eputhiok across the water to Connecticut, twenty miles rlistant, is encltanting. and toward the west the view is IMP II� r f t r -- e - r I.I:ACL:-IiTO ES OF 111,NItl AND IIIINJiN TI'THILL, Grandparents of the wife of Ili -sident Wm. Henri Harrison. unbroken until the setting slug drops I►elleatll the water. ° Far out ton the Somid the steamer; and sailing vessels pass, and near shore the cottagers may see their yachts F at .uochor, to he brought into MattittlCk harbor for safe- keeping when the wiener comes. Altmg the Sound bills kill either side of the creek a boulevard can he built and d011btless will be 1►wilt. It isperhaps unsafe for the i Rev. Charles F. Craven, History of IMpttituck. 1906