Historic Series: Reverend Prime House

05 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Historic Places

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american revolution, Ebenezer Prime, england, historic, history, huntington, long island, new york, religion, Reverend Prime House

Still standing at 18 Spring Road in Huntington, Reverend Ebenezer Prime’s second home was his sanctuary during the later years of his life. Originally, the house faced the south but after several generations, new owners turned the main entrance facing west.

The home has the usual colonial style clapboard structure of that time. Its geometric design somewhat resembles the Prime House down the street with the placement of its windows. The main entrance also features two vintage porch lights that seem to be true to the house. Although, the home looks updated, there is a clear history to the structure that one cannot miss.

Ebenezer Prime was born in 1700 in Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College when he was 18, came to Huntington in 1719, and was ordained on June 5, 1723. He was an understanding minister and allowed even non-Christians to receive the sacraments. Prime baptized every child born during that time within three days of birth.

His home fell victim to the British during the American Revolution with the house seized and the library destroyed. This library was of great importance because the town commissioned him in 1759 to purchase books and keep them as a collection. There were imports from England as well as Greek and Latin versions of text.

The townspeople were allowed to borrow the books for a certain amount of time but had to pay fines when they were late or damaged. Eventually all 155 books in the collection were of religious text and none were fiction. Known as the Library Keeper, Prime led the way for the library’s 39 members until 1768 when it ended.

The Rev. Prime married three times, all within a 13 year-period, with each marriage ending in the death of his wife. His only son to live up to adulthood was Benjamin Youngs Prime, who later became a doctor in New York City and also practiced in Huntington where he met his future wife, Mary Wheelwright Greaton. They had five children.

Although the Rev. Prime died in 1779, his memories are clearly noticed throughout his home and the town church. He had a number of published texts that are well preserved.

Historic Series: The Jerusalem Friends Cemetery

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Historic Places

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historic, history, jerusalem ave, jerusalem friends cemetery, long island, new york, quakers, religion, society of friends, wantagh

Located off Wantagh Avenue on what used to be Jerusalem Road is a historical religious landmark that represents new faith and a unique view towards the world.

Now owned by the Baptist Church, the Jerusalem Friends Cemetery & Meeting House in Wantagh was the home of a brave number of people who stood for what they believed in. The meeting house and cemetery is now left behind to tell their story.

The Society of Friends was an organization that formed in England around the 1600s and quickly spread to America. This religious group consisted of Quakers that were considered to have unorthodox views with their talk about the “Inward Light” as well as refusing to bow to authority figures. This behavior resulted in many persecutions.

Meetings were held every five weeks on the first day in various towns and member’s homes. In 1827, the Jerusalem meeting house was built on farmland owned by Ardon Seaman, who was a preacher until he died in 1875. From 1908 till 1949 meetings were joined with the Jericho sector and the meeting house was only used for annual gatherings.

The one and a half-story building was built from oak with a stone foundation. The timbers were pinned together by use of the mortis and tenon method. It had two brick chimneys and the exterior was covered in shingles.

The cemetery on the land originally had 42 plots with 21 on each side. The price for a full plot was $8 while a half was $4. When the Baptist Church purchased the property in 1952, although the cemetery wasn’t included, it was understood it would be kept up and taken care of.

While there is much history with the Quakers, all we have now is their stories and the land, which they were created. Members and residents like the Seaman, Verity and Southard family laid their heads to rest one last time and we all have the privilege to be in their company. They all will be remembered as brave, independent souls who wanted change and freedom.

Historic Series: The Lloyd Family Manor

05 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Historic Places

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An Evening's Thought: Salvation by Christ, antique, caumsett, causeway, cottage, farm, farmers, Grissel Sylvester, henry lloyd, historic, history, huntington, jupiter hammon, lloyd harbor, lloyd manor, new york, oyster bay, religion, slavery, slaves, stable, vintage

I have always loved items and architecture that have that a true vintage appeal to them. My curiosity has always led me to historic places. There is something about the story behind the location as well as the construction that intrigues me. So it made sense that the Lloyd Manor in Huntington, New York would be on my list and I must say that I was very happy with what I captured during my visit.

As I turned off Lloyd Harbor Road I spotted numerous buildings on the right and immediately felt excited. I pulled over and started to explore this fascinating place. The farm area was my first stop. It was a relief to see that some of the buildings were showing their old age. Not that I don’t like restoration projects but I am more a fan of things in their natural state.

The Manor was built in 1711 and I wanted to capture the essence of that time. As I continued on my journey I spotted a white and black cat just hanging out in a small alley. Was this the “attack cat” who was mentioned on the door sign? If so, I don’t think he is that scary!

I moved on toward the barn and stable area and found that this was my favorite set of buildings. My walk over there was interesting enough with the cracked stone walls. Some revealed old brick that housed weeds and ivy. The main building was connected to the stables and the barn had a small chicken coop area to its right.

I really loved how the muted clay color of the stone was slightly set back from the dark green of the window frames and doors. It seemed to match well with the greenery and natural setting its surrounded by. I also thought it was convenient that everything was connected either by a gate or a path. It brought the whole Manor together as a whole instead of breaking up all the buildings.

The cottage at the end of the Manor was adorable and quaint. It followed the same design as the other buildings and a nice amount of land for gardening. I can imagine how nice it was to take in the view while relaxing on a summers night. The beautiful trees that guard the Manor are mesmerizing. It is no doubt they have seen amazing things.

The Lloyd family has owned this land for two centuries. Spawning out past Caumsett, the 3,000 acres allowed them to build numerous housing, construct buildings such as the Manor and have access to the natural resources that surrounded it. James Lloyd bought the land in 1676 when he married Grissel Sylvester and rented it out to farmers. In 1711 his son Henry decided to keep up the land and make it more successful. In 1763 Henry passed away and his son, Joseph, decided to build a larger home on the property three years later.

Jupiter Hammon, one of the slaves Joseph inherited by his father, was born and raised on the Manor amongst the other Lloyd children. He was fifty-two when Henry passed. A stocky man with a white beard, Jupiter was smart and educated. He wound up becoming a trusted employee of the Lloyd family as well as assisting Joseph to Connecticut to escape the British. At a young age, Jupiter had attended the Lloyd schoolhouse and learned to read and write. When he was twenty-two years of age he raised enough money from his own garden to buy a bible from the Lloyd family. He was a strict Christian and acted as a preacher to the other 10 known slaves.

Jupiter is also the first black poet in America to be published. His piece, An Evening’s Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries, was published on December 25, 1760 at the age of 50. Jupiter’s parents, Opium and Rose, were both slaves as well. In 1780 after Joseph died Jupiter was given to his nephew because he had no children of his own. Being a slave all his life, he passed away between 1790 and 1806 having published about 7 or so works during his life most of which were his later years.

The Manor was kept by several generations of the Lloyd family so you can understand how important it is to Huntington. Henry Lloyd IV was the last owner of the land acquiring it in 1841 and built an addition to the property near the Causeway. The new dock he constructed was intended for the local steamboats. Between then and 1885 the area was still underdeveloped until the Manor was legally made a part of Huntington and finally separated from Oyster Bay.

For such a small part of Huntington this area holds many treasures and shares unbelievable history. I recommend you visit the Lloyd Manor for yourself and take a look around. It really is striking how time tells stories. Important and valuable people came out of this area and helped to make it successful. Their hard work, bravery and ambition put the Lloyd family on the map and left the Manor for all of us to hold close to our hearts.

{Next in the Lloyd Family series: Joseph Lloyd Manor House}