List of Proprietors of Hempstead in 1647

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

List of Proprietors of Hempstead in 1647

Many of these men were originally from Yorkshire, England and their names are circled in red in the table below. The settlement was characterized as a "Yorkshire Settlement," even though they fell under the Dutch. At the time, the Yorkshire dialect was so strange that not even other Englishmen could understand what they were saying without difficulty. This settlement was on disputed territory during the war between the Dutch and English in 1653-4. At this time, many of the English went east to Suffolk County, settling in Southampton or Huntington. Others went to Oyster Bay. About ten years later, when the English captured New York, Captain Nicholls encountered a few of these Yorkshire men and called Long Island, Yorkshire. In 1673, the Dutch took a census and on eight of the original proprietors remained in Hempstead. Another eight were probably direct descendants. There were possibly more, but since some names were missing, illegible, or using Dutch spelling. In the census of 1698, only fifteen family names remained:

• Carman
• Denton
• Ellison
• Foster
• Gildersleeve
• Hicks
• Ireland
• Jackson
• Raynor
• Sering
• Smith
• Thickstone
• Valentine
• Williams
• Wood

Another prominent and early settler was Captain John Seaman (also written as Symon). His name was not on the 1647 list of proprietors and he was not from Yorkshire. This is why he was often the one sent on embassies, because he could make himself understood with less difficulty.

Ashman, Robert	Denton, Richard Jr.	Ireland, Thomas	Raynor, Edward	Smith, John Sr.	Washburne, William
Armitage, Thomas	Denton, Samuel	Jackson, Robert	Raynor, William	Smith, John Jr.	Whitehead, Daniel
Baccus, Samuel	Ellison, John	Lawrence, John	Rogers, William	Smith, William	Whitson, Henry
Carman [Karman], John	Foucks, John	Lawrence, William	Scott, Joseph	Stephenson, Thomas	Willet, Thomas
Clark, Samuel	Fordham, John	Lewis, John	Scott, William	Storye, John	Williams, Robert
Coe, Benjamin	Foster, Christopher	Lewis, Richard	Sering, Simon	Strickland, John	Williams, William
Coe, John	Foster, Thomas	Lines, Roger	Sewell, John	Strickland, Samuel	Wood, Edmund
Coe, Robert	Guildersleeve, Richard	Ogden, John	Shadden, William	Tanner, Nicholas	Wood, Jeremiah
Denton, Daniel	Hicks, John	Ogden, Richard	Sherman, Thomas	Thickstone, William	Wood, Jonas
Denton, Nathaniel	Hudd, John	Pierson, Henry	? Smith, Abraham	Topping, John	Wood, Terry s/b Timothy
Denton, Rev. Richard	Hudson, Henry	Pope, Thomas	Smith, James	Valentine, Richard	Yates, Francis

Other names have been mentioned, but their dates have not been ascertained:

• John Cornis [Cornell or Cornelis]
• Robert Dean
• John Roads
• William Thorn
• Richard Willets

Sources

• Published history. Moore, Charles B. "The Early History of Hempstead (Long Island)," New York: Trow's Printing and Bookbinding Company, 1879; database with images, (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 July 2023), Reprinted from The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. X., No. 1, January, 1879; Page Count: 48; Owning Institution: Internet Archive; Publisher Digital: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center; Access Level: Public; pg. 7-12 [image 21 of 46].