Ffarington & successively to the longest liver of them and to his heires & Assignes for ever; And vnto Mathew Sunderland and his heires and Assignes for ever; I say w'soever bargains contract and conclusion the abovenamed parties (for themselves heires & Assignes for ever) have made wth Mr Ffarrel according to the Custome of New England I the sd Wm Earle of Sterline ratifie & hold of value is Law: And doe vpon the request of my said Agent James Ffarrall By these p'sents bind my selfe heires & Assignes to doe any further Act or thing whereby or wherewith ye Titles of ye aboue named pties (viz Howell How Ffarington Sunderland & their heires & successors for ever) may be strengthened wch they haue vnder the hand & Seale of my foresaid Agent James Ffarrell of wch I am by him fully satisfied And that he hath in full satisfacon for the said Lands for my vse receiued a competent sum of money in consideracon of wch money I doe acquitt all Right Title Interest & demand of & to ye said land & Pattent Right for ever. Witnesse my hand and Seale this twentieth day of August one thousand six hundred thirty nine.

In the p'sence of
JAMES RAMSEY
JOHN JOHNSON

vera Copia.

STERLINE

(State Papers — Colonial; Vol. IX, No. 34.)

The following account is largely taken from Howell's "History of Southampton, N. Y.," and is based on the records published in N. Y. Col. Doc. II, pp. 144-150.

The next we hear of the Lynn "undertakers" was on the 10th of May, 1640, at Manhasset at the head of Cow Bay, (or Schout's Bay, as the Dutch called it). Here they found the arms of the Prince of Orange erected upon a tree, and Lieut. Howe, the leader of the expedition, pulled them down. But the Sachem Pewhawitz, who had just before ceded all his rights to the Dutch, promptly informed Gov. Kieft that "some foreign strollers" had arrived at Schout's Bay, where they were felling trees and building houses, and had "even hewn down the arms of their High Mightinesses."

Commissary Van Curler (Corlaer) was sent to ascertain the facts, and the Sachem's story was found to be true.

The arms of the State had been torn down, and in their place "had been drawn an unhandsome face, all which appears strange to us, being a criminal offence against his Majesty, and tending to the disparagement of their High Mightinesses."

May 13. The Council of New Amsterdam ordered Cornelius Van Tienhoven to arrest and bring before them the "strollers and vagabonds" of Schout's Bay, who had so insulted their, Dutch dignities.

On the next day, with two officers and twenty men, he started on his mission of ejectment, and arrived at the clearing May 15, finding one small house built and another unfinished.

"They were first asked what they were doing there, and by what power or whose authority they presumed to settle on our purchased soil, and told them they must show their commission."

Eight men, one woman and a little child made answer that they intended to plant there, and were authorized thereto by a Scotchman who had gone with their commission to Red Hill.

Secondly, they were asked "for what reason did they throw down their High Mightinesses arms, and set up a fool's face in the stead?" to which some answered, "the escutcheon was cut down by a person who is not present;" another answered, "such was done in their presence by a Scotchman, James Farrett, and he and Lieut. Howe were then at Red Hill."

Hereupon six men, namely, John Farrington, William Harcher, Philip Kertland, Nathaniel Kertland, Job Sayre and George Wells, were brought to Fort Amsterdam, leaving two men and a woman and a child on the ground to take care of their guns. They arrived on the 15th of May.

At the subsequent examination the following facts appeared: they went to Long Island to settle, from Lynn, Mass., and others were to follow. They came under authority of James Farrett, with consent of Gov. Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was intended to bring twenty families, and many more would come if the land was good.

They should have lived free, under their own laws, and would have been obedient to whomsoever was lord of their land.

Job Sayre, on examination, said he was "born in Bretfordshire 1" [Bedfordshire: he was examined through a Dutch interpreter]; was "twenty-eight years old"; and "had resided in Lynn, Mass."

As the name of Thomas Sayre does not appear as one of the six arrested, he was perhaps one of the two men left at Schout's Bay to look after the woman and child and care for the property.

On May 19 those arrested were discharged "on condition that they promise to deport forthwith from our territory, and never to return without the Directors' express consent."

Accordingly, the little colony sailed through Long Island Sound, and around the eastern point of the Island, to Peconic Bay, landing at what is now called North Sea, a little hamlet about three miles from the village of Southampton, whence they took up their march through the woods to find a place for their new homes.

The first attempt at a settlement here was in a place now called the “Old Town," about three quarters of a mile from the main street of the present village, Here they remained about eight years.

In 1648 Thomas Sayre built the house on the town lot apportioned him in that year; which is undoubtedly the oldest English house on Long Island, or in the state of New York.

It is still habitable, and has never passed out of the hands or occupancy of the family, until in 1892, upon the death of Mrs. Sarah (Sayre) Larry, it fell to her heirs, and was sold to settle her estate. It now belongs to her son, Capt. Larry. It stands on the west side of the main street, north of the academy, cornerwise to the road, a rod or so back from the fence, surrounded by rose bushes and fragrant shrubbery, and shaded by tall trees which are young in comparison to the age of the house. The great chimney, the narrow windows, the massive frame, are all as they were; and the endurance of the old mansion is not yet half tested. The original roof, no doubt, was thatched, as were those of the church, parsonage and jail, built about the same time. And a village ordinance required that a permanent ladder reach from the chimney to the ground, as a precaution against fire.

At first all houses were built facing exactly southward, and so tenaciously was this custom adhered to, that in one case, it is said, a dwelling was placed rear end to the street, in order that its front door should face the equator.

1 As there was a possibility that this might have been Hertfordshire in the original and an error made in copying, advantage was taken by the author, during a visit to The Hague, to examine the original document in the royal archives, through the courtesy of our American minister, and the name was found to be as above stated.

Job's Lane, or the Academy Lane, was originally a portion of Thomas Sayre's homestead, and was given to the town as a thoroughfare by his son Job.

Since this description was written several small houses have been put up on Main Street in front of the "old Sayre house," and a fine Public Library has been erected on Job's Lane so that the house is not now visible from the streets. This venerable relic is now neglected and efforts should be made to purchase it by the town and preserve it as an historical monument.

Thomas Sayre was a prominent man among the founders, as appears from the following extract from the town records:

October 10, 1649: at a General Court he was one of three men chosen "to agitate town business, and they are to have the same authority that the five men had the last year." This is the first record extant of the choice of town rulers, and he may have held office earlier.

October 6, 1651, he was one of the five men chosen "for governing of town affairs" "to act and order all town affairs whatsoever excepting matters of admitting of inhabitants or giving of lands."

October 6, 1654, he was chosen one of three "Townsmen."

March 6, 1657, he was chosen at a town meeting as one of six men "to act and conclude concerning a difference concerning land which east Hampton men make within our bounds."

At a court, May 2, 1657, he was one of seven men chosen "to have the managing of the present affair of the town concerning the safety thereof and get all men to lay down themselves in respect of their persons and estates to be disposed of by the said seven men in a way of righteousness.”

At a court, June 19, 1657, he was one of five men "chosen to lay out roads and view fences."

December 9, 1658, at a town meeting, he was chosen to be "overseer for mending the bridge."

October, 1648, he "was allowed for his basedrum the sum of thirteen shillings, and his year begins the said day." There being no church bells, a drummer was employed to go round the town and summon people to church and town meetings.

The meaning of the two following items is not quite clear:

At the general court, October 23, 1650, "it was ordered that Thomas Sayre shall duly train with the company of town soldiers at their days appointed, excepting his personal pursuing of the Indians in a hostile way, or to go forth against the common enemy."

October 6, 1653, "It is concluded that Thomas Sayre shall have paid unto him by the town ten shillings as an allowance unto him for some pitts that he emparted to the highway, for which he was to have allowance by order made formerly when Mr. Wells and Mr. Gibbons were here."

He was probably of a quick temper, and not slow to express his opinions even about those in authority, as is evidenced by the following: