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Creator
Committee of Brookhaven, Manor of St. George and Patentship of Moriches
Call number
MssCol 405
Physical description
.1 linear feet (1 volume)
Preferred Citation

Minutes of the Committee of Brookhaven, Manor of St. George and Patentship of Moriches, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library

Sponsor
Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation
Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
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The entirety of this collection has been digitized and is available online.

Manuscript meeting minutes, 1775 August 3-September 2, for the Committee of Brookhaven, Manor of St. George and Patentship of Moriches. The Committee was established as a local committee of observation during the Revolutionary era by the Town of Brookhaven, Long Island, New York at the town meeting of June 8, 1775. Pursuant to that meeting the Committee organized at Coram on June 27. Months later it was superseded by a new committee of safety holding its first meeting on April 16, 1776. Minutes of the Committee of Brookhaven, Manor of St. George and Patentship of Moriches (8 pages bound in 1 volume), are for meetings held 1775 August 3 and 23, and September 2 and 21, all at Coram. Matters discussed include quorums for emergency action, the procurement of gunpowder and lead by Selah Strong and Samuel Thompson, reimbursements for losses incurred by patriots, the raising and funding of militia, and dealing with disorderly and disloyal conduct. Reference is also made to difficulties encountered by an earlier committee. Modern transcripts of the minutes of the 1775 and 1776 committees are included in the collection.

Biographical/historical information

The Committee of Brookhaven, Manor of St. George and Patentship of Moriches was established as a local committee of observation during the Revolutionary era by the Town of Brookhaven, Long Island, New York at the town meeting of June 8, 1775. Pursuant to that meeting the Committee organized at Coram on June 27. Chairmen included John Woodhull, Thomas Helme, and William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Floyd’s signature appears on the minutes of the meeting he chaired on August 3, 1775. Samuel Thompson was clerk. Months later the Committee was superseded by a new committee of safety holding its first meeting on April 16, 1776. The minutes of that committee show continued use of the full Committee name, sometimes expanding the term Committee to Committee of Safety. Many of the participants continued their service from the previous committee.

Digital Assets

26 Images

Scope and arrangement

Minutes of the Committee of Brookhaven, Manor of St. George and Patentship of Moriches (8 pages bound in 1 volume), are for meetings held 1775 August 3 and 23, and September 2 and 21, all at Coram. Matters discussed include quorums for emergency action, the procurement of gunpowder and lead by Selah Strong and Samuel Thompson, reimbursements for losses incurred by patriots, the raising and funding of militia, and dealing with disorderly and disloyal conduct. Reference is also made to difficulties encountered by an earlier committee. The manuscript begins and ends with partial undated entries.

The manuscript is accompanied by a bound photostatic copy of transcripts of those minutes and the minutes of the committee of safety, 1776 April 16-June 25. The fragmentary entry preceding 1775 August 3 in the present manuscript comprises the latter portion of the minutes for June 27, as can be seen in those proceedings published in John Holt’s newspaper The New-York Journal, August 3, 1775, page 2. The manuscript minutes and transcripts are housed together in a slipcase. The Committee’s original manuscript minutes for 1776 April 16-June 25 are held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Purchased from Anderson Galleries, 1923

Processing information

Compiled by Susan P. Waide, 2015

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328