{"id":77837,"date":"2021-04-28T11:33:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=77837"},"modified":"2021-04-30T14:31:28","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T18:31:28","slug":"nathaniel-sylvester-lord-of-shelter-for-17th-century-quakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/nathaniel-sylvester-lord-of-shelter-for-17th-century-quakers.html","title":{"rendered":"Nathaniel Sylvester, ‘Lord of Shelter’ for 17th Century Quakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about Nathaniel Sylvester, who sheltered persecuted Quakers on his island home, Shelter Island, in the 17th<\/sup> century. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

On 17 July 1884, a group of 500 spectators gathered on Shelter Island, New York, to witness the unveiling of a monument to commemorate Nathaniel Sylvester (1610-1680), the \u201cLord of Shelter\u201d for many 17th century persecuted Quakers.<\/p>\n

The monument was an exact copy of the Sylvester tombs in England: four heavy stone pillars supporting a white marble slab reached by stone steps.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Nathaniel Sylvester monument on Shelter Island, New York. Credit: The Great Ancestral Hunt; Laura George.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Boston Daily Advertiser<\/em> reported the monument\u2019s dedication. The attendees list included Sylvester\u2019s descendants and the lineal lines from Quakers who were given refuge by Sylvester.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Daily Advertiser (Boston, Massachusetts), 22 July 1884, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harvard Professor Dr. Eben Norton Horsford and his four daughters, born from his marriages to two daughters of Samuel Smith Gardiner and Mary Catherine L\u2019Hommedieu \u2013 first Mary, then Phoebe \u2013 were the official monument raisers.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Mary Katherine \u201cKate\u201d Horsford (left) and Cornelia Conway Felton Horsford, two of the monument raisers. Credit: the Fales Library Special Collections, New York \u2013 The Shelter Manor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prof. Horsford, who spent much of his later years researching Quaker history, gave an account of Nathaniel Sylvester and his role in sheltering Quakers. His talk covered the struggles and sorrows of this sect. Some of the persecuted are listed on the monument so that they may never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

As reported in the Boston Daily Advertiser<\/em> article, the inscriptions on the monument are as follows.<\/p>\n

Engraved into the white marble slab is this inscription, along with the Sylvester coat of arms:<\/p>\n

TO
\nNATHANIEL SYLVESTER,
\nFIRST RESIDENT PROPRIETOR
\nOF
\nTHE MANOR OF SHELTER ISLAND,
\nUNDER GRANT OF CHARLES II, A.D. 1666.
\nAN ENGLISHMAN
\nINTREPID,
\nLOYAL TO DUTY,
\nFAITHFUL TO FRIENDSHIP,
\nTHE SOUL OF INTEGRITY AND HONOR,
\nHOSPITABLE TO WORTH AND CULTURE,
\nSHELTERING EVEN THE PERSECUTED FOR
\nCONSCIENCE\u2019 SAKE;
\nTHE DAUGHTERS
\nOF
\nMARY AND PHOEBE GARDINER HORSFORD,
\nDESCENDANTS OF
\nPATIENCE, DAUGHTER OF NATHANIEL SYLVESTER
\nAND
\nWIFE OF THE HUGUENOT BENJAMIN L\u2019HOMMEDIEU,
\nIN
\nREVERENCE AND AFFECTION
\nFOR
\nTHE GOOD NAME OF THEIR ANCESTOR,
\nIN 1884
\nSET UP THESE STONES
\nFOR A MEMORIAL.<\/p>\n

Below the white marble slab inscription is a female register and list of proprietors:<\/p>\n

DESCENT FROM ANNE BRINLEY ON THE FEMALE SIDE.<\/p>\n

Thomas Brinley, King\u2019s auditor, married Anne Wase.
\nNathaniel Sylvester married Grissell Brinley.
\nBenjamin L\u2019Hommedieu married Patience Sylvester.
\nBenjamin L\u2019Hommedieu, 2nd<\/sup>, married Martha Bourne.
\nEzra L\u2019Hommedieu married Mary Catherine Havens.
\nSamuel Smith Gardiner married Mary Catherine L\u2019Hommedieu.<\/p>\n

SUCCESSION OF PROPRIETORS.<\/p>\n

The Manhasset Tribe.*
\nThe King. [King James I]
\nThe Earl of Stirling. [William Alexander]
\nJames Farrett.
\nStephen Goodyear.
\nNathaniel Sylvester.
\nGiles Sylvester.
\nBrinley Sylvester.
\nThomas Dering.
\nSylvester Dering.
\nMary Catherine Dering.
\nMary Catherine L\u2019Hommedieu.
\nSamuel Smith Gardiner.<\/p>\n

Then on each of the steps are the following inscriptions.<\/p>\n

South side:<\/p>\n

Of the sufferings for conscience\u2019 sake of
\nfriends of
\nNATHANIEL SYLVESTER,
\nMost of whom sought shelter here, including
\nGEORGE FOX.
\nFounder of the Society of Quakers,
\nand of his followers,
\nMARY DYER, MARMADUKE STEVENSON, and
\nWILLIAM ROBINSON, WILLIAM LEDDRA,
\nWho were executed on Boston Common.<\/p>\n

East side:<\/p>\n

LAWRENCE AND CASSANDRA SOUTHWICK,
\nDespoiled, imprisoned, starved, whipped, banished.
\nWho fled here to die.<\/p>\n

North side:<\/p>\n

DANIEL GOULD, bound to the gun-carriage and lashed;
\nEDWARD WHARTON, \u201cThe Much Scourged\u201d;
\nCHRISTOPHER HOLDER, \u201cThe Mutilated\u201d;
\nHUMPHREY NORTON, \u201cThe Branded\u201d;
\nJOHN ROUS, \u201cThe Maimed\u201d;
\nGILES SYLVESTER \u201cThe Champion\u201d;
\nRALPH GOLDSMITH, \u201cThe Shipmaster\u201d;
\nSAMUEL SHATTUCK of \u201cThe King\u2019s Missive\u201d;
\nTHESE STONES ARE A TESTIMONY.<\/p>\n

West side:<\/p>\n

The Puritan in his pride, overcome by the faith of the Quaker, gave
\nLEXINGTON AND CONCORD AND BUNKER HILL TO HISTORY.
\nThe Blood and the Spirit of Victor and Vanquished alike are of the Glory of MASSACHUSETTS.<\/p>\n

At the monument dedication ceremony, Dr. Rev. Richard S. Storrs gave an opening prayer, poems were recited, and a benediction was done by Dr. Rev. Whittaker.<\/p>\n

The article concluded:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe erection of this monument by Professor Horsford has much more than local significance. It commemorates the fearful and ill-advised persecutions which were heaped upon the Quakers by Governor Endicott and his officers, directed, however, by a pure sense of right, which posterity was called upon to correct. It commemorates the sad banishment of these honest people, their long and painful wanderings, and the harbor of refuge accorded to them by Nathaniel Sylvester in his island home. It bears witness to the fact that an enlightened posterity is ready to acknowledge the wrongdoings of its misguided ancestors, which were actuated by an evident purpose of duty \u2013 wrong and cruel though they may have been. It will add special interest to the beautiful island, so fittingly termed Shelter, and will take its place among the historical monuments of the country.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*The Manhasset Indian name Manhansack-aha-quash-awamock, meaning \u201cisland sheltered by islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> Just as an online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, helped tell the stories of the Sylvester family, they can tell you stories about your ancestors that can\u2019t be found anywhere else. Come look today and see what you can discover!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa Davenport Berry writes about Nathaniel Sylvester, who sheltered persecuted Quakers on his island home, Shelter Island, in the 17th century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":77855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12557],"tags":[705,57889,3225,57891],"class_list":["post-77837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-stories","tag-colonial-america","tag-nathaniel-sylvester","tag-quakers","tag-shelter-island"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/photo-0428-2021-featured-graphic-sylvester-monument.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77837"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77883,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77837\/revisions\/77883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}