Benjamin Haviland

Great profile page: http://wood-butcher.com/coonealogy/getperson.php?personID=I408&tree...

Benjamin moved to Flushing (Long Island) ca 1694. On 27 Dec, 1711 he sold his property in Flushing and bought 400 acres in Rye, Westchester County, New York, where he died. He was known as a "ministering Friend [Quaker] of Rye."

The History of Duchess County, New York (by James Smith, D.Mason & Co. pub) mistakenly lists Thomas and Ebenezer as the sons of his son Benjamin and Charity Farrington.

The New York Monthly Meeting records has a Benjamin Haviland of Rye dying on Sep 31 1726.

His marriage to Abigail Mott is recorded in Clarence Almon Torrey's "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1985).

Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~haviland/Haviland/ps02/ps0...

William may have been the a son of James and Thomassine Haviland. James had other children by a previous marriage. William emigrated to America cir. 1650, and is recorded as a freeman of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1653. (There is a record of an "Act and Order of the General Assembly at Newport, May 17, 1653. 'Freemen received of Newport: Benedict Arnold,...' - eventually became governor - '...Joseph Torry,...' - a distant cousin of the Havilands - '...William Haviland, and Jonathan Mott'" ) On 21 May 1656 he is listed as a commissioner to the General Court at Portsmouth, R.I., from Newport.

In THE COLONIAL METAMORPHOSES IN RHODE ISLAND by Sydney V. James is a reference to grants by Pettaquamscut purchases to William Haviland (1 May 1663).

After his marriage to Hannah Hicks, he moved to Long Island, cir. 1667, for in that year he purchased 100 acres of land from his brother-in-law, Thomas Hicks, on what is now Little Neck, (then called "Cornbury").

On 24 Mar 1685 he signed the renewal-charter of the Patent of Flushing, as did his wife's brother Thomas Hicks. "The first patent of Incorporation of the Town of Flushing was granted by the Dutch Governor, William Keift, and was dated October 10th, 1645. This was renewed under the English authority. The renewal-charter was dated March 24th, 1685. These manuscripts were probably lost in the fire [of October, 1789, as they were kept in the house of the John Vanderbilt, the Town Clerk, set ablaze deliberately by his slaves]. The only manuscript the Town has, relative to its Incorporation, is termed an "Exemplification of Flushing Patent." It is dated Feb. 24th, 1792; one hundred and seven years after the renewal by the English, and one hundred and forty-seven years after the original grant by the Dutch authorities. We found it in possession of Capt. George B. Roe, who kindly placed a copy at our disposal. It is only sixty-seven years old [as of 1859], but already many parts are nearly obliterated and can with difficulty be deciphered." [85] William Haviland's name was preserved in this document, as it was a reproduction of the renewal charter of 1685. A "Joseph Havyland" also signed the document. He may Joseph, son of William, although it is not known why the spelling is different. (It could be a transcription error.)

From LIST OF HEADS OF FAMILIES IN FLUSHING (FRENCH, DUTCH AND ENGLISH) FROM 1645-1698, GATHERED FROM OLD RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS, by Henry Onderbonk, Jr.: "...Benjamin, John and William Haviland ... Thomas--Justice, and John Hicks..." Benjamin and John as referred to here were very likely the sons of William.

The Haviland Genealogy by Josephine Frost, quoting genealogist Eduardo Haviland Hillman who was commissioned to research the ancestry of William Haviland:

"Although unfortunately there is no positive proof obtainable, it seems to me that the evidence is beyond question that William, the youngest son of James and Thomassine, baptised September 7th, 1606, was the William Haviland living in Newport, R.I., as early as 1653 and probably much earlier. (The Rev. Edmund Nevill, B.A., F.S.A., Editor of 'Marriage Licenses of Salisbury,' recently published in 'The Genealogist,' and author of other genealogical works, writes me, 'I am fully of opinion that William may quite well be the William of your search.') There is no record of either his marriage or burial in any of the Churches at Salisbury, and it is my opinion that being the youngest he lived with his mother until her death in 1641, shortly after which he emigrated to America.

"The Havilands in England today (always excepting, of course, the 'de Havillands' of the Guernsey branch, some of whom live in England) are all the descendants of either Christopher Havilland of Poole, by his marriage in 1544 to Cecilia Mann, or of the Rev. John Haviland of Winstone, by his marriage, circa 1584, to Alice --. The sons and grandsons of both Christopher and the Rev. John Haviland are all known. There has not been found any William Haviland baptised in England between 1605 or earlier, and 1650, excepting William, son of James Haviland, of Salisbury, and consequently he is the only William Haviland who could have emigrated to America between 1630 and about 1650.

"If we were dealing with any other family name, already long and widely established in England by the year 1600, this argument might not be applicable, but treating, as we are, of an individual with the unique surname of 'Haviland,' and descended from a marriage taking place either in 1544 or 1584, it seems to me incontestable." [1]

It should be pointed out that William's son Benjamin was born in 1659, which would indicate that William was still bearing children in his 50's. There is an even younger child, John, whose birthdate is unknown but was guessed as ca 1670 (which would make John about 70 by the time of his own death). That would mean William would have had John at age 64. Although it is possible, it is also possible there is a problem with our assumption. It has also been guessed that William married Hannah Hicks in 1652, when he was 46 and she was 14. This age gap, certainly controversial in our day, was at the least still unusual in those days.

Frost continues:

"It is unfortunate that we have no record giving William Haviland's age in America at any particular date, thus acquainting us with the year of his birth. If this concurred with the date of baptism of William, son of James Haviland of Salisbury, it would have clinched the argument, if that were necessary. Still, we have two sources which approximately indicate his age. In a letter to Captain William Dyer, (son of Mary Dyer, the Quaker Martyr) from Cornbury, L. I., dated July 1st, 1680, he describes himself as 'being old,' and 'not able to manage ye little' property he has. If he was, as I have not the slightest doubt, the son of James Haviland, Mayor of Salisbury, he was fully entitled to describe himself thus, being then about 74 years of age. In a letter written by the late Frederick Haviland, Esq., and published in a 'Supplement to the Torrey Genealogy,' he says, 'William Haviland was made a Freeman of Newport, R. I., May 17th, 1653, at the same date as Joseph Torrey (brother of Captain William Torrey of Weymouth). They were also appointed Commissioners to the General Court, May 21st, 1656, and the land of both is mentioned in the Will of Governor Benedict Arnold, dated December 24, 1677.' I do not know when Joshua (or Joseph) Torrey was born, but William, his brother, was baptised 21 December 1608, and Joshua was probably born within a few years of his brother. Governor Benedict Arnold was born in 1615. It is reasonable to suppose that these dates of associates of William Haviland are somewhere within a few years of his birth. Another curious coincidence (if it is a coincidence) is that Captain William Torrey, the brother of Joshua, was married in England to Jane, (baptised August 2nd, 1612: St. Werburgh's Register, Bristol), daughter of Robert Haviland of Hawkesbury Manor, (and grand-daughter of Matthew Haviland, Mayor of Bristol, the brother of James, Mayor of Salisbury), consequently a cousin once removed of William, son of James Haviland.

"Someone may ask: 'If William Haviland was the son of James Haviland of Salisbury, why did he not name one of his sons after the grandfather, as was the custom of those days, and still is to a certain extent?' My answer is that he did, for he had a son named Jacob, and Jacob is only another form of the name James, and with the Puritan love of Biblical names which our ancestors had in those early New England days, it is only natural that William should have adopted the Biblical form, that being the custom of the time, and country." [1]

William had a son named John, which might have been the name of his great grandfather (though Frost believes his great grandfather to have been James also). In any case, though the name Christopher Havilland appears as William's grandfather, it was not repeated at all in this line. In fact Christopher is one of the more rare names in the genealogy of those days. So clearly the custom of naming one's son after one's father or grandfather was not a rule we should worry too much about.

"The statement made by J. V. S. de Haviland (Chronicle p. 10) that not all who bear the surname of 'Haviland' belong to the Norman family, but possibly to a Norfolk one which flourished in the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, is most absurd and without any foundation. It is sufficiently answered, by the following letter to the compiler of this chapter, from Mr. Walter Rye, author of 'Norfolk Families,' 'Feet of Fines,' History of Norfolk,' etc., showing that no such family ever flourished in Norfolk. Mr. Rye is without doubt the greatest authority on Norfolk and Norfolk family history.

" 'Rectory Cottage,'

" Lammas Buxton,

" Norwich.

" 23rd November 1913.

"'Dear Sir,

"'The village of Haveringland near here is locally pronounced "Haverlond" and is no doubt what the author (J. V. S. de Haviland) means, but no such coat was ever used in Norfolk, except by the Prior, or to my knowledge elsewhere, and there never was a family of the name of Haverlond or Haviland in the county, though one or two of the name existed, and amongst others John Haverlond, the Prior (in 1436) to whom the arms you name are ascribed in Blomefield (History of Norfolk) IV p. 5. He, of course, cd have no son on whom the arms cd have descended.

"'The whole thing is pure guesswork and there was never anyone of the name of any note except the Prior.

" 'Yours faithfully,

" 'WALTER RYE.'

"'The early possessors of Haveringlond were never so called. It belonged to other families.'"

"In regard to the spelling of the surname 'Haviland' I have closely followed that used by the different members of the family. The Dorset family used the form of 'Havelland' almost invariably, with the exception of the Winstone (Gloucestershire) branch of it, which with the Rev. John Haviland, commenced spelling the name 'Haviland' and 'Havyland.' Christopher used the form 'Havilland,' but both his sons James and Matthew dropped one 'L,' making it 'Haviland' and this is the form used by all the English branches today." [1]

Per a commercial "research" society selling coats-of-arms: "Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Miles Haviland settled in Rhode Island in 1679; Mathew Haviland settled in the Barbados in 1680 with his servants; Arthur, Daniel, Francis, Henry, James, John Haviland, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860."

These Havilands have not been identified genealogically. Miles Haviland bought a ticket on a ship called The Swallow on 1 Apr 1679 from Barbados to Rhode Island, ultimately from Liverpool.

As noted, William Haviland is mentioned in the will of Benedict Arnold, the Governor of Newport, R.I., as such: "...and to her heirs and assigns to have and to hold, possess and enjoy as her and their own true rights and lawful inheritance forever, that is to say, ye lands and tenements hereafter mentioned, namely: ye house and two acres of land, be it more or less, that I bought of William Haviland, being and lying in ye precincts of ye town of Newport, above said, bounded on ye South and on ye East parts on land now or later in the possession of Thomas Clifton or his assigns, on ye West by a highway belonging to said town, and on ye North by land that I have bequeathed to my son Josias Arnold, and I order ye said line of fence to be made and forever maintained by ye occupants of ye premises which I bought of Wm. Haviland aforesaid, as also all that land which I bought of Wm. Vaughan being and lying in ye precincts of the said town of Newport... Unto my beloved son Josiah Arnold aforenamed, I give and bequeath a certain parcell of land, being and lying in ye precincts of ye town of Newport above mentioned, ye said land containing by estimation, four acres more or less, being eight rod in breadth from North to South, and eighty rod in length from East to West, bounded on ye North by land I have bequeathed to his mother Damaris Arnold, &c. on ye East by land of Walter Clarke on ye South in part by land now or late in ye possession of Thomas Clifton or his assigns and partly by ye land above said, I bought of Wm. Haviland and bequeathed to ye said Damaris Arnold, &c...." [86] This will was reproduced in a booklet called THE CONTROVERSY TOUCHING ON THE OLD STONE MILL, referring to Benedict's stone wind-mill that was on his property, which still stands in a park in Newport, RI and is the oldest non-native man-made structure in North America. The controversy is in regarding who built it: for it is alleged to have already been standing here when the first settlers arrived. Few stone wind-mills exist (most are made of wood) but there are several in England which look almost identical.

About Flushing:

"The welcoming Matinecocks not only sold Flushing to the Dutch at the rate of one ax for 50 acres, they also fed the colonists who would have otherwise starved in the winter of 1637. Their reward was all-out war unleashed by the tyrannical New Netherlands Gov. Willem Kieft, with reprisals on both sides. Peace was finally restored after the arrival of English settlers in 1645.

"It's not clear why Kieft invited the English from New England. It may have been because the Dutch were having trouble colonizing, Dutch farmers apparently seeing no reason to leave Holland. English rulers were better at driving people to seek refuge in the colonies, while the New England Puritans gave any nonconformist reason to flee to Long Island.

"Kieft might have also wanted to repay Capt. John Underhill, an English mercenary whom he had called upon to rout the Indians in Connecticut. Underhill, a merciless Indian fighter and later a devout Quaker, remains the most controversial Flushing-ite.

"Historian Myron Luke, retired editor of the Nassau County Historical Society Journal, cautions against assessing Underhill by today's standards. 'Never take a man out of his generation,' Luke says. 'There was a strong Indian uprising . . . They could have massacred the whites out of existence.'

"With peace restored, however, English settlers spread out over an area from Flushing Creek to Little Neck Bay, including what is now College Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck. The English called the town Flushing, an anglicizing of the Dutch city Vlissingen, which harbored English refugees before they embarked for the New World.

"The name Flushing was to become forever associated with the first declaration of religious tolerance in American history. The Society of Friends, the Quaker group founded in England in the early 1600s, sent its first missionaries to the colonies in 1656. Peter Stuyvesant, who had succeeded Kieft as governor of New Netherlands, did not look favorably on religious dissenters. He ordered that colonists were not to let the Quakers into their homes.

"The Flushing citizens replied with the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657, asking that every man be 'let to stand and fall to his own Master.' Stuyvesant replied by jailing the leading signers, including the sheriff. John Bowne, a young farmer who defied the law by holding Quaker meetings in his home, was exiled to Holland. He returned with orders from the Dutch West India Co. to cease the persecution.

"Stuyvesant accepted the order, and the Quakers soon became a major force in the North Shore communities. The Flushing Friends' Meeting House, built in 1694, is the oldest church building in continuous use on Long Island. (The 1661 Bowne house, the oldest house in Flushing, remains much as it looked 300 years ago.)

"After the British drove out the Dutch in 1664, Flushing farmers faced another menace: the Duke of York's tax collectors. The 'Duke's Laws' sowed the seeds for the Revolution, which sharply divided Flushing families a century later. Although Queens was largely Tory territory, Flushing produced a number of ardent Patriots. One Flushing-Whitestone landowner, Francis Lewis, was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Quakers, meanwhile, remained neutral and suffered from both sides. The British used the Friends' meetinghouse as a prison, a hospital and a hay warehouse.

"British troops also played havoc with the Prince Nursery, established by William Prince in 1737 as the country's first commercial nursery. The Redcoats chopped down 3,000 young cherry trees to make poles for hop vines, preferring beer to fruit.

"The orchards had recovered enough by 1789, however, to welcome the new president, who came on his barge from Manhattan to buy fruit. George Washington did not chop down any of Flushing's cherry trees, but he was reportedly casing the place as a possible site for the nation's capital. He may have been discouraged by the lack of convenient transportation across the East River.

"That same year, meanwhile, all of Flushing's town records were destroyed in a fire started in the home of Town Clerk Jeremiah Vanderbilt by a 17-year-old slave angered because Vanderbilt would not let her get married. In a famous case prosecuted by Aaron Burr, she was convicted and hanged.

"Flushing grew slowly in the next century. A steamboat ran twice a day to Manhattan; stages ran to Brooklyn. The Long Island Rail Road opened a station in 1902 on what was then the Willets farm, and the Auburndale community grew up around it. The country homes were billed as less than 10 miles from the East 34th Street ferry landing in Long Island City.

"In 1894, Flushing voted against consolidating with New York City, but eventually bowed to the inevitable. The most important events since were the opening of the Queensboro Bridge in 1909, which touched off a real estate boom, and the two World's Fairs in 1939 and 1964, leaving in their wake Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and Shea Stadium.

"A major demographic change began in 1965 when the immigration law that had favored Northern Europeans was changed to permit more immigration from other areas. Asians began filling the downtown Flushing apartments once occupied by Jewish, Italian and German immigrants.

"The Asian-American population swelled from 18,000 in the 1980 census to more than 49,000 in 1990. Today Asian-Americans, one out of four Flushing residents, have become a significant voting force and a source of new vitality in the old village." [87]

William Haviland and his descendants are referenced by several sources, including "The Havilands of Westchester County, New York" by Frederick Haviland of New Rochelle, NY (an appendix in the book Early Wills of Westchester County, New York, from 1664-1784, published 1898); and The Haviland Genealogy by Josephine C. Frost (1914). His marriage to Hannah [Hicks?] is recorded in Clarence Almon Torrey's "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1985).

Source:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~haviland/Haviland/ps02/ps0...