As we get closer to the 250th anniversary of our independence as a nation, there is, unfortunately, very little documentation in the Town Records that would suggest that a war of such magnitude was occurring in the colonies, no less that the British occupied our Town from start to finish. It was business as usual.
One of the reasons was that during the lead-up to the Revolutionary War, Committees of Safety emerged here, a kind of shadow government authorized by the First Continental Congress to communicate with and organize the citizenry. They would eventually replace the governing bodies installed by the British.
Interestingly enough, there is one small mention that alludes to the coming crisis.
On April 1, 1766 (259 years ago today), Silas Halsey and Daniel Hildreth entered into a contract to sell part of Lot 40 in the Little South Division, which they held jointly. They made note in the transaction to “promise that when the affairs of the nation is settled with regard to stamped paper that they will give him [the buyer] an ample deed…” (SHTR, Vol. 3, pg. 251).
Just a year before, the British Parliament had passed an “Act for Granting and Applying Certain Stamp Duties in the British Colonies and Plantations in America,” known as the Stamp Act of 1765. It required that certain official papers, court documents, contracts, and property deeds be executed on embossed paper or they would be subject to penalties or null and void, and apparently word had reach Southampton, as Halsey and Hildreth were aware of the Act.
Taxes were nothing new to the British or the colonists, but the Stamp Act drew fierce opposition on this side of the pond, as the taxes were imposed at a rate higher than what was being paid in England.
It is unclear if Halsey or Hildreth received the appropriate stamped paper to execute the deed, but the tax on paper would be the least of their worries, as uprisings became more common ahead of the Revolution.
What is known is that each of these men chose a different path when the war broke out.
Silas Halsey (1718-1786): Silas signed the Articles of Association in 1775 and was chairman of the Committee of Safety in Southampton before the war. On Sept. 2, 1776, with his wife and effects he sailed from Sag Harbor to Saybrook, Connecticut, aboard Capt. Zebulon Cooper’s ship. Silas moved upstate after the war.
Daniel Hildreth (1715-1784): On Sept, 22, 1778, Daniel signed the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown in the presence of Gov. William Tryon.
"I do hereby certify, that Daniel Hildreth aged 63 of Southampton Township has volunteerly sworn to before me, to be of faith and true Allegiance to his Majesty King George the Third and that he will not directly or indirectly, openly or secretly, aid abet, counsel, shelter, or conceal any of his Majesty's Enemies, and those of his Government, or molest or betray the Friends of Government, but that he will behave himself peaceably and quietly, as a faithful Subject of his Majesty and his Government. Given under my Hand on Long-Island, this 22nd Sept. 1778."
Although Hildreth chose to sign the oath to King George III rather than flee to Connecticut, that did not necessarily mean he was aligned with the Crown, only that he wanted to stay behind to protect his property from the devastation of the British occupiers.
