TITLE: Letter from Lewis Morris in Barbados to John Bowne
DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.02-07
DATE: 15 October 1665 (Old Style) / 25 October (New Style)
Lewis Morris writes to John Bowne from Barbados, explaining his plan to settle near Bowne in Flushing, where he has sent his brother Richard to scout locations. He asks Bowne and other locals to advise the latter on potential sites, including Madnan's Neck (Great Neck) and Matinecock, Long Island.
Notes:
Lewis Morris (1601-1691) was a Welsh-born former soldier, Quaker, Barbadian planter and New York and New Jersey landowner. In 1675 he bought a controlling interest in an iron works from Monmouth Pantentee James Grover and named his estate, "Tintern Manor" (sometimes "Tinton"). He and his brother Richard also bought Bronck's estate in present-day Bronx, NY.
Madnans Neck was part of Hempstead in colonial New Netherland, later known as Great Neck, while Matinecock, named after the original Native American residents, is a village located within the town of Oyster Bay, both in Nassau Co., Long Island.