We give Barnabas Horton as the Preface and Introduction to this little volume of Chronicles. He was probably the son of Joseph Horton, of Leicestershire, England, and born in the little hamlet of Mousely of that shire. Of his history before he came to America very little is known. He came over in the ship "Swallow" in 1633–38. He landed at Hampton, Mass. How long he remained at Hampton is not known. But in 1640 we find him with his wife and two children in New Haven, Conn., in company with the Rev. John Youngs, William Welles, Esq., Peter Hallock, John Tuthill, Richard Terry, Thomas Mapes, Matthias Corwin, Robert Ackerly, Jacob Corey, John Conklin, Isaac Arnold, and John Budd, and on the 21st day of Oct., 1640, assisted by the venerable Rev. John Davenport and Gov. Eaton, they organized themselves into a Congregational Church, and sailed to the east end of Long Island, now Southold. They had all been members of Puritan churches in England, and all had families with them except Peter Hallock. They doubtless had been on the island previous to this time and looked out their homes. On nearing the shore they cast lots to decide who should first set foot on the land. The lot fell on Peter Hallock, and the place where he stepped upon the land has ever since been known as Hallock's Landing.

On coming ashore, they all knelt down and engaged in prayer, Peter Hallock leading, as had been determined by the lot. These were the first persons of any civilized nation that had ever attempted to settle on the east end of Long Island. See Griffin's Journal.

Barnabas Horton was a man of deep-toned piety, and a warm advocate of civil and religious freedom. He was one of the most prominent and influential men of Southold. He was for many years a magistrate, and several times a member of the General Court at New Haven and Harford. He built the first framed dwelling-house ever erected on the east of Long Island, and that house is still (1875) standing and occupied. It is a shingle-house, that is, shingles are used for weather-boards, and the sides have never been reshingled, and the roof but once, according to the statement of Jonathan Goldsmith Horton, the last Horton occupant of the old house.

It is said that Barnabas Horton I. was large in stature, and of a ruddy complexion, and of fine social qualities.

His tombstone is of English blue marble, five feet long and about three feet wide. It is placed horizontally over the grave. The stone was re-lettered about fifty or sixty years ago by Jonathan G. Horton. It is elevated about eighteen inches from the ground, on a good stone base. The original base was of brick, but it had all crumbled down many years ago. The present base was put under the stone at the time it was re-lettered by Jonathan G. Horton.

The inscription surrounds the border of the stone, and reads as follows:

In the centre of the stone we find the Epitaph, as follows:

It is said that this epitaph was written by himself, and that it, together with the inscription, date of his death excepted, was all put upon the stone before he died. He was the only one of the original thirteen who brought his tombstone with him, and this fact seems to indicate a commendable desire to see that his name and memory should not perish from the earth.

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MORE ABOUT THE OLD HOUSE.

It will be seen by the engraving that the old house is double. The western part is that which was built by Barnabas in 1659–60. The east or two-story part was built by Jonathan I., about 1682. The upper room of this part was used for a court-house for nearly twenty years, as we learn from Thompson's History of Long Island, and some of the old benches used when it was a court-house are still preserved. The old "castle," as Jonathan G. Horton, its last Horton occupant, used to call it, is in all probability the oldest wood house in America. I know of no dwelling-house of any kind, stone or brick, now standing, that can date back as far as this venerable old mansion. There were a few huts on the east of Long Island previous to 1640—two or three it is said on Shelter Island. But these, as well as those built by the Puritans, immediately on their settlement in Southold, soon all passed away. Not a vestige of any of the first generation buildings can be found except this one. It remained for the house that Barnabas built to survive the wreck of ages, and to stand to-day as a noble representative of the dwellings of two hundred and fifteen years ago. But the old house stands to-day not only as peering above all others by its age, but also by its occupancy. It is not very often that we find two generations of the same name, living and dying in the same house—rarely find three. But here we have six generations in succession, all bearing the Horton name, living and dying in the same house, and all born in it except Barnabas I., and his son Jonathan. We may go to the castles and palaces of the old world, and search long and diligently, and fail to find a parallel case.

With a few repairs, the old castle may yet stand for generations far in the future.

It requires some thought and reflection to realize the lapse of time since the old house was built. See the old Puritan himself there twenty years; then his son Jonathan, twenty-eight years; and then Jonathan, Jr., about sixty years; and next Lawrence and his son Jonathan over a half a century; and lastly Jonathan G. Horton, about a half a century; making in all two hundred and thirteen years at the death of Jonathan G. Horton, 3 July, 1873. These six generations all living and dying in the old mansion! Could those old walls re-echo all the words ever spoken there, and exhibit anew all the scenes ever witnessed there—the book containing such a record would vastly exceed in volume the size of the old castle. It would bring to light much that is now in darkness, and must forever remain hidden from the generations of the living.

At the death of Jonathan G. Horton, the old homestead became, by will, the property of the Rev. Mrs. Williams, of Brooklyn, N. Y., who was the adopted daughter of Jonathan G. Horton, he never having had issue, so that on the 3d of July, 1873, the old homestead went out of the Horton name.

Mrs. Williams proposes to sell it, and if some of the Hortons do not buy it, it will indicate a lack of decent respect for the old castle, if not for the Horton name. It should be bought back into the Horton name, suitably repaired and preserved for the wonder and admiration of generations of Hortons yet unborn. Jonathan G. Horton, the short, thick man, and Stuart T. Terry, are the two men seen in the engraving, in front of the old house.

Mr. Stuart T. Terry, of Southold, L. I., has kindly copied and forwarded to me, many interesting facts from the New Haven Colonial Records, some of which are here inserted:

THE OLD BIBLE.

Perhaps the most interesting relic left by our good old ancestor, Barnabas, is the old Bible, which he brought with him from England. It is now in the possession of the Hon. Silas Horton, of Southold. It was taken to the Bible House, New York, some years ago, and carefully repaired, and every torn leaf mended, so that it is now entire, and in a good condition.

We find in it the following record:

Then follows in manuscript:

Then follows:

In another place, and probably in the handwriting of Jonathan Horton, Jr., we find:

Again we find:

And then follows:

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OLD MUSKET, CASK, AND WALKING STAFF.

The old wood hooks are still attached to the big beam of the old house, upon which Barnabas used to hang his old musket, which was called "uncle Barney's quart pot." He brought it with him from England. It is now in the possession of Barnabas B. Horton, of Southold. It is still a long old gun, though not as long as it was once, as it was bursted by overloading on one Thanksgiving Day, and about eight or ten inches of the muzzle cut off.

The CASK, in which he packed a portion of his household goods, and brought over with him, is still in existence, and is owned by Gilbert W. Horton, of Bay View, Southold. It is doubly historic from the fact that when the British invaded Long Island it was filled with wheat and buried, thus securing the wheat from the foraging parties of the British army. It is made of solid oak—hoops and all—the hoops are square and about an inch and a quarter thick—only one hoop missing. It is used for a grain cask, and will hold about fifteen bushels. It was formerly called "uncle Barney's money barrel," as romance had it, that he brought it over full of gold and silver.

His WALKING STAFF is still preserved. It is made of the Yew tree wood, has a fine ivory head with the letters "J. H." and the figures "1617" in apparently golden specks indented into it, from which it would seem that it once belonged to his father, and that J. H. (Joseph Horton) were his initials. It is now owned by Silas R. Horton, of Goshen, N. Y.

Many other mementos of the old Puritan are in existence, some of them in the Long Island Historical Rooms, Brooklyn, N. Y.

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The HORTON NAME—First Settlers in this Country.

The word Horton in the Anglo-Saxon language means an enclosure, or garden of vegetables. It is said to be derived from ort and tun, ort, meaning plant, and tun, enclosed. The name is evidently of Latin origin, and has been known in England ever since the conquest of CÆsar.

The Hortons in England, and their descendants in America, have generally been cultivators of the soil. They have been found almost universally in the middle class of society, and it is not known that any royal blood has ever coursed in their veins. They are, and always have been, producers rather than consumers, and for industry, integrity, and piety, they will lose nothing in a comparison with the renowned families of either the new or the old world.

The first of the family who emigrated to this country, of whom we have any authentic record, came over from England 1633 to 1638. Thomas, Jeremiah, and Barnabas, were among the early emigrants, and old tradition says they were brothers. Thomas came over in the "Mary and John," in 1633, settled permanently in Springfield, Mass. Jeremiah also settled in Massachusetts. There was a John Horton in New York, in 1645, but no one has been found claiming descent from him. He probably returned to England.

It is not known from what place in England either Thomas or Jeremiah came, nor is there any certain evidence that they were brothers of Barnabas, but the three coming over about the same time would favor the tradition that they were brothers.

The Head Quarters of CÆsar's army was near the present Leicester, the principal town of that county, and the Horton name has been known there to the remotest period of any authentic records. This fact, together with the name itself, favors the idea that the family was of Roman origin. The name in olden time was frequently written Orton, and it is highly probable, that the Ortons and Hortons were originally from the same family, and perhaps also the Nortons.

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ANTIQUITY OF THE HORTON FAMILY.

The antiquity of the Horton Family is established by the fact, that one Robert De Horton, manumitted a bondman to his manor of Horton, long before the time of Henry Larey, Earl of Lincoln, who died in 1310. It is also ascertained that the Hortons had a manor-house in Great Horton, with a mill and certain demesne lands therewith belonging, at a very remote period.

William Horton, Esq., of Frith House, in Barksland, Halifax, descended from the above-mentioned Robert, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Hanson, Esq., of Toothill, had issue and died about 1640, viz.:

It is held that this Joseph settled in Mousely, Leicester Co., and was the father of Barnabas Horton. It is highly probable that Barnabas was not the oldest son, and not inheriting real estate, may have been one reason for his emigrating to America.

It is known that Capt. Jeremy Horton, 18 Aug., 1626, was the master and owner of the ship "Swallow," of Barnstable, and that he made voyages to New England, in 1633 and 1638, and in a subsequent voyage he was shipwrecked and several lives lost—the crew and master came to Boston, but the vessel was lost.

Capt. Roger Horton, about this time, had a prisoner delivered to him, from the White Line Prison, to be transported into parts beyond the seas, to serve in the wars of his majesty's plantations.

Tradition says that Barnabas Horton and family came over in the "Swallow," in 1638, or perhaps earlier, but I have not found his name on any of the lists of emigrants.

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ORIGINAL NAME OF SOUTHOLD.

"The Indians called Southold,[1] 'Yennycock.' Mr. John Youngs, who had been a minister at Hingham, England, came over with a considerable part of his church, and here fixed his residence. He gathered his church anew on the 21 Oct., 1640, and the planters united themselves with New Haven. However, they soon departed from the rule of appointing none to office, or of admitting none to be freemen, but members of the church. New Haven insisted on this as a fundamental article of the constitution. They were, therefore, for a number of years, obliged to conform to the law of jurisdiction. Some of the principal men were: Rev. Mr. Youngs, Mr. William Wells, Mr. Barnabas Horton, Thomas Mapes, John Tuthill, and Matthias Corwin."—Trumbull's History of Connecticut.

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CHAPTER VII.

Documentary History of New York, vol. ii., p. 439. "Rate-Lists of Long Island, 1675, 1676, and 1683," page 447, Southold's Estimate, 16 Sept., 1675, p. 451:

Documentary History, vol. i, page 669. A list of names of old and young, Christians and heathens, freemen and servants, white and black, inhabittinge within the township of Southold, 1698:

Documentary History, vol. iii., p. 855.—Capt. James Horton, 1775, takes a census of slaves in Westchester County, New York, in which he sets down to himself 1 male and 1 female negro.

Same vol., p. 863.—Rev. Simon Horton, 1755, has 1 female and 2 male slaves.

Documentary History, vol. iv., p. 200.—List of freeholders 27 February, 1737.

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Note.

The reader will see at a glance the plan of this book. We commence with the Christian name. Then follows the parentage, genealogical data, &c., and then the Christian names of the children and order of births. In many of the early families the exact order of births cannot be ascertained; but it has been approximated as nearly as possible. The lineage is given in connection with the first member of the family. The Roman numerals indicate the order of births. The sons and daughters of the old Puritan, Barnabas, constitute the second generation, but they are spoken by way of eminence as Joseph I., Hannah I., &c. The book contains much repetition, but none too much to make it plain and easy to study.

This little book contains the chronicles of only about one-half of the Horton families looked up. Those whose genealogical data are given only in a small part, and those whose correct lineage has not been satisfactorily ascertained, are not included in this book.

This book is mainly what those who have kindly furnished records and sketches have made it. The whole has been carefully compiled. But genealogical works, almost of necessity, contain many errors. Doubtless this small work has its full share. But when errors are discovered, notice thereof should be given, so that a second edition may be made entirely truthful. Thankful to all who have generously given their assistance, this work is sent out as a small contribution to the genealogical literature of the day, and in the hope that a more full and extensive book of Horton chronicles may be issued at no very distant day.

Terrytown, 10 Jan., 1876.

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