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Sylvester Manor is a historic manor on Shelter Island in Suffolk County,
The land, spanning 8,000 acres on Shelter Island, was acquired by English-born colonist 
Sylvester Manor: Sylvester Manor Placed on the National Register of Historic Places
/ref>
NYU Fales Library and Special Collections Guide to the Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996
National Register of Historic Places in Shelter Island, New York Houses completed in 1737 Underground Railroad in New York (state) {{New York-stub
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, USA.
History
The land, spanning 8,000 acres on Shelter Island, was acquired by English-born colonist Nathaniel Sylvester
Nathaniel Sylvester (1610–1680) was an Anglo-Dutch sugar merchant, slave owner, and the first European settler of Shelter Island.
Early life
Nathaniel Sylvester was born in 1610 in England.Jennifer SchuesslerConfronting Slavery at Long Islandâ ...
in the 17th century. Sylvester and his brother owned two plantations in Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
and over 200 enslaved Africans. When he died in 1680, the estate and 23 enslaved people were inherited by his descendants.
The manor on the estate was built in 1737 for Nathaniel Sylvester's grandson, Brinley Sylvester. Enslaved Africans and European indentured servants built it. The last enslaved person was freed in 1820. The grounds include a cemetery of unmarked graves for enslaved people.
Later, the manor was inherited by Mary Gardiner Horsford
Mary Gardiner Horsford (born Mary L'Hommedieu Gardiner; September 27, 1824 – November 25, 1855) was an American poet and the wife of chemist Eben Norton Horsford.
Mary L'Hommedieu Gardiner was born in New York City, the daughter of Samuel Smit ...
, the wife of renowned Harvard University professor Eben Norton Horsford
Eben Norton Horsford (27 July 1818 – 1 January 1893) was an American scientist who taught agricultural chemistry in the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard from 1847 to 1863. Later he was known for his reformulation of baking powder, his int ...
after her mother brought it back into the family. They entertained often, one of their guests being Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
. After her death, he married her sister, Phoebe Dayton Gardiner, with whom he had a fifth daughter, Cornelia Horsford
Cornelia Conway Felton Horsford (1861–1944) was an American archaeologist and writer whose work focused on the Norse settlement of Vinland and other possible traces of early Norse exploration and settlement of North America, especially in Mas ...
.
In recent years, it was the home of heiress Alice Fiske. More recently, it was inherited by an 11th generation descendant, Bennett Konesni. With his uncle, Eben Fiske Ostby
Eben Fiske Ostby (born February 24, 1955) is a pioneer computer graphics software developer, animator, and technical director for motion pictures.
Ostby was born in Hampton, Connecticut, United States. He graduated from Pomfret School and Vassar ...
, he co-founded the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm with the help of the Peconic Land Trust Peconic may refer to:
*Peconic, New York, a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York
*Peconic Bay, two bodies of water between the North Fork and the South Fork of Long Island, New York
**Great Peconic Bay, the body of water between the North Fork and th ...
.
Architectural significance
The manor has been listed on theNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
since April 28, 2015./ref>
See also
* Shelter Island WindmillReferences
Bibliography
*Mac Griswold. ''The Manor: Three Centuries at a Slave Plantation on Long Island'' (New York City: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2013). *Katherine Howlett Hayes. ''Slavery before Race Europeans, Africans, and Indians at Long Island's Sylvester Manor Plantation, 1651-1884'' (New York City: NYU Press, 2013).External links
*NYU Fales Library and Special Collections Guide to the Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996
National Register of Historic Places in Shelter Island, New York Houses completed in 1737 Underground Railroad in New York (state) {{New York-stub