Mulford Farm House
Title
Mulford Farm House
Description
Records give John Osborne as the owner of the land in 1655. In 1676 it was the sold to Josiah Hobart, high sheriff of Suffolk County, who built the house that stands today. Capt. Josiah Hobart came to East Hampton in the third wave of settlers, found in records by 1650. He was the Sheriff of Suffolk County. In Josiah Hobart’s 1707 will he left his “negro girl Flora” to his wife, Anne.
According to Jeannette Rattray in "Up and Down Main Street," “Experts from Williamsburg, Virginia and the Brooklyn Museum have examined the house and agreed that it is, at least in part, one of the oldest on Long Island.”
The house passed into the Mulford family in an exchange with Samuel Mulford on April 16, 1698. On November 22, 1715, when Samuel Mulford owned the Mulford house, a meeting was held to discuss building the second town church. Supposedly, according to the original Brooklyn Daily Eagle article in 1895, a committee member was missing and Mulford sent an enslaved girl to find him. A terrible storm arrived and the girl was lost in the snow drifts. She was found the next day and the committee decided that her death was a sign from the divine, telling them that the place where she was found should be the site for the new church. Today, Guild Hall stands on the second church’s location, marked by a sign. No one has been able to confirm the legitimacy of this story.
In 1724, the Mulford was deeded to Samuel Mulford’s son, Matthew, who later owned “Home, Sweet Home.” Capt. Matthew Mulford can be found in records from the 18th century owning numerous enslaved persons. He baptized enslaved persons named Shafar and Sharper in March of 1723, Rose in May 1724, Joe in January 1764, and an unnamed “negro man” in September 1772. The town records show his “negro woman” dying in 1771, possibly Rose, and an enslaved woman named Abigail dying in 1773. In 1753 he bought a man named Prince from Seth Parsons for 68 pounds and later records show Prince baptizing his son Depth in 1779 and an unnamed son in 1780, both after the death of Matthew Mulford, but during the time that his grandson, also named Matthew Mulford, owned the home, having obtained the house during the Revolution. The East Hampton Town Records Volume III records 6 shillings being given “to Mulford’s negro two days’ work” in 1733, unclear whether it is Mulford being paid or the enslaved person.
According to Jeannette Rattray in "Up and Down Main Street," “Experts from Williamsburg, Virginia and the Brooklyn Museum have examined the house and agreed that it is, at least in part, one of the oldest on Long Island.”
The house passed into the Mulford family in an exchange with Samuel Mulford on April 16, 1698. On November 22, 1715, when Samuel Mulford owned the Mulford house, a meeting was held to discuss building the second town church. Supposedly, according to the original Brooklyn Daily Eagle article in 1895, a committee member was missing and Mulford sent an enslaved girl to find him. A terrible storm arrived and the girl was lost in the snow drifts. She was found the next day and the committee decided that her death was a sign from the divine, telling them that the place where she was found should be the site for the new church. Today, Guild Hall stands on the second church’s location, marked by a sign. No one has been able to confirm the legitimacy of this story.
In 1724, the Mulford was deeded to Samuel Mulford’s son, Matthew, who later owned “Home, Sweet Home.” Capt. Matthew Mulford can be found in records from the 18th century owning numerous enslaved persons. He baptized enslaved persons named Shafar and Sharper in March of 1723, Rose in May 1724, Joe in January 1764, and an unnamed “negro man” in September 1772. The town records show his “negro woman” dying in 1771, possibly Rose, and an enslaved woman named Abigail dying in 1773. In 1753 he bought a man named Prince from Seth Parsons for 68 pounds and later records show Prince baptizing his son Depth in 1779 and an unnamed son in 1780, both after the death of Matthew Mulford, but during the time that his grandson, also named Matthew Mulford, owned the home, having obtained the house during the Revolution. The East Hampton Town Records Volume III records 6 shillings being given “to Mulford’s negro two days’ work” in 1733, unclear whether it is Mulford being paid or the enslaved person.
Creator
Adelia H. Rattray
Collection
Citation
Adelia H. Rattray, “Mulford Farm House,” Plain Sight Project, accessed November 21, 2024, https://plainsightproject.org/items/show/7.