The Flewelling Family of Long Island

Thomas Flewelling

He is shown as a proprietor but not a Patentee, which means he came after 1647. He had 56 acres, 10 rods of land lying between the great swamps and Carman's Swamp, near ye Bogey Meadow above Hungry Harbor. Records of the Town of Hempsted Page 245. " Hempsted in Queens 'county on ye Island Nassau alias Longe Island in ye Province of New Yorke this 28 day of Januarye Ano D 1696. Know all men by thes presents that I William Smith of ye Town & County aforsd for a a vallewable sume of money in hand received doe give grant & sell unto Thomas Okley of Jamaica in ye County aforsd the one half of ye meadow which was formorly Joseph Smith & Waitt Smiths--which is beinge & lyinge on ye west sid of ye river known by ye name of East Neck River bounded as followeth bounded esterly by ye aforsd river and south by ye casway west by ye upland north by ye bogges I say I William Smith aforsaid have sould ye one half of ye meadows as above bounded with all profits & prevelidges ther on made & profits to be made to be & remaine from hence forth to be & remaine to ye only propor use & dispoas of Thomas Okley aforsd for him his heires excecutors adminestrators & assignes for ever pesably to ockepy improve posses & injoy ye same without lee ore mollestation from me the aforsd William Smith or my heirs excecutors adminestrators or any other person ore persons what soe ever unto all and every of ye premises above written I William to bind my self & my heirs to maintain this my salle good in law against any pretenc what ever unto ye trew performance of ye premises above written I have sett to my hand & fixed my seall this day & datte above writen Sind seald & delivered William X Smith in presence of his marke John Ffoster Thomas X Fflewwellinge his marke This deed acnowledged by William Smith the day & yeare above written befor me Dan Whitthead Justice A trew coppy of ye orrigonall pr Sam Ruscoe Clarke" Samuel Mills is styled a saddler, in the Jamaica Town Records as early as February 26, 1706/7, when he purchased land there from Thomas Fluwelling and Hope Carpenter, husbands of Hannah Ashman and Mary Ashman.

Robert Flewelling

It is the scarcity of the name, Flewelling, which justifies the belief that all Flewellings found in New York in colonial times are of one famiy. Certainly, no evidence that the name was used by anyone outside of the family which had its origins on Long Island has been suggested. The division of the estate of Abraham Smith in 1734 makes it clear that a Robert Flewelling was the son of Hannah (Smith) Flewelling, daughter of William Smith (Abraham's brother); and that his siblings included Thomas Flewelling, Hannah (Flewelling) Brundage, Jane (Flewelling) Brundage, Phoebe (Flewelling) Hall, Catherine (Flewelling) Golding, and, without too much doubt, John and Abraham Flewelling. This in turn, leaves little doubt that Robert was the son of the Thomas and Hannah Flewelling in Hempstead, Long Island in 1698; and the records of Jamaica and Hempstead towns leave little doubt that this Thomas Sr. was the grandson of Robert Ashman, mentioned in Robert Ashman's will of 1683. Thus, when we find notice of Robert Flewelling in North Castle in later years, and there is little doubt that his children are directly involved with children of John Flewelling of Newburgh especially as, for example, when Francis and Joseph, sons of Robert; and John and Abel, sons of John Sr.; act as witnesses for each other in their loyalist Claims in New Brunswick after the Revolution; we can feel relatively secure in knowing who Robert Flewelling is in relation to other Flewelling of the period in New York. Otherwise, we cannot say that we know a great deal of Robert Flewelling. his given name apparently derives from Robert Ashman, and since Robert Ashman apparently left no descendants of his surname, it is some consolation that his given name has passed down through three centuries as some sort of memorial. It is clear that many of Robert Flewelling's descendants were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers); and it is very reasonable to suppose that he was also. Since what is known of his brother John's, family leads us to believe that Robert was not a Quaker by inheritance; then we might further suspect that he was a Quaker by marriage, or by conviction, or by both. Indeed there is reason to suspect that there existed a tendency within the Flewelling family towards strong religious beliefs, especially towards the Friends; but it also seems that only Robert actively followed this tendency. In later years some of his children remained Quakers; while others, most probably as a result of their conflict of convictions brought on by the Revolution, left the Society. In the case of Joseph Flewelling; probably with some reluctance. Robert Flewelling's presence in North Castle may very well have been a direct result of his attachment to the Friends; and it is my opinion that his having moved there, and the movements of many of his decendants, can be directly related to a movement of the Friends first up the Hudson River, then to northern New York, then to what is now the Province of Ontario, and the States of Ohio and Michigan. That is, that this branch of the Flewellings was a part of the general westward migration, often spear-headed by Quaker families attempting to find places in which they could live according to their conviction free of the political and religious difficulties which so often troubled them. The numerous Quaker families with which Robert's family can be tied; often also originating on Long Island, clearly points to these conclusions; and only a thorough study of Quaker History is needed as confirmation. The name of his wife, Maphlet, has survived for several generations as Maplet, and this is a name apparently unique to the Flewelling family. It appears to have been largely used by the family of Robert's brother, John Sr. (wo had a daughter, Maplet), and by John's son, Thomas. In origin it is a surname, and resumably its usage came to the Flewelling family through Robert's wife. Her brother-in-law, John Sr. must have been fond of her to have used it in his family; and his son, Thomas (who remained in North Castle until the Revolution while John Sr. went to Ulster Co.) must have shared that fondness. Joseph Flewelling, the Loyalist who went to Saint John, New Brunswick, also had a daughter, Maplet. Joseph's great grandson reported that Joseph was of Quaker origins, and Joseph, by his own statement, came from North Castle. Being too old to be a son of Thomas Flewelling, son of John Sr.; and too young to have remained in North Castle when John Sr. went up the Hudson River; he is here assumed to be a son of Robert. Most likely, he is left out of the will as he has received a full share from his father; perhaps on the occasion of his marriage. This gives rise to speculation that Robert may have also left out other childrem. Maplet's maiden name is said to be Jeacockes, and that her father was Francis Jeacockes. The implication is that Robert and Maplet were something like second cousins, and that Maplet was descended from a brother of Catern (Jeacockes) Ashman. Since the name, Maplet, seems almost exclusive to the Flewelling family the statement that a Caleb Haight, a Quaker, of New Castle, Westchester Co., NY, b. 1730, d. 1820, married first a Maplet "Forelling", does much to cause us to suspect that this Maplet was a Flewelling of a Quaker family. Since this couple's eldest child was born in 1752, then this Maplet was most likely born between 1730 and 1734. Thus, she is too old to be the Maplet, daughter of Thomas Flewelling, and too old to be Thomas' sister, Maplet, daughter of John Sr. This tends to point to Robert Flewelling as her father. (Thomas Murray, "Oak Leaves" p. 27 - 30, Vol. 7, Spring 1988, Number 43.)
Robert Flewelling who married Maphlet Jeacockes, daughter of Francis of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and lived Fishkill in the Rombout until 1751. In 1751 he moved to North Castle, Westchester Co. and established a homestead on the impregnable heights of Mt. Kisco, little dreaming this would be one of the battlefields of the Revolution. His land was occupied by hostile armies, his children scattered, and his widow Maphlet exiled to New Brunswick. With his sons he established the first mill on Lake Leonard, the dry bed of which today forms Mt. Kisco's recreation park. Later he set up oil and grist mills and a dye works in the Croton Valley. Strategically located on a north-south road, his farms were overrun by Rebel armies. On 19 Aug. 1782, George Washington decided to abandon Dobbs Ferry and retire to the north side of the Croton River to join the French Army. 20 August 1782, he camped with his army on the lower part of North Castle being quartered on Flewelling land. He left next day for Peekskill, a village of about 20 houses on the Hudson River. The French army marched from Sing Sing (now Ossining) 21 Aug. 1782 enroute to Yorktown, camping at Pines Bridge. These invasions by the Continental army involved the Flewellings in the Loyalist cause. It became a civil war with brother against brother. In the rebel army were the Jeacockes brothers of Maphlet and the Westervelt relatives of her Loyalist son in law. Nicolas Outhouse of Haverstraw, Orange County N. Y. On 6 June 1778, Poughkeepsie, NY, the muster roll of Capt. Barnabus Swartwout's Company of Militia and Col. John Frayer's Regt. included no less than 12 members of these two families. Maphlet also participated in the Loyalist defense tearing up her underclothes for gun wadding. [BO:Will drawn June 5, 1768:BO]. Robert Flewelling, Northcastle. Leaves to wife Maphlet, "the household goods she brought to me when we were married," and pounds 10 per year. Leaves to oldest son Ezekiel 50 pds. Legacies to sons Robert 100 pds and Francis 110 pds. Directs "all lands I am now possessed of in North Castle" to be sold. Legacies to daughters Phebe wife of Joseph Golding 1 pd 10 sh, Elizabeth wife of Nicholas Outhouse 4 pds 10 sh., and the same to my daughters Mary wife of Joseph Green, Abigail wife of Solomon Searls, & Hannah wife of Benjamin Ogden. To my daughters Jemima and Freelove 9 pds each. I make my eldest son Ezekiel, and my son-in law, Solomon Searles, and Benjamin Hall, executors. Witnesses, William Daniels, Mary Bealy, Jane Daniels. Proved July 15, 1768.
(The above information was found within the notes of a Gedcom file, Uncredited)
Special thanks to Fred Jones for all the work he did on the substantial Flewelling file he submitted as part of this Database