Sylvester Manor

Sylvester Manor is a historic manor on Shelter Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA.

Sylvester Manor
The gateway to Sylvester Manor
LocationShelter Island, New York, USA
Coordinates41°04′49.4″N 72°20′28″W
Builtc. 1737[1]
NRHP reference No.15000178[2]
Added to NRHPApril 28, 2015

History
Circa 1915 postcard of the manor

The land, spanning 8,000 acres on Shelter Island, was acquired by English-born colonist Nathaniel Sylvester in the 17th century.[3] Sylvester and his brother owned two plantations in Barbados and over 200 African slaves.[3] When he died in 1680, the estate and 23 African slaves were inherited by his descendants.[3]

The manor on the estate was built in 1737 for Nathaniel Sylvester's grandson, Brinley Sylvester.[4] African slaves and European indentured servants built it.[3] The last slave was freed in 1820.[4] The grounds include a cemetery of unmarked graves for African slaves.[4]

Later, the manor was inherited by Mary Gardiner, the wife of renowned Harvard University professor Eben Norton Horsford.[3] They entertained often, one of their guests being Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[3] After her death having their fourth daughter, he married her sister, Phoebe Gardiner.

In recent years, it was the home of heiress Alice Fiske.[4] More recently, it was inherited by an 11th generation descendant, Bennett Konesni.[4] With his uncle, Eben Fiske Ostby, he co-founded the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm with the help of the Peconic Land Trust.[4]

Architectural significance

The manor has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 28, 2015.[5]

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See also

References
  1. William E. Krattinger (February 2015). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Sylvester Manor" (PDF). New York State Cultural Resource Information System. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  2. "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 4/27/15 through 5/01/15". National Park Service. May 8, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  3. Jennifer Schuessler, Confronting Slavery at Long Island’s Oldest Estates, The New York Times, August 12, 2015
  4. Anne Raver, Life on the Plantation: Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island Returns to Its Roots, The New York Times, April 10, 2013
  5. Sylvester Manor: Sylvester Manor Placed on the National Register of Historic Places

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).




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