Sylvester Manor | |
Coordinates: | 41.0804°N -72.3411°W |
Built: | [1] |
Added: | April 28, 2015 |
Refnum: | 15000178[2] |
Sylvester Manor is a historic manor on Shelter Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA.
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 enslaved Africans.[3] When he died in 1680, the estate and 23 enslaved people were inherited by his descendants.[3]
The manor on the estate was built in 1737 for Nathaniel Sylvester's grandson, Brinley Sylvester.[4] Enslaved Africans and European indentured servants built it.[3] The last enslaved person was freed in 1820.[4] The grounds include a cemetery of unmarked graves for enslaved people.[4]
Later, the manor was inherited by Mary Gardiner Horsford, the wife of renowned Harvard University professor Eben Norton Horsford after her mother brought it back into the family.[5] They entertained often, one of their guests being Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. After her death, he married her sister, Phoebe Dayton Gardiner, with whom he had a fifth daughter, Cornelia Horsford.[6]
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[7] with the help of the Peconic Land Trust.[4] [8]
The manor has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 28, 2015.[9]