Many residents may have noticed the distinctive Islip Town seal used on official correspondences, documents, and property of the Town of Islip. Many towns have their own official seal, but when …
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Many residents may have noticed the distinctive Islip Town seal used on official correspondences, documents, and property of the Town of Islip. Many towns have their own official seal, but when inspecting Islip’s graphic signature, it seems to be in a class all by itself, with how much thought was put into each symbolic representation. According to islipny.gov, it does more than just look intriguing; it is meant to telegraph a message—to future generations—of the origins of Islip, which is why we’re still learning its meaning to this day.
The singular seal puts into stark relief the rural beginnings of the town—which started as an afterthought—and reminds all those who behold it, and know how to crack its code, that the Town of Islip almost never even existed. This near miss was due to a mistake on the part of neighboring towns to include its land in their towns. Another unique aspect of Islip is that it is a tapestry of more than one patent, or land grant. It’s obvious that Islip has always been a bit different from its fellow towns on Long Island. For instance, no one can accuse Islip of not having a sense of humor about its strange inception.
The original patent, in what is the Town of Islip today, was bestowed to the Nicoll Family. This founding family hailed from a village in Northampshire, England, named Islip. This name is believed to have originated from an Abbott, who later moved to London, but not before leaving his name—and in one of the church windows—he also left a rebus of an eye and a plant slip (or cutting), which was his signature. The seal is a rebus (a representation of a word or phrase by pictures and symbols, which suggest that word or phrase or its syllables. It’s kind of like a puzzle, or a riddle, to solve its mystery). That church still stands at the center of the village of Islip. The original name of Islip was Islip Grange, which was the first patentee’s name for his holdings.
The Islip seal was designed by A.G. Thompson, and a text of the original transmittal letter for the seal design for the Town of Islip can be found on islipny.gov, thanks to it being archived by the Islip town historian George Munkenbeck. The letter was dated Oct. 12, 1883, and addressed to the clerk of the Town of Islip, Selah R. Clock, Esq.
The letter contains the following symbolic key to decoding the seal’s mystery: “The creeping vines with rootlets at the upper or north end represent on the right Brookhaven, patented in 1666-1686; on the left Huntington, patented 1666-1686,” wrote Thompson, adding, “The tendency of the rootlets to creep towards the Branch of Smithtown, while the growth southward of the vines is to entwine and embrace the cluster or bunch of grapes which represent the several patents and necks of land in the territory called Islip.”
Thompson informs that the eye is the “mark of vigilance.” It also gives a nod to a quip made by Col. Tredwell Scudder, who was supervisor from 1795 to 1796 and 1804 to 1815, that it was an “eye slip” on the part of Brookhaven and Huntington in not including in any of their patents the territory now called Islip.
The date on the seal, 1683, refers to the first purchase of the land to William Nicoll, granted Nov. 29.
Finally, the letter states that the Latin credo “Fide sed cui vide” is from the armorial bearings of the Nicoll family. It translates to the admonition to “Trust but look out in whom,” or more fully translated, “Have confidence but be careful in whom you confide.” Thompson concluded the letter with the words of wisdom that this motto should “ever guide in the choice of town officers.”
If you have an idea for a local historical story, mystery, or legend you would like to see featured in this column, message shanabraff@optonline.net
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