The 1664 land patent granted to the
Duke of York included all islands in Long Island Sound. The Duke of York held a grudge against Connecticut, as New Haven had hidden
three of the judges (
John Dixwell,
Edward Whalley and
William Goffe) who sentenced the Duke's father,
King Charles I, to death in 1649. Settlers throughout Suffolk County pressed to stay part of Connecticut, but Governor Sir
Edmund Andros threatened to eliminate the settlers' rights to land if they did not yield, which they did by 1676.