Moody's Anabaptist beliefs presented less of a problem. The Dutch West India Company entrusted Moody with the southwestern tip of Long Island. This includes the areas now known as parts of Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Sheepshead Bay. Moody named her new community Gravesend. Gravesend was the first New World settlement founded by a woman. Moody allowed total religious freedom in Gravesend, as long as it fell within the laws of the colony. As Gravesend prospered, Moody gained influence in the government of New Netherland. She was among the few prominent settlers invited to greet the new Director-General, Peter Stuyvesant, when he arrived in 1647. Stuyvesant called on her to mediate a tax dispute in 1654. In 1655, she was called upon to nominate magistrates for Gravesend. Moody lived in Gravesend until her death in 1659. Today, Gravesend, as its name became known, is part of Brooklyn in New York City, with the original town square still evident in the street layout. It is named Lady Moody Square (see photo) in honor of the founder. In the fall of 2014, Moody was honored for founding the town of Gravesend in "Built by Women New York City", a competition launched by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. It identified outstanding and diverse sites and spaces designed, engineered and built by women. A memorial was erected to her at Lady Moody Square, named in her honor in Gravesend. References Further reading Biemer, Linda Briggs. Women and Property in Colonial New York: The Transition from Dutch to English Law, 1643–1727 (Ann Arbor: UMI, 1983). xiii+ 155 pp. Campanella, Thomas J. "Sanctuary in the wilderness: Deborah Moody and the town plan for colonial Gravesend." Landscape Journal 12#2 (1993): 107-130. Cooper, Victor H. A Dangerous Woman: New York's First Lady Liberty; The Life and Times of Lady Deborah Moody; Her Search for Freedom of Religion in Colonial America (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995) 1586 births 1650s deaths History of Brooklyn People from Saugus, Massachusetts People of New Netherland English emigrants to the United States People from London English Anabaptists Colonial American women Wives of baronets