Bloodgood Cutter

Who was Bloodgood Cutter?

Bloodgood Haviland Cutter, a descendant of the Haviland family, was a prominent and colorful figure in late nineteenth century Plandome, New York.

Cutter's parentage is not clear, but he was related to the Haviland family and later inherited or bought much of their land. He had a limited education, mainly from reading the bible. He catapulted into high society by marrying a daughter of the well-propertied Allen family of Great Neck. He later acquired the Allen mill, which thereafter was called Cutter's Mill. His main occupation was farming, but Cutter also became quite a propertied landowner, eventually owning numerous parcels in Great Neck as well as large blocks of land north of the railroad station and in Plandome Heights. During the course of his business dealings he developed a reputation for honesty and sound business acumen.

Cutter also developed a reputation for being a "character." Perhaps it was his old-fashioned clothes, his country accent, or the poetry that he wrote and distributed. His reputation was sealed when in 1867 he booked passage for a 5-month trip to the Holy Land. Mark Twain turned out to be one of the passengers, and Cutter found himself immortalized in Twain's book Innocents Abroad as the character the "Poet Lariat." This is how Mark Twain described Cutter in his notes for the book: