USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > History of Paterson and its environs (the silk city); historical- genealogical - biographical > Part 41
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46
Godwin's House near Passaick Falls, 4th July, 1792. NICHOLAS Low, Chairman.
The committee also reported having purchased and paid for the various tracts of lands constituting the township of Paterson. On July 5 the board resolved :
That this Board do immediately cause the following works to be erected, namely, first, a building and machinery for carrying on the business of the cotton mill-second, the building and machinery for carrying on the printing business-thirdly, the building and machinery for carrying on the business of spinning, weft and weaving-fourthly, that a number of houses be erected for the accommodation of the workmen to be employed by this Society.
That the water of the Passaick be carried across the adjacent gully pass- ing near a point or place distinguished as No. 16 upon the summit of a wall to be erected for that purpose and preserving the head thereof.
That the said water be conveyed from a station or stake marked No. I to a place at or near another stake marked No. 2, from thence to a place at or near another station or cedar shrub at the brink of the rock marked No. 3, from across the adjacent gully to a place at or near another station marked No. 4, from thence to a place at or near another station marked No. 5, from thence to a place at or near another station marked No. 6, from thence to a place at or near another station marked No. 7, from thence to a place at or near another station marked No. 8, from thence to a place at or near another station marked No. 9, and from thence to a place at or near another station marked No. 10. And that it be conveyed across the said gully upon the summit of a wall to be raised on a level with the bed of the said river, and that a sum not exceeding twenty thousand dollars be appropriated for that purpose.
That a cotton mill of eight drums be erected and that for the building of the same and providing the requisite machinery the sum of fifteen thousand dollars be appropriated, which cotton mill shall be of the following descrip- tion, viz., 55 by 32 feet to be built of stone and four stories high, the two
327
INDUSTRIES
lower stories ten feet in the clear, the third story nine feet in the clear, the fourth story seven feet under the collar beams, a cellar under the whole, double floored with inch boards so as to break the joints of the boards to prevent dust.
That a printing shop and calander house be erected and that for the building of the same and providing the requisite machinery for the printing business, the sum of twelve thousand dollars be appropriated and that the description thereof be as follows, viz., to be built of stone 78 by 31 feet, three stories high, each story to be seven feet in the clear, and a cellar under the whole.
That a carding and roping house be erected and that for the building of the same and providing machinery for spinning, weft and weaving, the sum of six thousand dollars be appropriated, and that the description thereof be as follows, viz., to be built of stone 64 by 36 feet, two stories high and eight feet in the clear.
On the 6th of July the directors resolved :
That fifty houses be built for the accommodation of the workmen to be employed in the service of the Society and other mechanics who may choose to settle at the town of Paterson, and that the material thereof be stone or clay, and pointed, unless the expense of such material shall exceed by thirty per cent. the expense of a house of the same dimensions of wood, in which case they shall be of wood, and that the dimensions of each of the said houses shall be in length 24 feet, in width 18 feet, in height from the lower floor to the plate 12 feet, each house having a cellar and a garret and that a sum not exceeding eight thousand five hundred dollars be appropriated for defraying the expense thereof.
That the foregoing houses stand each on a lot of one quarter of an acre and that the house and lot be valued at two hundred and fifty dollars. That any mechanic being of good character and a married man, may be accommo- dated with a house and lot either upon a lease for one or more years not ex- ceeding twenty years at an annual rent of twelve and a half dollars payable quarter yearly or with a right to become the proprietor thereof at the said value of two hundred and fifty dollars, paying for the same at any time and in any proportion he shall think fit upon condition that he pay in the mean time at the rate of five per centum per annum on the whole or so much of the said principal sum as shall remain unpaid until the whole be discharged.
That any mechanic who may be inclined to build for himself may have a lot of the above dimensions at the sum of eighty-eight dollars upon the like terms of payment as above specified so as the whole term of payment shall not exceed twenty years.
That William Hall, Joseph Mort, Thomas Marshall and William Pearce may each have a lot not exceeding half an acre at the rate of one hundred and seventy-five dollars per lot, and that there be advanced to William Hall and Joseph Mort each a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars upon condi- tion that the same be applied to the erecting of a dwelling house upon the lot to him appertaining. The value of said lot and the sum advanced to be payable in four equal instalments, the first at the end of five years, the second at the end of five years next succeeding, the third at the end of five years next succeeding, and the fourth at the end of five years then next succeed- ing with interest at the rate of five per centum per annum.
That such temporary sheds as may be necessary be immediately erected and the machinery and other property of the Society be transported to the seat of the factory and that for effecting the said purpose a sum not exceed- ing one thousand dollars be appropriated.
328
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
That a sum not exceeding eighteen hundred dollars be appropriated to provide necessary drugs for dyeing and printing, or to pay for such as have been provided for the use of the Society pursuant to orders heretofore given.
That a saw mill with two saws be immediately erected as near to the works of the factory as convenient, below the hill on a line with the Passaick river, to be sixty-four feet in length and twenty-two feet in width, and that the water be conducted by a ditch or canal and that a sum not exceeding eight hundred dollars be appropriated for that purpose.
That for defraying such contingent expenses as may be necessary to be incurred for the service of the Society for purposes not expressed in the foregoing provisions but connected therewith, a sum not exceeding two thou- sand dollars be appropriated.
That a committee be appointed with full power to carry the foregoing resolutions into effect, preferring contracts in every case, in which they can be advantageously made, to appoint and assign to an agent under them, and with authority also to borrow on account of the Society a sum not exceed- ing seventy thousand dollars and to pledge as a security the stock of the Society, in the funds of the United States. And that the Deputy Governor execute under the seal of the corporation a competent power to said commit- tee to make the said loan and pledge the said stock, and that he also execute or confirm under the said seal such articles of agreement as the said com- mittee shall enter into for carrying into execution the several matters hereby entrusted to them. And also that the said committee be empowered to lay out the town in such a manner as they shall judge most expedient.
That Messrs. Low, Bayard and Boudinot be a committee for carrying the foregoing resolutions into execution.
Whereas it appears to the directors that Mr. Samuel Ogden by direction of Mr. Duer, confiding in this board for establishing the same, did enter into articles of agreement with John and Jacob Vreeland, for the purchase of a certain tract of land at Vreeland's Point for the use of the Society for Estab- !ishing Useful Manufactures, that the said purchase does not correspond with the interest of the Society and therefore they do not think proper to confirm the purchase aforesaid, in consequence of which they are informed by Mr. Ogden that he is under an obligation to pay two hundred and fifty dollars to the persons above-mentioned to relinquish the contract aforesaid, and re- quests the said sum of two hundred and fifty dollars may be reimbursed to him-Resolved, that the Deputy Governor issue an order on Mr. Benjamin Walker in favor of Col. Samuel Ogden for the above sum of two hundred and fifty dollars.
Mr. Boudinot laid before the board "a letter from Isaac Vanderbeck, esq., wherein he offers to give to the Society a quantity of stone and also twenty acres of land below the bridge provided the Board choose to build thereon. Mr. Boudinot also mentioned that he was authorized to say that Mr. Vanderbeck would increase the said offer to thirty-four acres on the same condition-Resolved, that the thanks of the Board be returned to Mr. Vanderbeck for his liberal and generous offers, and that they will accept thereof, and authorize Mr. Boudinot to treat with Mr. Vanderbeck and carry the same into effect."
The society had bought about seven hundred acres of land above and be- low the Falls, and the digging of a raceway was soon begun. For engineer, Major Charles Pierre L'Enfant, a gallant and accomplished officer, who had come over with the French army under Lafayette, was selected. He was a
329
INDUSTRIES
friend of Hamilton. He had just mapped out the new national capital, for which task he had been chosen by Washington, but owing to a dispute with the commissioners he had relinquished his position there. Coming to Pater- son, his fertile imagination and sanguine temperament led him to conceive the plan of a magnificent city, which, it was announced in one of the daily prints, "far surpasses anything of the kind yet seen in this country." It seems to have been his intention to open up an air line road from Newark to Paterson, and at the latter city to lay out a series of splendid avenues radiating from what was afterwards known as Colt's hill, on Main, Grand and Ward streets, as a common centre. It is hardly necessary to say that this grand scheme never got beyond the paper stage.
The newspapers of the day speak in the most enthusiastic terms of the grand prospects of the "National Manufactory," where they fondly believed would grow up a great city which would supply the whole country with manufactures. A prospectus was issued, filling three closely printed columns, detailing the industries that were to be carried on at the new town. These included cotton spinning, the weaving and printing of calico, the making of woolens and cassimeres, paper for books and for walls, hats of straw and felt, shoes and leather goods generally, carriages, pottery of all kinds, and bricks ; iron pots, bars, steel buttons, etc. The paper bears all the signs of Hamilton's comprehensive mind.
The popular anticipations were probably not exaggerated in this adver- tisement of a farm for sale in the neighborhood in 1792: "Whereas, by a moderate calculation, 20,000 persons will be employed in the manufactory at the town of Paterson; and it may also be reasonably expected that many thousand persons will, contemplating the rising importance of that town, settle in or near the same, which will afford a ready market for all surplusage products, transportation of which, from the waters of the Passaic and a very level road, will be easy and convenient, therefore, the prospect of the above land increasing in value, from this circumstance, is by no means incon- siderable."
To all these gorgeous dreams there is a ludicrous contrast: The gov- ernor of the society, whose wealth and financial ability had been largely counted upon to carry the project to a successful issue, was at this time lan- guishing in jail for debt, having been ruined by a sudden panic in New York. Of the million dollars of capital authorized, only about $60,000 had been paid in by the original contributors. Hamilton had to use his influence as Secretary of the Treasury to secure a loan of $5,000 for the society, the application being made to a bank in New York enjoying valuable privileges from the Treasury Department. Writing confidentially to the cashier of this bank, to urge the granting of the loan, he significantly adds: "To you, my dear sir, I will not scruple to say, in confidence, that the Bank of New York shall suffer no diminution of its pecuniary facilities from any accommodation it may afford to the Society in question." No wonder the directors of the society regarded him as the father of the enterprise. Elisha Boudinot, writ- ing to him when the affairs of the concern were still in a chaotic state, said :
330
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
"Do not let anything draw your attention from this great object, but look forward to those tranquil days when this child will be a Hercules, you sitting on the beautiful and tranquil banks of the Passaic, enjoying the fruits of your labor."
On October 12 Nicholas Low was elected governor and John Bayard deputy governor. At the same meeting John Campbell, of Philadelphia, and Michael Trappal, offered to enter into negotiations for establishing the manu- facture of stockings in Paterson, but the directors did not take a favorable view of the proposition.
Hamilton was now more than occupied in repelling the attacks of his enemies in and out of Congress. Duer's failure undoubtedly affected him with an unpleasant sense of partial responsibility for his selection to be the trusted governor of the society. Major L'Enfant, whom he had recom- mended for engineer, bade fair to ruin the enterprise by the grandeur of his projects, one of which was to divert the Passaic river into a magnificent aqueduct, of stone, supported on arches of masonry, from the Passaic Falls to the head of navigation, where Passaic now stands, a distance of seven miles, with mills erected along the aqueduct or raceway-a scheme that would have absorbed more money than was invested in all the manufactur- ing establishments in America at that time. In February, 1793, the brilliant Frenchman was virtually superseded by Peter Colt, Treasurer of the State of Connecticut, a practical business man, familiar with finance. Under his superintendence a raceway was constructed, with the least possible cost, to secure immediate results. The witty Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, once had an opportunity of witnessing Mr. Colt's great energy in driving men, and on his return to England used to tell, with gusto, how Mr. Colt once kicked a lazy Irishman who was digging in one of the canals. Pat rubbed the afflicted part with a grimace, and exclaimed : "Be jabbers, an' if yez kick like that when ye're but a Colt, what'll ye do when yez get to be a horse?"
In February, 1793, it was agreed to rent to John Campbell, of Philadel- phia, sufficient space in the mill about to be erected for the introduction of the manufacture of stockings, and the superintendent was authorized to accommodate other intending manufacturers in a similar manner.
Before cotton spinning was begun in the large mill, cotton was spun in a small temporary structure, the power being supplied by oxen, from which the building obtained its name as the "Bull Mill." In the meantime the building of the larger mill progressed ; it was not occupied until the following year. The mill stood on Mill street-hence the name of the street-north of Market, and was four stories high, with a high basement. A large bell in the cupola summoned the operatives to work. When in full operation there were four carders, four roving billies, four stubbing machines, twenty-five spin- ning jennies and sixty single looms. The bleaching and printing works stood on what is now Bridge street, the bleach house being of frame, three stories high. Much of the machinery was imported, for there was hardly a machine shop in America. The workmen to set up the machinery, and the hands to operate it, were brought from Europe. Some of the iron and brass
33I
INDUSTRIES
castings were brought from Wilmington, Delaware, the nearest source of supplies for such articles. Added to all these difficulties, the sum of $50,000, sent abroad for the purchase of materials for manufacture, was lost through the dishonesty of the agent entrusted therewith. Foreign manufacturers be- gan to flood the markets with the goods the society had undertaken to produce.
The bobbins used in the mill came from a factory owned by Thomas Van Houten, at Cedar Grove ; they were made of timber cut with a cross-cut saw, reduced to blocks hv a buck-saw and then turned with a brace and bit.
There are two interesting items in the minutes of a meeting of the board held on September 19, 1793:
Resolved, that the superintendent be authorized to pay to the two men disabled in the employ of the Society (as a gratuity) such sums as he may think reasonable not exceeding sixteen dollars and twenty-five cents.
The committee for erecting the lottery laid before the Board an account of John Woods, printer, amounting to the sum of forty-nine pounds, ten shil- lings and nine pence, the balance of which is twenty-nine pounds, ten shillings and nine pence ; it is ordered that the treasurer do pay the same.
On November 5, 1793, Nicholas Low was elected governor and Elisha Boudinot deputy governor.
Further steps towards a lottery for the benefit of the society were taken on November 5, 1793, when it was agreed to raise $39,900, the balance authorized to be raised by the articles of incorporation in this manner and a committee was appointed to apply to the New York Legislature for permis- sion to sell lottery tickets in New York State.
At the same meeting, on account of an annoying scarcity of small change, the superintendent was authorized to "procure a number of small tickets and notes under one shilling and that he sign and issue the same at the risk and for the advantage of the Society." It was also resolved :
That it be recommended to the superintendent of the lottery to allow one per cent. to any person who will undertake the sale of the tickets, the one per cent. to be allowed on the amount of the sales-and they recommended to the superintendent to send on tickets to the New England States as far as Boston to be lodged with such gentlemen in the different towns whose char- acters are such as will insure their integrity and punctuality in the business, and also resolved that the Governor call a meeting of such of the superin- tendents as are at New York, as soon as he shall return, and that these measures or some other spirited ones which they may think more conducive to the good of the lottery be immediately carried into execution.
The superintendent was also instructed to purchase a number of white mulberry trees for the purpose of fostering the growing of silk worms.
A suit having been instituted against Alexander Hamilton in conse- quence of some failure in engagements he was alleged to have made in be- half of the society, the directors on July 1, 1794, instructed the governor to defend the suit to have the society substituted as defendant, if such a course appeared possible.
332
PATERSON AND ITS ENVIRONS
At the same meeting the directors offered to give to any person an acre of land who would agree to erect thereon a tavern. At the next meeting the superintendent reported that he had entered into such arrangements with George Scriba and that the erection of the necessary building had been begun.
The lottery project not having proved the success anticipated on account of snags encountered, the minutes of a meeting on October 21, 1794, tell :
The importance of the lottery to the Society was taken into consideration and from the report of the manager it appears great difficulties arise in the sale of tickets from the prohibitory laws of the different states and that no one will take the risk of the sale upon themselves for the one per cent. allowed by this board, it is therefore resolved that the superintendent of the said lottery be authorized to allow upon the sale of tickets the following rates, viz., where the same amounts to one hundred tickets the sum of one per cent., two hundred the sum of one and a half per cent., four hundred the sum of two per cent., and five hundred and upward the sum of two and a half per cent.
Trouble having arisen with the calico printers, the superintendent was authorized to discharge the printers and discontinue that branch of manu- facturing.
The society not having met with the encouragement expected in regard to the sale of lots for building purposes, and not having the funds necessary to engage in building on its own account, the price of lots of a quarter of an acre was reduced to forty dollars and the market no longer limited to em- ployees of the society.
An agreement was entered into with Thomas Marshall by which the society agreed to advance $5,000 to Mr. Marshall in order that he might prosecute the work of "ginning cotton, spinning candle wicks and occasionally weaving as circumstances render such a measure advisable," the profits accru- ing to be divided equally between the society and Mr. Marshall.
The superintendent was instructed to erect three double houses at some place to be selected by him and also to erect a machine shop for McIlwham & Clark on a rental of ten per cent. on the investment.
Financial troubles began to loom large in the summer of 1795 and so the board authorized the sale of enough of the deferred stock of the corporation to various banks provided the price realized was not less than fourteen shill- ings in the pound.
The name of Alexander Hamilton appears as a director for the first time at a meeting of the directors held on November 24, 1795. The subject of the lottery again bobbed up, the minutes reporting :
The superintendents of the lottery informing the board that the scheme offered to the public was too extensive and that they could not sell a sufficient number of tickets to warrant the drawing of the lottery-and the managers at the same time submitting to the board a scheme for raising only $6,667.50, and the board taking the same into serious consideration, it is resolved that the first scheme be given up, that the managers be directed to carry the scheme now proposed into immediate execution, and that they be authorized to return the monies to all those who have paid for tickets in the first scheme
333
INDUSTRIES
where the holders do not choose to renew their tickets in the present scheme, and that the drawing of said lottery commence on the first Monday in Feb- ruary next at Newark.
The lottery scheme proved a failure, a financial loss to the society.
The ginning of cotton and spinning of candle wicks was ordered discon- tinued. But this was apparently only the beginning of the end, for on Janu- ary 25, 1796, the directors passed the following preamble and resolution :
Whereas the funds of the Society will not permit the proceeding in the manufactures any further without evident loss, Resolved, That the superin- tendent be directed to put a stop to every species of manufacture as soon as the work in hand is so far completed as to prepare them for sale; that the superintendent be authorized to raise money on the goods of the society by sale at vendue or otherwise as he shall judge most prudent-and that he be authorized to discharge immediately every person not necessary to carry this resolution into execution.
At the next meeting the superintendent was instructed to advertise the property of the society for rent. Peter Colt was discharged as superintend- ent and all goods, in whatever stage of manufacture, were ordered sold.
In 1797 Elisha Boudinot was elected governor and George Scriba deputy governor.
No meeting of the directors was held until February 15, 1802, when little business was transacted. The next meeting was held on April 5, 1814, when the governor reported the society and Paterson to be in flourishing con- dition, the society by means of having disposed of considerable real estate, Paterson by an increase in population and manufactures. It was then that Roswell L. Colt, "the greatest of all the Colts," as he is frequently termed, appeared on the scene, for he was appointed agent of the society. At the next meeting he was elected governor and he continued in that capacity for many years, although for some time the office was filled by Peter Colt, Ros- well L. serving as deputy governor.
Roswell L. Colt died in 1856, since which time the office of governor of the Society has been held by the following: 1856, Morgan G. Colt; 1869, DeGrasse B. Fowler ; 1877, E. Boudinot Colt ; 1895, Garret A. Hobart ; 1900, William Barbour; 1911, E. LeB. Gardner. The development of the re- sources of the society during later years will be found narrated in the chapter devoted to Paterson's water supply.
The Colt family, various members of which were more or less promi- nent in the early history of Paterson, were the descendants of some of the earliest settlers in this country. Peter, a native of Lyme, Connecticut, had a command in Aaron Burr's expedition to Canada, and was subsequently an aide to General Worcester. When the French under Lafayette and subse- quently under Rochambeau came to this country, Peter Colt's knowledge of the French language was on frequent occasions made use of by General Washington in his intercourse with French officers. He was stationed with the French forces at the surrender of Cornwallis. After the war, returning
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.