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Gc 974.702 N422c 34933
PUBLIC LIBRARY ORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO., WE
ANNEX
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ANNE
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01126 3941
BOOTH CIRCULATION STORAGE
OLD MANHATTAN
-
PEARL STREET IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
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ANNALS OF
OLD
545
MANHATTAN
1609-1664
By JULIA M. COLTON :
Author of
Annals of Switzerland
974.702 N4220
With numerous illustrations
Brentano's New York
Copyright, 1901, by Brentano's
The Heintzemann Press Boston
To L. L. S. 34933
:
Contents
Foreword
Page ix
I
Concerning the Manahatas 3
A Record of Events I 3
II III In the days of Minuit 29
Some Prominent Persons in the
Village of New Amsterdam 53
The "Comedian" Van Twiller 69
IV V VI The Early Administration of William Kieft 89
VII A Chapter of Disgraceful Deeds IOI
VIII The Indian War-Whoop 119
IX Peaceful Progress I35
X The Honor able Peter Stuyvesant 149
XI Under the City Fathers I77
XII The Coming of the English 21I
Illustrations
Pearl Street in the Seventeenth Century Frontispiece
Indian Village of the Manahatas I
Old Dutch House in Pearl Street 36
Map of New Netherland 52
View of Fort Amsterdam
69
View of New Amsterdam
100
Governor's House and Church
I 35
The "Graft," or Canal
142
Site of the Battery in 1656
176
The Stadt Huys 200
Governor Stuyvesant's House (The Whitehall ) 2II
View of the Schoeinge or Sheet Piling 216
The Block House and City Gate 220
Governor Stuyvesant's House (in the Bouwerie) 230
Map of Original Grants 232
...
Foreword
I SN the brief records contained in the following pages, the consideration of some interesting but disputed points of history has been intentionally omit- ted, for the annals of a country should present statements of fact only. Was Verrazzano the Florentine, with the French expedition of 1524, the first to discover our Hudson, or did the sturdy Icelander, or the restless Viking at an earlier period, find safety upon its sheltered shores ? Did Estevan Gomez, the Spaniard, ascend the river in 1525, or Jean Allefonsce, the French pilot of Saintonge, in 1 542 ? These are questions that must still be accorded a place in the realm where " doctors disagree.'
Whether "Norumbega" the mythical was the Penobscot or the North River, or, indeed, whether
1x
Foreword
the name represented a river or dry land, cannot be stated with assurance, and, therefore, reaching forward unto the things that are beyond, this book attempts only to present, as clearly and con- cisely as it may, the true story of the Dutch in Old Manhattan.
J. M. C. Brooklyn, N. Y., 1902.
AN INDIAN VILLAGE OF THE MANAHATAS
OLD MANHATTAN
ANNALS OF OLD MANHATTAN
I Concerning the Manahatas
A TRADITION, long current among Indian tribes, told of a re- mote period when a calm translu- cid lake surrounded the fair island of Manahata. Gold and silver fishes abounded in the lake ; fruit and flowers were inexhaust- ible upon the land ; and above all brooded the spirit of the sovereign god, Manitto! But suddenly an irruption of the great river laid waste the peaceful spot ; the roadway opened to the sea, and amid the rush and roar of tidal waters the protecting god took flight.
On that rocky canoe-shaped island, envi- roned by salt rivers and a beautiful bay, dwelt the quivered and plumed tribe of the Man- . ahatas. An offshoot of the great Algonquin
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Annals of Old Manhattan
nation of Lenni-Lenape, they were a hardy, broad-shouldered race, tall, lithe and intelli- gent. Industrious fishermen, they held a com- munity of interest in nets and boats, and in the barter of dried or sunscorched fish, for which inland tribes were eager. They had gained some knowledge of agriculture, and after their own fashion had acquired epicu- rean tastes. Food was so carefully and skill- fully prepared that in the days of the Dutch occupation of the land, experienced house- wives were glad to imitate the palatable In- dian dishes of suppaen, succotash and yockey, and to learn from the squaws a recipe for the preparation of a popular beverage made from hickory-nuts and walnuts, pounded to a pulp and stirred into sparkling spring water. If they possessed the gifts of their kindred in the north, the Manahatas may have cultivated the fine arts, for in John Josselyn's record of voyages to the New England coast (1638 to
4
Concerning the Manabatas
1663) he describes the Indians of that locality as poets whose formal speeches were uttered in rhymed couplets, and as vocal musicians who at marriages and feastings used " many pretty, odd, barbarous tunes."
Concerning the genesis of the name " Man- hattan " many theories are extant. A plaus- ible and interesting hypothesis traces the root through words which in various Indian dia- lects signify an island : Menatan, any small island ; Menates, the small island ; Menate, or Manhatte, a small island. If this derivation of the name is correct the origin of the dis- tinctive tribal cognomen must be attributed to the place of abode.
A letter written in 1626 by De Resieres, the secretary to the governor of New Neth- erland, pictures, as he knew them, the In- dians of Manhattan Island, and describes some of their festivities and amusements. A popu- lar game called "sennaca" was played with
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Annals of Old Manhattan
round rushes, which, we are told, " they un- derstand how to shuffle and deal as though they were playing with cards, and with which they win from each other all they possess."
Commenting upon the Indian marriage cus- toms, De Resieres records that when an In- dian made up his mind to marry he began to collect sewant, and having secured a reason- able quantity, he visited the maiden of his choice and in the presence of her nearest rel- atives declared his wishes, and entered into negotiations concerning the amount of se- want he must give for a bridal present. That point being settled, he added to the gift " all the Dutch beads he possessed and all sorts of gewgaws."
After these preliminaries were arranged the man went hunting, and the Indian maiden sat with a blanket over her head, looking at no one during six long weeks. At the expira- tion of that period the hunter returned bring-
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Concerning the Manabatas
ing all the game he had taken, and a great feast was celebrated. From that time forth the bride was obliged to cultivate the ground and provide all the food for herself and her husband with the exception of the game or fish which it pleased him to secure. If her store failed, she was forced to buy with her sewant whatever was lacking.
Through their extensive trade in fish and oysters, and their manufacture of the current money, the Manahatas became the most wealthy of the river tribes. Sewant, their pur- ple-tinted coin, as well as wampum, the com- mon white currency, was made by the squaws from shells found upon the shore, and these multiple fruits of their labor were not only used as a medium of trade, but, strung upon grasses, or fastened upon skins, were worn for ornament. The site of the forest-hidden vil- lage of the Manahatas was long made mani- fest to the Dutch by the deep debris of
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Annals of Old Manhattan
broken shells remaining on the hill called Catiemuts, two miles from the southern ex- tremity of the island. Not far from that hill was the " fathomless lake" which floated the Indian canoes, but, imprisoned by the pale- faced intruder, is now pressed beneath the stones of cellar floors.1
" Where the sea widens," a company of Manahatas were fishing, when first the Euro- pean stranger approached their shores. Their own stories tell that suddenly upon the distant waters an object appeared " such as had never been seen before! " Hastening to the land they urged their chiefs to row out, and discover what the strange fish or animal might be; but even as they looked it moved toward the shore. Runners were sent to carry the news to all in- habited localities, while from the east and the west the warriors were summoned home.
The head-waters of the lake were in Leonard Street, and the main spring is in the cellar of a house close to the building of the New York Life Insurance Co. - Mrs. Van Rensselaer.
8
Concerning the Manahatas
Assembled in solemn conclave the chiefs decided that the mysterious object was a large canoe, bearing back to their island the great god, Manitto, and deliberations concerning his reception were followed by the immedi- ate provision of meat for a sacrifice. Conjur- ors were ordered to determine what the visit might portend, but ere their task was ended runners arrived bringing word that the ap- proaching object was a house filled with liv- ing creatures. Perhaps Manitto was bringing them new kinds of game for hunting. Soon, in words they could not comprehend, they were hailed from the "house," and then a smaller house came ashore bringing men; one among them robed all in red. Forming a circle the chiefs silently awaited the arrival of the strangers, and soon, with friendly sa- lutes, which were as cordially returned, the man in red with his attendants stood in their midst. But what a skin had Manitto and they
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Annals of Old Manhattan
who had come with him! Such had the Man- ahatas never seen before ! The servant of the red-clothed man brought a gourd, and from it poured a liquid which his master drank. Then the glass was again filled and handed to an Indian, but he only smelled it cautious- ly, and passed it on. Each Indian around the circle followed that example until a stalwart warrior was reached, who, stepping forward, declared the danger of offending the great Manitto by their refusal of his gift ; and, re- ceiving the glass drank off the contents. Soon he began to stagger, and, falling to the ground, sank into a sleep which the Indians mistook for death. But when he awoke, and declared that never before had he been so happy, the entire assembly desired to share his enjoy- ment, and all became intoxicated.
The white-faced men then returned to their " house," but came again with beads, stock- ings, axes, hoes, etc., which they distributed
IO
Concerning the Manabatas
among the Indians, and then bysign-language explained that they would return upon con- dition of receiving land whereon to sow seed. The next year they came, and all rejoiced. The Indians had worn the axes and hoes as ornaments, and used the stockings as tobacco- pouches ; but the whites put handles to the axes, and cut down trees, and with the hoes dug the ground. Then they proposed to stay, provided as much ground should be allotted them as the hide of a bullock would encom- pass. The hide was brought, the request granted, and the white men cut the hide into thin strips like a rope, and drew it far out and back again, encircling a great piece of ground. But the Indians, having enough land, would not contend, and the white men took possession.I
I For Indian account of the arrival of the whites see N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. 1, 2d Series.
II
II A Record of Events. 1609-1626
T HE Dutch came to Manhattan Island in 1609, and journals kept by the voyagers note the friendly greeting of the Indians. But al- though Hudson found the country " as beau- tiful as any the foot of man had trod," the " Half Moon " could not tarry there, and re- ports of the rich products of the land failed to divert the East India Company from the pursuit of a northern route to Asia. There were traders in Holland, however, who were eager for a new enterprise, and Europe of- fered a ready market for such furs as Hud- son's square-sailed galliot had brought. A partnership was speedily arranged, and an- other Dutch vessel, under command of an officer of the East India Company, set sail
I 3
Annals of Old Manhattan
for the country of the Manahatas. The In- dian river, Cohotatea, named by Hudson's men the River of the Mountains, was the desired goal, and upon its shores, in exchange for trinkets which the Indians coveted, a second cargo of rich furs was secured.
In 1611, a third vessel ventured forth, char- tered by Hendrick Christiaenson, of Cleef, and Adriaen Block, and loaded with goods for exchange on commission. Again the Indians gave for beads and baubles, the skins the strangers sought; and two young chiefs of Manahata were induced to be the guests of the white men on the return voyage to Hol- land. A triumvirate of Amsterdam merchants then equipped for Block and Christiaenson two larger vessels, called the "Tiger " and the "Fortune," and from North Holland about the same time the "Little Fox," and the "Nightingale" went forth, commanded by Captain Thys Volckertsen and Captain John
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A Record of Events
Dewitt. Interest in the new enterprise in- creased so rapidly, that within three months the owners of the "Tiger" and the "For- tune" equipped a third vessel, commanded by Captain Cornelis Jacobsen, and destined like the others for the fur trade. Christiaen- son explored the waters adjacent to Manhattan Island, making friends at Indian settlements, and bartering successfully for furs, while Block tarried near the entrance to the North River.
One night in the autumn of 1612, when the other ships were cruising in distant waters, the "Tiger" took fire at its anchorage and was completely destroyed.' Block and his men, forced to seek shelter on shore, found a temporary sojourn among the Indians in- evitable, and erected, near the southern ex- tremity of the land, four small places of shelter, -the first homes of the Dutch upon Manhattan Island.
I Royal Archives of the Hague, August 18, 1614.
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Annals of Old Manhattan
During the winter a yacht was built, forty- four feet in length by eleven and a half in breadth of beam, and in the spring, Block set forth in this to explore Long Island Sound. Passing through the East River, he named it after a stream in Holland, "The Hellgat," a word which Fiske felicitously points out as appropriately signifying a clear passage- way, although with a quite different inter- pretation it has been retained to distinguish the eastern end of the channel. Skirting the
coasts of Connecticut and the "Red Island," and ascending the "Fresh River" as far as the present city of Hartford, Block proceeded eastward to Cape Cod, where, unexpectedly, he met Christiaenson, and, as that mariner was disposed to continue his exploration of unfamiliar shores, vessels were exchanged, Christiaenson taking the new yacht, fitly. named "The Restless," while Block guided the "Fortune" to Holland.
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A Record of Events
After Block's return a company of Amster- dam merchants petitioned the States General for a special license to trade in the region be- tween Chesapeake Bay and Cape Cod, and secured a charter granting them exclusive privileges during four successive voyages, pro- vided these were completed within three years from January 1, 1615. In this charter the region was first distinguished as New Netherland; and while claim to an unlimited, undisclosed territory on the west was asserted, boundaries on the north, east, and south were defined by the forty-fifth parallel, Cape Cod, and the Delaware or South River with the Bay, explored in 1614 by Captain Cornelis Mey.
The New Netherland Company lost no time in sending out their vessels. The River of the Mountains, also known as the North River, was re-christened the " Mauritius," in honor of Prince Maurice, and at its mouth,
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Annals of Old Manhattan
on the lower end of Manhattan Island, a log building was erected, designed to serve both as a storehouse and a place of refuge in time of danger. Though it possessed slight means of defence, this structure was dignified by the name of Fort Manhattan, and near it, a few huts were built to shelter the guardians of its stores. The Dutch regarded Manhattan Island as a trading-post only, and evinced no dis- position to colonize its shores, until the enter- prise of the English awakened a fear that by occupancy of the soil that nation might gain the "nine necessary points" of law, and de- prive Holland of her lucrative intercourse with the Indians.
The charter of the New Netherland Com- pany expired at the close of 1617, and the States General refused to extend its trading privileges by more than a yearly license. Efforts were made to form a new corpora- tion to be known as the West India Com-
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A Record of Events
pany, but the project was so strenuously op- posed by influential members of the East India Company that little could be accomplished.
A proposition to colonize Manhattan Island was presented by the Rev. John Robinson, on behalf of the English dissenters at Ley- den, who were appreciative of the benefits received under Dutch protection, but desired to secure for their children an environment distinct from any to be obtained in Holland. They had received from the London Com- pany a patent authorizing them to settle in Virginia, but religious freedom was not guaranteed, and that was an essential con- dition.
The Dutch Trading Company favorably inclined to the project of the English, of- fered free transportation, and promised to supply each family of emigrants with cattle; but for the success of the enterprise the sanc- tion of the government was necessary, and
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Annals of Old Manhattan
that could not be secured. The States General rejected the proposition, fearing, perhaps, to establish people of English blood upon terri- tory already claimed by the English crown.
The evidence that an English ship touched at Fort Manhattan in 1620 has been ques- tioned; but Captain Thomas Dermer is credited with that visit, and is reputed to have warned the Dutch off English soil, de- claring that he was the discoverer of Long Island Sound, and King James its sovereign. The fact is undisputed that Dermer peti- tioned the King for a grant of lands adjacent to the waters of the Sound, and the English ambassador at the Hague was directed to re- monstrate against Dutch occupation of that territory; but beyond the interest evoked by a spirited diplomatic correspondence, little attention was given to the affair.
Meanwhile, the projects of the West India Company increased in popularity, and in
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A Record of Events
1621 the desired charter was obtained. It guaranteed a monopoly of trade with New Netherland, and within the boundaries of that province it conferred upon the Company authority almost royal. By their decree, forts might be built, treaties made, and justice ad- ministered, though an appointment of a chief executive and a formal declaration of war were subject to the approval of the States General.
The West India Company represented a community of interests, and its colonial pro- jects were extensive. Settlements were to be planted upon the Mauritius, the South, and the Fresh Rivers.' Brazil was to be wrested from Spain, and a portion of the African coast was to be secured, whence slaves might be transported to the districts where service was required. The responsibilities for these enterprises were divided among five branches I The Hudson, the Delaware, and the Connecticut.
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Annals of Old Manhattan
or boards established in various cities of Hol- land, each branch holding in charge the affairs of a specified territory. To the Amster- dam chamber were intrusted all matters per- taining to Manhattan Island, and by a natural sequence the post there established was soon known as New Amsterdam.
Up the North River, not far from the site of Albany, Fort Nassau had been built by earlier traders, and there Jacob Eelkens held command until floods made a change of posi- tion necessary. Then a stronghold was estab- lished somewhat further down the stream, where, in 1618, Eelkens held an important conference with the chiefs of the Five Na- tions, and consummated a treaty which ren- dered the tribes of that region steadfast allies of the Dutch. In 1624 the locality of the post was again changed, and the stronghold then built was known as Fort Orange, while the name Fort Nassau was transferred to de-
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A Record of Events
fenses on the South River, opposite the pres- ent city of Philadelphia.
Bound by a provision of their charter to "advance the peopling of unsettled lands," the West India Company in 1623, sent to the "wild coast" of New Netherland, thirty families of Walloons, a Protestant people of French extraction. The greater number of these industrious persons were destined for the settlement at Fort Nassau, but eight men were landed on Manhattan Island,' and Cap-
I Deposition of Catelyn Trico, taken in 1688 (New York Col. Mss.) :- " Catelyn Trico doth Testify and Declare that in ye year 1623, she came into this country with a Ship called ye Unity, whereof was commander Arien Jorise belonging to ye West India Company, being ye first Ship yt came here for ye sd Company. As soon as they came to Mannatans, now called N. Yorke, they sent Two families and six men to Harford River, and Two Families and eight men to Delaware River, and eight men they left at N. Yorke to take Possession, and ye Rest of ye Passengers went with ye Ship as farr as Albany which they then called fort Orange. - Ye sd Deponent lived in Albany three years, all which time ye Indians were all as quiet as Lambs and came and Traded with all ye Freedom Imaginable ; in ye year 1626, ye Deponent came from Albany and settled at N. Yorke where she lived afterwards for many years and then came to Long Island."
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Annals of Old Manhattan
tain Cornelis Jacobsen Mey was made the first director over all the territory included within the jurisdiction of the Company.
During the year 1624, the income from the New Netherland fur-trade amounted to twenty-eight thousand guilders, and the West India Company, in conclave assembled, decided that a satisfactory recompense might be anticipated for greater efforts to people the land. Inducements to emigrate were publicly offered, and in response, six families and a number of single men volunteered. In three ships and a yacht, these forty-five persons were promptly conveyed to Manhattan Island, with their household goods, farming implements, and one hundred and three head of cattle. A member of this company, William Ver- hulst, was made the second director, Captain Mey having been summoned back to Hol- land.
The consummation, in 1625, of a treaty
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A Record of Events
of alliance between England and Holland seemed to promise greater security to the Dutch colonies in America, and the West India Company proceeded to formulate a regular system of government for New Netherland. They soon sent over as execu- tor of their authority, Peter Minuit of Wesel, in Westphalia, who reached Fort Manhattan May 4, 1626, in the ship "Sea-Mew."
Before organizing his government, Minuit took measures to secure for the Company a legal title to the land, and having summoned to the southern shore the leading Indian chiefs, he made known to them his wish to barter for their island. With unfeigned de- light the savages viewed the treasure offered in beads, knives, and implements of agricul- ture, and quickly concluded the bargain. In exchange for goods valued at sixty gilders, or about twenty-four dollars, Manhattan Island passed into the possession of the Dutch.
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Annals of Old Manhattan
Letter from Peter Fans Schaghen, Deputy in the States General, to the West India Company. (Royal Archives at the Hague.)
High Mighty Sirs :
Here arrived the ship "The Arms of Amster- dam," which sailed from New Netherlands out of the Mauritius River, on September 23; they re- port that our people there are of good courage, and live peaceably. They have bought the island Man- hattes from the wild men for the value of sixty guilders. It is eleven thousand morgens in extent. They sowed all their grain in the middle of May, and harvested it the middle of August. They send thence samples of summer grain, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, canary seed, small beans and flax.
The cargo of the aforesaid ship is :
7,246 beaver skins. 1781/2 otter skins.
675 otter skins.
48 minck skins.
36 wild cat skins.
33 minck skins.
34 rat skins.
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A Record of Events
Many logs of oak and nut wood (hickory).
Herewith be ye High Mighty Sirs commended to the Almighty's grace.
In Amsterdam, Nov. 5, 1626. Your High Might's, Obedient, P. SCHAGHEN.
27
III In the Days of Minuit. 1626-1632
A NARROW, rocky point of land, traversed by purling brooks, and broken by ocean inlets; a chain of low hills in the background, covered with forests of hickory and chest- nut; valleys sheltering maize fields and wig- wams; and wide marshes beyond which roamed wolves and bears and panthers. Such was the territory that Peter Minuit had pur- chased, and where, within the semblance of a fort, he was empowered on behalf of the West India Company to exercise authority over the province of New Netherlands.
The responsibilities of government were shared by an advisory council of five mem- bers, who were appointed in Amsterdam; a secretary of the council board, and a schout-
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Annals of Old Manhattan
fiscal; the last-mentioned title implying a promiscuous mingling of the responsibilities pertaining to the offices of sheriff, collector of the customs, and church beadle. The laws were formulated in the Amsterdam Chamber, but local regulations might be made by the director and his council, subject to approval by the Company's agents in Holland.
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