USA > New York > New York City > Dutch New York (early history of the Dutch in New York) > Part 1
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.
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
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/dutchnewyork00sing
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 00466 4303
GC 974.702 N422SINE
ANNEX
DUTCH NEW YORK
BOOKS BY MISS SINGLETON
TURRETS, TOWERS, AND TEMPLES. Great Buildings of the World Described by Great Writers.
GREAT PICTURES. Described by Great Writers.
WONDERS OF NATURE. Described by Great Writers.
ROMANTIC CASTLES AND PALACES. Described by Great Writers.
FAMOUS PAINTINGS. Described by Great Writers.
HISTORIC BUILDINGS.
Described by Great Writers.
FAMOUS WOMEN. Described by Great Writers.
GREAT PORTRAITS. Described by Great Writers.
HISTORIC BUILDINGS OF AMERICA. Described by Great Writers.
HISTORIC LANDMARKS OF AMERICA. Writers.
Described by Great
HOLLAND. Described by Great Writers.
PARIS. Described by Great Writers.
LONDON.
Described by Great Writers.
RUSSIA.
Described by Great Writers.
JAPAN.
Described by Great Writers.
VENICE. Described by Great Writers.
ROME.
Described by Great Writers.
A GUIDE TO THE OPERA.
LOVE IN LITERATURE AND ART.
THE GOLDEN ROD FAIRY BOOK.
THE WILD FLOWER FAIRY BOOK.
GERMANY. Described by Great Writers.
SWITZERLAND.
Described by Great Writers.
GREAT RIVERS OF THE
WORLD.
Described by Great
Writers.
DUTCH NEW YORK. Manners and Customs of New Am- sterdam in the Seventeenth Century.
CORNELIS STEENWYCK
layer of Your Work, with view of New Amsterdam. painted By far ven Jeosen about 1668. Owned by the . low York Historical Society .
0
DUTCH NEW YORK
.
BY
ESTHER SINGLETON
AUTHOR OF "DUTCH AND FLEMISH FURNITURE " "HOLLAND," "SOCIAL NEW YORK UNDER THE GEORGES," ETC.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
O
CHE
NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1909
O
d
M CH>
COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
Published September, 1909
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.
1244293
PREFACE
N UMEROUS as are the books that have been written about this Metropolis of the West- ern Hemisphere, I venture to hope that there is room for one more, especially one that deals with the life, hardships, struggles, manners, customs, joys, sorrows, beliefs, superstitions, and worldly possessions of the first white settlers in New Netherland. In the following pages I have tried to reproduce the daily life of the Dutch burgher in New Amsterdam, rising with him in the morning; describing his house and garden or farm, his furniture, and his costume; accompanying. him through the day to his morning prayers, his break- fast, his counting-house, his midday meal, his after- noon recreation, his evening meal and devotions; ac- companying him also to church and to the tavern; describing his family - christenings, courtships, wed- dings, and funerals, as well as the great festivals of the year - Saint Nicholas' Eve, New Year's Day, Twelfth Night, Shrovetide, May Day, Whitsuntide, Saint Mar- tin's Eve, the Kermis, and other merry-making. I have also described his wife's activities in the house- hold, her cleaning, marketing, and cooking. I have also fully depicted the condition of domestic servitude and schooling in the colony. I have not devoted much space to identifying old landmarks, or describing the courses of the original streets and canals, or the sites of many of the homes mentioned in the text. This
vi
PREFACE
has been done more or less exhaustively by others who are well versed in such antiquarian lore. For my pur- pose it is sufficient that the reader should know that during the period that I treat of Dutch life here was concentrated in a small area on Manhattan Island be- low Trinity Church, the principal points of interest of which were the Fort, including the Church and windmill, the Strand, and the City Tavern at the Ferry.
The writer who tries to reconstitute the life of the original Dutch settlers in New York is seriously handi- capped by the almost ineradicable impression left in the mind of the casual reader by the brilliant author of Knickerbocker's History of New York, who belabored the Dutch Governors and their charges with a bludgeon of ridicule. The effect of that entertaining work is that it is hard to convince anyone but a student of the old days that the Dutchman is worthy of anything more than derision, or a half-contemptuous and languid interest at most. Even some of those who claim descent from the Dutch of the Seventeenth Century speak of the manners and customs of their forefathers half apologetically. I hope that a perusal of the fol- lowing pages will satisfy the candid reader that so far from the average Dutchman in New Amsterdam being an uncivilized boor, he compared very favorably, in all that civilization means, with the contemporary middle classes of England, France, or any other European country. The Dutchman here was a transplanted Dutchman, pure and simple. He did not come into a foreign community like an immigrant of the present day and have to adjust himself to alien speech and customs; he was transplanted with his family to a tract of land on the edge of a big waterway where he could dig his canals and live under physical conditions
vii
PREFACE
which did not differ materially from those he had left. He spoke no language but his own, and he was ruled in accordance with the laws of the States-General, occa- sionally slightly modified to suit the convenience of a monopolistic trading-company. His bodily and spir- itual needs were ministered to by Dutch professional men who had received their diplomas in Holland and were authorized to practice here by the Directors of the West India Company. He brought with him Dutch furniture, and the Company's stores supplied him with Dutch manufactures of clothing, implements, and uten- sils. His houses and barns were built and his table was supplied by Dutch masons, bricklayers, carpenters, glaziers, millers, brewers, and bakers. Not satisfied with mere comfort, his rooms were adorned with the productions of the contemporary Dutch Great and Little Masters. His gardens were as bright with tulips and other flowers as those of his brother in Amsterdam ; his table was more plentifully supplied with game, fish, poultry, fruits, and vegetables ; and he very soon could afford the porcelains and lacquers that were pouring into Holland by way of the Spice Islands, and he soon found a way to help himself direct to the products of Oriental looms and lathes by piratical measures. Silver plate adorned his sideboard, and Delft and porcelain brightened the shelves and tops of his cabinets, brackets, and cornices.
When fully dressed in his silks, satins, velvets, and rich cloths, an idea of his appearance may be best obtained from contemporary Dutch portraits by Hals, Bol, Van der Helst, Ravesteyn, and Rembrandt. His wife and daughters at christenings, betrothals, wed- dings, and other festivities were resplendent in jeweled headgear (of their native fashions), ear-rings, brooches, necklaces, châtelaines, breast-hooks, buttons, chains,
viii
PREFACE
watches, rings, laces, furs, silks, satins, fans, and fine linen.
The burghers lived well at home and entertained one another royally in the taverns. There is a record of at least one dinner shared among cronies at the City Tavern at $80 a cover. We have records of other dinners of which the cost is not given. Fortunately for us, the bill of this one was disputed and so the land- lord went to court. Tavern revelry in the town called forth many a reproving ordinance, and many a riotous gang of night-hawks was haled into court by the Schout. Personal violence and bloodshed in conse- quence of excessive indulgence was not infrequent among the upper classes and was very common among the lower orders. Drunkenness was scarcely a re- proach. On one occasion it was at least a blessing in disguise, namely, when at the Governor's instigation a collection was taken up from half-seas-over wedding- guests which was sufficient to start the building of the church of the Fort. We must conclude that New Am- sterdam was indeed a thirsty town, when in 1646 we learn that one in every four of its inhabitants was en- gaged in the business of selling strong liquor !
It is noticeable that a number of the fair sex in New Amsterdam were tavern-keepers and tapsters.
Valiant as the Dutch were as toss-pots, they were probably matched by the English rake-hells, one of whom appears as early as 1672. Of him it is chronicled :
Another disaster about 12 dayes since befell a young man in this towne, by name one Mr. Wright, a one-eyed man and a muff-maker by trade, who drinking hard upon rum one evening, with some friends, begann a health of a whole pint at a draught, which he had noe sooner done but downe hee fell and never rose more, which prodigy
ix
PREFACE
may teach us all to have a care how wee drink, in imita- tion of that good old lesson, Felix quem faciunt, etc.
Shrovetide seems to have been a week in which the license of the Italian Carnival was matched here. Ex- cise privileges were largely extended during this fes- tival, to the great scandal of the sober-minded. Thus, in 1655 :
Fiscal makes known to the Court that apparently some of the Company's soldiers and servants will ask the Court for permission to tap, and as they will thereby be led into debauchery and many irregularities will occur, he requests the Court will be pleased not to grant their application.
Shrovetide was the Saturnalia of the lower classes, during which they indulged in such gentle and joyous pastimes as all kinds of racing, and ball-games in the streets, Pulling the Goose, etc., even in defiance of stringent ordinances. The youth of the town were sadly led astray by their turbulent elders, and some of their choice indulgences consisted of cutting koeckies, or stakes, out of the fences for bonfires and " halloing after Indians in Pearl Street," which pleasures were strictly prohibited in 1660.
The chief pleasures of the women seem to have consisted in gossip and slander. The good wives of the day, like their English sisters, abused one another in the purest Billingsgate. Innumerable are the cases that come into court in which one woman complains of defamation of character by another. In nine cases out of ten the affair is settled by the offender declaring that she knows nothing of the complainant but what is virtuous and honorable, and begging pardon of God, the complainant, and the honorable Court.
In the following pages considerations of space have deterred me from describing the military establishment
x
PREFACE
here and its regulation; or the civic guards, the watch, and the police; or the courts and the administration of justice. The question of crimes and punishment, however, must not be entirely ignored.
It would seem that the most serious misdemeanor of which a man could be guilty was speaking ill of those in authority. The penalties inflicted for this were far more severe than those for felonious assault; for in- stance, in 1642, the penalty for drawing a knife and wounding was fifty florins or three months' labor in chains with the negroes. Five years later the penalty was raised to three hundred guilders. This was small in comparison with the punishment inflicted for lèse- majesté in 1660, when Walewyn van der Veen said in Allard Anthony's hearing that the magistrates were only fools and simpletons. He was condemned to re- pair the injury honorably and profitably, - honorably, by praying with uncovered head pardon of God and Justice; profitably, with a fine of twelve hundred guilders. Walewyn preferred imprisonment.
In 1638, it was ordered that court should be held every Thursday, and that persons guilty of adultery, perjury, calumny, theft, and other immoralities should be punished. In 1643, the burgher guard was regu- lated and fines were provided for taking the name of God in vain, for traducing a comrade, for being drunk on guard, for discharging a gun without orders after daybreak, and for being absent without leave.
Various punishments were inflicted for various crimes. Sometimes different punishments were in- flicted for the same crime. For example, for drawing a knife in 1638, Gysbert van Beyerland was sentenced to be ducked three times from the yard-arm of the Hope, and receive three blows from each of the crew.
The soldiers at the Fort were very frequently un-
xi
PREFACE
ruly and turbulent. Desertion was common. Insubor- dination, absence from duty, drunkenness on parade, fighting in barracks, street brawling, and wounding inoffensive citizens were also frequent offenses that were severely dealt with by the authorities. " Riding the Wooden Horse " was the usual punishment for minor offenses. Running the Gauntlet was a punish- ment sometimes inflicted for a serious crime. The old lex talionis seems to have been recognized here to some extent. For example, in 1665, Jan Smedes's horse ran over and killed Frans van Hooghten's child. The Schout demanded that the horse be forfeited, and the parent be satisfied. A few days later Van Hoogh- ten made the strange request that Jan be ordered "to keep out of his sight, and not to resort to the Man- hathans so as to prevent mischief." The order was issued.
It would appear that "the terrible avengers of the majesty of law " did not themselves always lead blame- less lives, judging from a letter written at the Fort in 1673:
Lastly for our city news, lett this satisfy: that t' other day wee had like to have lost our hangman, Ben Johnson, for hee being taken in diverse thefts and robberyes con- victed and found guilty, scap'd his neck through want of another hangman to truss him up, soe that all the punish- ment that hee receiv'd for his 3 yeares roguery in thieving and stealing (which was never found out till now) was only thirty-nine stripes at the whipping-post, loss of an ear and banishment.
Torture was resorted to on more than one occasion in the case of accused persons who refused to confess. On one occasion a sailor whose crime consisted in steal- ing a table-cloth from a tavern was put on the rack before he confessed.
xii
PREFACE
Capital crimes were variously punished. In 1638, Jan Gysbertsen for the murder of Gerrit Jansen was sentenced to be punished by the sword until he is dead, his property and wages confiscated for the benefit of the widow (one half), the Company (one quarter), and the public prosecutor (one fourth). In 1666, Engel Hendricx, " having turned out al motherly affec- tion, buried [her child] with sods uppon the boddy in a open field to the mercy of al wild beasts, by which it evidently appeares she intended throw those means to murther the same." She was hanged.
After a careful study of the public and private life of the Seventeenth Century Dutchman, we must come to the conclusion that he was by no means a character to be dismissed with a jest or a sneer. He was a faithful husband and an affectionate father. He was generally devout, jovial, industrious, thrifty, but lux- urious in his tastes. He was brave; but in his deal- ings with the aborigines and rival settlers he was oppressive, treacherous, and cruel. Although the term " honest Dutchman " has passed into a proverb, his business rectitude must remain a debatable question. It is not too much to say that every householder in New Amsterdam was a merchant, or a shop-keeper. Even the clergy, doctors, and schoolmasters engaged in trade. It is evident from the Court Records that sharp practices of all kinds were indulged in almost universally in the constant barter of which the great mass of the local trade consisted. The collection of petty accounts and the settlement of trade disputes took up by far the greatest amount of the time of the lower court. The Dutchmen in Fatherland had a bad reputation in the writings of their fellow-country- men, particularly on account of their readiness to go bankrupt, offering their creditors as little as three or
xiii
PREFACE
four per cent, till " he lies like a broker " became a proverb.
The drama of the day teems with biting passages bearing on the faithlessness, covetousness, meanness, and dishonesty of the merchant of the day. The thunder of pulpit oratory was also directed against the sins of the mercantile class. We must allow, however, for the exaggerations of both church and stage, and conclude that the average Dutchman was at least as scrupulous in his dealings as the merchants of other nations. That he was able to drive a close bargain, however, and was up to all the tricks of the trade, we gather from the following. Miller (1695) says:
As to their wealth and disposition thereto, the Dutch are rich and sparing; the English neither very rich, nor too great husbands; the French are poor, and therefore forced to be penurious. As to their way of trade and deal- ing, they are all generally cunning and crafty, but many of them not so just to their words as they should be.
Madam Knight (1707) writes :
They have Vendues very frequently and make their Earnings very well by them, for they treat with good Liquor Liberally, and the Customers Drink as Liberally and Generally pay for't as well, by paying for that which they Bidd up Briskly for, after the sack has gone plenti- fully about, tho' sometimes good penny worths are got there.
The sources from which I have drawn the material for this work are the old wills, inventories, Court Rec- ords, diaries, letters, and documentary colonial his- tory. For the details of contemporary Dutch life I am largely indebted to the works of Dr. G. D. J. Schotel, Het Maatschappelijk Leven onzer Vaderen in de Ze- ventiende Eeuw and Het Oud-Hollandsch Huisgezin
xiv
PREFACE
der Zeventiende Eeuw. The miniature house and its rooms and specimens of porcelain, glass, and watches in the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam, were photographed especially for this book. My best thanks are due to Miss Anne van Cortlandt, who kindly permitted me to have photographs taken of the Van Cortlandt house and some of the family heirlooms; also to the New York Historical Society for permission to reproduce the portrait of Cornelis Steenwyck, Mayor of the city; " and to the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society for permission to have photographs taken of their relics. I also have to thank Mr. Arthur Shadwell Martin for valuable assistance.
NEW YORK, November, 1908.
E. S.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
SETTLEMENT AND EARLY CONDITIONS OF NEW NETHER-
LAND
I
Early Voyagers-Block, Hudson, and Christiaensz van Cleef ; Arrival of the New Netherland ; the Sea-Mew brings Peter Minuit; Arrival of the Arms of Amsterdam ; Cornelis Hoorn and Willem Van Hulst; Minuit's Purchase of the Island of Manhattan ; Early Conditions; Letter of Jonas Michaëlius ; Wouter Van Twiller, Willem Kieft, and Growth of Colony; Impressions of Father Jogues ; Montanus's Description of New Amsterdam; Adriaen Van der Donck's Description of the Scenery - Beautiful Woods and "Bush Burning"; Farms and Farmers ; City Lots and Bouweries ; Native Birds ; Cattle and Pasture Lands; Goats, Dogs, and Pigs; Ordi- nances Regarding Cleanliness in the Streets.
CHAPTER II
ORCHARDS AND GARDENS, HOUSES AND STREETS OF NEW AMSTERDAM
2 7
The Dutch Love of Gardens and Flowers; the Tulip Mania; Flowers in New Netherland ; the Company's Garden; Early Gardeners; Fruit in New Netherland; Vegetables and Orchards ; the Town and Fort; the Tavern and Church; the First Houses; Native Brick ; Stuyvesant's Whitehall and Bouwery; Glass and Leaden Window Frames; Contract to build an Inn; a Typical Dwelling; the Van Cortlandt and Philipse Houses; Surveyors of Streets and Buildings; the City Wall; the Palisades; Primitive Streets; Danger from Fire; the Burgher Watch and Rattle Watch; Lighting the Street ; Descriptions of New Amsterdam by Governor Andros, William Byrd, and Madam Knight.
1
xvi
CONTENTS
CHAPTER III
PAGE 56
COSTUME
Sumptuous Apparel of the Period; New Amsterdam Shop Goods; the Petticoat; the Rain Dress; Samars and Night- rails ; Aprons, Sleeves, Ruffs, and Stomachers ; Headdresses ; Châtelaines and Gold Head Ornaments; Jewels of Steen- wyck, Cristina Cappoens, Margarita Van Varick, Asser Levy, Peter Marius, and Others; the Dress of Children ; Costume of Farmers' Wives and Daughters; Coats, Waistcoats, and Breeches ; the Burgomaster's Suit; Wardrobes of Cornelis Steenwyck, Dr. Jacob de Lange, Asser Levy, and Others ; Shirts and Neckwear; Stockings and Shoes; Gloves, Hats, Wigs, and Cloaks; Swords, Belts, and Canes ; a Melancholy Wardrobe.
CHAPTER IV
ROOMS AND FURNITURE
81
Tastes of the Prosperous New Netherlander; Ebony, Ivory, and Other Oriental Goods; the Chimney-piece, Bed, Kas, Cabinet, and Other Furniture ; the Voorhuis, or Fore Room ; Homes of Dr. de Lange, Steenwyck, and Marius; Typical English Homes; Furniture of Rombouts and De Milt.
.
CHAPTER V
PICTURES, SILVER, CHINA, GLASS, AND CURIOS 102
Dutch Painters of Interiors; Pictures in New Amsterdam ; Silver of the Period; Collections of Mrs. Van Varick, Peter Marius, and Others; Thefts of Silver; Great Use of Pewter ; Porcelain and Earthenware; Glass; Miniature Houses and Curios.
CHAPTER VI
NEW AMSTERDAM HOUSEKEEPING
120
Breakfast; Going to Market; Fish in New Amsterdam; Breads, Pasties, Cakes, and Bakers; Setting the Table; Table Furniture; the Noonday Meal; Favorite Dishes; Tea,
CONTENTS
xvii PAGE
Coffee, and Chocolate ; Winter Evenings; Supper; House- hold Pets; Foot-warmers and Church Seats; the Dutch Housewife's Passion for Cleaning; Love of Fine Linen.
CHAPTER VII
SERVANTS AND SLAVES
143
Indentured Servants; Masters and Servants; Parental Rights; Employer's Liability; Cruelty and Abuse; Parental Solici- tude; Disposal of Children and Servants by Bequest ; Troubles of the Lone Widow and of the Fatherless Chil- dren; Runaway Servants; Pauper Children from Amster- dam-not all Desirable Citizens; Negro Slaves; Humane Treatment; Manumission; the Chain Gang; Slave Trade; Prices of Slaves.
CHAPTER VIII
EDUCATION
158
Education in Holland; Provision made for Education by the West India Company; Adam Roelantsen, the First School- master of New Amsterdam; Deplorable Condition of Schools; Early Schoolmasters; Grades of Schools; Lessons and Pun- ishments; Penmanship; Importance of Languages; General Illiteracy; Provision by Parents for the Education of their Children ; Latin Schools; Ægidius Luyck; Routine of School Life; Dancing and Dancing-schools; Libraries and Books.
CHAPTER IX
RELIGION, PERSECUTION, AND SUPERSTITION
182
Consolers and Visitors of the Sick; Dominies Michaëlius and Bogardus; the Church in the Fort; Feud between Kieft and Bogardus; the Company's Rules; Dominies Megapolensis and Drisius; an Indian Convert; State of Religion in New Amsterdam and Long Island; Persecution of the Lutherans; the Troublesome Quakers; Church Service; Blom ministers to Long Island; Henricus Selyns; Rudolphus Van Varick;, Governor Andros, Governor Dongan, William Byrd, Miller and Madam Knight on the Religions in New Amsterdam; Sabbath-breaking; Days of Fasting and Prayer ; Superstition and Witchcraft; Stuyvesant's Relative held for a Witch.
xviii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER X
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE
Infant Betrothal; Courtship; breaches of Promise; Story of Maria Verleth; Separation and Divorce; Ceremonies of Betrothal; Play-youths and Play-maidens; the Bride's Basket; Publishing the Banns; Receptions and Congratula- tions; the Bride's Costume; Jewels in New Amsterdam; Parents' Gifts to Bridegrooms; the Bridal Escort; the Nuptial Banquet; the Bride's Crown; Wedding Outfits; Weddings in New Amsterdam.
PAGE 207
CHAPTER XI
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, BIRTHS AND DEATHS . 235
Dignity of the Physician; the Quack Doctor; Barber- surgeons; Ships Doctors and Barbers; First Surgeons of New Netherland; Various Activities of the Early Physicians ; Bill for Nursing ; No Cure, No Pay ; Doctors' Suits ; Plenty of Employment for Doctors; the First Hospital on Man- hattan Island; Native Medicinal Plants; Preparations for a New Member of the Family; the Christening; the Baby's Costume; the Christening Dinner ; Christening Presents ; the Consoler of the Sick; Burial Customs; Mourning and Funerals; Interments ; Pomp and Splendor at Funerals ; Burial of Suicides; Funerals in New Amsterdam.
CHAPTER XII
TAVERNS AND EXCISE LAWS 264
The Drink Evil; Importance of the Tavern in Civic Life; Dutch Taverns Beverages; Drinking Vessels, Dinners, and Drinking Customs; Feasts in the New Amsterdam City Tavern; Roistering, Revelling, and Tavern Brawls; Excise Laws and Court Cases ; Sunday Liquor Laws.
CHAPTER XIII
SPORTS, FESTIVALS, AND PASTIMES
Favorite Games - Kaetzen, Golf, Bowls, Skittles, Ninepins, and Disc-throwing, Clubbing the Cat; Pulling the Goose ; Bird-cutting; Archery ; Racing; Cards, Billiards, and Back-
290
CONTENTS
xix
PAGE
gammon; the Indian Game of Senneca ; Saint Nicholas, the Patron Saint of New Amsterdam; Saint Nicholas Eve; Christmas, New Year's, and Twelfth Night; Masquerade of the Three Kings; Shrove Tuesday and its Pastimes ; May- day and Whitsuntide; Saint Martin's Day and Saint Martin's Goose; Excursions and Picnics ; the Game of Sea-carrying ; Kissing ; the "Kissing-bridge "; Skating and Sleighing ; Indoor Diversions ; the Sausage-making Evening; Cattle and Other Livestock; the Kermis.
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.