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Go 974.702 N422v 1183758
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 3049
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofcityofn00vale_2
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HISTORY
OF
THE CITY OF NEW YORK:
BY
DAVID T. VALENTINE,
CLERK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL.
Gc 974,702 N422v
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM & COMPANY, No. 10 PARK PLACE. 1853.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three,
BY DAVID T. VALENTINE,
in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.
McSPEDON & BAKER, PRINTERS, 25 PINE STREET. Vincent Dill, Stereotyper, 29 & 31 Beekman street.
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Entant
1183758 INTRODUCTION.
THE design of the author of this volume has been to trace the progress of the city of New York in such a manner as to illustrate, to the reader of the present day, its gradual development, from a wilderness condition, through the maturing stages of a hamlet, a village and a city. It has been his study to follow, with minute attention, the different paths pursued in extending the habitations of the town, and to note the circumstances whichi operated to establish the lines of the early thoroughfares, and the laying out of the plan of that part of the city originally settled. The names, family circumstances, and many biographical facts connected with the inhabitants of the town, in very early times, will be found amply referred to in the body of the work, and also in the Appendix.
The author has availed himself of extensive private memoranda, gathered through the course of several years; and also acknowledges his indebtedness to the principal historical works on this subject .* Among others, to the valuable History of New Netherland, by Dr. O'Callaghan ; Dunlap's History ; Smith's History of New York ; Watson's Annals, &c. He is also indebted to John Paulding, Esq., for minute information respecting early titles ; and to Edward De Witt, Esq., for the use of a valuable map of old farms, compiled in his office. The other maps and engravings are also furnished from authentic sources.
The author is engaged in pursuing the subsequent history of the city, in a full and ample manner.
DAVID T. VALENTINE, CLERK OF COMMON COUNCIL.
" The History of New York, by John R. Brodhead, Esq., which has obtained such high celebrity as an author . itative and standard work, was issued from the press at too late a period to be used by the author in compiling the early part of this work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS ISLAND AND OF THE ADJACENT COUNTRY.
CHAPTER II. THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF MANHATTAN ISLAND.
CHAPTER III. THE EARLY PROGRESS OF THE CITY.
CHAPTER IV. THE FIRST INDIAN WAR (1642.)
CHAPTER V. THE ORGANIZATION OF MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, AND THE EVENTS OF THE YEARS 1653, 1654 AND 1655. .
CHAPTER VI. THE PROGRESS OF THE CITY.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CONDITION OF THE CITY AT THE TIME OF THE CAPITULATION TO THE ENGLISH, IN 1664.
CHAPTER VIII. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.
CHAPTER IX. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.
vi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.
CHAPTER XI.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SEVERAL OF THE EARLY RESIDENTS OF NEW AMSTERDAM, NOT ENUMERATED IN THE FOREGOING CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER XII.
THE SURRENDER OF THE CITY TO THE ENGLISH, IN 1664, AND THE SUBSE- QUENT EVENTS, UNTIL ITS RECAPTURE IN 1673.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE RECAPTURE OF THE CITY BY THE DUTCH, IN 1673, AND ITS FINAL CESSION TO ENGLAND, BY TREATY, IN 1674.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE AFFAIRS AND CONDITION OF THE CITY BETWEEN THE YEARS 1674 AND 1694.
CHAPTER XV. REVOLUTION AND AFFAIR OF LEISLER, IN 1689.
CHAPTER XVI.
AFFAIRS OF THE CITY, FROM THE YEAR 1691 TO THE CLOSE OF THE CENTURY.
CHAPTER XVII.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT MEN IN THIS CITY, TOWARD THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
CHAPTER XVIII. PUBLIC AFFAIRS FROM 1700 TO 1728.
CHAPTER XIX.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS FROM THE YEAR 1728 TO 1750.
CHAPTER XX.
PROGRESS OF THE CITY IN THE EARLY PART OF THE LAST CENTURY.
CONTENTS OF THE APPENDIX.
Descriptive parts of early grants and deeds on this island, specifying the local- ities to which they applied .. 307
Page
List of inhabitants who offered loans for erecting the city palisades in 1653 .. 313 Tax and contribution list raised in 1655, to defray the debt for constructing the city defences 315
List of the owners of houses and lots in the city about the year 1674, at the final cession to the English ; the property being classified according to its relative value, with the national descent of the persons named, and their estimated wealth. 319
List of members of the Dutch Church in this city in the year 1686. 331
List of the inhabitants in the year 1703. 344
List of citizens admitted as freemen of the city, between the years 1683 and 1740. 366
Map of farms on the island, and explanatory key 379
List of freemen continued from, and including the year 1740, to and includ- ing 1748 385
Naines of attorneys practicing in the city of New York, between the year 1695 and the Revolutionary war. 394
Names of physicians and surgeons practicing in the city, between the year 1695 and the Revolutionary war .. 396
Names of schoolmasters teaching in the city, between the year 1695, and the Revolutionary war 398
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
CHAPTER I.
THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS ISLAND AND OF THE ADJACENT COUNTRY.
THE character of the Indians who occupied this country previous to the settlement of Europeans, will be regarded, in future times, as one of the most interesting topics con- nected with its history. Their appearance, customs and manners were so far distinct from those of other nations known to the civilized world, and their individual charac- ter had so little in common with the more restrained and law-abiding European, that they were, in the first stages of their acquaintance with the whites, classed by the latter among those wild and lawless races known as savages, who, it was supposed, had few, if any, of the affections and higher emotions of humanity, but rather were bound, by some mysterious link, to the lower and baser passions of the animal creation. Later experience, however, has shown, that under the advantages of education and moral culture, the American Indian is capable of high attainments
8
HABITATIONS OF THE INDIANS.
in all that distinguishes the best traits of human character, whether in a mental or a moral point of view.
The Indians lived in villages containing from thirty to several hundred inhabitants, commonly situated on spots of ground naturally clear of wood, and having a fertile soil. To form their houses, they placed in the ground two rows of upright saplings, adjoining each other, and brought their tops together. Upon this frame-work was fastened a lathing of boughs, covered on the inside by strips of bark, with such nicety as to afford a good defence against the weather. The interior of their huts was without flooring, . the winter fires being constructed upon the ground, in the centre of the apartment, the smoke escaping through an opening in the roof. The width of the houses was invari- ably twenty feet, but their length was greater or less, ac- cording to the number of families they were designed to accommodate ; some of them being five hundred feet in length, and occupied by twenty or thirty families, each having its allotted space; none were over one story in height. In time of war, their villages were surrounded by a fence or stockade of palisades, rising ten or fifteen feet from the ground, and fastened close together.
These habitations were certainly sufficiently rude to have classed their builders among the most primitive architects; but they must not be regarded as affording the best indica- tion of the mechanical genius of the Indians. There being no individual ownership of landed property among them, and the exigences of their mode of life compelling them to change the location of their villages at certain intervals, these edifices must be considered as of a temporary charac- ter. It was a common occurrence among them, when their corn-grounds gave out, from over cultivation, to remove
9
DRESS OF THE INDIANS.
their settlements to some unoccupied and more fertile section.
The Indians were fond of display in their dress, both sexes indulging in this taste to an extravagant degree. It is said, by the early Dutch settlers, that some of the highly ornamented petticoats of the Indian women were worth eighty dollars, in the currency of the present day. This garment hung from a belt or waist girdle, made of whale fins or of the Indian money called sewant. It was made of dressed deer skin, highly ornamented with sewant. A mantle of skins was sometimes worn over the shoulders. The hair of the women was long, plaited and rolled up behind, secured by bands of sewant; pendants hung upon their foreheads, necks and arms, and handsomely trimmed moccasins adorned their feet.
The men wore upon their shoulders a mantle of deer- skin, with the fur next their bodies, the opposite side of the garment displaying a variety of designs in paint. The edges of the mantles were trimmed with swinging points of fine workmanship. The heads of the men were vari- ously ornamented; some wearing feathers, and others dif- ferent articles of a showy character. Their hair was straight, coarse, and of a jet-black color, being sometimes shaven close, except upon the top of the head. Around their necks and arms were ornaments of elaborate work- manship. They were accustomed to paint themselves in a variety of colors and patterns, according to the peculiar taste of the individual. Their appearance, " in full paint," struck the eye of the European as grotesque and frightful.
With respect to their physical proportions, they are de- scribed as being tall, small-waisted, having black or dark brown eyes, snow-white teeth, a cinnamon complexion,
10
EMPLOYMENTS OF THE INDIANS.
and as being active and sprightly, though probably of less average strength than Europeans of the same size.
The principal employment of the Indian, in time of peace, was the procurement of food. This consisted of several varieties of the fruits of the earth, in addition to the more substantial returns of the chase or of fishing. The country abounded with game, among which may be enumerated, in addition to the varieties still common in the country, several which have entirely disappeared, such as wild turkeys and elk. The waters furnished an abundance of fish, and the shores of the bay were full of oysters and other shell-fish. The cultivated fields produced corn, beans and other vege- tables, and wild fruits were abundant in the woods.
The bow and arrow were used in hunting, with which, it is said, they could bring down the swiftest animals in their flight. The singular expertness displayed by the Indian in the use of this instrument, was a wonder to the white set- tlers, who would sometimes excite emulation among the young Indians by making up a purse to be shot for. It is said the lads could hit a shilling at forty to fifty feet distance, five out of ten shots. The Indians used various methods of fishing. They sometimes had hooks made either of fish bones or of thorns, which were attached to lines made of grass or sinews; they also sometimes fished after dark, after the manner called by them wigwass, which is described as somewhat similar to that called " bobbing" at the present. day. Their custom was to build a fire upon a platform laid across a canoe; and having persuaded their game toward the surface of the water by the bait which it had seized upon, the fish was secured by spearing. The effect upon the beholder, of the half-naked Indians, in the lights, shadows and smoke of the pitch fire by which the wigwass
11
FOOD OF THE INDIANS.
was carried on, is described by European observers as being of a singularly wild character. The Indians also employed a great part of their time in gathering oysters and other shell-fish, to lay up in store for winter provender. These were carried, in their canoes, to points nearest their labi- tations, where the business of opening the shells, drying the bodies and stringing them for preservation, was carried on by the women. It is within the observation of persons at the present day, that considerable spots of land, remote from the shore, are found covered with shells of various kinds. This fact may, without doubt, be traced to the In- dian times ; and it may be considered that where such deposits are found, an Indian village has at one time been in the neighborhood. Among other localities on this island where extensive deposits of shells were found, at the com- ing of the whites, was one on the westerly side of the ancient " Collect," (or the fresh water pond, occupying sev- eral acres, in the neighborhood of the present Halls of Justice, in Centre street.) Among the Dutch, this point of land was called the " Kalch-hook," or Shell Point, from the quantity of decomposed shells found there. The In- dians dwelt upon the shores of this pond, which formed a convenient harbor for their canoes, having access to the tide-waters through the outlet which ran toward the North river, nearly on the present line of Canal street. The name of the Kalch-hook was afterward applied to the fresh water pond itself, being abbreviated into the " Kalch" or " Collech," as it was afterward called.
There were likewise several edible roots used by the In- dians as food; among them were the hopness (glycine apros;) the katniss (sagittaria sagittifolia;) the tawho (arum vir- ginicum;) the tawkee (orantium aquaticum.) These roots
12
FOOD OF THE INDIANS.
generally grew in low, damp ground, with a kind of pota- toes to them, and were roasted in the fire. The huckle- berries, found abundantly in the woods, were dried and preserved; hickory nuts and walnuts were pounded to a fine pulp, and being mixed with water, formed a pleasant drink, not unlike milk in sight and taste.
The Indians were extensive cultivators of corn, beans, peas and pumpkins. Around their villages have been ob- served three or four hundred acres, bearing luxuriant products of these grains and vegetables. Hudson, in his account of his first visit to the shores of the North river, states that he saw, at one of the Indian villages, a quantity of corn and beans sufficient to fill three ships, and that the neighboring fields were burdened with luxuriant crops. The grounds cultivated by the Indians, were unfenced, as they kept no cattle against which to guard; the field labor was generally performed by the women, their implement being simply a wooden hoe. A variety of dishes were made from their field products, among which was yoekeg, a mush formed of pounded parched corn, mixed with the juice of wild apples; suckatash, made from corn and beans boiled together. Their corn was sometimes roasted upon the ears, and sometimes beaten up with pestles and boiled with water, which latter preparation was called suppaen. A variety of cakes were also made by them, said by Europeans to be very palatable.
In eating, they sat upon the ground, without a table, using neither knives or forks; a wooden spoon was, how- ever, used for some kinds of food. This style of eating gave their meals an appearance of voracity and uncleanli- ness, which was not suited to the tastes of their European neighbors. It is said they were capable of extreme absti-
13
SUPERSTITIONS OF THE INDIANS.
nence from food; and that oftentimes, when setting out upon a journey of several days' duration, a small bag of parched corn, at their girdle, was their sole provision.
The Indians were very superstitious, believers in dreams and observers of omens. The signs of the weather were objects of much attention among them; and the influence of the moon, with respect to the proper time to plant, was thought to be worthy of serious consideration. They be- lieved that the spirits of the dead visited the neighborhood of their villages during the hours of night, and that they could distinguish their voices, when they heard the wind' whistling through the forests, or the cries of wild animals which approached the villages in search of food. The cry of the animal, commonly called the "painter," or wild cat, -which is an exceedingly mournful sound, resembling the crying of a child-was heard by them with a sense of awe and foreboding. But on the other hand, pleasant impres- sions were drawn from the cheering voices of the birds, which migrated toward the north, with the coming on of summer, as they then recognized the spirits of their best beloved friends, who were favored with a pleasant resi- dence among the good spirits in the regions of the south.
When an Indian died, they placed the body in its grave, in a sitting posture, defending it from contact with the earth by a siding of boughs, and also by a covering which was made secure against wild animals by a weight of stones and earth. At the side of the deceased, they placed vari- ous articles, to serve the traveler on the journey to the land of spirits. These were commonly a pot, kettle, plat- ter, spoons, some money and food. The men made no noise over the dead; but the women were loud in their lamenta-
14
MEDICINE OF THE INDIANS.
tions, and frequently visited the graves of their friends to testify their sorrow.
A common remedy for sickness among them was the use of vapor, or hot air sweating, and the cold bath. Con- nected with every village was a small arched cabin, en- tirely closed, except an opening sufficient to admit the body. Into this the patient crept, and was then brought to a state of high perspiration by means of heated stones laid around the cabin, to produce a hot vapor. Upon emerging, he was immediately plunged into cold water. There were also divers roots and herbs of medicinal proper- ties, the preparation of which was a matter of great study among the "medicine men" and elderly females. When all the appliances of medical skill failed, it was considered that the evil one had so fastened his toils upon his victim, that nothing less than assailing the enemy with his own arts could prove efficacious. The preparations for this extreme procedure, were formal and serious, while the performance consisted mainly of violent exhortations and threats against the tormentor, accompanied by contortions of the body, and personal infliction upon the doctors them- selves. These final remedies being only resorted to in extreme cases, were commonly followed by the death of the patient, leaving, however, to his friends the consciousness of having done all within their power to overcome the mighty conqueror of all.
The science of warfare was the highest accomplishment of the Indian, but, as with all other people, a spirit of aggression was only indulged by the stronger nations, to whom alone it was of any advantage. Like hunted deer, the poorer and less powerful tribes were sometimes forced
15
INDIAN CUSTOMS OF WARFARE.
to leave their villages as plunder to some marauding band, on a foray from some distant locality. The preparation for the war path was commonly opened by a feast and a dance, in which the whole tribe took part. The march itself was conducted in single file, the chief taking the lead. This form of march, which was the only one adapted to the narrow trail through the woods, has been, from this circumstance, commonly known as "Indian file." The approach toward the enemy was made with extreme care to avoid discovery, and the first signal of the assault was a general war-whoop, followed by an immediate onslaught. The extermination which commonly attended Indian fights, gave them a ferocious character to the whites, whose prin- ciples of warfare were based upon circumstances widely different from those of the Indians. It was a theory com- mon to both, to inflict the greatest possible punishment upon the enemy, but with the Indians the difficulty of escorting a large number of helpless prisoners, occasioned an indiscriminate slaughter, in many instances, of even women and children. This practice, however, was not without exceptions, and frequently persons of the other tribe were taken and adopted by the conquerors, being afterward treated, in all respects, as those of their own nation. In cases of prisoners, upon whom policy or revenge dictated the infliction of punishment, death by torture was sometimes resorted to.
To die without displaying weakness or fear, was one of the highest virtues in the eye of the Indian, and was carly inculcated in the minds of the children. An account given by an early writer, of an assault by a party of Dutch from this city, upon an Indian village in Westchester county, strikingly illustrates this characteristic. It was in the
,
16
FORTITUDE OF THE INDIANS.
depth of winter, and the Christians, being led by a guide, came upon the town lying in a valley, sheltered from the north-west wind. The houses were built in three rows in street fashion. The narrator goes on to say: "The moon was then at the full, and threw a strong light against the mountain, so that many winter days were not brighter than it then was. On arriving there, the Indians were wide awake, and on their guard, so that our people determined to surround the houses, with sword in hand. They de- meaned themselves as soldiers, and deployed in small bands, so that we got in a short time one killed and twelve wounded, but they were so hard pressed that it was impos- sible for one to escape. In a brief space of time there were counted one hundred and eighty dead outside of the houses. Presently none dared come forth, keeping within the houses, and discharging arrows through the holes. It was then resolved to fire the houses, whereupon the Indians tried every means to escape; not succeeding in which, they returned back to the houses, preferring to perish in the flames, rather than die by our hands. What is most won- derful, is that among the vast collection of men, women and children destroyed, (some five or six hundred in num- ber,) not one was heard to utter a cry."
It is well known that the art of public speaking was highly cultivated among the Indians. Their discourse on public occasions, was grave, powerful and impressive, inso- much that many Europeans, who have heard them, have considered their oratory as distinguished for style and effect as any known in history. The Indian language differed in many respects in the various tribes, but its char- acteristics were generally similar. It was distinguished by sonorous and weighty phrases, several words being
17
LANGUAGE OF THE INDIANS.
joined together to complete a sentence in one expression. As an illustration of the sound of their language, arranged according to modern prosody, the following translation of the Lord's Prayer into the Indian tongue, has been handed down to us.
"Soūngwâunēkā, cāurounkyāwgă, tēhsēētāroān, saūhsšněyousăt, ēsă. săwănēyou. čkěttāūhsělă, ēhněāūwoūng, nā, cāurounkyāwgă, nūghwon- shāūguă, nēattěwěhněsălāūgă, taūgwăunāutoronoăntoūgsick, toāntaūgwěl- eēwhěyoustang, chěnēēyeut, chāquštaūtehwhěyoustāūnnă, toūghsaŭ, tāugwăussărēnēh, tāwautottěnăugăloughtounggă, nāsāwně, sāchěautaug- wass, coăutēhsălohaungāeckāw, ēsă, săwăunnēyou, ēsă, săshautztă, esă, soungwāsoung, chěnněaŭhāūngwā, auwěn."
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