USA > New York > The history of the late province of New-York, from its discovery, to the appointment of Governor Colden, in 1762. Vol. I > Part 1
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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
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01152 1439
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1200
THE
HISTORY C
OF THE LATE
PROVINCE OF NEW-YORK, .
FROM
ITS DISCOVERY,
I
!
TO THE
APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNOR COLDEN,
IN
1762.
BY THE HON. WILLIAM SMITH,
Formerly of New-York, and late Chief Justice of Lower Canada.
VOL. I.
-
NEW-YORK:
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Grattan, Print. - 1830.
:
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK, Ss.
Be it remembered, That on the 7th day of November, A. D. 1829, in the 54th year of the Independence of the United States of America, JOHN DELAFIELD, of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor in the words following, to wit :
" The History of the Province of New-York, from its discovery to the appointment of Go- vernor Colden, in 1762. By the honourable William Smith, formerly of New York, and late Chief Justice of Lower Canada. Published under the direction of the New-York Historical Society.
In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled " An act for the en- couragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned." And also to an Act entitled " An Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of Learn- ing, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."
FRED. J. BETTS,
Clerk of the Southern District of New- York.
NOTICE.
1239353
THE present volumes, now for the first time associated, contain the History of the State of New-York from its first discovery to the year 1762, by the late WILLIAM SMITH, for- merly Chief Justice of Canada, with the author's last altera- tions and additions from the original manuscripts. On a production, a part of which has been so long before the public, and so highly appreciated, it is scarcely necessary to make any commentary. It is sufficient to observe, that had the Historical Society rendered no other service to the commu- nity than the publication of these volumes, this alone would have justified the bounty of the Legislature. But they trust that their other labours are appreciated, and hope the public will see, in these efforts, a design to fulfil the obligations to which the Society is pledged, and to enhance the character of the great State of which they are members.
The Continuation of the History will be found not inferior in interest or execution to the part so well known. It treats of the period between the years 1736 and 1762. The father of the historian was a conspicuous actor in these times, and the Chief Justice had the most ample means of information. The Biographical Memoir furnished by his son, the Hon. William Smith, of Canada, though brief, will be perused with pleasure by all who feel an interest in the circumstances of one of the most prominent public men of his day. Here is a striking coincidence in several respects, between the proposi- tion of Smith for the government of the colonies and that of Dr. Franklin, made in the year 1754. At this early date the question of union was decided almost unanimously : the several committees appointed by the respective States having
VI
reported thereon, the plan of Franklin was preferred, and with a few amendments was reported. By this plan the general government was to be administered by a president general appointed and supported by the crown; and a grand council to be chosen by the representatives of the people, of the several colonies met in their respective assemblies.
The author's geographical description of the early state of the colony of New-York, which originally appeared in the quarto edition of his history, is in this edition embraced as an appendix to volume first.
The State of New-York, while she does justice to her great natural resources, ought not to be indifferent to her own fame, or the reputation of her distinguished sons. These are her property, not less valuable or productive than the tolls on her canals. By making known meritorious exertions, we point out the way to farther efforts, and excite the spirit of emulation. In the present condition of affairs, this is best done by institutions like our own ; individual attempts are for the most part lost and ineffectual. During the period embraced in the narrative of SMITH, this State was for a long time the chief seat of war, and on its borders was settled the title to a great part of North America. Exposed to the incursions and depredations of hostile powers, its prosperity was checked and its high destiny deferred. We are now a united people, and, under the benign influence of republican institutions, its rank is the first in the confederation.
May her example shed a salutary influence over her sister States, and may those to whom her fortunes are confided, continue to act worthy of her and of themselves.
JOHN W. FRANCIS, Committee JOHN DELAFIELD, of
DAVID HOSACK. Publication.
City of New-York, Nov. 16, 1829.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
PAGE.
FROM the Discovery of the Colony to the Surrender in 1664,
1
PART II.
From the Surrender in 1664, to the Settlement at the Revolution, ...
.35
PART III.
From the Revolution to the second Expedition against Canada, ..
........... 109
PART IV.
From the Canada Expedition in 1709, to the arrival of Governor
Burnet, ...
.197
PART V.
From the year 1720, to the commencement of the administration of
Colonel Cosby,.
.247
APPENDIX.
CHAP. I .- A Geographical Description of the Country,.
295
CHAP. II .- Of the Inhabitants, 323
CHAP. III .- Of our Trade, ..
330
CHAP. IV .- Of our Religious State,.
336
CHAP. V .- The Political State,
350
CHAP. VI .- Of our Laws and Courts,.
367
MEMOIR
OF THE
HONOURABLE WILLIAM SMITH,
WRITTEN BY HIS SON.
WILLIAM SMITH was born at New-York, on the 25th of June, 1728. His father, a lawyer of emi- nence in that province, became a member of his majesty's council, and was afterwards appointed judge of the court of King's Bench. Judge Smith left many children, the eldest of whom is the sub- ject of this memoir.
Mr. Smith was thus descended from a respectable family in the province, and his father perceiving he evinced considerable talent in his youth, sent him early to a grammar school at New-York. At school he was an extraordinary proficient ; and when suffi- ciently instructed, was sent to Yale College, at New Haven, in Connecticut, where he distinguished him- self so much by his learning and assiduity, that he obtained the degree of A. M. at a very early age.
He was well acquainted with the ancient writers, particularly with the Greek Philosophers, whose history he read in their native language; while he understood sufficient of the Hebrew to become familiar with many things in Rabbinical learning. He made the study of divinity a chief pursuit ; and those who read what he had written on this important
B
1
X.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
subject, were astonished at his knowledge of the scriptures ; while to many it appeared incredible, that one man should have acquired in a few years such variety of knowledge in matters unconnected with his immediate avocations.
He had great readiness in arithmetic, was an ex- cellent mathematician, and in medicine was so well informed, that several eminent physicians of his na- tive state have declared, that in answer to several questions propounded to him on this science, he had discovered great judgment, as well as minute know- ledge : indeed he understood almost as much of the general principles of the healing art, as speculation without practice could enable him.
He was a devout christian, a sincere protestant, and tolerant and just to those from whom he differed most. He used constantly to worship God in his family, performing its duties always himself.
Having spent several years at college, Mr. Smith repaired to his native city, where he studied law ; and after being called to the bar, he entered into a very extensive practice : he was above the mean appetite of loving money, for if he saw a cause was unjust, he would state that it was so, and if the litigant par- ties persisted in their respective views, he would de- sire them to seek another counsellor : if he found the cause doubtful, he always advised his client to com- promise ; when differences were referred to him, which he settled, he would receive no reward, though offered it by both parties, considering himself in these cases as a judge ; observing, that " a judge ought to take no money." He was an eloquent speaker, remarkable for the soundness of his law opinions,
xi.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
inany of which are collected and recorded in a book by Chalmers, entitled, " Opinions of Eminent Law- yers." He was the intimate friend of Robertson the historian of America, and of many other literary characters of that day.
He was appointed a member of his majesty's coun- cil as early as the year 1769, where his attendance was regular, his integrity unquestioned, and his loy- alty firm to his king ; and when the lowering clouds caused by the Stamp Act, began to spread over the continent, he saw the danger likely to result from the measure, and drew up a plan of union of all his majesty's colonies, which if it had been then adopted, might have prevented the civil war that ensued, and the dismemberment of the British empire in America.
The direct tax that was devised by parliament in 1764, was the origin of the controversy : both coun- tries resorted to the constitution for arguments in support of tenets diametrically opposite to each other : on the part of America there was a claim set up to all the rights of Englishmen ; and it was inferred that no tax could be laid upon them without the consent of their assemblies. Great Britain on the other hand attempted to justify her measures by ad- mitting the principle but denying the consequence ; she contending that America was virtually represent- ed by the commons of Great Britain. Mr. Smith proposed a plan of union of all the colonies friendly to the great whole, and linking them and Great Britain together by the most indissoluble ties : all requisitions for aid and supplies for general purposes, had been formerly addressed to the several provincial
xii.
MEMOIR OF. THE AUTHOR.
assemblies ; it was now proposed this should be made to the general government. It was not however in- tended to annihilate the assemblies, but that there should be a lord lieutenant as in Ireland, and a coun- cil of at least twenty four members, appointed by the crown or the house of commons, consisting of de- puties chosen by their respective assemblies, to meet at the central province of New-York, as the parlia- ment of North America. To this body it was pro- posed all the royal requisitions for aids were to be made, and they were to have authority to grant for all; to settle the quotas for each, leaving the ways and means to their separate consideration, unless in cases of default. The members of the council were to depend upon the royal pleasure, but, to preserve independency, they were to be men of fortune, and hold their places for life, with some honorable distinc- tion to their families, as a lure to prevent the office falling into contempt.
The number of deputies was to be proportioned to the comparative weight and abilities of the colo- nies they represented. The two Floridas, Rhode Island, Nova Scotia, and Georgia, to have five each ; New Hampshire, Maryland, North Carolina, and Quebec, each seven ; South Carolina and New Jer- sey, each eleven; New- York, Pennsylvania, and Con- necticut, each twelve ; and Massachusetts Bay and Virginia, each fifteen. The whole house would thus consist of one hundred and forty-one members, a small number when the importance of the trust was considered, but to be increased when the colonies became more populous and desired it. The crown to retain its ancient negative, and the British Parliament
xiii,
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
its legislative supremacy in all cases relative to life, liberty and property, except in the matter of taxations for general aids, or for the immediate support of the American government. A dignified government like this, it was supposed, would produce unspeak- able advantages by making the colonies better known, and that it would correct the many disorders that had crept into some of the colonial constitutions, dan- gerous in some instances to the colonists themselves and their British creditors, and derogative of the first rights, and many of the prerogatives of the crown most friendly to peace and good order.
The minister, G. Grenville, approved of the plan, but never brought it forward in parliament ; and thus things remained, until Great Britain, in 1775, de- termined to tax the colonies without their consent. Mr. Smith deeply deplored the contentions that after- wards took place, and long before the civil war broke out, exerted every means in his power to avert it.
General Tryon, the governor of New-York, find- ing it no longer safe to remain in the city, embarked on board the Dutchess of Gordon, signifying to the council that he would not meet them again in public business ; leaving each member at liberty to retire where he pleased. Mr. Smith then repaired to his country seat at Haverstraw, about forty miles from New-York. He was not long there before he was summoned, 3d June, 1777, to attend the council of safety at Kingston, and being introduced before them, he was asked whether he considered himself a subject of the Independent States of America ? to which he replied, that he did not conceive himself discharged from his oaths of fidelity to the crown
xiv.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
of Great Britain ; upon which an order was imme- diately made by the board, of the 7th of June, ordering him to be confined, within the manor of Livingston, where he remained until he was sent into New-York, by a flag, under the superintendance of Colonel Burr, by order of General Washington.
Mr. Smith remained at New-York till the evacua- tion of that city by the king's troops, and went to England with Sir Guy Carleton, the then com- mander-in-chief. He there remained until he was appointed Chief Justice of Canada, in 1786, and continued to hold that station until he died, on 3d December, 1793. He thus held his office as chief justice for seven years, managing the court and all proceedings in it, with singular justice. It was observed by the whole country, how much he raised its reputation ; and those who held places and offices in it, all declared, not only the impartiality of his justice, but his generosity, his vast diligence, and his great exactness in trials. It was customary before his time, that all prisoners should be brought into court, in the custody of a party of soldiers ; he disapproved of this, and established, for the first time, the appointment of constables, ordering them to be provided with their batons of office, which has been continued ever since. He was taken with a shivering fit in court, and it was succeeded by an ardent fever, which no medical skill could arrest
or destroy. A day before his death, he desired one of his children to send round to the clergymen of each communion a declaration to be read in the several churches, of his firm belief in the Divinity
XV.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
of his Saviour. He was buried on the 4th Decem- ber, 1793, in the Episcopal church.
As a christian, he was one of the greatest patterns of the time in which he lived; and, in his public employments, either when at the bar or on the bench, was equally distinguished as a model of christian perfection.
Having thus given his history and character, it is necessary to give the relation of what was private and domestic.
William Smith was married to Miss Janet Living- ston, daughter of James Livingston, esq. of the city of New-York, merchant. This lady was distinguish- ed for her disposition, eminent piety, and excellence of character, She died on the anniversary of her birth-day, in the 90th year of her age. By her he had eleven children, several of whom died young ; his daughter Elizabeth, who had obtained the age of seventeen, died at Haverstraw, in 1776, in conse- quence of the deep interest she took in the public troubles, that then agitated the country.
His eldest son, William, who is still alive, went to England from New-York, was educated at a gram- mar school, at Kensington, near London, and came to Canada with his father, in 1786. He was soon appointed clerk of the provincial parliament, subse- quently a master in chancery, and, in 1814, was appointed by the Earl Bathurst, then his majesty's secretary of state, a member of the executive coun- cil. He married Susan, daughter of Admiral Charles Webner, of the county of Hampshire, in England, by whom he had five children. His eldest daughter, Janet, married John Plinderhath, of Glen, in the
xvi.
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
county of Peebles, in Scotland, who dying, left her with six children, four sons and two daughters. Three of the sons entered into the army, and were distinguished for their conduct ; one at Maida,* and the others at Stoney Creek and Chrysler's farm, in Canada.
Their son John, who was a physician, and served under the Duke of Wellington, in the peninsular war, lost his life in the discharge of his professional duties, was buried at Coimbra, and has a monument erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey.
His second daughter, Mary, married Lieutenant General William Doyle, of Waterford, in Ireland, many years in the staff of that country as a general officer. Both are now dead. They have left two sons and one daughter, who are living.
His third daughter, Harriet, married Jonathan Dewitt, Chief Justice of the province of Lower Canada, by whom she has eleven children, several of whom are honourably settled at Quebec.
* The battle of Maida is one of the most brilliant achievements of the British arms. See Mr. Windham's speech in the House of Commons. Annual Regis- ter. 1806.
THE
HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.
PART I.
FROM THE DISCOVERY OF THE COLONY TO THE SURRENDER IN 1664.
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, a Genoese, employed by Ferdinand and Isabel, king and queen of Castile, was the first discoverer of America .* He sailed from St. Lucar in August, 1492, and made sight of one of the Bahama Islands, on the eleventh of October following. Newfoundland and the main continent were discovered five years after, by Sebastian Gabato, a Venetian, in the service of Henry VII. of England, from the thirty-eighth to the sixty-eighth degree of north latitude.
On the 10th of April, 1606, King James I. for planting two colonies, passed the great north and
* Some authors allege that Columbus first offered his services to the repub- lic of Genoa ; then to John II. of Portugal, and afterwards to our King, Henry VII .; but this disagrees with Lord Bacon's account, who informs us, that Chris- topher Columbus sailed before his brother Bartholomew had laid the project before the king, which was owing to his falling into the hands of pirates on his way to England.
VOL. I .- 1
HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.
south Virginia patent. To Sir Thomas Gates, and others, leave was given to begin a plantation, at any place on the continent they should think con- venient, between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of latitude ; and all the lands extending fifty miles, on each side, along the coast, one hundred miles into the country, and all the islands within one hundred miles opposite to their plantations, were granted in fee, to be called the First Colony. By the same patent, a like quantity was granted to Thomas Henham, Esquire, and others, for a plan- tation between thirty-eight and forty-five degrees of latitude, under the name of the Second Colony. The first began a settlement in the great bay (Chesapeak) in 1607. The latter was planted at Plymouth, in New-England, 1620.
Henry Hudson, an Englishman, according to our authors, in the year 1608,* under a commission from the king his master, discovered Long-Island, New-York, and the river which still bears his name; and afterwards sold the country, or rather his right, to the Dutch. Their writers contend that Hudson was sent out by the East-India Company in 1609, to discover a north-west passage to China; and that having first discovered Delaware bay, he came hither, and penetrated Hudson's river as far north as the latitude of forty-three degrees. It is said, however, that there was a sale, and that the English objected to it, though they for some time neglected to oppose the Dutch settlement of the country.
In 1610, Hudson sailed again from Holland to
# See Note A.
3
HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.
this country, called by the Dutch New-Netherlands ; and four years after, the States General granted a patent to sundry merchants, for an exclusive trade on the North River, who, in 1614, built a fort on the west side, near Albany, which was first commanded by Henry Christiaens. Captain Argal was sent out by Sir Thomas Dale, governor of Virginia, in the same year, to dispossess the French of the two towns of Port-Royal and St. Croix, lying on each side of the Bay of Fundy, in Acadia, then claimed as part of Virginia .* In his return he visited the Dutch on Hudson's river, who, being unable to resist him, prudently submitted for the present to the king of England, and under him to the governor of Virginia. The very next year, they erected a fort on the south-west point of the island of Manhattans, and two others in 1623; one called Good-Hope, on Con- necticut river, and the other Nassau, on the east side of Delaware bay. The author of the account of New-Netherlandt asserts that the Dutch pur- chased the lands on both sides of that river, in 1632, before the English were settled in those parts ; and that they discovered a little fresh river, farther to the east, called Varsche Riviertie, to distinguish it from Connecticut river, known among them by the name of Varsche Rivier, which Vanderdonk also claims for the Dutch.
Determined upon the settlement of a colony, the States General made a grant of the country, in 1621,
* Charlevoix places this transaction in 1613. Vol. I. hist. of N. France in 12mo. p. 210. But. Stith, whom I follow, being a clergyman in Virginia, had greater advantages of knowing the truth than the French jesuit.
+ See note B.
4
HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.
to the West-India Company. Wouter Van Twiller, arrived at fort Amsterdam, now New-York, and took upon himself the government, in June, 1629. His style, in the patents granted by him, was thus : " We, director and council, residing in New-Neth- erland, on the island Manhattans, under the govern- ment of their high mightinesses, the Lords States General of the United Netherlands, and the privi- leged West-India Company." In this time the New-England planters extended their possession westward as far as Connecticut river. Jacob Van Curlet, the commissary there, protested against it, and, in the second year of the succeeding adminis- tration, under
William Kieft,* who appears first in 1638, a pro- hibition was issued, forbidding the English trade at fort Good-Hope; and shortly after, on complaint of the insolence of the English, an order of council was made for sending more forces there, to maintain the Dutch territories. Dr. Mather confesses, that the New-England men first formed their design of settling Connecticut river in 1635, before which time they esteemed that river at least one hundred miles from an English settlement ; and that they first seated themselves there in 1636, at Hartford, near fort Good-Hope, at Weathersfield, Windsor, and Springfield. Four years after, they seized the Dutch garrison, and drove them from the banks of the river, having first settled New-Haven in 1638, regardless of Keift's protest against it.
. * We have no books among our Dutch records remaining in the Secretary's office, reiating to state matters before Kieft's time, nor any enrolment of patents till a year after Van Twiller arrived here. Mr. Jacob Goelet supplied us with several extracts from the Dutch recorbs.
5
HISTORY OF NEW-YORK.
The extent of New-Netherland was to Delaware, then called South river, and beyond it; for I find, in the Dutch records, a copy of a letter from William Kieft, May 6, 1638, directed to Peter Minuit,* who seems, by the tenor of it, to be the Swedish gover- nor of New-Sweden, asserting, "that the whole south river of New-Netherlands had been in the Dutch possession many years, above and below, beset with forts, and sealed with their blood :"-Which, Kieft adds, has happened even during your administration " in New-Netherland, and so well known to you."
The Dutch writers are not agreed in the extent of Nova Belgia or New-Netherland ; some describe it to be from Virginia to Canada, and others inform us that the arms of the States General were erected at Cape Cod, Connecticut, and Hudson's river, and on the west side of the entrance into Delaware bay. The author of the pamphlet mentioned in the notes gives Canada river for a boundary on the north, and calls the country, northwest from Albany, Terra Incognita.
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