USA > New York > A geographical history of the state of New York: embracing its history, government, physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, education, internal improvements, &c., with a separate map of each county > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
On the 12th of June, 1666, Governor Nicolls granted a char- ter to the city of ew York.
In 1667, he gave place to Colonel Francis Lovelace, who held the reins of government till 1673, when it was recaptured by the Dutch.
Though somewhat arbitrary, and disposed to burden the people with heavy taxes, the urbanity of his manners, and his desire for the welfare of the colony, caused Col. Lovelace to be regarded as a good governor. In 1670, on the petition of the Dutch inhabitants of the colony, he granted them permission to send to Holland for a minister, and guarantied his support from the public treasury.
On the 7th of August (New Style) Captains Evertsen and Binckes, the commanders of a Dutch squadron, which had been cruising off the American coast, entered the harbor of New York. Governor Lovelace was absent in New England; and the fort and city were under the command of Captain Manning. The fort appears to have been much dilapidated, and scantily supplied with ammunition.
The Dutch squadron demanded its immediate surrender. Captain Manning asked for delay ; but the invaders replied that he should have but half an hour. At the end of that period they opened their fire upon the fort, which Captain Manning returned, as well as he was able, until his ammunition was exhausted. The Dutch, meantime, had succeeded in effecting a landing upon the island, in the rear of the fort; and perceiving that further resistance was useless, Captain Manning surren- dered, without formal terms of capitulation .*
* The above account of the capture of New York differs materially from that of Smith, which has been copied by all succeeding historians; but is fully sub- stantiated by the documents obtained in England, by J. R. Brodhead, Esq. Cap- tain Manning was not, perhaps, a very efficient officer, but he certainly did not merit the epithets of coward and traitor, which have been so freely bestowcd upon him. The affidavits of the witnesses in his trial, prove that his punishment [the breaking of his sword over his head, and incapacitation to hold office] was sufficiently severe for his offence.
63
ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION.
Fortunately for the city, the Dutch commanders were men of liberal feelings ; and mindful of the courteous treatment their countrymen had received in 1664, they granted every privilege of citizens, to the inhabitants.
The name of New York, they changed to New Orange, that of Albany to Williamstadt, and the fort previously called Fort James, to William Hendrick. Captain Anthony Colve was appointed Governor. Connecticut protested against this invasion, but with as little success, as Governors Stuyvesant and Kieft had formerly done, to her usurpations. By the treaty of February 9th, 1674, New York was restored to the English, It was not, however, given up by the Dutch, till the following autumn.
Some doubts existing, relative to the validity of the Duke of York's patent, both on account of the Dutch occupation, and the fact, that it was wrested from that nation in time of peace, he deemed it advisable to obtain a new patent, from his brother, in 1674.
In the autumn of this year, Major Edmond Andross, after- wards so well known as the tyrant of New England, arrived in New York, and assumed the office of governor.
Ilis administration in New York seems to have been marked by few striking events. He won neither the love nor the hatred of the citizens ; and being ab- sent a part of the time, attending to the inore refractory New England colonies, he did not manifest, in his own state, the tyranny, which subsequently rendered him so odious.
In 1675, Nicolaus Van Rensselaer, a younger son of the first Patroon-came over to New York, with a recommendation from the Duke of York, whose favor he had obtained, and wished to settle as minister in Albany. Niewenhyt, who was, at the time, pastor of the Reformed Dutch church, in that city, refused to recognize him, on the ground that he had received Episcopal ordination. In the difficulty resulting from this refusal, Andross took sides, though unsuccess- fully, with Van Rensselaer.
During Governor Andross' frequent absences,. Mr. Brock- holst, the Lieutenant Governor, officiated.
In August, 1683, Colonel Dongan succeeded Andross in the government of the colony ; and among his first acts, was one, granting permission to the people to elect an assembly, con- sisting of a council of ten persons, named by the proprietor or his deputy, and a house of representatives, eighteen in number, elected by the freeholders, to aid in the administration of gov- ernment.
In this year, the ten original counties were organized.
In February, 1685, the Duke of York, on the death of his brother Charles II., ascended the throne, under the title of James II. Among the first acts of this bigoted and short sighted monarch, were his instructions to Dongan, to allow no printing press to be established in the colony.
Colonel Dongan, mindful of the necessity of keeping up friendly relations with the powerful confederation of the Iroquois, visited thein in person, and by pres-
64
STATE OF NEW YORK.
ents and addresses, won their friendship and alliance. The Jesuit priests, sent by the French among the Indians, were, however, a formidable obstacle to his com- plete success, in his negotiations with the savage tribes ; for, residing among them, and conforming to their habits, they exerted a powerful influence in favor of the French, who had been the hereditary enemies of the confederated tribes.
Colonel Dongan, though himself a Roman Catholic, was too shrewd a states- man not to perceive the injurious influence exerted by the priests upon these Indians, and accordingly attempted to prevent their continuing among the tribes. But James, infatuated by his zeal for Catholicism, forbade him to molest them, and ordered that he should rather aid them, in their efforts, to convert the indians to the Catholic faith.
In vain, Dongan remonstrated ; he only irritated his royal master, and in 1688 was recalled.
Andross, who had preceded him, was designated as his suc- cessor, and New England was added to his jurisdiction.
Preferring to locate himself, where he could more easily inspect the conduct of his New England subjects, Governor Andross made Boston his residence, com- mitting the care of the colony of New York, to his Lieutenant Governor, Colonel Nicholson. The latter seems to have been much more mild in his administration than his chief, whose enormities so exasperated the people of Massachusetts, that, on the arrival of the news, at Boston, of the accession of William, Prince of Orange, to the throne, they immediately imprisoned Andross, and sent him to England for trial.
In New York, the intelligence of the accession of the Prince of Orange did not, at first, produce a civil commotion. After a short time, however, a portion of the populace selected Jacob Leisler, a merchant of New York, of Dutch extraction, and the senior captain of the militia, as their leader, and proclaimed William and Mary. This movement, though popular with the masses, was discountenanced by most of the prominent citizens, who were unwilling to acknowledge Leisler, as a leader. Colonel Nicholson, apprehending popular violence, escaped on board a vessel in the harbor, and sailed for England.
On the 3d of June, 1689, finding himself surrounded by a large number of adherents, Leisler assumed the reins of government, associating with himself in the cares of state, his son-in-law, Jacob Milborne.
In the spring of 1690, Milborne, at the head of a considerable force, went to Albany, to reduce that town [which had hitherto remained refractory], to allegiance to the government of his fa- ther-in-law. At his first visit he was unsuccessful, but, at a sub- sequent period their fears of an Indian invasion, led them to submit to his jurisdiction. His confiscation of the estates of some of those who opposed him, excited prejudices which ter- minated in the ruin of both Milborne and Leisler.
During Milborne's absence at Albany, a letter from the Eng- lish ministry arrived, addressed to " Francis Nicholson, Esq .: or, in his absence, to such as, for the time being, take care for the preserving of the peace, and administering the laws, in his majesty's province of New York, in America." This letter em-
65
ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION.
powered the person addressed, to take charge of the govern- ment, calling in the aid of such of the inhabitants, as he should think proper, until farther orders.
Leisler, being by popular election acting governor, very prop- erly assumed, that this letter was addressed to himself; and consequently, by advice of the citizens, who constituted a com- mittee of safety, selected a council from each of the counties, except Ulster and Albany, which had not yet submitted to his authority.
He also summoned a convention of deputies. from those portions of the province over which his influence extended. This convention laid some taxes, and adopted other measures, for the temporary government of the colony ; and thus, for the first time in its existence, was the colony of New York under a free government. The strong prejudices, however, which had been awakened by Leisler's measures, soon produced in the minds of his adversaries, a rancor and bitterness, which was perhaps never surpassed in the annals of any political con- troversy.
This condition of things existed for nearly two years. To the horrors of civil commotion, were added the miseries of for- eign war, and hostile invasion. The French Court, being at war with England, had placed over its colonies in Canada, the aged but enterprising Count de Frontenac, the ablest and most formidable governor of their American possessions.
This wily veteran at once determined to annoy his English neighbors, and accordingly despatched a force against Schenec- tady, in mid winter, which, after enduring extreme hardships, reached that place in the dead of night, and with the utmost barbarity, butchered its sleeping inhabitants, in cold blood.
Attempts were made to revenge this barbarous invasion, by an expedition against Quebec, of which Sir William Phipps and Fitz-John Winthrop, afterward governor of Connecticut, were the commanders ; but through mismanagement, and the sickness of the troops, the expedition was unsuccessful.
Colonel Henry Sloughter, who had been appointed governor of New York, by. King William, in 1689, arrived in 1691. His coming had been heralded, a few weeks before, by one Ingoldsby, a captain of foot, who, without credentials of any kind, demanded that the fort should be surrendered to him.
This demand, Leisler, with propriety, refused to obey ; and when Colonel Sloughter, on his arrival, sent this same In- goldsby, to demand the surrender of the fort, Leisler asked a personal interview with him. His enemies, who had determined upon his ruin, seized upon this imprudent hesitation, as evidence of treason, and filling the ears of the weak-minded Sloughter with charges against him, they demanded his arrest. The next day he surrendered the fort, and was immediately arrested, and with his son-in-law, after a mock trial, condemned to death for high treason.
Sloughter, however, hesitated to execute the sentence, and
66
STATE OF NEW YORK.
wrote to the English ministry, for directions how to dispose of them. Their enemies, thirsting for their blood, were deter- mined not to be thus foiled, and, persuasions having failed, they availed themselves of the known intemperate habits of the gov- ernor, invited him to a banquet, and when he was completely intoxicated, induced him to sign the death warrant. Ere he was recovered from his debauch, the unfortunate prisoners were executed. They met death with heroic fortitude, and Leisler exhibited a martyr's spirit.
Their estates were confiscated, but their adherents were soon after pardoned, by an act of general indemnity. The circumstances of Leisler's execution, roused . the indignation of those who had attached themselves to his party, and for many years after, the citizens of the state were divided into Leislerians and Anti- Leislerians .*
In June, 1691, Colonel Sloughter went to Albany, to hold a conference with the Indians. On his return he died, very sud- denly, in July, 1691; and, until the English government could appoint a successor, Ingoldsby, the lieutenant governor, as- sumed the government. The only event of importance, during his administration, was a conference with the Indians, with whom he concluded a treaty.
In August, 1692, he was superseded by Colonel Benjamin Fletcher, who soon exhibited the unamiable traits of his char- acter. In his intercouse with the Indians, he fortunately suf- fered himself to be advised by Major Peter Schuyler, a man, whose influence over them was unbounded, and who, in his in- terviews with them, gave them a favorable impression of the English.
During most of Fletcher's administration, he was engaged in controversies with the assembly, principally in regard to appropriations for his expenses. He was empowered, by his commission, to take command of the militia of New Eng- land, as well as of New York ; but proceeding to Hartford for this purpose, he found himself thwarted, by the stubborn resistance of the people of Connecticut.
Richard, Earl of Bellomont, appointed in 1695, arrived as his successor in April, 1698. He was a man of great dignity, reso- lution and moral worth; and was sent out by the king to take measures for the suppression of piracy, which had at that period reached a fearful height. For this purpose the earl, before leaving England, at the recommendation of Mr. Livingston, commissioned Captain William Kidd, to sail in pursuit of the pirates, and endeavor to rid the seas of them.
* Historians have differed materially in their estimate of the character of Leisler. By some he has been denounced as weak and vain; by others ex- tolled for his firmness and integrity. It is apparent from a careful examination of his administration, that he was a man of honesty and integrity of purpose, but strongly prejudiced against the Roman Catholic faith, and not possessed of those traits of character, which would qualify him for a successful governor, in the troublous times in which he lived.
Milborne was a man of considerable education, and undoubtedly possessed greater abilities, and perhaps less integrity, than his father-in-law. It is alleged that Leisler was very much influenced by him in his measures,
,
67
ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION.
Captain Kidd accordingly sailed for New York in April, 1696, but after cruising for a while, himself turned pirate, and became the most ferocious and daring of all the ocean marauders. Returning to America, in 1701, he sold his ship, and boldly appeared in Boston, where he was arrested, and sent to England for trial and execution.
Lord Bellomont died in 1701, and John Nanfan, who had been his lieutenant governor in New York, succeeded him in the government.
The administration of Lord Bellomont is stained by the enactment of one law, which, for its bigotry and intolerance, is deserving of notice. In'1700, a law was passed, directing that every Catholic priest who came into the colony, should be hanged. The design of this law was alleged to be, to prevent the Catholic priests from exerting an influence upon the Indians, hostile to the English.
The earl, as well as Nanfan, who was his Kinsman, had es- poused the cause of the friends of Leisler, and already two dis- tinct parties had been arrayed against each other.
In 1701, on the petition of the family of Leisler, to the queen, the attainder was reversed, and £1000 granted his heirs, as a compensation for their losses.
Nicholas Bayard, one of the most active of those who had procured the death of Leisler, having attacked Governor Nanfan, and his measures in public, and ex- hibited insubordination to the government, was arrested, in 1702, tried, convicted of high treason, and sentenced to death. But his prosecutors did not urge his im- Inediate execution ; and on the accession of Lord Cornbury, he was liberated from prison, and the attainder reversed.
On the 3d of May, 1702, Lord Cornbury, grandson of the Earl of Clarendon, and first cousin to the queen, arrived as governor.
Of all the Governors of the colony under the English crown, Lord Cornbury received the unenviable distinction, of being the worst. Rapacious without a parallel, he liesitated not to apply the public money to his own private purposes ; and though notoriously vicious, yet he was so intolerant, that he sought to estab- lish the Episcopacy at all hazards, imprisoning and prohibiting ininisters of other denominations, from exercising their functions, without his special license. He was, moreover, as destitute of gratitude, as of courtesy, injuring those most, from whom he had received the greatest benefits. Ilis manners were as ignoble and undignified, as his conduct was base, and when this hopeful scion of royalty wan- dered about the streets clothed as a woman, [which was a common practice with him] the people felt that he had taken Caligula for a model.
So urgent were the complaints against him, that the queen, in December, 1708, felt herself compelled to revoke his commission. No sooner was he deposed from office, than his creditors put him in jail, where he remained, till the death of his father, by eleva- ting him to the pecrage, procured his liberation. He had at- tached himself to the Anti-Leislerian party.
He was succeeded, in December, 1708, by John, Lord Love- lace, Baron of Hurley. The cheering hopes, to which the appointment of this excellent man gave rise, were doomed to sudden disappointment, as he died on the 5th of May, 1709.
He was succeeded by the lieutenant governor, Ingoldsby, whose administration, of eleven months, is only remarkable for
68
.
STATE OF NEW YORK.
another unsuccessful attempt upon the French possessions in Canada, under the direction of Colonel Nicholson. This oc- curred in 1709.
After the failure of this attempt, Colonel Schuyler visited England with five of the Iroquois sachems, in order to rouse the people to greater exertions, in defend- ing the colonies.
In April, 1710, Lieutenant Governor Ingoldsby was removed from office, and Gerardus Beekman, the senior councillor, offi- ciated as governor, till the arrival of General Hunter, in June, 1710. Three thousand Palatines, from Germany, flying from religious persecution in their own country, came over with Governor Hunter.
The ensuing year, another expedition was commenced against Canada, by land and water. The squadron destined for its reduction was under the command of Sir Hoveden Walker, and the troops under Brigadier General Hill. Owing to mismanagement, they did not enter the St. Lawrence sufficiently early in the season, and having unskilful pilots, several of the ships were wrecked in that river, and 800 soldiers lost. The whole expedition proved a failure.
As was to be expected, the assembly did not feel inclined in all cases to pay implicit deference to the governor's mandates ; and, in the earlier years of his administration, Governor Hunter had several unpleasant collisions with that body. After a time, however, both parties exercised a spirit of mutual forbearance, which made their intercourse pleasant and advantageous to the colony.
Measures were adopted, during his administration, to adjust the boundaries between the colony and the adjacent colonies of New Jersey and Connecticut; but no definite settlement was made.
Few of the colonial governors resigned their office more generally beloved, or more ardently attached to the interests of the colony, than Governor Hunter. The address of the assembly to him, at his departure, in 1719, in its tone of affec- tion and regard, stands forth alone, in these times of distraction, like a green and fertile oasis, amid the shifting and arid sands of Sahara.
During the period (a little more than a year) which elapsed between the departure of Governor Hunter, and the arrival of his successor, Colonel Schuyler, as senior member of the coun- cil, officiated in the place of the governor. Under his adminis- tration, a treaty, offensive and defensive, was again concluded with the Iroquois.
Governor Burnet arrived in September, 1720, and continued in office till his death, in April, 1728.
One of the first acts of his administration, was one prohib- iting the sale of goods, suitable for the Indian trade, to the French from Quebec and Montreal.
This, though a very just and necessary measure, excited great bitterness of feeling on the part of the merchants who were engaged in this traffic, and of course in the minds of their adherents. They petitioned Parliament for its repeal ; but were foiled, by the able manner in which their false statements were exposed, by Dr. Colden, then a member of the council.
During this excitement, another transaction affected Governor Burnet's popu- larity. He interfered, at the request of one of the parties concerned, in an ecclesi- astical difficulty, in the French church in New York city, and of course drew upon himself the opposition of the other party.
69
ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION.
The French in Canada, under the vigorous government of the aged, but ambitious Count Frontenac, had formed the design of erecting a chain of military posts to the Ohio river, and along its banks; thus confining the English to the coast east of the Alleganies. In pursuance of this design, they proceeded, in 1725, though not without the most strenuous opposition, on the part of Governor Burnet and Colonel Schuyler, to erect a fort on Niagara river, which they called Fort Niagara.
The next year, with equally violent opposition on the part of the French, Governor Burnet erected Fort Oswego, at the present site of the village of Oswego.
The new assembly convened in 1727, were of a different political complexion from their predecessors ; and between them and the governor, there were frequent and unpleasant contentions. These contentions continued till the period of his death. His fine talents, profound learning, and unaffected kindness of heart, caused him to be esteemed even by his enemies, and his faults were entonibed with him.
Colonel Montgomery succeeded Governor Burnet, in 1728, and remained in office till his death, which occurred in 1731. During his government, viz., in October, 1728, the good will of the Iroquois was secured, and they were engaged to aid in the defence of Fort Oswego. In December, 1729, the king, con- trary to the wishes and representations of the best citizens in the colony, repealed the law, prohibiting the sale of Indian goods to the French. The boundary between Connecticut and New York was fully settled, and the line run, in May, 1731.
In July of the same year, Colonel Montgomery having de- ceased, Rip Van Dam, the senior councillor, administered the government, till August, 1732. During his administration, the French erected a fort at Crown Point, without any resistance on the part of the feeble and inefficient acting governor.
On the first of August, 1732, Rip Van Dam was superseded by the arrival of Colonel Cosby, who remained in office till March, 1736, the period of his death.
Historians have been much divided in their views of Governor Cosby. Some represent him as an arbitrary, tyrannical and unjust ruler. Others regard him as a man of mild manners, but necessarily driven to harsh measures, by the turbu- lent spirits with whom he had to deal.
The act which caused the most serious difficulties in his administration, was his demand that Rip Van Dam, who had officiated as lieutenant governor, pre- vious to his arrival, should divide with him, the emoluments of his office. Mr. Van Dam offered to do this, provided Governor Cosby would also divide what he had received from the colonies, before coming to this country. Governor Cosby, who appears to have been somewhat avaricious, refused to do this, and commen- ced a suit against Van Dam, for the half of his salary. Mr. Van Dam attempted to bring a counter suit, but the judges, who were in the governor's interest, de- clined entertaining it.
The newspapers took up the controversy, and one, conducted by a man named Zenger, defended Van Dam. The attacks of this journal against the governor. provoked the latter and his council, to such a degree, that they directed copies of the paper to be burned by the hangman, and indicted Zenger for libel. At the
4*
70
STATE OF NEW YORK.
trial, his counsel, Messrs. Alexander and Smith, disputed the jurisdiction of the court, and were stricken from the roll of attorneys in consequence.
Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelphia, was employed to defend Zenger, and the jury, without leaving their seats, gave a verdict of acquital. Hamilton was presented with the freedom of the city, in a gold box, as an acknowledgement of his services, in upholding the liberties of the people, against a governor appointed by the crown.
During Governor Cosby's administration, a Latin grammar school was founded in New York, by the assembly.
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.