A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 13

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 13

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New York: Arent Van Hatten, Martin Creiger, P. L. Vander Girst.

Brooklyn: Frederick Lubberson, Paulus Vander Beek, William Beekman.

Flushing: John Hicks, Tobias Feeks.

Newtown: Robert Coe, Thomas Hazzard. Hempstead : William Washburn, John Somers.

Flatlands : Peter Wolverton, Jan. Stryck- er, Thomas Penewit. Flatbush : Elbert Elbertson, Thomas Spicer.

Gravesend: George Baxter, James Hub- bard.

Peter the Headstrong had no toleration with such documents, would hardly manage to be civil to the Deputies who presented the paper, and denied that Brooklyn, Flatbush and Flat- lands, at any rate, had any right to elect delegates to such meetings. He believed it was an evidence of incipient rebellion and treason, and blamed the English residents as the cause of the whole trouble, playing thus the last card-race jealousy-of the petty politician.

Another meeting was held which threaten- ed a fresh appeal to Holland, and this resulted

THE DUTCH-SOME EARLY GOVERNORS.

in Stuyvesant ordering the delegates to dis- perse and "not to assemble again on such a business." Peter put his foot down emphat- ically and the citizens meekly obeyed. He went so far in the following year as to refuse to confirm the election of the Gravesend dele- gates, Baxter and Hubbard, as magistrates of that town, and went there in person to allay the excitement which that arbitrary proceeding occasioned. In this stand, however, he would have been unsuccessful but for the influence of Lady Moody.

Stuyvesant's greatest trouble in his later years was with the English, who were then pressing closely and incessantly upon the Dutch preserve of New Netherland. Long Island, as has been shown, was one of the disputed sections and it was generally held that his agreement at Hartford in 1650 to divide the jurisdiction of the island by the imaginary line at Oyster Bay was the weak- est point in his career as an international statesman. It was thought, and rightly thought, that the English had got the best of that arrangement. But could Stuyvesant, in view of all the circumstances, have done better? That can hardly be conceded.

So half of Long Island passed from the control of the States General, much to the disgust of the enemies of Peter the Head- strong, and they were very numerous about that time; but for the people on the island it was a most satisfactory arrangement, for from then on until 1663 peace was the rule on Long Island so far as the Dutch and English were concerned. But in that year Connecticut, having obtained a new charter in 1662, was reaching out to consolidate her territory and much to Stuyvesant's amaze- ment and chagrin claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Long Island and actually sent commissioners there to arrange and collect rates, customs and taxes. Commissioners were appointed March 10, 1863, "to go to Long Island and settle the government on the west end," and in November of that year we find that the people of Jamaica held a

public meeting (to protest against Stuyve- sant's misgovernment and oppression. In Long Island the people as a whole would have welcomed any relief at that time from the Governor and his Council; and although Peter foamed and waxed indignant, sent re- monstrances and appeals to Holland, and threatened to build a fort at ()yster Bay to overcome the English, he did nothing very effective. In fact to his sorrow he found he was receiving no adequate support from the United Provinces or even much in the way of practical aid from his subjects in New Netherland. Long Island had virtually passed from his grasp and into that of Con- necticut, when by a charter on March 12, 1663, King Charles II conveyed to his brother, the Duke of York, all of New Netherland, and the question of the possession of Long Island assumed a new phase. The charter gave to the Duke or his appointees all legis- lative and judicial power over the vast terri- tory, subject only to appeal to the crown. When the grant was made it looked on the face of it like a worthless compliment ; but the Duke and his advisers and associates seemed fully to understand the current train of events and to appreciate the importance of the gift, and they at once set to work to realize on it as a valuable asset. In January, 1664, Captain John Scott of Gravesend, who had formerly been an officer under Charles I but had left England in the Cromwellian time (banished, some said, for cutting the girths of several of the Protector's horses), and who probably inspired the grant by speaking of its probabilities, returned to Long Island from a visit to England. He had evidently been intrusted with very high powers by the Duke of York and his advisers, but, desiring to fortify himself in all possible ways before proceeding to put his mission into effect, he managed somehow to secure his appointment as a Magistrate over Long Island from Governor Winthrop of Connecticut. Armed with this document, Scott crossed the Sound to Long Island and with 150 followers boldly pro-

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

claimed Charles II as King. He raised the English flag in Breuckelen, and thrashed a boy for refusing to doff his hat to the em- blem. That was on Jan. II. Then he passed in quick succession through Midwout and Amersfort and New Utrecht.

By that time Stuyvesant had recovered from his astonishment at the doings in Brooklyn and sent a commission to interview Scott and learn what the trouble was. On Jan. 14 they met at Jamaica and Scott plainly told them that Stuyvesant had no standing in the case; that the entire New Netherland territory belonged to the Duke of York, and he meant to hold it. A truce was, however, patched up and on March 3 Stuyvesant unbent in the stress of circumstances so much that he proceeded in solemn state to Jamaica and there in a personal interview discussed the whole matter with the wild and victorious Scott. It was arranged that the English towns were to remain under the flag unfolded by Scott without any interference for twelve months until the respective home Govern- ments had time to settle the destiny of the provinces. Stuyvesant could really force 110 better ternis. His treasury was empty, the Government from which he got his warrant paid a deaf ear to his remonstrances and appeals for aid, the people were restless and discontented, and even the Dutch seemed ready to revolt, while the English settlers openly. defied him, and defied with impunity. In his despair Stuyvesant, as many a greater tyrant before and since has done, bethought of ask- ing the advice and counsel of the people, a proceeding he would never have tolerated for a moment carlier in his career. So he called a General Assembly of delegates from the different towns to consider the condition of affairs, and it met on April 10, 1664, in the City Hall of New Amsterdam. The Long Island representatives were:

Brooklyn: William Bredenbent, Albert Cornelis Wantenaer.

Flatlands : Jan Strycker, William Guil- liams.

Flatlands: Elbert Elbertsen, Coert Stev- ensen.

New Utrecht: David Jochemsen, Cornelis Beekman.

Boswyck: Jan Van Cleef, Guisbert Jeu- nissen.

This diet started right in as soon as it elected Jermias Van Rensselaer chairman, by discussing the condition of affairs, and in an underhanded sort of way by finding fault with Stuyvesant and his Government for the state into which New Netherland had fallen. Stuy- vesant found his ancient spirit arise within him at the course the discussions took and coldly informed the delegates that they were to consult, and their main business was to find money and men to maintain the integrity of the territory. Nothing practical came of the meeting, however.

In June Stuyvesant met Governor Win- throp, of Connecticut, which had again actively asserted its jurisdiction over Long Island, but was bluntly told that the English title was to be maintained. So things drifted along, the English steadily advancing on the Dutch territory not only on Long Island but on the Hudson, until at the end of August, 1664, an English fleet under Col. Richard Nicolls passed in through the Narrows and took possession of the harbor; and on Sept. 8 Stuyvesant was forced to sign the capitu- lation by which his authority passed into the hands of the English, and Long Island, with the rest of New Netherland, was transferred into the possession of the Duke of York. In the face of the royal warrant, John Winthrop, on behalf of Connecticut, withdrew all claim of jurisdiction, and so the destiny of Long Island was irrevocably associated with the province and State of New York, for by that name New Netherland became known very soon after Sept. 8, 1664, when Peter Stuyve- sant retired to his bouwerie and the rule of the Dutch for a time passed away.

THE JOHN J. WEEKS HOUSE.

At the corner of Pipe and Rock and Oyster Bay Roads. Said to be the oldest house standing in Long Island

CHAPTER VI.

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.

IR Richard Nicolls, by virtue of the authority of the Duke of York, be- came Deputy Governor of the New Netherland and was one of the rulers so common in British colonial history, who ruled firmly and intelligently, who brought to the front all that was best in the colony, caused or permitted it to prosper, and knew how to conceal the iron hand be- neath the velvet glove. Nicolls did not reign long, for he welcomed his own successor Aug. 17, 1668; but in that brief interval of nearly four years was included much of his- torical moment to the province in general and to Long Island in particular. Nicolls started in by changing some of the names of his vast bailiwick. The old name of New Nether- land, as has been stated, was changed by him to New York, in honor of one title of his royal patron, and Fort Orange became

Albany in honor of another, while, to still further accentuate the Duke's titles, West- . chester and Long Island were joined legally under the name of Yorkshire. About the same time the names of several of the Long Island towns were changed so that Rustdorp became Jamaica ; Midwout, Flatbush ; Amers- fort, Flatlands ; Breuckland, Brookland; Mid- dleburg, Newtown ; and Vlissengen, Flushing. Like Yorkshire in England, its American namesake was divided with "ridings" (an old Anglo-Saxon division of territory into three sections from the Saxon word "trithing"-a third part) as follows :

West Riding: Kings County, Newtown, Staten Island.

North Riding: Remainder of Queens County, Westchester.

East Riding: Suffolk County.

When he had established himself firmly

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

enough to make the people imagine they were to have a full share in the government, al- though his rule was and remained arbitrary, Nicolls called a meeting of delegates from each town in the new Yorkshire to assemble at Hempstead on the closing day of February, 1665. In calling this assembly, Gov. Nicolls said to "the Magistrates of the several towns upon Long Island," in a letter dated Feb- ruary 8:

In discharge, therefore, of my trust and duty, to settle good and known laws within this Government for the future and receive your best advice and information in a general meeting, I have thought it best to publish unto you that upon the last day of this present February, at Hempstead, upon Long Island, shall be a general meeting which is to con- sist of deputies chosen by the major part of the freemen only; which is to be understood of all persons rated according to their estates, whether English or Dutch, within your several towns and precincts, whereof you are to make publication to the inhabitants four days before you proceed to an election, appointing a cer- tain day for the purpose.

You are further to impart to the inhabitants from me that I do heartily recommend to thiem the choice of the most sober, able and . discreet persons, without partiality or faction, the fruit and benefit whereof will return to themselves in a full and perfect composure of all controversies and the propagation of true religion amongst us. They are also re- quired to bring with them a draught of each town limits, or such writings as are necessary to evidence the bounds and limits, as well as the right by which they challenge such bounds and limits, by grants or purchase or both, as also to give notice of their meeting to the Sachems of the Indians whose presence may in some cases be necessary.

Lastly, I do require you to assemble your inhabitants and read this letter to them, and then and there to nominate a day for the election of two deputies from your town who are to bring a certificate of their election, with full power to conclude any cause or matter relating to their. several towns, to me at Hempstead upon the last day of February, when, God willing, I shall expect them.

The chosen representatives of the people were so pleased with their new dignity that they made it their first business to draw up a flattering address to the Duke of York as follows :

We, the Deputies duly elected from the several towns upon Long Island, being as- sembled at Hempstead, in general meeting by authority derived from your Royal Highness under the Honorable Colonel Nicolls as Deputy Governor, do most humbly and thank- fully acknowledge to your Royal Highness the great honor and satisfaction we receive in our dependence upon your Royal Highness according to the tenor of his Sacred Majesty's patent, granted the 12th day of March, 1664; wherein we acknowledge ourselves, our heirs and successors for ever to be comprised to all intents and purposes, as therein is more at large expressed.

And we do publicly and unanimously de- clare our cheerful submission to all such laws, statutes and ordinances which are or shall be made by virtue of authority from your Royal Highness, your heirs and successors for ever.

And also that we will maintain, uphold, and defend to the utmost of our power, and peril to us, our heirs and successors for ever, all the rights, title, and interest granted by his Sacred Majesty to your Royal Highness, against all pretensions or invasions, foreign and domestic; we being already well assured that in so doing we perform our duty of allegiance to his Majesty as freeborn subjects of the Kingdom of England, inhabiting in these his Majesty's dominions.

We do farther beseech your Royal Highness to accept of this address as the first fruits in this general meeting, for a memorial and record against us, our heirs and successors, when we, or any of them, shall fail in our duties.

Lastly, we beseech your Royal Highness to take our poverties and necessities in this wild- erness country into speedy consideration ; that by constant supplies of trade, and your Royal Highness's more particular countenance of grace to us, and protection of us, we may daily more and more be encouraged to bestow our labors to the improvement of these his Majesty's western dominions, under your Royal Highness, for whose health, long life

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.

and eternal happiness we shall ever pray, as in duty bound. Signed. For:

New Utrecht : Jacques Cortelyou, Young- er Hope.

Gravesend: James Hubbard, John Bowne. Flatlands : Elbert Elbertsen, Roeloffe Mar- tense.

Flatbush: John Striker, Hendrick Guck- sen.

Bushwick: John Stealman, Gisbert Tunis.

Brooklyn : Hendrick Lubbertsen, John Evertsen.

Newtown : Richard Betts, John Coe.

Flushing: Elias Doughty, Richard Corn- hill.

Jamaica : Daniel Denton, Thomas Benedict. Hempstead: John Hicks, Robt. Jackson.

Oyster Bay: John Underhill, Matthias Harvey.

Huntington : Jonas Wood, John Ketcham. Brookhaven: Daniel Lane, Roger Barton. Southold: William Wells, John Youngs.

Southampton : Thomas Topping, John Howell.

Easthampton: Thomas Baker, John Strat- ton.

Westchester: Edward Jessup, John Quin- by.

Gabriel Furman ("Notes Relating the Town of Brooklyn," 1824), referring to this address, says :

The people of Long Island considered the language of this address as too servile for freemen and were exasperated against the makers of it to such a degree that the Court of Assizes, in order to save the deputies from abuse, if not from personal violence, thought it expedient at their meeting in October, 1666, to declare that whosoever hereafter shall any way detract or speak against any of the Deputies signing the address of his Royal Highness at the General Meeting at Hemp- stead, they shall be presented at the next Court of Sessions ; and if the Justices shall see cause, they shall from thence be bound over to the Assizes, there to answer for the slander upon plaint or information.

The deputies, subsequently to the address made to the Duke of York, made one to the people, in which they set forth their reasons 5

for agreeing to the code styled "The Duke's Laws."

There seems no doubt that the real author of this address which, fulsome as it may appear to modern readers, was not so extravagant in that respect as most documents of the time of a similar nature, was the Governor's neph- ew, Matthias Nicolls. He was a lawyer by profession and received the appointment of secretary to that warrior-diplomat, with the military rank of Captain, when the expedition was organized which resulted in the capture of New Netherland. When Nicolls entered: into possession Matthias was appointed Sec- retary of the Province, a position, it would! seem, which had been promised him before leaving England: indeed he had his commis- sion in his possession when he first saw New Amsterdam. By virtue of his secretaryship. he became a member of the Governor's Coun- cil. He was the presiding Judge in the Court of Assizes on its establishment, and in 1672 was chosen Mayor of New York, holding that office for one year. In connection with the Court of Common Pleas he was the Presiding Judge, and in 1683 became one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. He made, in later years of his life, extensive purchases of land on Little Neck and seems to have spent quite a considerable portion of his time on that property. He died at Cow Neck, Dec. 22, 1687, leaving that estate to his son, William, and so may be regarded as the founder of one of the most famous of the old families of Long Island.

There is no question that Matthias Nicolls also drew up the code popularly styled "The Duke's Laws," which after being submitted to the Duke of York and his advisers was accepted by them, printed and ordered en- forced. It was to introduce those laws with. the apparent concurrence of the people most directly interested in them that the assembly at Hempstead was called. These laws are a remarkable body of regulations and stamp- their author as a lawyer of no ordinary de- gree of acumen, and possessing not only a

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

thorough knowledge of the world and of hu- man nature, but a broad and tolerant spirit. They stand out in marked relief to the "blue laws" which prevailed over most of New Eng- land.

The laws, in every particular except one, were just and equitable. The Indians were protected so far as a sale of their lands re- quired the consent of the Governor. The ut- most toleration was allowed in religious matters. Its legal administration, with a town court, a court of sessions and a court of assizes, seemed adequate for the needs of the province. There was a sheriff for the shire, and a deputy sheriff for each riding. Each town was to elect a Constable, and eight (afterward reduced to four) Overseers, who were entrusted with the maintenance of good order. They made up the town court, which took notice of all cases of debt or trespass under £5, and at which a Justice of the Peace (appointed by the Governor) was to preside when present. The Court of Sessions was composed of the Justices of the Peace in each town in each riding and had jurisdiction over all criminal cases and over civil cases where the amount was above £5. It was a jury court, seven jurymen being the number fixed for all cases not capital, and for such twelve were required, and a unanimous verdict was necessary to convict. The death penalty was the fate decreed for those who denied God or His attributes, who were found guilty of treas- on, or willful murder, or taking life by false testimony, or engaged in man-stealing and several other crimes. Under suits for less than £20 the judgment of the court was to be final, over that sum there was the right of appeal to the Court of Assizes.

That body met once a year in New York and was composed of the Governor and his Council, and the Magistrates of the townships. It was a court of equity as well as of common law. In some respects it seems to have as- sumed legislative functions, and even made from time to time amendments to the Duke's laws. It was, however, never popular, and

the number of those who attended its sessions in the capacity of Judges made it become a burden on the people, and its abolition in 1684 was generally welcomed. The exception to the acceptance of the code to which reference has been made is the fact that it placed little or no authority in the hands of the people. The Governor had all the prerogatives of an autocrat, executive, legislative and judicial. His will was supreme in every department. He appointed all Judges and public officials and could remove them at pleasure. He could make what laws he pleased and could repeal any which did not suit his views or his pur- poses. It is true he wielded his authority by and with the advice of his Council, but he ap- pointed the members of his Council himself and could relegate any of them to private life who failed to register his wishes. In spite of all this, however, there can be no doubt that Gov. Nicolls' administration of his high office was fairly satisfactory to the people generally and a genuine feeling of regret was aroused when it became known that his resignation was in the hands of the Duke of York and that he only awaited the coming of his successor to return to England. When that came to pass the people gave him a public dinner and es- corted him down New York Bay, thereby setting a precedent which has often been fol- lowed since among local "statesmen." It may here be said that Nicolls lost his life in the battle at Solebay, May 28, 1672, with Admiral De Ruyter.

Under Francis Lovelace the personal rule permissible under the Duke's laws was still further emphasized, for he was a politician rather than a statesman. He followed in many ways in the politic footsteps of his prede- cessor, and he had the wise counsel of Mat- thias Nicolls always at hand to aid him in any intricate point which might arise. He tried hard to cultivate the most amicable asso- ciation with the Dutch, assisted the Lutherans to bring a minister from Holland, fully pro- tected the Reformed Church and gave the Presbyterians a free field, so that even they

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.

might secure a foothold in the Province. Re- ligious freedom prevailed all around, and it is one of the conundrums of history that under the rule of a man so thoroughly devoted to the Church of Rome, as perfect an example of religious toleration should be found in a terri- tory where his will was after all the only law. It was this arbitrary rule which led to the failure of Lovelace's administration. The omission of the Duke's code of laws to provide for any real measures of self-government on the part of the colonists had, ever since its promulgation, been the subject of much ad- verse criticism and complaint, especially on the eastern division of Long Island and among the English towns generally. In 1667 some of the towns petitioned for a system of local government, but Nicolls, then retiring, left the question as a legacy to his successor. That dignitary's response simply advised the petitioners to render submission and obedience to the laws then existing and all would be well. That of course satisfied nobody, but things drifted along, the sentiment for local self-government naturally becoming stronger with time. On October 9, 1669, the towns of Gravesend, Hempstead, Jamaica, Flushing, Newtown, Oyster Bay, as well as Westchester and East Chester, severally presented petitions to the Governor, the result evidently of a pre- concerted movement, in which among other things they asked to be put on an equal foot- ing with his Majesty's other subjects in Amer- ica to the extent of being permitted to par- ticipate in making the laws by which they "are governed, by such deputies as shall yearly be chosen by the freeholders of every town and parish." They had at first been promised that much when Nicolls took over the Gov- ernment ; but a promise it still remained. No real response was made to these petitions, and in 1670 the Governor gave an instance of his arbitrary power by declaring the patents to the land of Southampton invalid unless a new one was obtained within a specified time. This was done at a meeting of the Court of

Assizes and in a manner strictly in accordance with the existing law.

In 1665 it was decreed that all towns should take out new patents, so, as it was said, to in- troduce uniformity in these documents and bring them more in accordance with English law, but the purpose, in reality, was to bring money to the gubernatorial treasury. South- ampton complied finally with this command, but it was urged that, having obtained its pat- ents from an English source,-the agents of Lord Stirling,-there was no necessity for the expense and trouble involved.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 13

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188