USA > New York > A history of New York, for schools. Vol. I > Part 14
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short, they accuse him of every species of mal-ad- ministration. Lord Lovelace succeeded Cornbury in 1708, but died in a short time, and was succeeded by Ingoldsby, the lieutenant-governor, who ruled until the arrival of Governor Hunter, in 1710. The enumeration of governors for New York are those for New Jersey at this time. Burnet succeeded Hunter in 1720; Montgomerie followed; and dur- ing his administration New Jersey applied to Eng- land for a distinct governor from New York. Cosby, the next governor of both provinces, promised the
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people to second their views in respect to having a governor to themselves.
John. We have seen that there was not much re- liance to be placed upon him. Where was the seat of government of New Jersey, sir ?
Un. First at Burlington, and subsequently the governors resided and the assemblies met, alternate- ly there and at Perth Amboy.
John. That's a very pleasant place, sir; a beauti- ful situation for a city. What was the origin of the town, and of the name ?
Un. I will tell you something of both; and the more willingly, as the story I promised of the rob- bers and counterfeiters of money, is immediately con- nected with the place. The name of the point upon which Perth Amboy stands, (having the Raritan riv- er on one side and the waters dividing the town from Staten island on the other,) appears from the propri- etor's books to have been originally " Ompoge," and to have been changed to Ompo, Ombo, Ambo, and finally to Amboy. Perth was added in compliment to James, Earl of Perth, one of the second set of pro- prietors, received as partners by William Penn and others, who purchased of Sir George Carteret's widow. The land on which this city is built was bought of the Indians, in the same honest way that Penn negotiated for his territory. The first deed on record relative to " Ompoge point" was given by the Indians to Augustine Herman, and it is dated the 26th of December, 1651. The bounds of the grant were as follows. Read the memorandum.
John. "From the mouth of the Raritan creek westerly unto a creek at the uppermost end of the great marsh called Mankackewahky-"
Un .. Now called the Raritan great meadows. .
John. "Which runs northwest into the country, 17*
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and then from the mouth of the Raritan creek afore- said, northerly up along the river-"
Un. The sound between Perth Amboy and Staten Island.
John. "Along the river behind States isle, unto the creek Pechciese, namely, from the point called Ompoge unto Pechciese, the aforesaid creek."
Un. Now Elizabethtown point creek.
John. " And so up the said creek to the very head of it; and from thence direct westerly throwe the land until it meet with the aforesaid creek and mead- ow ground called Mankackewahky."
Un. I put this memorandum in your hands to show the manner in which these purchases were described. The whole of this territory was included in a larger grant made by other Indians to another person, and the conflicting claims caused a suit in chancery. It was found necessary to prohibit by law any purchases from the Indians unless sanction- ed by the proprietors; that is, by those who held the grant from Berkely or Carteret. Finally this Ompoge point and the tract above mentioned was purchased by the twenty-four proprietors of East Jersey; and they laid out a town on the point, which was then called Ambo, and in compliment to the Earl of Perth, (one of the twenty-four,) they named . it Perth Ambo, which was soon changed to Perth Amboy.
John. It seems strange to me, sir, that these plain republicans should have such a reverence for titled people.
Un. It is very difficult to get rid of old habits. This makes it so necessary that no habits but those which are good, should be acquired ; and shows the value of early education. Europeans were habit- uated to paying undue respect to titled nobility ; and the descendants of the English, and other na-
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tions, in this country, even to this day are slaves to the prejudice.
John. Not all, sir.
Un. Certainly not. And even at the time Perth Amboy was so called, there were many who knew the distinction between a nobleman of nature's form- ing and the titulary creation of a tyrant or of chance. Amboy was commenced on a plan drawn by Gawin Lawrie, a proprietor, and at one time the deputy- governor of the province. His scheme was adopted by the council, and the city was divided into one hundred and fifty lots, each of ten acres ; the price to those who purchased before the 25th of Decem- ber, 1682, was fixed as 15l. sterling, and one year after at 201. Four acres were reserved for a mar- ket-square. It was in 1709 that Queen Ann per- mitted New Jersey to issue paper money, and al- though it used to be printed with the words "to counterfeit is death," many spurious bills were soon circulated. They were manufactured in Dublin, and agents sent hither with them. But the great band of robbers and counterfeiters, were detected and dispersed only a short time before the revolu- tion, and during the rule of William Franklin.
John. There must have been many governors be- fore him and after Cosby, who was the last you men- tioned.
Un. Yes; they succeeded each other very rapid- ly, Morris, Belcher, Boone, and Josiah Hardy, pass before us like the figures that you have seen in the magick lantern; or the blossoms you see year by year on the Lombardy poplar trees in our streets, fading and falling without leaving a trace of good behind them. And so flit away the rulers of the earth elsewhere. Josiah Hardy arrived in October, 1761, and was succeeded by William Franklin, in 1763. Franklin was the last of the king's govern-
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ors; and was not removed until the events of the revolution displaced him. It was during his ad- ministration that the detection of the gang of robbers and counterfeiters took place, whose story I am to tell.
John. Were there any remarkable men in Perth Amboy in early days ?
Un. Several. I will only mention Barclay, the apologist for Quakerism, and Doctor Lewis Johns- ton, an eminent physician and student of nature. He received his education at Leyden, and after re- turning home corresponded with Gronovius and other learned men of Europe. It deserves likewise to be remembered that a magazine was edited at this place as early as 1759, by Samuel Neville, an Eng- lish gentleman who lived and died there.
Phil. Uncle, I have been waiting so long for the story!
John. Hush! If you have attended to what has been said you will understand the story better.
Un. In those days, that is, sixty or seventy years ago, some parts of New Jersey were as wild as the western wildernesses now are, with here and there a solitary farm-house and patch of pumpkins and Indian corn. In such a place lived an Englishman of the name of Ford. He was occasionally seen at Morristown, Elizabethtown, and even at Amboy and Burlington; he appeared as an honest thriving yeo- man, but although the owner of a considerable por- tion of land, little of it was cultivated, and no one knew how Ford could appear so " well off," and do so little work. The tract he owned remained a wil- derness, and several extensive swamps were situated on it, near which neither road nor path approached. Ilis only companion was one of his countrymen named King, who was in appearance a hired labour- er; but no fruits of his labour appeared. After a time Ford was missing altogether. King said he had
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gone home, on the death of his father, to take pos-' session of property that he inherited in consequence. " Then he will not come back, perhaps ?" " Oh yes ; he prefers this country, and will certainly return." He did return ; and now I will tell you what he went to England for, and what he and King had been doing for a long time before.
- Wm. I guess, he had been making counterfeit money.
Un. No. He came out at first as agent for the Dublin counterfeiters; but conceived a plan for ma- king the bills on the spot. He had been successful in circulating the false bills, and purchased the land that he thought would suit his purpose. King was his confidential agent; and with the utmost secrecy they constructed a den, part cave and part house, in the depths of a swamp, to which neither ingress nor egress was known or could be effected, except by these two villains. Ford then went to London, made himself somewhat acquainted with engraving, and procured the types, ornamental cuts, portable print- ing presses, tools and moulds for coining, and all the materials he wanted for his secret abode and labora- tory. He returned, and commenced his operations. with the materials and the skill acquired in London. Accomplices were necessary for the distribution of his manufacture, and he had the art to seduce many of the farmers and respectable yeomen of the sur- rounding country into the practice of buying his spurious money and circulating it, and that without communicating the secret of his workshop or the hidden path that led thereto.
John. Is it possible, sir, that people enjoying rep- utation among the colonists could be so base as to aid these men?
Un. This, the most incredible part of the story, is strictly true; men having landed property, re-
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spectable connexions, wives and children, were se- duced by the desire of possessing wealth without labour (that desire which ruins so many) to become the accomplices of two artful scoundrels in this nefa- rious traffick, so injurious to their country, and so dangerous as well as debasing to themselves. They continued their iniquitous trade for several years, and became bolder from success. But in 1773, ano- ther gang of confederated counterfeiters and coin- ers arrived from New England, and spread them- selves in the towns and villages from Woodbridge to Middletown. Two of them, pretending to be sil- versmiths, set up business in Perth Amboy. The quantity of base coin and counterfeit bills excited the vigilance of government, and it is believed that this new set of confederated rogues led to the detec- tion of Ford, King, and Company. In the mean time the publick being on their guard, the agents of Ford among the people ceased their operations, and as business had become dull in the way of passing off bills, he conceived the bold design of making up all deficiencies by robbing the treasury.
John. Did he succeed, sir ?
Un. Yes. And for a long time was not even sus- pected of the robbery. The treasurer of the prov- ince, Stephen Skinner, esquire, lived in Perth Am- boy, and the treasury was in his house ; the money in bills was kept in an iron chest in the office. In 1768, the office was found to have been entered in the night, the iron chest opened, and upwards of 60004. carried off. It was not till six years after, that the perpetrators were known to be Ford, King, Cooper, and three soldiers belonging to a regiment quartered in the barracks at the time of burglary. In 1774, Cooper being convicted of counterfeiting, and under sentence of death, confessed that he as- sisted Ford in accomplishing the robbery of the trea-
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sury, and received 300l. for his share. He said the plan was Ford's; that he procured the necessary information as to the situation of the chest, the man- ner in which the treasurer secured the key in his chamber, the mode of obtaining access to the chest, and if necessary to the treasurer's bed-room, and as- signed to each the part he was to act in the business. They were to remove the chest if possible; if not, they were to break it open in the office ; if that fail- ed, they were determined to enter the bedchamber, murder the inmates and secure the key.
John. And was Ford hanged for this robbery, sir ? Un. No. Long before the confession was made, several of the counterfeiters had been apprehended, and one who had been intrusted with the secret of the hidden path to the den of the coiners and coun- terfeiters, betrayed the secret. The officers of jus- tice were led to the place, and entered the swamp by a passage that only admitted one man at a time, and that by creeping for some distance in a posture that rendered him helpless. But Ford and King were taken by surprise, detected at their dark work, and surrounded by the evidences of their guilt.
John. Then I suppose, sir, they were hanged for counterfeiting.
Un. You shall hear. Their detection led to the discovery of their accomplices, the agents concerned in the circulation of the base coin and forged bills.
John. What, sir, the farmers and reputable people of the country ?
Un. Even so. And you may judge of the con- sternation of the publick, and the wretchedness of the wives, the parents, and other relatives, of these de- luded men, when five or six highly respectable free- holders, (among them a physician, and a justice of the peace,) were apprehended, imprisoned, tried, and convicted of the crime of passing false money, design-
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edly and in concert with the vilest rogues. During their trials the country was in a state of agitation be- yond description. The prison and the court of justice were thronged with their friends and their wretched fathers, mothers, wives, and children. Some of these unhappy men had seen their errour and ceased from the practice long before. One of them was so re- spected by the congregation to which he belonged that they had elected him a deacon ; and upon his being accused and imprisoned, the clergyman of the parish publickly prayed "that he might be de- livered from false accusers;" and a report having been spread that the accused was released, thanks were returned in the church. But they soon knew that he had confessed his guilt. These unhappy criminals were all sentenced to be executed. Think of six fathers of families, hitherto respected, being doorned as felons to the gallows.
John. Dreadful !
Un. In the mean time Ford and King, the arch villains, being both confined in Morristown prison, contrived, by the aid of one of their accomplices who was still at liberty, to break jail and escape; and notwithstanding proclamations of reward and the most active pursuit, they were never taken; while Richardson, the fellow who assisted them, was ap- prehended, convicted, and hanged. Another of the coiners suffered death; but the miserable misled men who had been seduced to be accomplices, by aiding in the circulating of the forged bills, were first respited, and finally pardoned.
Wm. O, I am glad of it! I think they would never do so again.
Un. It is probable that they truly repented. Sure- ly they suffered even more than the mere agony of death. And it is more than probable that the two ringleaders in mischief, only fled from justice, at
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this time, to experience misery, and a violent end, after a life of shame, and unceasing fear of retribu- tive justice. To-morrow, when we meet I will bring our story down to the famous year, 1775.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
John. You have told us, sir, something of the in- troduction of printing into our country, but there is another art of which you say nothing.
Un. What do you mean ?
John. Painting.
- Wm. We all know that America has produced a great many fine painters.
John. What artist had we first, sir ?
Un. In point of time, a man little known. Mr. John Watson, a Scotch gentleman, who settled at Perth Amboy. He came to this country as early as 1715. In Dunlap's History of the Arts of Design in America, you will find all that is known of the painters who first visited this country ; but as con- nected with our subject, I will mention some of them, and say a few words of the earliest native painters. In 1728, a great and good man, Dean Berkeley, came to America with the benevolent view of pro- moting literature, arts, and sciences: and knowing the happy influence of the fine arts upon society, he brought with him Mr. John Smybert, an artist of considerable knowledge and skill. He lived and died in Boston. Other European painters followed; but the first American painter in point of time and excellence is Benjamin West.
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Wm. He painted the Death of Wolfe. I have . seen it.
Un. You have seen the print engraved from it.
John. And you took me to see his great pic- ture of Christ Rejected. Did he ever paint in New York ?
Un. Yes. He was born in Chester county, Penn- sylvania. His early attempts attracted attention and encouragement, and almost without teaching he be- came a painter. As early as 1759 he visited New York and painted several portraits : being the first native American artist who exercised his pencil in our city. The second was John Singleton Copley. He painted many excellent portraits in New York in the year 1773.
John. Better than West's, sir ?
Un. Much better. At the time he painted in New York he had practised the art ten or more years with great success and industry, in Boston. West, when he was here, was a youth, and a tyro; Copley a well-studied painter of mature age. Both these great artists found employment and a home in Eng- land, and both died there.
John. Pennsylvania produced West, and Massa- chusetts gave us Copley ; did no one distinguished artist spring up in our city ?
Un. None in early times. Rhode Island, too, can boast of her Gilbert Stuart of the days before the rev- olution: but New York was without a native paint- er for many years after. The beautiful picture of the Studious Boy, which I have given you, with a little book intended for your instruction, proves that, though late, our state is not last in the race. William Sid- ney Mount, the painter of that truly fine picture, is yet a young man, and has produced compositions of still more masterly achievement since painting the Studious Boy. The engraving, which is the front
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ispiece of the little book I gave you, is a master- piece in that branch of art, by Mr. J. A. Adams, whose talents do honour to the country, and of whom we boast as a native. In the work on Artists above- mentioned, you will find more concerning Mr. Wil- liam Sidney Mount. I will only mention that he was born at Satauket on Long Island, in the year 1807, and until the age of seventeen was employed, to use his own words, "as a farmer's boy."? You know that the word farmer in our country has a dif- ferent signification from that it bears in England. An American farmer, is the cultivator of his own soil, a free and independent yeoman. Such was the father of Mr. Mount. I shall take another opportuni- ty to speak to you of the progress of the fine arts in our country ; now I will only say that New York city can boast of another native artist of the first or- der in Mr. Robert W. Weir; and the state of two, no less in merit, Mr. Vanderlyn, and Mr. Inman. After our historic lesson to-day, we will walk to the hon- ourable Gulian C. Verplanck's, and ask permission to look at Mr. Weir's fine painting of the Landing of Henry Hudson. I likewise show you this wood engraving by Mr. Mason, from a copy of Mr. Wier's picture, made by Mr. Brown, an artist recently ar- rived in our city. Though New York cannot boast of her painters or engravers in the early pc- riod of her existence, she can now vie with any city of America. And, when speaking of our native artists, we must not forget Doctor Anderson, who, although educated as a physician, preferred the pro- fession of an engraver, and taught himself the art of embossing on wood, thereby becoming the first, in point of time, who practised wood-engraving in America. In excellent artists-painters, architects, and engravers, natives of New York, or from the neighbouring states, and from Europe-our city now
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abounds; but at the period of which our story treats, she was " poor indeed." Now we will return to the history of our city. And I must introduce you more particularly to Mr. James Rivington, an English gentleman who had for some years been a booksel- ler in New York, and who, as I told you, com- menced publishing a weekly gazette, in the year 1773.
John. Was that the only newspaper in the city, sir ?
Un. O, by no means. Through all the prece- ding controversies, papers had been published by Weyman, Parker, Loudon, Holt, Gaine, and oc- casionally by others; but at this period the three conspicuous editors were Holt, Rivington, and Gaine. The first a decided whig, the second a violent tory, and the third a time-server. By a whig, at this time, was understood an American "Son of Liber- ty," and by a tory an advocate of English preten- sions. Rivington's paper was supported by men of talents; and his own paragraphs, with the essays of Cooper, Inglis, and others I have mentioned, gave it great currency with his party, and rendered him ex- ceedingly obnoxious to the resentment of the Amer- ican people generally. A riotous proceeding hap- pened in March, 1775, of which Mr. Rivington pub- lished this account, which I have transcribed from his paper. Read it.
John. " Messrs. Cunningham and Hill coming from the North river stopped, near the liberty pole, to see a boxing match, when Cunningham was struck by one Smith Richards, James Vandyk, and several others, called tory, and used in the most cruel manner by a mob of above two hundred men. Hill came to the assistance of Cunningham, and was beat and abused most barbarously, though neither of them gave the least offence, except being on the
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king's side of the question this morning." What does that mean, sir ?
Un. I can only suppose that there had been some popular resolutions passed that day, and that Cun- ningham and Hill had opposed them. Read on. Cunningham was the tory bully.
John. " The leaders of the mob brought Cun- ningham to the liberty pole, and told him to go down on his knees and damn his popish King George, and they would set him free; but on the contrary he exclaimed " God bless King George !" They then tore the clothes off his back, and robbed him of his watch. Hill was requested to damn the king, and refusing, was served in the same manner. They were rescued by some peace officers and taken to jail for safety."
Wm. Do you believe this story, sir ?
Un. Not as here related. But at this time the feelings of the two parties were extremely hostile. The people of New York felt the injuries and in- sults inflicted on the country generally, and partic- ularly on their brethren of Boston, where already an army of king's troops had been collected to over- awe that spirit which Massachusetts displayed. I presume that on this day the people of New York had been assembled in "the fields" near the liberty pole, and had been irritated by the opposition of the torics. This outrage took place afterward, and un- fortunately at such assemblies many add the fuel of strong liquor to the fire of patriotism. Cunning- ham and Hill, as it appears, were known to be to- ries ; they returned to the place of meeting, and, it cannot be doubted, gave offence by some insult to the people, or to the emblem of liberty, which had become so dear to them. This does not justify the personal violence used; but accounts for it. I should not dwell on this riotous incident so long, but that I 18*
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believe it immediately connected with events of greater consequence, and that it added to the suffer- ings of many Americans, who never heard of it. Americans, who, in the course of the war, when · captured by the British, were committed to the charge of this bully and blackguard; who, as a re- ward for his sufferings when the champion of royal- ty, was appointed provost marshal, and avenged his disgrace and bruises on the innocent and powerless. Cunningham had this office conferred on him by the English commander-in-chief. As you have had Rivington's account of this affray, I will give you another. In an essay respecting the "old jail," or " provost," published in the New York Mirror, our fellow-citizen Mr. John Pintard gives the following account of this affair. Read it.
John. " This modern Bastile was memorable dur- ing the occupation of the city by the British forces from 1776 to 1783, as the provost, under the super- intendence of the noted Captain Cunningham, pro- vost marshal, and his deputy, Sergeant Keefe. The former lived in New York previous to 1776, and during the conflicts between the whigs and tories, the 'liberty boys' and the 'loyalists,' was the bul- ly and champion of the latter in the many battles fought in 'the fields,' now the park ; in the front of which and near the present Bridewell, the whigs set up their liberty poles, which were successively demolished by the tories, until one was erected so completely cased with iron bars and hoops as to set all attacks at defiance; and which remained, it is believed, until the British took possession of the city on the 15th of October, ('September') 1776. On one occasion Cunningham, a stout, double-fisted Irishman, after a bloody scuffle, was compelled by the 'liberty boys' to kneel down and kiss the lib- erty pole; an indignity that rankled in his heart,
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