USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > A history of the city of Brooklyn and Kings county, Volume I > Part 7
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In 1672, Charles II., instigated by the French, proclaimed war against Holland. This rupture led the Dutch to conceive the idea of regaining their lost possessions. A squadron consisting of five vessels was fitted out, and placed under the command of Ad- mirals Beuckes and Evertson. The fleet thus prepared sailed from Holland and appeared off Sandy Hook on the 29th of July, 1673. The news of the expedition reached the city long before the arrival of the fleet. Governor Lovelace had no adequate idea of the impor- tance and necessity of preparation to resist the attack. He left the city and proceeded to Albany to regulate the difficulties with the Indians, and placed the fort in charge of Cap- tain Manning. When the news reached the city that the Dutch fleet was approaching, Manning sent messengers to Governor Love- lace, requesting him to return speedily. He came, and at once commenced active defen- sive preparations. The fort was manned, and
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soldiers were mustered into service and drilled. The enemy not appearing, the Governor dis- banded his forces and went to Connecticut. When the fleet reached Sandy Hook, Man- ning again informed the Governor and re- quested him to return, and in the mean time employed himself in collecting recruits. He was not successful. The love of fatherland could not be obliterated from the hearts of Dutchmen. They refused to volunteer against their own flesh and blood, and instead spiked the guns of the fort to prevent any resistance to the fleet. The soldiers in the fort were but amateurs, and having had no experience were of but little service. The fleet anchored in New York Bay, July 30, 1673.
Manning lacked courage, and did not pos- sess any attribute fitting him to properly de- fend the city. In his dilemma, and not having the aid and assistance of the Governor, he found himself powerless to act as the occasion demanded. He sent a messenger to the fleet to inquire their object in disturbing the peace of the colony. In the morning, the admirals dispatched an officer to demand the immedi- ate surrender of the fort. Manning, anxious to gain time, requested that he might have until the following day to give his answer.
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This was refused, and he was notified that unless the city was surrendered in half an hour the fort would be bombarded. To this notification no reply was received. The Dutch, true to their word, commenced a cannonade which resulted in killing and wounding a num- ber of men. The salute of hot shot was not returned. Captain Colve, with a band of six hundred men, landed, and the attacking force was ranged in line of battle in front of the fort, and prepared to make a triumphal march through the city. Manning became agitated and frightened. He commenced negotiations, but, as he had no power to enter into any agreement, he was compelled to surrender.
The city, again in the possession of its ori- ginal settlers, was called New Orange, and the fort was named Fort Hendrick. Some of the English soldiers taken as hostages of war were sent to Holland.
It may well be supposed that this success- ful capture produced a deep sense of morti- fication to the English Government and the New England colonies. Manning was sub- sequently court-martialed and tried for cow- ardice and treachery. His defense was mainly that he had no time to put the fort in a proper condition of defense - that the enemy
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were eight hundred strong, while he had but eighty men in the fort, and that he sought to delay capitulation, hoping that help might arrive. He was found guilty by the court. Through the influence of friends his life was spared, but he was compelled to suffer the ignominy of having his sword broken over his head by the executioner in front of the City Hall, and he was declared incapable of ever holding any office, either civil or military, in the gift of the Crown. Governor Lovelace also was severely reprimanded, and all his property was confiscated to the Duke of York. It would appear that the conduct of the Gov- ernor was more reprehensible than that of Manning. Manning was merely a subaltern, and Lovelace being Governor, it was his duty to exercise proper care in defending the territory committed to his control. He was twice notified by Manning of the intended attack, and seemed by his actions either to manifest but little interest, or not to realize the importance of defensive measures.
Captain Colve now assumed control of pub- lic affairs. Fearing that the English might endeavor to regain the territory, he repaired and strengthened the fort, and put the city under military protection. A new charter was
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given to the city, and the old forms of govern- ment readopted. Courts were established at various points, and all the magistrates were required to appear at New Orange, and swear allegiance to the Dutch Government.
Colve received his commission as Governor of the New Netherlands from the admiral of the fleet. He was very energetic, fortifying weak points, and asserting the claim of the Dutch to all the territory which Governor Stuyvesant had controlled. The fort was re- paired in a substantial manner, and every pre- caution taken to effectually resist any attack which might be made. Colve directed that the provisions of the city should be securely kept, and prohibited the exportation of wheat and grain. In order to prepare the people for active service, he organized companies and had them drilled daily by competent officers in the manual of arms. The city under his administration assumed a military appearance. Parades and drills were of daily occurrence. The city was carefully guarded by watchmen ever on the alert.
While Governor Colve exercised authority in the province, he took occasion to visit Flat- bush with his officials, where by his direction the magistrates of the various towns on Long
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Island had assembled. He conveyed to them the intelligence that troops were on the way from New England to assail the town, and that it was necessary to make preparations for resistance. He commanded them to hold themselves in readiness to proceed to the city whenever he should require their presence. Many of the people considering it prudent to move to the city for safety, obtained permission to do so, and the Governor appointed a com- mittee to secure proper accommodations for them.
A general exodus from Breuckelen and the other towns was the result. The inhabitants of the west end of the Island were eager to move, and in order to prevent depopulation, Governor Colve issued another order, stating that it was necessary for a portion of the males to remain in the towns to protect property and prevent invasion, and he directed that one third of the military force should remain.
The Dutch during their control of New York won for themselves the respect of all onlookers. In their management of the colony, notwithstanding many defects, they were more liberal than any of their neighbors. They were a hard-working, painstaking, thrifty class of people, whose sterling virtues have left upon
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the character of New York an impress that can never be obliterated. The character and principles of the Dutch, handed down from one generation to another, have done much to mould the great western commercial centre into the cosmopolitan metropolis it is to-day. The Knickerbocker patience and perseverance under trials, the honesty and integrity of the Dutch, their love of education and independ- ence have been of incalculable value to the State and nation.
The Dutch were not to be surprised by any English force. The difficulty was settled by the treaty of peace between the States-General and England, signed at Westminster on the 9th of February, 1674. The terms of the treaty provided for the restoration of New York to the English. This was accomplished on the Ioth of November, 1674, when the fort was surrendered to Major Edward Andros, the Governor appointed by the Duke of York.
Thus New York again passed from the con- trol of the original settlers into the hands of their conquerors. The fort again assumed the name of Fort James, and the city resumed the name of New York. The inhabitants were required to swear allegiance to the King of England, and the form of government established by the English was restored.
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Governor Andros also restored the titles, grants, and privileges which the towns had enjoyed under the English Government, and furthermore declared all legal proceedings which had been taken during the reoccupation by the Dutch to be legal and valid.
Andros was arbitrary and oppressive in his conduct, and did all in his power to prevent efforts on the part of the inhabitants to obtain representation in the councils of the govern- ment. In 1680, charges were preferred against him in which he was accused of interfering with the privileges of New Jersey, and he was summoned to England to answer. He was acquitted, and returned to be still more oppres- sive. In 1683, he was removed, and Colonel Thomas Dongan was appointed his successor, with directions to convene a popular assembly.
This Assembly was composed of the Gov- ernor, Council, and seventeen members elected by the people, and held a session commencing October 17, 1683, which lasted seventeen days. The Assembly adopted wise measures, which were called " the charter of liberties." This charter provided that the supreme authority should be vested in the Governor, Council, and Legislature elected triennially by the people. The right of trial by a jury of twelve men was
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guaranteed, and the liberty of the citizens was secured. Protection and freedom of religious belief were also assured.
The County of Kings was organized, and comprised the five towns of Breuckelen, Bush- wick, Flatlands, Flatbush, and New Utrecht. Queens County was also organized. The province was divided into counties. These counties were: New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Richmond, Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, and Albany. In each county a court of sessions was to meet twice a year, and the Court of Oyer and Terminer annually. The offices of assessor and supervisor were also created.
The first town clarke (as it was then spelt) of which there is any record was Heer Nica- sius De Sille.1 He was appointed in 1671, and
1 When, in 1660, it was deemed necessary to prepare defenses for Breuckelen and New Utrecht against attacks from the Indi- ans, De Sille was directed to make the necessary surveys. Under Stuyvesant De Sille held the important position of attorney- general. He was a man of ability and influence. The posi- tion he held under Stuyvesant demonstrated the fact that his attainments were appreciated. He was born in Arnheim. His ancestors were natives of Belgium, who fled to Holland to escape religious persecution, and whose devotion to the inter- ests of their adopted country was manifested on many occa- sions in the noble stand taken by the Dutch Republic to main- tain its independence against the Spanish invasion. He came to New Netherland in 1653, commissioned by the West India Company to reside at New Amsterdam, and by his counsel aid and assist the Governor in his duties. He was directed
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acted in that capacity for four years. Michil Hainelle succeeded him in 1675, and held office until 1690. During the administration of De Sille, Frederick Lubbertsen and Peter Perniedeau were trustees and overseers. In 1676 we find Teunis G. Bergen and Thomas Lambertsen filling the offices of trustee and overseer.
Of New York and Brooklyn immediately after the establishment of English rule we find some interesting glimpses in the journal of Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter, published in the collections of the Long Island Historical Society.1 These two Dutch travelers were members of the sect founded by Jean de La- badie, and known as Labadists. The Laba- dists had found shelter in tolerant and enlight- ened Amsterdam when persecuted in France. The new faith was embraced by many of the Walloons at Rotterdam and elsewhere. A
to give his advice on all subjects relating to the interests of the colony. It is said that he built the first house in New Utrecht. It was at his house that the brave General Wood- hull, the hero of Long Island, who gave his life for his coun- try, breathed his last. - S. M. O.
1 Journal of a Voyage to New York and a Tour in Several of the American Colonies in 1679-80. By Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter of Wiewerd, in Friesland. Translated from the original manuscript in Dutch for the Long Island Histor- ical Society, and edited by Henry C. Murphy, Foreign Corre- sponding Secretary of the Society. Brooklyn, 1867.
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community, resembling in many respects those of the Quakers, was established at Wiewerd, and the promoters resolving upon coloniza- tion in America, Dankers and Sluyter were sent to New York on a tour of investigation. After their first tour, of which their journal speaks, they were again sent to New York in 1683, to establish a colony.
The Labadists give a detailed account of their experiences in New York and on Long Island. They make a natural comment on the name "river" for the strait separating Long Island and Manhattan Island. " There is a ferry, ... for the purpose of crossing over it, which is farmed out by the year, and yields a good income, as it is a considerable thorough- fare, this island being one of the most popu- lous places in this vicinity."
The ferry at this time was patronized by both white men and Indians, though the Indi- ans usually economized by using their own boats in carrying to New York their fish, fowl, or furs. The fare on the ferry was "three stuivers in zeewan for each person." A " stui- ver in zeewan" was equivalent to less than half a cent of our money.
Going up the hill from the ferry the travel- ers passed through the "first village called
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Breuckelen," in which they saw " a small and ugly little church standing in the middle of the road." Here they turned off to the right and reached Gowanus, where they were enter- tained by Simon Aertsen De Hart. After speaking of the large and remarkable oysters, " fully as good as those in England, and better than those we eat at Falmouth," the travel- ers give this description of the Dutch dinner : " We had for supper a roasted haunch of ven- ison, which he had bought of the Indians for three guilders and a half of seewant, that is, fifteen stuivers of Dutch money [fifteen cents], and which weighed thirty pounds. The meat was exceedingly tender and good, and also quite fat. It had a slight spicy flavor. We were also served with wild turkey, which was also fat and of a good flavor; and a wild goose that was rather dry. Everything we had was the natural production of the country." The guest adds: "We saw here, lying in a heap, a whole hill of watermelons, which were as large as pumpkins, and which Symon was going to take to the city to sell. . .. It was very late at night when we went to rest in a Kermis bed, as it is called, in the corner of the hearth, alongside of a good fire."
These visitors did not entertain a very warm
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appreciation for what the journal describes as "a miserable rum or brandy which had been brought from Barbadoes and other islands, and which is called by the Dutch kill-devil. All these people," continues the same narrator, "are very fond of it, and most of them ex- travagantly so, although it is very dear and has a bad taste." At New Utrecht, however, they drank "some good beer a year old."
The writers comment upon Coney Island in these words : "It is oblong in shape, and is grown over with bushes. Nobody lives upon it, but it is used in winter for keeping cattle, horses, oxen, hogs, and others, which are able to obtain there sufficient to eat the whole win- ter, and to shelter themselves from the cold in the thickets."
The Fort Hamilton region, called Najack (Nyack), after the Indian tribe of this name living in the vicinity, is spoken of as an island, it being surrounded by a marsh.
These and other records of the period indi- cate how little the early influence of the Eng- lish rule affected the Dutch manners and cus- toms, particularly on Long Island. The new rulers might introduce the English system of weights and measures, and adopt a new nomenclature for officials and civic systems,
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but for a long time, and far into the eigh- teenth century, Dutch life on Long Island remained singularly like all that it had been in the fatherland and in the pioneer homes.
An annual fair was established in Breuckelen in 1675. It was provided that there shall be kept " a ffayre and market at Breucklin, near the ffery, for all grain, cattle, or other products of the country, too be held on the ffirst Mun- day, Tusday, and Wenesday inn November, and in the City off New York the Thursday, Ffriday, and Saturday following."
To meet the necessary expenses of possible war, it was ordered that in case there should happen a war with the Indians, for the better carrying on of the same, one or more rates should be levied as there shall be occasion, an account whereof to be given to the following Court of Assizes.
At the same time it was ordered "that in all cases the magistrates through the whole government are required to do justice to the Indians as well as to the Christians."
In 1675, by reason of the fact that Long Island and Staten Island were separated by water, it was provided that Staten Island should have jurisdiction of itself, and be no longer dependent on the courts of Long Island, nor on the " Milishay."
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The overseers and trustees were required to take an oath to administer the laws, without favor, affection or partiality to any person or cause, and, when required, to attend to the pri- vate differences of neighbors and endeavor to effect a reconciliation. ยท
Slight allusion has heretofore been made to the schoolmaster. He was an important ele- ment in the community. As his labors were various, and much more irksome than at the present time, the following agreement, exe- cuted by the schoolmaster at Flatbush, in 1682, will be read with interest :
Article 1. The school shall begin at 8 o'clock, and goe out att 11 ; shall begin again att I o'clock and ende at 4. The bell shall be rung before the school begins.
2. When school opens one of the children shall reade the morning prayer as it stands in the catachism, and close with the prayer before dinner ; and in the afternoon the same. The evening school shall begin with the Lord's prayer, and close by singing a Psalm.
3. He shall instruct the children inn the common prayers, and the questions and an- swers off the catachism, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, too enable them to saye them better on Sunday in the church.
4. He shall be bound to keepe his school
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nine months in succession from September to June, one year with another, and shall always be present himself.
5. Hee shall bee chorister of the church, ring the bell three times before service, and reade a chapter of the Bible in the church, be- tween the second and third ringinge of the bell; after the third ringinge, hee shall reade the ten commandments, and the twelve articles of ffaith, and then sett the Psalm. In the after- noon, after the third ringinge of the bell, hee shall reade a short chapter or one of the Psalms of David, as the congregation are assemblinge; afterward he shall again sett the Psalm.
6. When the minister shall preach at Broock- land or Utrecht, hee shall bee bounde to reade from the booke used for the purpose. He shall heare the children recite the questions and answers off the catachism on Sunday and instruct them.
7. He shall provide a basin of water for the baptisme, ffor which he shall receive 12 stuy- vers in wampum for every baptisme ffrom par- ents or sponsors. Hee shall furnish bread and wine ffor the communion att the charge of the church. He shall also serve as messenger for the consistorie.
8. Hee shall give the funerale invitations and toll the bell, and ffor which he shall re- ceive ffor persons of 15 years of age and up-
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wards, 12 guilders, and ffor persons under 15, 8 guilders ; and iff he shall cross the river to New York, he shall have four guilders more.
The school money was paid as follows:
I. Hee shall receive ffor a speller or reader 3 guilders a quarter, and ffor a writer 4 guild- ers ffor the daye school. In the evening, 4 guilders ffor a speller and reader, and 5 guild- ers ffor a writer per quarter.
2. The residue of his salary shall bee 400 guilders in wheat (off wampum value), deliver- able at Brookland ffery, with the dwellinge, pasturage, and meadowe appertaining to the school.
Done and agreede on inn consistorie inn the presence of the Honourable Constable and Overseers this 8th day of October, 1682.
Constable and The Consis- torie.
Overseers.
CORNELIUS BERRIAN,
RYNIERE AERTSEN,
CASPARUS VANZUREN, Minister,
JAN REMSEN,
ADRIAEN RYERSE,
CORNELIS BAREN VAN-
DERWYCK.
I agree to the above articles and promise to observe them.
JOHANNES VAN ECKKELLEN.
In those days the duties of a constable in Brooklyn were not confined to the present
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requirements. In 1670, a law was enacted, whereby his duties were defined. As the order is peculiar, it is here inserted : -
" Ordered that the constable of the towne of Breucklyne doe admonish the inhabitants too instruct theire children and servants, in matters of religione and the laws of the country.
" Ordered that the constable doe appoynte a suytable person too recorde every man's par- ticular marke, and see such man's horse and colt branded.
" Ordered that the overseers and the con- stable doe paye the value off an Indyan coat ffor each woolf killed, and they cause the woolf's heade to be nayled over the doore of the constable, theire to remayne, and alsoe to pull off both eayres inn token that the heade is boughte and payed ffor."
In 1695 the Court of Sessions of Kings County " ordered that the constables of this towne shall on Sundaye or Sabbath daye tayke lawe ffor the apprehending off all Sabbath breakers, searche all ale houses, taverns, and other suspectede places ffor all prophaners and breakers off the Sabbath daye, and bringe them before the justice too bee dealt with ac- cordinge to lawe."
As a penalty for refusing so to do, it was
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further " ordered thatt ffor every neglect or dee- fault the constable shall paye a fine of six shillings."
At the same session it was "ordered that mad James bee kepte by Kings County in general and thatt the deacons of each towne within the sayde county doe fforthwith meete together and consider about theire proportions ffor the maintenance of sayde James."
Disputes having occurring between Brook- lyn and Flatbush relative to their boundary or town lines, reference was had to the Court of Sessions and action was had thereon, as will appear by the record of its proceedings :
" Att a Cort of Sessions held ffor the West Riddinge of Yorkshire, uppon Long Island, the 18th day of December, 1677, the following order was mayde: There being some differ- ence between the towns of Fflackbush and Brucklyne conserninge theire boundes, the which they are both willing to reffer to Cap- tain Jacques Cortelyou and Captain Richard Stilwell too decyde, the Cort doe approve thereoff, and order theire report too bee de- terminative."
These Commissioners took five years and a half to perform their labors, and then reported the result of their deliberations, as follows :-
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To the Worshippful Cort of Sessions nowe sitting at Gravesende, Fune 21, 1683 :
These maye certiffie thatt inn obedience too an order ffrom sayde Cort and bye consente of bothe townes of Breucklyn and Ffackbush, too run the lyne twixt the sayde townes, which are wee underwritten, have done and markt the trees twixt towne and towne, as witness our hands the daye and yeare above written.
JACQUES CORTELYOU, RICHARD STILLWELL.
The surveyor, Philip Wells, gave his certifi- cate that he found the line run by the Com- missioners to be just and right. These certifi- cates were recorded by order of the court.
In 1671 one Thomas Lambertsen and wife sued John Lowe for defamation of character. The defendant confessed that he was drunk, " and was verry sorry for defaminge the plain- tiff's wife," and begged his pardon in open court. They " ordered him to paye the costs off the plaintiff's attendance, and keepe a civill tongue in his heade."
Some of the orders made by the Court of Sessions, as contained in the ancient records, are very interesting at this period, and express in a great measure the character of the early settlers : ---
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" At a Court of Sessions held at Gravesend the 16th day of June by His Majesty's au- thority in the twenty-first year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord Charles the second, by the Grace of God of Great Britaine, Ffrance and Ireland, King, Defender of the ffaith, in the year of our Lord, 1662. Present : Mathias Nichols, Esquire, President; Mr. Cornelis Van Ruyter, Captain ; John Manning, Mr. James Huddard, and Mr. Richard Betts, Justices.
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