USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > A history of the city of Brooklyn and Kings county, Volume II > Part 4
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performed work on the Brooklyn Heights for- tifications.1 The Long Island defenses ex- tended from the Wallabout to Fort Greene, to Bergen's Heights (on Jacob Bergen's prop- erty), and to Fort Lawrence.
On the 9th of August, 1814, General Mapes, of New York, with a body of volunteers, broke ground for the intrenchments at Fort Greene. The work was carried on day by day by a different corps of volunteers. One day the labor would be performed by the tanners and curriers and the veteran corps of artillery; on another day, in happy unison, would be seen working, side by side, a brigade of infantry, a military association of young men, the Ham- ilton Society, and students of medicine; on another, a delegation from Flatbush would be seen engaged earnestly on the work; on an- other, the people of Flatlands would be armed with pick and shovel; then Gravesend dug in the trenches. Irishmen were not to be out- done; they proved their patriotism and love of liberty by volunteering, 1200 strong, to labor in the cause. Then the burghers from New Utrecht gave a helping hand. The free colored people gladly gave their aid. Jamaica came, headed by Dominie Schoonmaker, and
1 Furman's MS.
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with them came the principal of the academy, with his pupils. Workmen came from New York, Newark, Paulus Hook, and Morris County, N. J. A company came from Han- over Township, headed by their pastor, Rev. Dr. Phelps, and labored for a day upon these fortifications. So, too, the members of the Baptist Church in New York came, with their pastor, Rev. Dr. Archibald Macloy, and did a day's work. Rev. Dr. Macloy was the father of Congressman Macloy, who ably represented the seventh ward of New York and a part of Kings County before the late civil war.
The erection of the defenses of Brooklyn was thus not a local affair. It was one in which the neighboring cities, towns, and States took part. The people were enthusiastic. The Grand Lodge of Masons enlisted in the service, and the watchword of the day was: " The Master expects every Mason to do his duty." Old Fortitude Lodge, which still exists, rendered a day's service. A company of ladies came from New York, forming a procession, with music, marched to Fort Greene, and used the shovel and the spade for several hours. The people had one mind and were actuated by one purpose. The work advanced rapidly, for, as in the days of Nehe-
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miah, the "people had a mind to work," and their efforts were crowned with success. These were the times when the people will- ingly gave their money for the good of the country, without expecting to receive it again with compound interest.
Early in September the works were com- pleted. The Twenty-second Brigade of In- fantry, composed of 1750 men, was stationed within the lines. Heavy artillery was mounted. Brigadier General Jeremiah Johnson was in command. He was a natural soldier, and pos- sessed every element of character necessary to lead a brigade. Stern and unflinching in the performance of duty, he yet had a warm and generous heart, which led him to take an active interest in the welfare of the men in his command. The soldiers loved him, and ren- dered willing obedience to his orders. Being a resident of Brooklyn, he knew or was known by most of his men personally.
At the fort on Cobble Hill worked mili- tary companies under command of Captains Stryker, Cowenhoven, and Herbert, the " ex- empts " of Bedford and the Wallabout, Fire Company No. 2 of Brooklyn, and a company of Bushwick people headed by Pastor Bassett. " Next to the duties which we owe to Heaven,"
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said the Bushwick people at their meeting, " those which belong to our country demand our chief attention."
The volunteers worked with the utmost zeal, laboring by moonlight when sunset still left work to do. The Sixty-fourth Regiment, of Kings County, was commanded by Francis Titus, with Albert C. Van Brunt as second major, and Daniel Barre as adjutant. New Utrecht's company was headed by Captain Wil- liam Dewyre; Brooklyn's company was headed by Captain Joseph Dean; the Wallabout and Bushwick company, by Captain Francis Still- man; the Gowanus company, by Captain Peter Cowenhoven, and later by Captain John T. Bergen; the Gravesend and Flatbush com- panies, by Captain Jeremiah Lott.
Brooklyn was, indeed, ready, but fortunately the crisis for which it prepared did not appear. On the evening of February 11, 1815, came the news of peace with Great Britain. On the evening of the 21st Brooklyn was illumi- nated in a spirit of rejoicing, and the band of the Forty-first Regiment, then stationed in the village, voiced the delight of the people.
Meanwhile, various important advances had been made by Brooklyn and her neighbors. In 1812, Robert Fulton having made a success-
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ful experiment with his first steamboat, the Clermont, a steam ferry was opened between New York City and Paulus Hook, Jersey City. In that year Fulton and his " backer," Robert R. Livingston, offered to the corpora- tion of the city of New York a proposition to establish a steam ferry from Fly Market Slip to Brooklyn.1 The proposition was accepted, and it was decided to run the boats from Bur- ling Slip. "As, however, the slip was not then filled in, and the cost of filling was estimated at $30,000, it was finally concluded to estab- lish the ferry at Beekman Slip (present Ful- ton Street, New York), which was accordingly purchased for that purpose by the corporation from Mr. Peter Schermerhorn. Beekman Slip at that time extended only to Pearl Street. Fair Street, which then ran from Broadway to Cliff Street, was extended through the block between Cliff and Pearl streets to join Beek- man Slip. To this newly extended Fair Street, from the East River to Broadway, and to Partition Street, which then extended from Broadway to the Hudson River, was given the name of Fulton Street, in honor of the dis- tinguished inventor, in consequence of the
1 Fulton and Livingston had obtained from the Legislature the monopoly of steam navigation on all the waters of New York for thirty years from 1808.
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establishing of whose steam ferry this street was about to become a great highroad of travel and traffic. The ferry from Fly Market Slip was discontinued.
" The lease of the ferry was granted to Robert Fulton and William Cutting (his brother-in-law), for twenty-five years, - from the Ist of May, 1814, to May, 1839, -at an annual rental of $4000 for the first eighteen years, and $4500 for the last seven years. The lessees were to put on the ferry one steam- boat similar to the Paulus Hook ferry-boat ; to run once an hour from each side of the ferry, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; to furnish in addition such barges, etc., as were required by previous acts of the Legislature; and on or before the Ist of May, 1819, they were to provide another steamboat in all respects equal to the first, and when that was done a boat should start from each side of the river every half hour. As a compensation to the lessees for the in- crease of expense which would be incurred in conducting the ferry upon such an enlarged scale, the corporation covenanted to apply to the Legislature for a modification and increase in the rates of ferriage; and in case the bill passed before May 1, 1819, Messrs. Fulton
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and Cutting agreed to put on their second boat at the earliest possible date thereafter. In case of its failing to pass, they were to be permitted to receive four cents for each and every passenger who might choose to cross the river in the steamboat, but the fare in barges was to remain as it had been, viz., two cents." 1
The proposed bill successfully passed the Legislature, and Fulton and Cutting formed a stock company, called the New York and Brooklyn Steamboat Ferry Association, with a capital of $68,000. The first steam ferry- boat, called the Nassau, began running on Sunday, May 10, 1814. "This noble boat," said the Long Island "Star," "surpassed the expectations of the public in the rapidity of her movements. Her trips varied from five to twelve minutes, according to tide and weather. .. Carriages and wagons, however crowded, pass on and off the boat with the same facility as in passing a bridge. There is a spacious room below the deck where the passengers may be secure from the weather, etc." On one of the first day's trips an engineer was fatally hurt.
The Nassau made forty trips on the follow-
1 Historical Sketch of Fulton Ferry.
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ing Sunday, and became a useful and popular institution. She was used after business hours for pleasure excursions on the river. The plan of construction was that of a double boat, with the wheel in the centre, the engine-house on deck and the passenger cabin in one of the hulls. Peter Coffee, the first pilot, died in 1876, aged ninety-nine years. One end of the deckhouse of the Nassau was occupied by a pensioner of Fulton's, who sold candies and cakes.
While the Nassau was in operation the horse ferry-boats were also used on the Fulton Ferry. These horse ferry-boats were peculiar craft. The first horse-boats were single-enders, and were compelled to turn around in cross- ing the river. Subsequently double-enders were used. All these boats had two hulls, about twenty feet apart and covered over by a single deck. Between these hulls were placed the paddle-wheels, working upon the shafting propelled by horses.
" By an invention of Mr. John G. Murphy, father of ex-Senator Henry C. Murphy, the managers of these boats were enabled to re- verse their machinery without changing the position of the horses. The steamboat was very popular with the public. O Owing to its
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success there was soon a very marked desire in both cities for the addition of the second steamboat, in accordance with the terms of the contract made by the lessees with the city of New York. Objection was made by the lessees on the ground of additional expense, and boats run by horse power were substi- tuted. In 1815 Robert Fulton died. Mr. Cut- ting, who had lived in New York, removed to Brooklyn, and died at his residence on the Heights in 1821. The winter of 1821-22 was one of the most severe in the history of the country. The ferries were obstructed by enor- mous quantities of floating ice. Great cakes became jammed between the double hulls, and travel was practically suspended. Brooklyn had grown rapidly, and an uproar arose in which the ferry management was roundly as- sailed. Who can tell but it was here that the original idea of the East River Bridge was first born? In 1827 a steamboat similar to the Nassau, and called the William Cutting, was put on the ferry, but even this did not satisfy the public, who were eagerly seeking more extended accommodations. In 1833
Messrs. David Leavitt and Silas Butler se- cured a controlling interest in the stock of the company, and sought to meet the anticipations
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of the people by adding two new steamboats, the Relief and the Olive Branch. Unlike their predecessors, these boats had single hulls and side wheels. Subsequently agitation in the southern part of Brooklyn led to the estab- lishment of the South Ferry."
In 1817, the Loisian Academy, which had been started four years before, received a salaried teacher, and was removed to the small frame house on Concord and Adams streets, where Public School No. I was afterward built.
Brooklyn began soon after the Revolution to think seriously of the matter of incorpora- tion as a village. On January 8, 1816, a pub- lic meeting was held at the public house of Lawrence Brown, “ to take into consideration the proposed application for an incorpora- tion of Brooklyn. A committee, consisting of Thomas Everit, Alden Spooner, Joshua Sands, the Reverend John Ireland, and John Doughty, met the following day at the house of H. B. Pierrepont. On April 12th the act incorpo- rating the village passed the Legislature."
The section of the town of Brooklyn, com- monly known by the name of the Fire District, and contained within the following bounds, namely: " Beginning at the public landing,
-
FULTON FERRY-BOAT, WM. CUTTING Built in 1827
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south of Pierrepont's distillery, formerly the property of Philip Livingston, deceased, on the East River, thence running along the public road leading from said landing to its intersec- tion with Red Hook Lane, thence along said Red Hook Lane to where it intersects the Jamaica Turnpike Road, thence a northeast course to the head of the Walleboght mill pond, thence through the centre of said mill pond to the East River, and thence down the East River to the place of beginning,"- was incorporated as a village, by the name of the Village of Brooklyn; and by the act the village was constituted a road district, and declared exempt from the superintendence of the commissioners of highways of the town of Brooklyn, and the Trustees of the village were invested with all the powers over the road district, and subjected to all the duties in relation thereto which by law were given to or enjoined upon the said commissioners, etc.1
The Trustees were required to make a sur- vey and map of the village, to be kept by the clerk, subject to the inspection of the people, " in order that no resident might plead igno- rance of the permanent plan to be adopted for
1 Corporation Manual, 1870.
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opening, laying out, leveling, and regulating the streets of said village." In pursuance of the requirements of this law, the Trustees caused to be made a survey and map of the village, which was adopted by them on the 8th of April, 1819. By a law passed in 1824, the Trustees were authorized to " widen and alter all public roads, streets, and highways, already laid out ... to such convenient breadth, not exceeding sixty feet, as they should judge fit;" also to lay out new roads and streets. In 1827 the village was divided into five districts.
The first Trustees of the village were An- drew Mercein, John Garrison, John Doughty, John Seaman, and John Dean.
The first named of these Trustees appears as one of the principal founders of a Sunday School which was "in operation in the village of Brooklyn " in 1816. This school seems to have been designed and operated on broad grounds. While combining "moral and reli- gious instruction with ordinary school learn- ing," parents or guardians were privileged to say "what catechism " they wished the chil- dren to study. As a result of this school move- ment the Brooklyn Sunday School Union Society was afterward organized. The school
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met for a time in Thomas Kirk's printing- office on Adams Street, but found the school- house quarters on the same street to be more desirable.
Previous to 1814 there were two markets in Brooklyn : one at the foot of the old Ferry Street (which began to acquire the name Ful- ton Street, after the steamboats began running and Fulton Street had been named on the New York side); the other at the foot of Main Street. Both were taken down in 1814.
The Long Island Bank was incorporated in 1824, with a capital of $300,000, divided into 6000 shares. In the same year the Brooklyn Fire Insurance Company came into existence.
On the village map adopted April 8, 1819, sixty-seven streets appear, besides a number of alleys. Several of the streets were sixty feet wide. Doughty Street was the narrowest, be- ing only twenty feet wide.
In 1820 the population of the town had in- creased to 7175. The village population was 5210.
In 1822 there were four distilleries in the town, which at that time contained but little over 7000 inhabitants. This was a distillery to every 1750 inhabitants. All the grocers appear to have sold liquors.
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In 1826 the population of the village was about 9000. The sum of the excise fees paid over to the overseers of the poor in that year was $3627, the significance of which large amount need not be pointed out.
In 1824 a bill was introduced into the Sen- ate, by John Lefferts, to organize a board of health in the village of Brooklyn. The act constituted the Trustees a board of health. By its provisions the president and clerk of the village became the officers of the board. The president's salary was fixed at $150 per annum, and the physician appointed by the board received $200 yearly.
The introduction of swill milk into the city appears to belong to a later period. It became the practice for milk-dealers to send to the various distilleries and purchase swill, which they fed to their cows. The stables were gen- erally long, low buildings divided into narrow stalls, and afforded accommodation for forty or fifty cows. The swill cost one shilling a hogshead, and was fed hot to the cows. The principal distilleries were Cunningham's on Front and Washington streets; Manley's, cor- ner of Tillary and Gold streets; Birdsall's, John A. Cross's, and Wilson's. The two latter were at the Wallabout.
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In 1824 the real estate of Brooklyn was assessed at $2,111,390, and the personal prop- erty at $438,690 ; making a total of $2,550,080.
On the 14th of January, 1830, the Supervi- sors of the county purchased the poor-house farm at Flatbush. On the 9th of July, 1831, the corner-stone of the building was laid, on which occasion an address was delivered by General Jeremiah Johnson, who afterwards be- came Mayor. He served as Supervisor con- tinuously from 1800 to 1822, and distinguished himself in the War of 1812, a part of the time being in command of the fortifications on Fort Greene.
The expense of supporting the poor of the town of Brooklyn during the year 1830 was $7233.13. The taxes for all expenses amounted to only sixty cents on every hun- dred dollars of valuation of real and personal property.
The items of village expense as estimated August 18, 1830, were as follows : -
Village watch
$3,000
Fire department
1,400
Public cisterns .
.
300
Interest on village stocks
600
Repairs of wells and pumps
900
Salaries of officers .
1,200
Contingent expenses .
2,600
$10,000
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
On the 2d of September, 1830, the Kings County Temperance Society was formed at Flatbush. The Hon. Leffert Lefferts was elected president.
The population of the town as ascertained by the census of 1830 was 15,292. The vil- lage contained about two thirds of the town population.
Furman, the indefatigable collector of statis- tics, says that in 1832 Brooklyn (the village) was divided into five districts, which together contained 12,302 inhabitants. In the village there were 110 licensed and 68 unlicensed taverns. This was at the rate of one tavern to every 69 persons. The second district ap- pears to have enjoyed the privilege of having the most taverns. It contained 79 in a popu- lation of 2801, or one to every 36 inhabitants. In view of the fact that the proportion of saloons to population to-day is one to every 225 persons, those rash debaters who persist in finding a movement toward ruin in modern life may find the figures significant.
An interesting glimpse of Brooklyn as it appeared in 1820 is furnished by Guy's well- known picture, painted from a Front Street window, and showing a cluster of houses in the heart of the village. The scene is of
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winter, and the figures in the foreground snow are in most instances likenesses of people of the day. The Brooklyn Institute is in posses- sion of the picture. At the time of the fire which, in 1890, destroyed the Institute build- ing, then on Washington Street, and since completely obliterated to make way for the Bridge approach, it was slightly damaged; but it remains one of the most interesting memo- rials of an interesting period. According to the key published in Stiles, the picture repre- sents stores and dwellings of Thomas W. Birdsall, Abiel Titus, Edward Coope, Geo. Fricke, Diana Rapalje, Mrs. Middagh, Benja- min Meeker, Mrs. Chester, Robert Cunning- ham, Jacob Hicks, Joshua Sands, Augustus Graham, Burdett Stryker, Selah Smith, and Dr. Ball, as well as the figures of Mrs. Harmer, Mrs. Guy, Jacob Patchen, and Judge John Garrison.
Diana Rapalje, a daughter of Garrett Ra- palje, was one of the prominent figures in the village, formerly a "favorite in Presidential circles at Washington, and latterly an eccen- tric of haughty bearing." Her house was bought by Colonel Alden Spooner, who printed the "Star " under its roof. Near the ferry stairs was the house of William Furman, over-
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seer of the poor, who was one of the founders of the Catherine Street Ferry, and served as the first judge of the county between 1808 and 1823. He served in the state Legislature, and filled other important commercial and polit- ical offices. His son, Gabriel Furman, was the author of the " Notes " on the antiquities of Long Island, which have been so useful to later writers. At Birdsall tavern, on the Ful- ton Road, people bought the New York papers, and Quakers made it a stopping-place. Near at hand was the house of Henry Dawson, who ran the "sixpenny boats." In a low stone house lived " the gentlemen Hicks," and in the same region to the south were " Milk" Hicks and " Spetler " Hicks, other prominent members of a family whose name is closely associated with the early history of the Heights. Here also were the Middagh and Pierrepont properties, which were greatly improved by a street plan originated by Hezekiah Pierre- pont. On the Middagh estate was a house built by Thomas Kirk for a home and printing- office, and afterward occupied by George L. Bird, the editor of the "Patriot." To this house, too, came James Harper, the grand- father of the distinguished publishers, Harper and Brothers.
FE
GUY'S SNOW SCENE IN BROOKLYN, 1820
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John Doughty occupied the house formerly owned by Diana Rapalje. Doughty was inti- mately connected with Brooklyn's village life, as fireman, assessor, town clerk, overseer of highways, president of the fire department, school-committee-man, and collector of the village. A picturesque figure was Jacob Patchen, a pungent, unmanageable man, con- spicuous in the village life by his obstinacy and determination.
Over the wheelwright shop of George Smith, opposite the lower corner of Hicks Street, was the court-room of Judge Garrison. Garrison was born at Gravesend in 1764. He served as fireman, trustee, school commissioner, and justice. Joralemon's Lane was a rough coun- try road, at the foot of which had been Pierre- pont's Anchor gin distillery, which was con- verted about 1819 into a candle-factory, and again became a distillery. The road had been laid out by Peter Remsen and Philip Living- ston. The site of the present City Hall was then an open field, while the site of the county court house was occupied by a famous resort known as the Military Garden.
The Pierrepont mansion stood at the foot of Montague Street. It was built by John Cornell, and became Pierrepont property in
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1802. Hezekiah Pierrepont was a dignified and influential member of a community in which his exertions were always for broad and public-spirited plans. Teunis Joralemon, who had been a harness-maker in Flatbush, bought part of the Livingston estate, on which he practiced market gardening. He filled the offices of justice of the peace and Trustee, and other offices, but was of a temperament antipo- dal to that of Pierrepont, hotly opposing new streets, especially through his own property, and scorning the distinction of having Jorale- mon Street named after him. Another promi- nent estate was that of the Fleets. The name of Bergen is prominently associated with the progress of the village. At Bedford Corners were the Meseroles, Ryersons, Lefferts, Van- dervoorts, Suydams, Tiebouts, Cowenhovens, and other old families.
In December, 1821, the subject of removing the court house from Flatbush to Brooklyn was agitated in the papers, and on the 21st of January, 1825, a meeting was held at Duflons, whereat a committee was appointed to obtain the removal of the court house and jail from Flatbush to Brooklyn. In 1826 the subject was brought to the attention of the Legisla- ture, and that body passed an act that the
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court of common pleas and general sessions should alternate between Flatbush and the Apprentices' Library Building in Cranberry Street, then just finished. The court of com- mon pleas in those days corresponded to the county court of our time. The county clerk's office was removed to Brooklyn in March, 1819. The county court began to hold ses- sions in Brooklyn in January, 1827.
The Trustees of the village of Brooklyn deemed a debtors' prison a very important addition to the city. On the 19th of February, 1829, Joseph Sprague, president of the Board of Trustees, made a report on the subject of fitting up under the market a prison-room for debtors. In accordance therewith a lockup was provided and cells built under the market. These cells were oftentimes crowded, and but little provision was made for the comfort of the occupants. The Bridge approach now passes over the old lockup.
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