USA > New York > Kings County > Williamsburgh > A history of the city of Brooklyn : including the old town and village of Brooklyn, the town of Bushwick, and the village and city of Williamsburgh > Part 31
USA > New York > Kings County > Bushwick > A history of the city of Brooklyn : including the old town and village of Brooklyn, the town of Bushwick, and the village and city of Williamsburgh > Part 31
USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > A history of the city of Brooklyn : including the old town and village of Brooklyn, the town of Bushwick, and the village and city of Williamsburgh > Part 31
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1 The whale-boats were made sharp at each end, the sheathing not over half an inch thick, and so light as to be easily carried on men's shoulders, either to be hid in the bushes or relaunched in the South Bay. Some were thirty-two feet long, and im- pelled by from eight to twenty oars, and would shoot ahead of an ordinary boat with great velocity, and leave their pursuers far behind. They were always on the lookout, and, in a calm, would row out of their lurking-places and board market-boats, or even cut off the detached vessels of a convoy.
2 Philip Livingston and his brother owned the land comprising the farms subse- quently belonging to Joralemon and Hicks, which adjoined that of Whitehead Cornell. These farms were divided by a road leading from Red Hook Lane to a public landing
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
tion of which was built by Mr. Livingston, just previously to the war, for his only son, who was then making the tour of Europe, and was to be married on his return, which, however, was pre- vented by his death abroad. The house was constructed in the very best manner, having costly carved marble mantels imported from Italy, and other furniture at that day unusual to American houses. During the occupation of the island it was used as an hospital for the British navy,1 probably as a justifiable retaliation upon its owner, who was a prominent member of the Continental Congress. Attached to the house was an extensive garden, which the well-known taste and abundant means of Mr. Livingston had made the finest in this part of America, and which- to their credit be it said-was kept in good repair by the physicians and officers of the hospital, who appropriated the mansion-house to their own use, sheds and huts being erected for the sick on the farm (formerly known as the Ralph Patchen property) on the southerly side of the present Atlantic street. Things remained thus until 1780-81, when Admiral Arbuthnot? assumed the command of this station. He instituted various reforms, among which was the turn- ing out of the surgeons and physicians from their comfortable quarters in the mansion-house, which was forthwith appropriated to
at "The Fishing Place." This spot, famous in the memories of old Brooklynites, lay opposite the Livingston farms, between Cornell's Mills and the Remsen Farm, and was called " Livingston Beach."
1 Furman, MSS., vol. ix. pp. 184, 185 : "Dec. 9, 1839. My father tells me that at one period during the Revolutionary War he saw lying in the harbor of New York, when that city and Long Island were in the possession of the British army, eighteen line-of- battle ships and a great number of frigates and smaller vessels of war, with between eighty and ninety transports, belonging to the British navy."
2 Admiral Arbuthnot was accompanied by Prince William, afterwards King William the Fourth, but then a midshipman in the Royal Navy. "The prince," says Furman, MSS., " was very fond of playing a game of ball called 'rackets,' and used to go very frequently with officers of the British army and navy ; and when they came to the 'alley,' which was in John street, New York, and found the young men and appren- tices of the city playing, they, without any ceremony, would order them to discontinue and to leave the alley. This, of course, caused bad feeling on the part of the citizens towards the officers, which the former sought every opportunity of manifesting when they could do so with impunity. Thus James West, an apprentice of my father's uncle, James Hallett, a coachmaker in the city of New York (who established the first carriages for hire in that city, afterwards known as 'hacks'), considering himself insulted or wronged by Prince William in some matter about that ball-play, one night gave the prince a good knock-down in the street, and a friend with him did the same
20
306
HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
the use of the sick sailors. After that the garden began to go to decay, until, at the close of the Revolution, when the British left Brooklyn, little of it remained but the name. The principal disease among the sick was the scurvy, and they were buried from these hospitals, in the neighboring ground, and that, afterwards, of Heze- kiah B. Pierrepont, to the number of twelve and fifteen a day.1 For many years afterwards, the remains of these poor fellows were from time to time, disinterred by the caving down of the brow of the hill all along this portion of the shore. On the banks of the river, a little east of the easterly line of the continuation of Furman street, and between Pacific and Warren streets, as now laid out, was a knoll of land, where several hundred British sailors and soldiers were buried in regular rows. The heads of the westernmost row were exposed to the lashing of the waves of the East River, by which they were beaten off from the trunks. On this knoll, thus enriched, a superior quality of asparagras was afterwards raised for the New York markets.
Furman, from whose manuscripts we gain many of these facts, states that the old house, afterwards occupied by Selah Strong, Esq., and which stood in what is now known as Strong Place, just behind Christ Church, was built and inhabited by an English Colonel Thornely, at the desire of the Cornells, with whom he had become quite intimate during the Revolution, and who sold him the land on which it was erected. These Cornells were among the most respec- table citizens of old Brooklyn, and, as Furman says, "all staunch King and Church men." Whitehead Cornell, a native of Queens County, came to Brooklyn about the middle of the last century, and married into the old Seabring family, who occupied a portion of the Lubbertson property, near Red Hook, as described on pages 63-67. By this marriage and probably, also, by purchase,? he be-
1 Mr. William Furman used to relate that he saw ten or twelve bodies buried in one grave, from the British hospitals, on the Livingston place. His son, the historian of Brooklyn, also states, in his MSS., that by their teeth they appear all to have been young or middle-aged men ; and that a negro man belonging to Mr. William Cornell, the subsequent owner of the place, made considerable money by disposing of the teeth, which he found on these burial spots, to the dentists in New York city. Artificial teeth, it must be remembered, were not then known.
' The Seabrings, who were Whigs, left the Island with, or shortly after the depart-
١
& P.DAVIS - SPEED
THE CORNELL-PIERREPONT MANSION. (River Front.)
Page 307.
Hogan
DAVIS-SPEED
THE CORNELL-PIERREPONT MANSION.
(Rear View.)
Page 307
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
came the owner of nearly, if not quite, all the Seabring estates in that vicinity. He, also, realized a handsome fortune by contracting to supply the British fleet on this station with meat; the final set- tlement for which was effected after the war by his son John, who visited England for that purpose. The social and personal standing of the family, however, was in nowise affected by their loyalty to King and Church; and their neighbors showed no disposition to molest them, after the close of the war. Whitehead Cornell divided his estate between his three sons-John,1 Isaac, and William. The former received sixty acres, including the old Seabring, or "Red Mills," where he pursued the milling business; the flour of his make enjoying a high reputation even in the English market. He was a high-toned, enterprising gentleman, and for many years a vestryman and influential member of St. Anne's Episcopal Church. His brother, William, received a tract of a hundred and fifty acres along the river, which he afterwards sold to Ralph Patchen, while Isaac received ninety acres, adjoining John's farm, upon which he erected a distillery.
The fine old house known as the " Four Chimnies," and afterwards as the Pierrepont mansion, and which has been described (page 284, note 3), was erected, as is supposed, by a John Cornell, who may have been a brother of Whitehead." On the wharf, at foot of pres- ent Joralemon street, was situated a brewery, belonging to Living- ston, and which, during the war, was employed by the British as a "King's Brewery," where they made spruce-beer for the use of the hospitals and fleet on this station.3 The old people used to say
ture of, the American troops in August, 1776. The Cornelius Seabring house and mill were burned, or partially destroyed, by the British, and owing to this and the length of the war, they found themselves, on their return, much impoverished, and were obliged to dispose of their property, which was purchased, as we have stated, by their neighbors and relatives, the Cornells.
1 Not, as near as we can ascertain, the John who kept the "St. George's Tavern," on the Heights, mentioned on page 220; and who was probably of another Queens County family.
2 For genealogy of the Cornell family, see Bolton's Hist. of Westchester County, New York, ii., pp. 552-557.
3 This Distillery Dock, and a molasses distillery on the same, was built about 1766, by a Mr. Jones, a relative of the Livingstons; and the distillery, together with the ferry-house, was burned in 1787. Here, subsequently, was located Mr. Hez. B. Pierre- pont's celebrated " Anchor-Gin" distillery.
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
the best beer that they ever tasted, and that the hospitals used at the rate of twenty barrels a day for their sick. These patients also had the best of medical attention, with abundant supplies of vege- tables and excellent soups, and, when they became convalescent, were allowed to roam about the country, in order to breathe the fresh, pure air, and obtain exercise.
On the edge of the hill (or Heights) between the present Orange and Clark streets, was a half-moon fort, garrisoned by Hessian troops, and having a battery of cannon overlooking the harbor.' There were then no houses on the Heights, between present Doughty and Clark streets. The first house, a two-story frame edifice south of Clark street, was the residence of Mr. Lodewyck Bamper,2 an elderly gentleman of fortune, who was supposed to
1 Ante, 247. On its site was subsequently placed a large hotel, brought from Flat. bush. It stood about the junction of the present Clarke and Columbia streets, where Mr. Henry C. Bowen's house now is ; was chiefly patronized by Southerners, and was kept by Edward Macomber, from Providence, R. I., the father of Edward Macomber who built the block corner of Fulton and De Kalb avenues, known as " Macomber's Block." The building was pulled down by David Leavitt, who sold the ground to Mr. Bowen.
2 The family records say that this Lodewyck Bamper, a son-in-law of the Governor of the Dutch colony of Surinam, came to America at some period between 1720 and '30, in a vessel which was owned by himself, as was also the cargo, which consisted of drygoods and horses. The crew of this vessel were African slaves, belonging to Mr. B., who brought with him, as household servants, four females of the same race, named respectively Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. He seems to have been a man of great wealth, even for that day, as he brought with him 60,000 guineas, an immense amount of silver-plate for daily family use, including two complete tea-services, two large urns, one for coffee and the other for chocolate, tureens, mugs, tumblers, goblets, porringers, chafing-dish, ladles, forks and knives with solid silver handles; also, the richest dress fabrics, such as silks, satins, and costly laces, piles of finest Holland linen, and jewelry of every sort. Among the elegant furniture which they owned was a house- organ, which was always played when the family were at meals, by a person who acted as valet and musician. This organ (in 1842) was in use at the Lutheran church, corner of William and Frankfort streets, New York. Soon after his arrival here, Mr. Bamper purchased ground on the northwest corner of Beekman and Gold streets, upon which lie erected a dwelling, after the fashion of the day, fifty feet front and a story and a half high, and which remained, with its exterior unchanged, until 1834 or '35. A garden extended, in the rear of the house, to Ferry street ; and, under the care of an imported professional gardener, was cultivated and filled with all kinds of fruits and flowers to which the climate was congenial. In the large walks of this garden were placed, in the summer-time, painted wooden statues, life-size, representing grenadiers in full dress and equipments complete, also female figures representing soldiers' wives and children. Mr. Bamper became a large purchaser in lands of the northern and western parts of New York State; and also on Brooklyn Heights, where he established
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
have retired from the Holland trade. He had a beautiful garden, and a choice collection of fruit, seldom left his house, and in pleasant weather passed most of his time upon his piazza, which fronted the harbor, or in his garden. He usually dressed with silk breeches, a silk loose-gown, a silk cap upon his head, and carried a gold-headed cane. His residence was then a most retired spot, having no immediate neighbors, except the " Old Stone House," at that time belonging to Gov. Cadwallader Colden, and afterwards owned and occupied by Samuel Jackson, Esq.1 This house, on Doughty street, fronting on Elizabeth street, was occupied by the Hessian troops as a guard- house and prison, and was the place where all persons arrested in this vicinity were detained-the whole island being at that time under a strict military police. It was a long, one-and-a-half story building, of stone and brick, with a fine large garden in the rear, and was afterwards the residence of Mr. Geo. Hicks. Past this old stone house ran a private lane or footpath, from Love Lane (which then led from Fulton street to the edge of the hill) along the brow of the hill, and descending its side to a landing on present Furman, near Clark street.
his country-house, above referred to, on the corner of Clark and Willow streets. It had within it, when taken down, some curious carvings done for the Bampers. The property was bought by Henry Waring from Gideon Kimberly, who bought it from John Bar- barin. Mr. Bamper was largely interested in the establishment of a glass factory, on almost the identical spot lately occupied by the glass-works, on State street. The first bottle ever made at this factory, having blown on it a seal bearing the name of Mr. Bamper and the date 1754, is still preserved among the curiosities of the Long Island Historical Society. The factory, however, did not have a long career, on account of an insufficient supply of the necessary kind of sand. Mr. and Mrs. Bamper were mem- bers of the Moravian church, New York. They had two daughters, one of whom, during the Revolutionary War, was married to Dr. John Noel Barbarin, from Nantes, in France-then a physician in the British service, and attached to the naval hospital at the Livingston mansion. Subsequently, towards the conclusion of the war, he resigned his position and settled at Brooklyn, in the practice of his profession. Nov. 22, 1784, in Assembly, a petition of Noel Jean Barbarin, praying by law the privi- lege of being naturalized and becoming a citizen, was read and referred to Mr. Ford, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Joseph Laurence. (Furman MSS.) He was the first settled phy- sician in this town, where he was very much respected and esteemed. A curious MS. record, in the French language, of accouchement cases, from 1791 to 1796, kept by Dr. Barbarin, is still in existence, and might prove interesting to some descendants of the " old families" of Brooklyn. His son, Aime J. Barbarin, was a resident of Brooklyn within the recollection of many old Brooklynites.
1 Jackson leased it to John Wells, a distinguished lawyer of that day, who died of yellow fever in 1823.
310
HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
During the war, the British Wagon Department for the army on this station, was located in Brooklyn, occupying an immense yard, with sheds, stables, blacksmith's forges, etc., and extending from the present Main to Jay streets, and west of Prospect street, which was fenced in, the main gateway being near the present junction of Main and Fulton streets.1 Joseph Fox, an Englishman, and an old and respected citizen of Brooklyn, was for many years one of the princi- pals of this wagon department. These wagons were, of course, used for the transportation of stores, baggage, and tents of the troops, but more especially for bringing in forage. Every few months, the British commandants in New York would issue general orders, im- posing upon the unfortunate farmers of Kings and Queens, and a part of Suffolk County, heavy assessments of grain, hay, straw, etc., and specifying the times at which it was expected to be in readiness for delivery to the forage-masters, at certain prices fixed by the order. At the time specified, the wagons would be sent out into the country, accompanied by military guards, and the grain was duly collected, the owners receiving from the forage-masters written re- ceipts, payable on presentation at the office of the Quartermaster- General. If, however, that officer or his subordinates took it into their heads that the farmer was secretly attached to the American cause, he was certain to be refused payment, and might esteem him- self lucky if he got off as easily as that. In the same manner, also, in the fall of every year, the Long Island counties would be assessed for many thousand cords of wood, to be cut down and delivered at certain points, for the use of the British garrisons in New York and vicinity. In this manner both Queens and Kings counties were utterly despoiled of the abundant forests which had been their pride ; and when the British finally left the island, scarcely a stick, except a small piece of oak woods, a few miles beyond Jamaica, which belonged to a strong Tory, had escaped the axe. All
1 Gen. Johnson says that this was on John Rapelje's land, ten acres of which was taken in October, 1783, by the British Quartermaster, as a Forage and Wood Depot, enclosed with a high fence, and occupied until the evacuation.
The conductors of British wagon department opened roads wherever they saw fit. One of these roads was opened nearly in a straight line from the Jamaica road, about one-half a mile beyond Bedford, to present entrance of Sands street, which shortened the distance to Jamaica considerably.
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MAP OF BROOKLAND FERRY IN 1766-7 AND 1867.
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.MIDDAGH ST.
REFERENCES
TO
MAP OF BROOKLAND FERRY, IN 1766-67, AND 1867.
THE ancient portion (printed in black) of this map is from RATZER's (larger) "Map of New York and a part of Long Island"-drawn on a scale of 400 feet to the inch- in the years 1766 and '67.
Over this, the street lines of the modern city (printed in red) have been drawn by Mr. SILAS LUDLAM, City Surveyor.
1. The "Corporation House," or "Ferry Tavern," known during the Revolutionary War as Messrs. Looseley and Elms' "King's Head Tavern." (See page 311.)
2. John Rapalje's house, with garden extending to the river.
3. The "Old Stone Tavern," kept by Benjamin Smith.
4. Mr. Cary Ludlow's house.
5. The Hicks mansion.
6. The Middagh mansion.
7. The Middagh barn.
8. The "Whalebone Gate," so called from its being arched over with the rib-bones of a whale. It opened, at the side of Mr. Thomas Everit's house, into a lane leading np to Mr. Cary Ludlow's house.
311
HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
the woodlands now in these counties has grown since the year 1783.
At the foot of and on the northerly side of the old road (now Fulton street, near the corner of Front), was situated the "ferry tavern." It was a large and gloomy stone building, about sixty feet square and two stories high, which stood in such a way cornerwise, as to leave only thirty-five and a half feet for the entire width of the street between it and the houses opposite. From the circumstance of its being owned by the corporation of the city of New York, it was known as the " Corporation House,"1 and had been noted as a tavern for thirty years previous to the Revolution. Its last incum- bent, before the Battle of Brooklyn, was Captain Adolph Waldron, who was also " the ferrymaster." Espousing the cause of the Rebel- lion, and being active as the commandant of a company of light- horse raised in Brooklyn, he was, of course, compelled to absent himself from Long Island during its occupation by the British." He was succeeded by Charles Loosely and Thomas Elms, thorough loyalists, who named the old tavern "The King's Head," fitted it up in the most complete manner, and catered to the tastes of their mil-
1 Also, from some circumstance connected with hoisting a coffin on the flagstaff of the building, known as "The Coffin House." It was the successor of the ferry-house, erected in 1746, by the corporation of the city of New York, on land purchased of Jacob Morris, in 1694; and which was burned down in 1748, as it was supposed, by the Brooklynites, who were then carrying on a long and bitter litigation with the corpora- tion concerning ferry rights (see Chapter on Ferries). Its site is now (1866) partially occupied by Nos. 19, 21, and 23 Fulton street. At the time of the Revolution, the East River, at high-water mark, came nearly up to Front street, as shown in the accompanying plan. Subsequently to the war, this tavern was kept by Benjamin Smith for many years. It was burned down in 1812 (its walls remaining for many years thereafter), and Mr. Smith removed his stand to a stone building on the oppo- site side of Fulton street.
2 Ante, p. 247.
3 It is probable that these gentlemen kept hotel "not wisely, but too well" for their own pockets, at least ; for, soon after the signing of the provisional Treaty of Peace, in November, 1782, we find a notice of a "Public Auction of Brooklyn Hall," for " the benefit of the creditors of Charles Loosely," of " all the genuine household furniture, consisting of mahogany and other bedsteads, feather beds and mattresses, chintz and other cur- tains, blankets, sheets, etc. ; mahogany drawers, dining, tea, and card tables ; an elegant clock in mahogany case ; a curious collection of well-chosen paintings and pictures ; large pier and other looking-glasses, in gilt and plain frames; table and tea sets of china, plate, etc. ; a capital, well-toned organ, made by one of the first hands in London ; a billiard table in thorough repair; near twenty globe lamps, fit for hall or passage, etc .;
312
HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
itary friends and patrons with such shrewd energy and tact, that it became extensively resorted to, during the war, by the officers of the British army and the fashionables of the day, as a place of amusement. Lieutenant Anbury, in a letter to a friend in England, dated New York, Oct. 30th, 1781, refers to it thus: "On crossing the East River from New York, you land at Brooklyn, which is a scattered village, consisting of a few houses. At this place is an excellent tavern, where parties are made to go and eat fish; the landlord of which has saved an immense fortune during this war."1 We shall have frequent occasion to refer to this headquarters of royalists and Tories, which subsequently seems to have been known by the name of " Brooklyn Hall."
Just off from this old road, on what is now the westerly side of Front street, at its junction with Fulton, was the large stone house owned by John Rapalje, the Tory, which was confiscated after the Revolution, and afterwards sold by the Commissioners to Comfort and Joshua Sands, and by them to Abm. Remsen (ante, 78, 79).
1777, September 26th. The loyalists had the pleasure of welcom- ing Rivington, the printer, on his return from England, whither he had been obliged to flee to escape the wrath of the Americans. On this occasion Loosely and Elms' "King's Head Tavern" was " ele- gantly illuminated, to testify the joy of the true 'Sons of Freedom.'"
1778. During this year, or at least from July to November, and probably through the winter, the following regiments were encamped at or near Bedford, the 37th, 42d, 44th, 46th, and 17th light infantry ; between Bedford and Bushwick, the 1st battalion light infantry ; and at Brooklyn ferry, the New York volunteers.
A correspondent of Rivington's Gazette, of January 24th, 1778, gives the following account of the manner in which the queen's birthday was observed, by the New York loyalists, at their favorite resort in Brooklyn : "As the loyalty even of individuals ought, at this time, to be properly encouraged, you will infinitely oblige the
wagons, horses, cows, etc .; two tenements adjoining the house ; a flagstaff, with ensigns, pendants ; and several hundred transparent and tin lamps, fit for an illumination." As will be seen in the following pages, landlord Loosely was profuse of illuminations on every possible occasion.
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