USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Albany bi-centennial. Historical memoirs > Part 18
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In former days it took a Dutch captain more than a week to go to New York. Very likely the Dutch skipper would still be sailing up and down the Hudson, taking a week for each trip, if an enterprising Yankee had not invented the steamboat. When Fulton, in 1807, ran his first steamboat from New York, he caused one of the changes which were to develop Albany in spite of herself We can readily believe that, when the steamboat arrived at Albany, the people crowded to see the great wonder, and pressing con- tinuously forward, gazed upon the puffing monster, and ventured many wise opinions as to the impossibility of its making a second trip, while the more superstitious made anxious suggestions that it might be bewitched. The Dutch were slow in receiving new ideas. The Dutchman could maintain an obstinate resistance, but could never act aggres- sively. According to the old adage "nothing venture, nothing have," he would have remained poor all his days, if opportunities for making money had not knocked at his very door. Like the animal whose skin he sought to obtain, he heaped together his wealth. As the beaver builds his dam slowly and perseveringly, so the Dutchman accumulated a fortune.
Though the Dutch were not fanatics, yet in their own calm, quiet way they were strongly attached to the religion for which their fathers had bled and died. After the colony had become firmly established, in 1642, they erected a church, a wooden building, which is said to have cost the magnificent sum of thirty-two dollars. It contained a pulpit ornamented with a canopy, pews for the magistrates and deacons, and nine benches for the congregation. The Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, a "pious and well-learned minister," was invited to become the shepherd of the Beaverwyck sheep. This church was used by the faithful till 1656, when the city fathers caused a stone church to be erected. Tradi- tion saith that its walls were carried up around those of the
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old church, and service was only interrupted for three Sundays. The building, a fortress in itself, was a quaint, old-fashioned structure, which was used till 1715, when it was in turn replaced by a new one. Like the Puritans, the Dutch worshipped their Maker with arms at their sides. Alas ! that the church, that most revered relic of the past, has disappeared ! Methinks
" I see the pulpit high, an octagon ; Its pedestal, doop-huisje and winding stair ; And room within for one, and one alone. A canopy above, suspended there. No spire, no bell, but 'neath the eaves a porch, With trumpet hung to summon all to church ; Till innovation brought stoves, bell, and spire,
Floors, straight-backed pews, vorleeser and a choir."
From this pulpit many gifted and eloquent divines de- nounced the sins and errors of their people, and often ad- ministered public reproofs to offenders. The Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, Dominie Frelinghuysen, who came to such a sad end, and " Our Westerloo," the beloved of his flock, exhorted the stolid Dutch from this place.
On the front of the pulpit was placed an hour-glass, when the dominie began his sermon, and he would have been found wanting if he had preached less than an hour. In the midst of his sermon he would suddenly pause, and the deacons rising would take a small bag containing a little bell and attached to the end of a staff. "The tinkle of the bell roused the sleepy and diverted the busy thoughts of the trader from musk-rat and beaver skins." The bags with their load of coppers and half-joes being duly replaced, the dominie resumed the broken thread of his discourse. The collections, out of which the church poor were supported, were always surprisingly large when the size of the congre- gations is considered.
This church, standing in the middle of the street and "looking as if it had been wheeled out of line by the giants of old and there left, or had dropped from the clouds in a dark night and stuck fast," was enshrined in every Dutch heart. The oldest recollection of each person about his childhood was of going to this church every Sunday. Even till long after the year 1800 it was filled with the devout Dutch who, still clinging to the worship of their ancestors, gathered here every Lord's day. In the year 1816, amid groans and lamentations on every side, it was demolished,
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and the materials were used for building the church in Beaver Street. The Dutch, though not as stern and strict as the people of New England, were faithful and conscientious in performing their religious duties. They were devoted exclu- sively to the doctrines and practices of the Reformed Church.
" They had this much, - The gospel undefiled in Holland Dutch."
The Dutch retained the customs which they had brought from Holland, till long after the Revolution ; celebrated the same festivals; worshiped in the same way ; and ate, drank, walked, and slept after the fashion of their ancestors. They paid little honor to Keestijd (Christmas) but Nieuwjaarsdag was the most important in the year. It was the day of the good St. Nicholas, the children's friend, the jolly, fat, roister- ing little man, the lover of ease and plenty, the giver of all good gifts, who made his appearance then, sometimes having his good vrouw Molly Grietje with him. Had we entered one of the houses in the evening before New Years' Day, we would have seen the children gathered before the large fire- place, hand-in-hand beseeching him for gifts. The day was celebrated with all the ancient Dutch hospitality and warm- heartedness. Then, as now it was a day of hearty good wishes. Every door was thrown open to visitors, the rooms were draped with orange, the national color, and refresh- ments were served to all. An air of comfort characterized the Dutch homes. No one was either very rich, or very poor ; an equality of condition belonged to all. As they increased in wealth, the burghers began to import clothing, handsome furniture, and silver. The houses were built of Holland brick, and the roofs covered, with shingles, were painted in bright colors.
A pleasant place was the old kitchen, with its shining sanded floor, marked with figures traced with a broom stick ; the rafter-covered ceiling, its large chimney-place, around which were hung the housekeeper's array of pots and pans, and the warm fire-light glowing over all, and diffusing an air of comfort. Here gathered the household every evening while the Jufvrouw spun her linen and Mynheer smoked his pipe. On the settle by the fireplace sat Grandmother with the little Dutch lads and lasses clustering around her, listen- ing with bated breath to her legends of Hendrick Hudson and his followers, or the tales of the time when she was a
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girl in Holland. How the hearts of the little people must have quaked with fear, as they heard of the many unfor- tunates who, having wandered into the mountains, had been bewitched by the spirits there. It was the earnest desire of all parents that their children should grow up faithful and pious. In recording the birth of Pieter Schuyler, his parents said : "May the Lord let him grow up in virtue to his salvation, Amen." Their wish was granted, for their son was a deacon of the church before his twenty-fifth year.
An octavo volume would not suffice in which to tell of all the queer old Dutch customs and ideas. Many of the laws enacted by the Common Council show clearly how quaint was old Dutch life. As an instance of the strictness of those times, we see the following law set down in the old records :
" Whereas, ye children of said city, to ye shame and scandal of their parents do ryde down ye hills with small and great slees ; for preventing ye same it is hereby published and declared that it shall be lawful for any constable in this city to take any slee or slees from all such boys or girls ryding or offering to ryde down any hill in this city, and break any such slee or slees in pieces !" Which was forth- with done to the dire dismay of ye said boys and girls. It has been said by their detractors that the Dutch were immovable, but 'tis false. Moving day, that day of terrors to every well regulated mind, was even then the first of May. Many other customs belonging to the olden times still cling to Albany to-day.
So time went on with the Dutch ever behind it, and at the beginning of the Revolution Albany had scarcely changed any since its birth as a city. Would this rouse the sleepy burghers ? No, not even were the stirring events of this glorious time sufficient to awaken the Dutch to enthu- siasm. The fortifications of the city were strengthened, and the inhabitants stayed safely at home. Yet a few patriotic citizens, some by contributing arms and many others by giving themselves, helped on the good cause. The most notable among these was Gen. Philip Schuyler, a statesman, patriot, and soldier, a man of talent and honor, of whom the city of his birth is justly proud. Distinguished alike in war and peace, he was one of the most noted of that band of Revolutionary heroes, who defended the liberty of their country so bravely and well.
Up to this time Albany had resisted the attacks of prog-
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ress. "Old as it was it still retained its primitive aspect, and still stood in all its original simplicity, unchanged, unmodified, unimproved, still pertinaciously adhering in all its walks to the old track and the old form. The rude hand of innovation was then just beginning to be felt; and slight as was the touch, it was regarded as an injury, or resented as an insult."
At the end of the Revolution, induced by Albany's favor- able situation for trade, the Yankees invaded the sleepy town. Stoutly did the Dutch resist the intruders, bravely did they fall, victims of modern improvements.
Among the curiosities of the city were the water-spouts, long wooden gutters which projected six or seven feet from the roof over the sidewalk, making it impossible for any one to pass under them without receiving in its most literal sense, a shower-bath. The Dutch with their usual obtuseness clung to the water-spouts, and had not discovered in two hundred years, the uselessness of these appendages. But the quick-witted Yankees soon tried to abolish these rem- nants of Dutch slowness. Obtaining a majority in the Common Council, a ruthless order was sent to each sturdy burgher, accompanied by a hand-saw, and further enforced by a fine of 4os, to cut down his water-spouts. Then indeed wonder and dismay filled the Dutch camp. What ! cut down their own spouts, which their forefathers had brought from Holland. Never ! but the fine pricked the Dutch in their tenderest point, and as it was of no use to kick against the pricks, each valorous citizen succumbed. "From this time a restless leveling spirit prevailed throughout the city."
But a short time and we will celebrate Albany's Two Hundredth Birthday with merry-making and feasting, and by entertaining hordes of country cousins. Every object will be shown which will tend to display the greatness of Albany to the eyes of our own visitors, for Albanian hearts are filled with sudden and mighty pride, and great is their feeling of exalta- tion. And they have just reason to be proud of Albany, so rich in historical associations, which has the memory of so many great men to be proud of. "Dearest art thou for the years that have flown." Thither was brought Lord Howe's body, after his death, for burial ; here Washington and La Fayette were received with great demonstrations of joy and respect ; here passed the bodies of Lincoln and Grant; here was made the first attempt at union; for in 1754 a Continental
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Congress met at Albany, composed of delegates from almost all the colonies, to form a plan for their closer union. Through the tireless efforts of Benjamin Franklin, its presi- dent, a plan was adopted, but Great Britain, influenced by jealousy of the increasing power of the young colonies, refused her consent to a closer union, and thus hastened their revolt against tyranny. It has been said "coming events cast their shadows before." Surely this unsuccessful attempt was the shadow of the glorious union of the States, which was afterward to take place.
In spite of the prejudice of the Dutch, it is to Yankee enterprise, restrained by Dutch conservatism, that this city owes its prosperity. The quickness, energy, and ambition of the Yankee did much for Albany, yet the slowness of the Dutch often held him back, when his ambition might have been dangerous to the city. The prosperity of Albany, which was built by the Yankee, on a Dutch foundation, is firm to endure.
In the year 1797, when Albany became the capital of New York State, the little Dutch city was doomed to prosper in spite of herself. Trade would come to her, she could not drive it from her door and retain her reputation of hospitality. After that year her growth was comparatively rapid. Yet, let us not be exalted. When compared with that of Western cities, of even less favorable situation, her growth has been slow. The city grew, because the trade of the West passed through her. As the West developed, Albany increased in wealth. The Erie Canal conduced greatly to the prosperity of Albany, for it benefited her as much as it did New York. From the date of the completion of this enterprise must the rapid growth of Albany be said to begin. Perchance it may be thought by some, that the Dutch have been slandered. I honor and reverence those who braved the dangers of a new land and raised a city in the wilderness, whose honest, true hearts knew neither pretense nor evil. Though they had their faults and foibles, yet in these degenerate days, where can be found a people so worthy of admiration as they ? Their blood was the same as that which ran in the veins of those heroes who so bravely resisted Spanish tyranny and fought for their liberty and faith. It was in the same spirit of heroism and endurance that the settlers bore so staunchly all the trials and privations of a pioneer's life. From 1800, the history of Albany is
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like that of any American city in the nineteenth century. It might be written in one word-" progress."
JANETZA VAN SCHAACK, ELIZABETH GRISWOLD DAVIDSON.
BOYS' PRIZE.
ALBANY'S HISTORY AND GROWTH IN TWO CENTURIES.
Let your imagination carry you back three hundred years and let your fancy paint the present site of Albany, as it then existed. Picture to yourself, if you can, the broad and stately Hudson, then called by the Indians in their musical tongue, the Cohotatea, rolling onward toward the sea in its serpentine course, between gracefully sloping hills covered with oaks, pines, elms and other forest trees. No grand and massive capitol then loomed up from its western bank, like the castle of a giant amid the dwellings of a liliputian city, but in its stead the council fires of many a now extinct race probably burned. The agile deer had their haunts where our busiest thorough-fares now are, and the beaver built his dam in the many little creeks, which mingle their waters with the Hudson's to this day. Silence every- where held its sway, save when broken by the occasional war-whoop of contending nations, or by the wild cries of the denizens of the forest. Such was the nature and character of the district and surrounding country, upon which, our city has been founded and reared.
After the discovery of America by Columbus, several other European nations fitted out fleets and sent them to the New World for the purpose of discovery and exploration. Verrazzani commanded one of the expeditions dispatched by France and in 1524, explored the eastern coast of America from North Carolina to Nova Scotia and also, it is claimed, discovered the Hudson. This latter is disputed, but however it may be, when the Dutch came up the river, they found the ruins of a chateau or fort upon an island just below the site of Albany, which proved the French must have been aware of the existence of the river and had, no doubt, come there to trade with savages for furs.
Early in 1607, Henry Hudson set sail from Holland in the ship Half Moon, to find a shorter passage to Asia than the one discovered by Magellan, around the southern extremity of the continent. He had heard from the John Smith of
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Pocohontas renown, that a little north of Virginia, was a great inland sea extending to the East Indies. Acting upon this information, Hudson sailed to America and followed the coast from Newfoundland to New York bay, which he entered. He then proceeded up the river for two or three days and finally anchored near the site of Albany, while he dispatched his mate in a boat several miles farther up the river, but the officer returned in a few hours with the news that the channel grew narrower and shallower, the further the boat advanced. The next day, convinced of the falsity of Smith's statements, Hudson reluctantly weighed anchor and, dropping down the river returned to Holland.
In the following year, instigated by the reports of the sailors, who had accompanied Hudson, a number of capital- ists sent a vessel to the river discovered by him, and obtained a rich cargo of furs. Several other ventures were made with like results and in 1614 a trading post was established at Manhattan Island, and another also, upon an island just below this city. The latter structure was destroyed by a freshet and a fort was then built upon the western bank of the river, near the present locality of the steamboat landing.
About this time the Dutch West India company was organized and to promote colonization, issued a proclama- tion to the effect, that whoever should plant a colony of fifty persons, over fifteen years of age, would be made a patroon and would be granted a tract of land extending sixteen miles along one bank of the river, or eight miles along both, said tract to extend an indefinite distance into the interior. Kilian Van Rensselaer was the first to become a patroon and he took up his land on both sides of the Hudson, about Fort Orange. He afterward took up more large tracts and also, united himself with other patroons in such a manner as to become the head of a little government of his own. The colony at New Amsterdam began to grow jealous of the power of Van Rensselaer and claims were made therefore to Fort Orange and all the adjoining land within cannon shot, on the ground that the houses of the settlers being built close to the walls, would, in case of an Indian attack, shelter the assailants, to the detriment of the besieged within the fort. After much quarreling and almost fighting, between the patroon's agent and sturdy, old Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Amsterdam, the matter was decided in the latter's favor.
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The rich province of New Netherland had long been looked upon by the English with covetous eyes, and in 1664, that nation declared the colony was included in their pos- sessions, by virtue of the discoveries and explorations of the Cabots in 1498, and also that it was part of the territory granted to Raleigh in 1584 by Queen Elizabeth. There- fore, in 1664, the merry Charles II. gave the New Nether- lands to his brother the duke of York and Albany, and to make the gift good, a number of vessels of war were sent to take formal possession of the country, which was done without bloodshed. The name New Amsterdam, was changed to New York, and Fort Orange or Beverwyck was called Albany. No alterations were made in the government or laws of the colony, except that an English governor superseded Stuyvesant. Everything under the new adminis- tration ran along quietly, with the exception of occasional troubles with the French and Indians, until 1672, when war was again declared between Holland and England. One year later a Dutch fleet appeared before New York and forced the English to capitulate ; but the triumph was short- lived, for in the following year, the Dutch were once more compelled to yield to the English.
In the spring of 1686, while Governor Dongan was at Albany, he was solicited by the leading inhabitants to incor- porate the village as a city. This he did on the 22d day of July, 1686. From this time up to the close of the French and Indian war, the history of our city is an account of the numerous incursions of the French and their native allies on the one hand, and the counter raids of the Mohawks upon the Canadian settlements on the other; both France and England desiring the Ohio valley country and the entire fur trade thereof. This trouble was finally settled when Canada passed into the hands of the English.
The period extending from 1763 to 1774 marks the grad- ual alienation of the colonies from the mother country. A desire for greater liberty and freedom from restraint had begun to spring up in the breasts of the colonists, and this, together with such obnoxious measures as the " Stamp act," the tax upon tea and other taxes of like nature, was the direct cause of the revolution. In 1775, war was declared with Great Britain, and from the first, Albany and New York, on account of their central positions between the two great fields of the contest, were points of strategy much
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desired by the British. If both of these places could have been taken by the English, the forces of Washington would have been separated, and the complete subjuation of our forefathers would have been only a matter of time. But Albany did not fall into the hands of the British ; Burgoyne was defeated and captured, and he visited, as a prisoner, the place he had intended to enter as a conqueror. After the war the people returned to their homes and engaged in various mercantile and agricultural pursuits, so much so in the latter however, that Albany soon became noted as a grain mart.
Three years after the signing of the treaty of peace, our city celebrated its hundredth anniversary commemorating its incorporation as a city. A grand parade was held in which all the city officers and the various civic and military organi- zations participated. After the line had been broken, the ceremonies were completed by their adjourning to the city tavern where they regaled themselves with all the delicacies of the season.
In the year 1797, during the governorship of John Jay, the seat of the State government was transferred from New York to Albany, which has been ever since and will prob- ably continue to be, the capital city.
1799 was a memorable year for this country, for at its close it left the nation plunged in sorrow. General George Washington, the "Saviour of his country," and twice presi- dent of the United States, on the 14th day of December passed from the scenes of this world to those of a better. At this period of national grief, our city showed by its con- duct its love and respect for the departed hero. When the sad tidings reached Albany, the common council met and ordered the bells to be tolled, minute guns fired, and also that crape should be worn by the members of the council for a suitable period. The churches were draped and the flags upon all the public buildings floated at half mast, and on the 9th day of January a funeral pageant passed through the streets of the city in honor of the dead warrior and statesman.
In 1805, the old Dutch church, which had stood so long at the intersection of State and Market (Broadway) streets, was torn down and the material used in the construction of the South Dutch church on Beaver street. Of the former edifice only the stone which marked the threshold was left.
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This remained in its place until some years ago, when, for some reason or other, it was removed. I think a relic so frought with historical associations ought to be restored by the city government, and proper precautions taken to pre- serve it, for it would be an object of interest to both citizens and strangers, especially during the coming Bi-centennial.
Two years later the Clermont was constructed and launched at New York by Robert Fulton. This was the beginning of the great epoch of steam navigation, and for many years the above named vessel plied between Albany and New York, the only steamboat in the world.
In the following year the old State capitol, which was demolished a few years since, was erected. This, in its day, was regarded as one of the finest public buildings in the United States.
In 1817, an act was passed authorizing the construction of a water-way between the great lakes and the Atlantic ocean. The work was begun shortly after, and in 1825 the great Erie canal was finished. The second day of Novem- ber was made a grand gala day in honor of its completion. After a great river parade, and military review amid the booming of cannons, a banquet was held, during which " red " wine was "looked upon " freely.
From this time up to the present year, Albany has steadily increased in size and resources. It might be interesting to show the city's growth in figures. In 1714, there were eleven hundred thirty-six inhabitants; in 1800, five thousand three hundred forty-nine; in 1850, fifty thousand seven hundred sixty-three ; and in 1880, there were ninety thousand nine hundred three. Thus we see that the population of our city has increased ten fold in the last eighty years. But Albany has made progress in other ways also. Since the construction of the Erie canal, a great railroad, extending from New York to Buffalo, has been built, which, passing through our city, adds greatly to its commercial importance. At West Albany, a suberb of the city, the immense shops of the above mentioned railroad are located, where all their engines and cars are manufactured and repaired, furnishing employment to hundreds of workingmen. In another section of the city, known as the Lumber district, vast quanti- ties of timber are annually bought and sold ; and in fact, our city has the reputation of being one of the largest lumber centres in this part of the country.
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