Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 101

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 101

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

William L. Marcy (1833 to 1839) occupied No. 2 Elk street, where General Rufus H. King now resides.

The Kane mansion, on the site of the Ash Grove Church, was the mansion of William H. Seward during his gubernatorial career (1839 to 1843).

William C. Bouck (1843 to 1845) lived at 119 Washington avenue, now the residence of General John F. Rathbone.

Silas Wright (1845 to 1847) resided at 133 North Pearl street.

John Young (1847 to 1849), at III State street, where now resides Mrs. John Tweddle.

Hamilton Fish (1849 to 1851), at 15 Elk street, the residence of the late Hon. John V. L. Pruyn. Washington Hunt (1851 to 1853), at 1 Elk street; as also did Horatio Seymour (1853-54) during his first term, the same as formerly occupied by Gov- ernor Throop. Governor Seymour, during his second term (1863-64), had his executive mansion in " Dudley Row," 65 Hawk street.

Myron H. Clark ( 1855-56) occupied 132 State street, where now is the Christian Brothers' Acad- emy.

444

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

John A. King (1857-58), 881 Broadway, corner of North Ferry, now St. Peter's Hospital.

Edwin D. Morgan (1859 to 1862), and Reuben E. Fenton (1865 to 1868), four years each, made 144 State street, late the residence of Dr. S. O. Van- derpoel, their home in this city.

John T. Hoffman (1869 to 1872) made the old Congress Hall, east of the new Capitol, his resi- dence.

John Adams Dix (1873-74), 123 Washington avenue, north of the new Capitol.

Samuel J. Tilden (1875 to 1877), Lucius Rob- inson (1877 to 1879), Alonzo B. Cornell (1880 to 1882), and Grover Cleveland (1882 to 1885), resided in the Executive Mansion, 138 Eagle street, bought by the State of the late Robert L. Johnson.

This is also the residence of David B. Hill, the present Governor, and is intended as the perma- nent gubernatorial mansion.

STATE LEGISLATURES.

The Legislature meets annually, on the first Tuesday in January, at the Capitol in Albany. The Senate consists of 32 members, elected bien- nially; the Assembly of 128 members, elected an- nnally. Salaries, $1, 500. Albany County now con- stitutes the Seventeenth Senatorial District. It sends four members to the Assembly, elected by Dis- tricts. The First District is composed of the First. Second, Third and Fifteenth Wards of Albany, and the towns of Bethlehem, Berne, Coeymans, Rensse- laerville and Westerlo; Second District: Tenth, Eleventh, Fourteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Wards of Albany, and towns of Guilderland, Knox and New Scotland; the Third District: Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Twelfth, Thirteenth and part of the Ninth Wards of Albany; the Fourth District the remainder of the Ninth Ward of Albany, Cohoes and Watervliet.

A list of the Albany County Members appears in the County history.

The first session of the New York Legislature under that Constitution began in September, 1777, holding two subsequent meetings that year at Poughkeepsie. The second session was held con- sinuously at Poughkeepsie; but the third began at Kingston, August 18, 1779, and adjourned Oc- tober 25th, to meet at Albany, January 27, 1780; adjourned March 14th, to meet at Kingston, April 22d; and adjourned July 2, 1780.

The session of January 27, 1780, was the first legislative session held in Albany after the Revolu- tion. The January term of 1781-the fourth ses- sion-began on the seventeenth of that month, and was held at Albany in the old Stadt Huys. After this, the legislative sessions were held at Pough- keepsie, New York and Albany until January 3, 1798, since which time they have been regularly held at Albany. They were mostly held in the old Stadt Huys, until the completion of what is now spoken of as the Old Capitol in 1808.

The sessions close or adjourn sine die by con- current vote of Assembly and Senate. We give

the dates of closing the regular sessions from 1831 to 1885:

April 26, 1831; July 2, 1832; April 30, 1833; May 6, 1834; May 11, 1835; May 26, 1836; May 16, 1837; April 18, 1838; May 7, 1839; May 14, 1840; May 26, 1841: April 12, 1842; April 18, 1843; May 7, 1844; May 14, 1845; May 13, 1846; May 13, 1847; April 12, 1848; April 11, 1849; April 10, 1850; April 17, 1851; April 16, 1852; July 21, 1853; April 17, 1854; April 14, 1855; April 9, 1856; April 18, 1857; April 19, 1858; April 19, 1859; April 17, 1860; April 16, 1861; April 23, 1862; April 25, 1863; April 23, 1864; April 28, 1865; April 20, 1866; April 20, 1867; May 6, 1868; May 10, 1869; April 26, 1870; April 21, 1871; May 14, 1872; May 30, 1873; April 30, 1874; May 22, 1875; May 3, 1876; May 24, 1877; May 15, 1878; May 22, 1879; May 27, 1880; July 23, 1881; May 2, 1882; May 4, 1883; May 16, 1884.

OLD STATE HALL.

On February 14, 1797, a bill to erect a public building in the City of Albany, with a view of rendering it the permanent seat of government for the State, passed both branches of the Legislature and became a law.

A site for this building was selected on the cor- ner of Lodge and State streets. It was the first public building erected by the State of New York in Albany after the Revolution.

Ground was broken for the building early in 1797, and pushed forward with such speed that it was completed in the spring of 1799. It is said that several sessions of the Legislature were held in it before the completion of the State Capitol in 1808.

The building is still standing and in a perfect state of preservation, presenting nearly the same external appearance it did when first built. It is built of brick, four stories high, fronting on State street, with a wing extending back on the west side of Lodge street.

In the eastern wall of the lower hall, there is a white marble tablet, bearing the following inscrip- tion :

Erected for State Purposes,

John Jay, Governor.

A. D. 1797. [ Philip Schuyler, Abra- ham Ten Broeck, Teu- nis T. Van Vechten, Daniel Hale, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Com- \missioners.

William Sanders, Arch'.

In this building were the State departments- Secretary of State, Comptroller, State Treasurer, At- torney-General, State Engineer and Surveyor, and Surveyor-General. And here, for a time, was the Executive Chamber. It continued to be occupied by those officers until 1840, when they were moved to the new State Hall, under the recommendation of Governor Seward. The State Museum, organ- ized in 1836, was placed in this building. This

445

STATE OF NEW YORK-BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.

museum embraces nearly all the natural produc- tions of the State of New York, in the several de- partments of botany, zoology, geology, and min- eralogy. The Old State Hali was thus made the depository of the collections in these departments.

The internal arrangement of the building has been subjected to such changes as were ne- cessary to render it convenient for the purpose to which it was devoted after it ceased to become a hall for legislative and executive purposes.

At a later period the State Agricultural Society was authorized by law to occupy a part of the building. The two organizations-the State Mu- seum and the State Agricultural Society-occupied so much space that the building was inadequate to their accommodation; whereupon the Leg slature made appropriation for a new building, to be erect- ed in the rear of the Old Capitol; and the libraries, antiquities and other collections, especially those of a literary and art character, were removed to it in 1858.

In 1865 the Legislature passed resolutions, rec- ognizing the importance of making the State Cabinet of Natural History a museum of scientific and practical geology and comparative zoology. In 1870 the Legislature passed a law organizing the State Museum of Natural History, and pro- viding an annual appropriation for its support.

This old hall, occupied for the purposes we have described, has been known from that time as Geological Hall.

GEOLOGICAL HALL

Has become one of the most interesting and in- structive places in the City of Albany.

The following from the "Albany Hand-book for 1884," compiled by H. P. Phelps, gives a very adequate description of the internal arrangement of Agricultural and Geological Hall :

The wing on Lodge street, in the rear of the building, is three stories high. On the ground floor is a large lecture- room, while in the other stories is the Museum, containing the agricultural implements and products in the stories above. On the lower or basement floor, and on the same level as the lecture-room, at the east end of the main build- ing, are two rooms occupied with the work of cutting and preparing thin sections of fossils of minute structure for the purpose of microscopic study in the Museum. The machin- ery and appliances for this work are of superior character, and the results are of great importance and interest to the Museum and to science. The first floor of the main building is occupied by the offices and libraries of the State Museum and of the State Agricultural Society; and, in the rear of the former, a large working room is furnished with about 300 drawers for the reception of collections in process of preparation and arrangement. The main entrance hall exhibits a collection of dressed blocks of granite, marble, freestone, etc., the products of New York and adjacent States.

The second floor is occupied by the collectio. s illustrat- ing the geology and paleontology of the State. The wall cases, and a single series of table-cases around the room, are occupied by the rock specimens, whether fossiliferous or otherwise, and are arranged in such order that in going from left to right they show the geological superposition of the formations, each right-hand case containing specimens of the rock or formation lying next above the one on the left. This is supplemented by a colored geological section extending around the room above the cases, and so ar- ranged that each formation shown in the section is repre- sented by characteristic specimens in the case below. Besides

this illustration, there are enlarged figures of the characteristic fossils placed in the part of the cases above each formation. The entire arrangement is simple, instructive and easily un- derstood. The collection of fossils (paleontology) occupies the tables, the table cases in the central portion of the floor, and also a large number of drawers beneath the table cases. This collection is arranged in the same simple and systematic order as the geological formations. Under each formation is a natural history arrangement of the genera and species of the fossils. This collection of rock specimens and fossils presents the most complete geological series of the older rocks to the base of the coal measures of any in the world; the older or paleogic rocks of the State of New York being more complete in their order of succession. Also along the west side of the room are arranged a series of large blocks of magnetic iron ore representing the principal mines of Northern New York and Orange County.

Geological Hall.

The third floor is occupied by collections from geological formations above the coal measures, both American and European, and by the mineralogical collection. The fossil series represents the period from the new red sandstone to the pleistocene. The pleistocene of North America is rep- resented by the Cohoes mastodon skeleton, and other re- mains of mastodon and fossil elephants from different points. The pleistocene of South America by the cast of the gigantic megatherium and other forms of that age; and the same of Europe by the skeleton of the Megaceros Hibernicus. The wall cases are in part occupied by a collection of the minerals of the State, and in part devoted to a general col- lection of minerals from all parts of the world.

The fourth story is occupied by the zoological collection. The western part of the room is devoted especially to the New York fauna, which is represented in its mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, crustaceans, and shells. The eastern part of the room is occupied by a case containing a large collection of birds, with some mammals, which were presented to the Museum as a special collection by Mr. de Rham, of New York, and is known as the De Rham collection. The ethnological and historical collections occupy some wall cases on the north side of the room, and the central north side by cases of corals, etc. The center of the room con- tains the two double ranges of table cases, comprising the Gould collection of 6,coo species of shells, of more than 60,000 specimens. Since 1866 the collections in the Museum have been more than doubled in every department. At present every available space in the Museum is filled. All the collections are arranged for study and comparison, and the museum is strictly an educational institution.

Being a State institution it should be considered as cos- mopolitan. Its institutions are to cover the whole field of natural research, and to be a center for the dissemination of a technical and popular knowledge of the products, fauna and flora of the Empire State. With this view, it should be an object of interest for the remote portions of the State as well as the immediate locality.

446

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

NEW STATE HALL.

This edifice, located on Eagle street, was com- pleted in 1842, and was occupied by the officers of the various State departments, who removed thither from the Old State Hall.

After the adoption of the Constitution of 1846, which created a Court of Appeals in place of the old Court for the Correction of Errors, a part of this hall was appropriated to the Clerk of that Court. He is the custodian of all the legal docu- ments, records, and books kept in the four Supreme

Court Clerk's offices in the State, and in the offices of the Clerks in Chancery. All of these offices were abolished by this Constitution. He was also the custodian of the vast sums of money, which for nearly a century had been accumulating in those Courts. The rooms devoted to the Clerk of the Court of Appeals are in the southwest corner of the second story of this building. As these State departments have most of them been re- moved, or will soon be, to the New Capitol, a further description of them will be found in what we have to say in regard to that edifice.

NEW STATE HALL.

This State Hall is still a very substantial and handsome building. Until the beauties of its archi- tecture were eclipsed by the elegant and commo- dious City Hall, which stands directly south of it, it was regarded as one of the finest buildings in the city. It cost the State $350,000. It is built of the white stone from the quarries at Sing Sing. The quality of this stone is the perfect manner in which it resists the vicissitudes of weather. It is more beautiful than marble and as enduring as granite. The building is 138 by 88 feet, and is 65 feet in height. A spiral stone stairway, with an artistic iron railing, leads from the floor to the attic. The whole building is surmounted by a low, well- formed dome, which furnishes light to the stairway below. The building is fire-proof. The principal stories have what are called groined arches. It is one of the first fire-proof buildings erected in Albany.

This State Hall, so long the depository of the State Records, and the place where State dig- nitaries most did congregate, has had its day, so far at least as the purposes for which it was erected are concerned. Few of the State officials, with their subordinates are now seen there. Their offices are mostly in the New Capitol. It is understood that the State cabinets in Geological Hall will soon be placed here.

THE OLD CAPITOL.

The City and County of Albany prides itself on the fact that its generous contributions aided largely in the erection of the Old Capitol.

In 1803, the Common Council of the city adopted a resolution requesting the Legislature to pass an act authorizing the erection of a State House and Court House, and appointed a com- mittee to prepare a petition and map, and to report an estimate of the cost. The committee consisted of John Cuyler, Charles D. Cooper, and John V. N. Yates. This committee submitted their report March 7, 1803, and the Legislature authorized the erection of the building, then known as the New Capitol, by an act passed April 6, 1804.

The Capitol Commissioners appointed on the Old Capitol were John Taylor, Daniel Hale, Philip S. Van Rensselaer, Simeon De Witt, Nicholas N. Quackenbush.

.This act is a characteristic specimen of the legislative methods of that day. The bill for its erection was entitled: "An Act Making Provisions for the Improvement of Hudson River below Al- bany, and for Other Purposes."

After providing for some improvement in the Hudson at Troy and Waterford, above Albany, it appoints John Taylor, Daniel Hale, Philip S.

447

STATE OF NEW YORK- BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.

Van Rensselaer, Simeon De Witt, and Nicholas N. Quackenbush, Commissioners for erecting the New Capitol Building. It required the Supervisors of Albany County to raise by tax $12,000 for such purposes, and it contained the following pro- visions:

VI. And be it further enacted, that the managers of the Lottery hereinbefore mentioned shall cause to be raised by Lottery the sum of $12,oco, in such manner as they, or a majority of them, shall think proper, which sum the said managers shall pay to the Commissioners aforesaid.

At that day the State lotteries held intimate rela- tions with the finances of this State. These lotteries were authorized by law. Upon their managers devolved the raising of funds for the opening of roads, improving rivers, building bridges, and the advancement of great enterprises generally, now thrown upon the taxpayers.

The lotteries were originally established to aid in the endowment of schools under an act for the "encouragement of literature." The early colleges of the States depended largely upon the lotteries. During the legislative session of 1812, a law was passed giving $200,000 to Union College, and smaller sums to Hamilton and Columbia Colleges, and other institutions, upon the lottery plan.

At length the lottery system became corrupt and unpopular. The provision abolishing lotteries, in the Constitution of 1821, was supplemented by a provision, now in force in the Constitution of to-day (Article I, Section 10), which reads thus: "Nor shall any lottery hereafter be authorized, nor any sale of lottery tickets allowed, within this State." The original appropriation for the Capitol was but $24,000, added to the proceeds of the sale of the old Stadt Huys, whatever they might be; but the building cost the sum of $110,688.42. This in- cluded the furnishing of the Council Chamber. Of this sum the City of Albany paid $34, 200, the County of Albany $3,000, and the State $73,485.42. This was hardly sufficient to pay for painting and plastering the new building.

The Commissioners chose Pinkster's Hill as the site of the Capitol. On April 23, 1806, the corner-stone was laid with impressive ceremonies. Philip S. Van Rensselaer was then Mayor of Al- bany, and to him was assigned the duty of placing the stone in position. A large concourse of people were assembled, among whom were John Lansing, Jr., Chancellor of the State; Morgan Lewis, Chief- Justice; Ambrose Spencer, Smith Thompson and Brockholst Livingston, Justices of the Supreme Court; the Members of the City Corporation and other dignitaries.

The building was first occupied by the Senate and Assembly at a special session of the Legisla- ture, convened November 1, 1808. It was con- sidered a magnificent edifice, an object of as much curiosity and interest as is the new Capitol to-day. People from all parts of the State and nation visited it. In 1813, Professor Silliman, of Yale College, visited it and wrote an elaborate description of it, in which he said: "It is a large, handsome building, the furniture exhibiting a good degree of taste and splendor."

H. G. Spafford, describing the building, said of the Senate and Assembly Chambers, which were on the same floor: "In the furniture of these rooms there is a display of public munificence. The American eagle assumes almost imperial splendor. It stands at the head of State street, 130 feet above the level of the Hudson. It is a substantial stone building, faced with freestone taken from the brown sandstone quarries on the Hudson, below the Highlands. The walls are 50 feet high, consist- ing of two stories, and a basement story of 10 feet. The east or main front is adorned with a portico of the Ionic order, tetrastile, the entablature support- ing an angular pediment in the tympanum of which is to be placed the Arms of the State. The ceiling of the wall is supported by a double row of reeded columns; the floors are vaulted and laid with squares of Italian marble; the building is roofed with a double hip of pyramidal form, upon the center of which is a circular cupola, 20 feet in di- ameter. On its dome is a statue of Themis, facing eastward-a carved figure of wood, 11 feet in height, holding a sword in her right hand and the balance in her left."

The above is a good description of the Old Cap- itol as it appeared in 1883, when it was taken down, with the exception of some few additions which had been made in its rear. The interior, with some exceptions, was at that time about the same as it was when first occupied. We give be- low the changes which were made.

To the Executive Chamber there was made, dur- ing the Rebellion, an additional room, extending into the main hall. In other respects it was the same in 1883 as in 1808. To the departments oc- cupied by the Adjutant-General, previous to the removal of the building, was added another room during the war. This room was devoted to the Common Council of the City of Albany. Various additions have been made from time to time in the rear of the Assembly Chamber. The Senate Cham- ber was originally to the left of the Assembly on entering from the main hall. It was, however, re- moved to the large room on the second floor, and the old Senate Chamber was used by the Depart- ment of Public Instruction, and latterly as the Post- office and cloak-room of the Assembly. When the Senate Chamber was removed to the second floor, a floor was constructed and additional rooms were added to the building. In one of these the Super- visors of Albany County held their meetings. On the upper floor the Supreme Court originally oc- cupied the main room. It was afterwards occupied by the Court of Appeals, and one winter by the Senate. The other rooms were occupied by the Court of Chancery, the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of.Sessions and the Mayor's Court. The Mayor's office was in the attic, as were also the rooms of the Society of Arts, the State Library and the State Board of Agriculture. The basement was devoted to the offices of the County Clerk, City Marshal and the rooms of the Keeper of the Capitol.

It is singular that there was not a committee room in the entire building. It can hardly be con- ceived that the building could ever have rendered

448

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

accommodations for such a number of public offices; but this arrangement continued till the completion of the City Hall in 1831, when the city and county officers were removed to that building. After that time various changes took place. A new State library was built, under the law of 1851, and large additions were made to the rear of the building; but it was not even then rendered adequate to the needs of the State.

Congress Hall stood almost adjoining the Old Capitol on the north, a famous hotel of the past. For many years it was the resort of senators, assem- blymen, lobbyists, judges and lawyers.

Owing to the overcrowded state of the Capitol, a part of this hotel, a private house, and many rooms in the Delavan House, were used for com- mittee rooms.

The Governor's room, to which we have alluded, was on the south side of the Capitol, its windows opening on State street, its entrance being from the south side of the hall of the Capitol. Over its door appeared the well-remembered words: " Executive Chamber." This door led into a room occupied by the Governor's clerks; to the left, folding-doors opened directly into the Governor's room. The addition made during the war was occupied by the Governor's Military Secretary. The room had few decorations; a portrait of Lafayette, by Charles Ingham, was about the only embellishment the room contained. It is a full-length portrait, a fine work of art, and represents very correctly the fea- tures of its illustrious original. It now hangs in the Executive Chamber of the new Capitol.

A large table, the office desk of the Governors, stood in the center of the room. A desk for the Private Secretary, book-cases, sofas, and some easy chairs, made up its furniture.

The old Senate Chamber, a very handsome room, exceedingly appropriate for legislative purposes, was embellished with portraits of three distinguished men-Christopher Columbus, George Clinton and Stewart L. Woodford. The first of these was pre- sented to the Senate, in 1784, by Maria Farmer, a descendant of the honest Jacob Leisler, once de facto Colonial Governor of New York, murdered by his enemies for high treason while guilty of no crime. The picture of Clinton is painted from life, and is an artistic work. The portrait of Woodford was presented to the Senate by his friends in the Senate of 1868.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 101

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452