Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 71

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 71

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).

In 1676 "good merchantable beavers" were valued at 12 shillings a piece or 9 shillings a pound. A negro boy, nine years old, hale and sound, was valued at the sum of twenty-eight merchantable beavers in this same year.

Wheat and other goods were often sold at "beaver price." In 1678 five schepels, equal to about three pecks, of wheat were valued at one beaver.

In April, 1680, the Labadists, Dankers and Sluy- ter paid each one beaver price, 25 guilders in seawant, for their boat passage from New York to Albany. A guilder seawant was worth about one-third as much as a guilder beaver.

In 1705 thirty beavers were valued at {18.

During these years the boschloopers or bush-run- ners, who made it their business to meet the In - dians on their trails to Albany and go to their vil- lages with the purpose of intercepting their trade, caused much excitement. In 1655, orders forbid- ding this kind of traffic were made by the Court. These ancient drummers were not allowed to drive trade in this way ; nor were the merchants allowed to allure the Indians having peltry to sell, to their own houses. After this the magistrates rescinded the order. Governor Stuyvesant was next called in by the savages themselves to interfere; and in 1660, at a meeting with the Indians, he assured them of his displeasure at the conduct of these in-

298

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

terlopers, who interfered with their right to trade with whom they chose, and promised his protec- tion if they used even blows to keep off these offi- cious middlemen or any other mercenary inter- meddlers, who shut them into their houses to compel their trade while in Beverwyck.

The fur trade was so profitable at Fort Orange, that fur traders from New Amsterdam, and others who had no residence near this fort, engaged suc- cessfully in competition with the Patroon and his officers and merchants, by intercepting the Indian hunters and by advancing the price, much to the detriment of the Beverwyck traders. This led to a great deal of trouble. The fort erected on Bearen Island and the controversy that followed, as stated in another part of this work, were the out- growth of this foreign intermeddling in what the Patroon, for a time, regarded as his exclusive right.

There can be no question that this trade did much to demoralize the inhabitants of Rensselaer- wyck. Agriculture for a long time was neglected, and every other pursuit, except hunting and trad- ing in furs. Every farmer left tilling his land and became a fur trader as soon as the restrictions were taken off and the trade was free to every one. Legitimate methods of securing the wealth that this business promised, were violated. Not only were the Indian trails filled with drummers, and all the arts of flattery and special attention bestowed upon the fur-bearing traveler from the woods as he came to the village of Beverwyck, but he was bribed by trifling gifts and made drunk with fire- water. Strifes arose among the people, and quar- rels among the savages. Cheating became common. The Dutchman's hand balancing a pound of bea- ver in the scale, and his foot two pounds, as stated by the veritable Knickerbocker in his "History of New York," if not strictly true, as it may have been, illustrates one of the methods of cheating the Indian.

The trade in . fur began seriously to diminish about 1660. The beavers had either been trapped and skinned, or had retreated to regions north and west, farther away from the white man. The re- sources of the Indians in the neighborhood of Beverwyck had become nearly exhausted. Scarcity of furs on their tramping ground was felt by them and the traders. They had sold some of their land, and what remained possessed no value to them. They parted with it for trifles to the settlers, who now began to give more attention to cultivat- ing the soil as their best resource for a livelihood. About this time (1661) several important families,

including Commissary Arent Van Curler, the In- dians' friend, purchased the "Great Flatts," where now is Schenectady, and began a settlement. This diverted much trade from Beverwyck, which led to rivalry and much bitter feeling between the two neighboring villages.

Dankers and Sluyter, in 1680, made the fol- lowing entry in their journal, speaking of Fort Orange :

" As this is the principal trading fort with the Indians, and as the privilege of trading is granted to certain merchants, there are houses or lodges erected on both sides of the town, where the In- dians who come from the far interior to trade, live during the time they are there. This time of trad- ing with the Indians is at its hight in the month of June and July, and also in August, when it falls off, because it is then the best time for them to make their journey there and back."

In 1687, Governor Dongan speaks of the inter- meddling of the Governor of Canada with the fur trade. Sixty young men of Albany and some Al- bany Indians had undertaken a trading expedition to the distant tribes, and on their return were in- tercepted and taken prisoners, with their goods, by the French and Canada Indians. He complains that the revenue of the province was very much re- duced by the course taken by Canada in persuad- ing the Indians to take their furs to Montreal, or by depredations like the above. He adds, "in other years we used to ship off for England 35, 000 or 40,000 beavers, besides peltry, and this year only 9,000 and some hundreds peltry in all."

In 1699, the Indians in council at Albany, com- plained of the diminishing value of the beaver trade, alleging that the earlier traders lived in small huts, but now are grown rich and high, and wear fine clothes and dwell in great houses, and all this from profits on the beavers, which they brought from afar on their backs. And now they paid little for beaver and put a large price on their goods.

In 1700, the vigilant and judicious Governor Bellomont writes to the Lords of the Admiralty: "The beaver trade here and at Boston is sunk to little or nothing, and the market is so low for beaver in England that 'tis scarce worth the transporting. I have been told that in one year, when this prov- ince was in possession of the Dutch, there were 66,000 beaver skins exported from this town (New York), and this last year there was but 15,241 beaver skins exported hence, from 24th of June, '99, to 24th of June, 1700. * * A few years * ago beaver skins sold in London at 14 shillings a pound, and then the custom was but 4d. the

299

THE BEAVER AND THE FUR TRADE.

skin. Now beaver has fallen to 5 shillings per pound in England and pays 9d. per skin here, 3d. per skin freight, and 12d. when it is un- shipped in England." The Governor then urges the bad effects of such a state of things on popula- tion and trade, and advises free trade in peltry. He also claims that it is wise to keep the Indians in favor with the King, by a policy that will encourage him in his favorite pursuit of hunting and selling beaver.

On the 19th of July, 1701, the Sachems of the Five Nations deeded all their beaver hunting lands in the Province of New York and vicinity to King William III of England and his successors. The quit claim deed was made at Albany, signed and sealed by Governor John Nanfan and the Sachems of the Senecas, Mohawks, Cayugas, Onondagas and Oneidas, and comprehended a territory claimed as extending 800 by 400 miles. John J. Bleecker, Mayor, and the Aldermen and other city officers were present as witnesses. The only consideration seems to have been protection of their persons and possessions against the French. The only reserva- tions made were peaceable homes and free hunting to themselves and their descendants.

It having been found that the French, through their missionaries, were rapidly gaining upon the English in the matter of profitable trade, Governor Bellomont, in January, 1701, proposes to the Lords of Trade some course by which this trade could be diverted from the French and turned from Missis- sippi, Canada and Nova Scotia to the English col- onies. He writes thus from New York: " In order to this design the beaver trade ought to be encour- aged by Parliament-all duties wholly taken off, both here and in England, from beaver and other peltry exported from this Province. * * The French King, to encourage the beaver trade, has ordered the Parliament of Paris to put forth and requiring all the liatters to mix a certain quantity of beaver's furr in all their hats, under a severe penalty, which is a wise course, and I wish our Parliament would take such a course to help the consumption of beaver, which at present is grown almost out of use in England since Carolina hatts have been so much and fur hatts so little in fashion." The following table gives the value of furs imported from the Province of New York for the years from 1717 10 1723:

s. cl.1 s. d.

€

1717-18. 10,704 3 11 1720-21. 6,659 4 11

1718-19 7,138 2 5 1711-22. 7,045 3 10

5 4 1719-20. 7,487 16 5 1722-23. 8,333

In 1721, the Worshipful Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of Albany adopted most

stringent rules, designed to put an end to long-ex- isting abuses in the Indian trade. They forbade, under penalties of £5 and upwards: 1. Receiving or concealing in their houses or elsewhere any packs of furs belonging to any Indian. 2. Lodg- ing and entertaining any Indian or squaw, except Sachems, in their houses or other buildings. 3. Conveying any Indian, his wives or children in any wagon or cart from the westward towards Albany, or any of his goods, without payment. 4. Carry- ing Indians or their goods, in like manner, for any other person for a price or a gift. 5. Speaking to any Indian outside the stockades and coming from the West, or enticing them to trade. 6. Employ- ment of brokers.

The whole purpose of the ordinance was to leave the matter of trade with the Indians them- selves, they going to any person whom they chose without influence or hindrance.

At other times orders were passed restricting the sale of firearms and intoxicating drinks to the sav- ages.

The importance of the trade, the character of the traders, and the evils that existed are made evident by these ordinances.

The struggle between the English in New York and the French in Canada for the control of the beaver trade was very great, especially during the first fifty years of the eighteenth century. This was carried on by regulating the prices paid the Indian hunters, who carried their goods where they could secure the best returns. The prices paid depended, of course, very much upon what the colonial traders could realize in the European market. It appears that the beaver had taken himself from the beaver dams of New York to more secluded places in Canada and the North, because he was more re- mote from danger. But the hunter found him in his northern resort and took the precious fur beaver in great numbers. Canada had the advantage of a near market; but the English took good advice, and, with Anglo-Saxon good sense, offered the fur merchants free trade and a better price, and made it up by increased manufactures, and sales at ad- vanced rates. The Indians were better paid by the English colonial trader and carried their furs to the better paying market. So it appears from the cor- respondence of the colonial traders and Governors in the Colonies both of Canada and New York, during the years from about 1720 to 1750. The English thus secured the most of the Five Nations as their friends-a great loss to the French. And yet, by priestly art and smuggling, the Canadians

300

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

had, much of the time, a good trade. In the two years 1746 and 1747, the French Company of the Indies realized a profit of 430, 785 livres from the beaver trade alone.

Peter Kalm, the intelligent Swedish naturalist, who visited Albany in 1749, throws light upon the fur traffic as it appeared to him at that time. He writes: "Albany carries on considerable commerce with New York, chiefly in furs, etc. * * * There is not a place in all the British Colonies, the Hudson Bay Settlements excepted, where such quantities of furs and skins are bought of the In- dians as at Albany. Most of the merchants in this town send a clerk or agent to Oswego, an Indian trading town upon the Lake Ontario, to which the Indians resort with their furs. *

* * The mer- chants from Albany spend the whole summer at Oswego, and trade with many tribes of Indians who come to them with their goods. Many people have assured me that the Indians are frequently cheated in disposing of their goods, especially when they are in liquor, and that sometimes they do not get one-half or even one-tenth of the value of their goods. I have been a witness to several transac- tions of this kind. The merchants of Albany glory in these tricks, and are highly pleased when they give a poor Indian a greater portion of brandy than he can bear, and when they can, after that, get all his goods for mere trifles. The Indians often find, when they are sober again, that they have been cheated. They grumble somewhat, but are soon satisfied when they reflect that they have, for once, drunk as much as they are able of a liquor which they value beyond anything else in the whole

world, and they are quite insensible to their loss if they again get a draught of this nectar. Besides this trade at Oswego, a number of Indians come to Albany from several parts, especially from Canada; but from this latter place they hardly bring any- thing but beaver skins. There is a great penalty in Canada for carrying furs to the English, that trade belonging to the French West India Company ; notwithstanding which the French merchants in Canada carry on a considerable smuggling trade. They send their furs by means of the Indians to their correspondents in Albany, who purchase it at the price they have fixed upon with the French merchants. The Indians take in return several kinds of cloth and other goods, which may be got here at a lower rate than those which are sent to Canada from France."

Smith, the historian, in 1757, speaks of the fur trade as "very much impaired by French wiles and encroachments."

Coneiogatchie, one of the Chiefs of the Iroquois, in a speech made in council in 1782, said: "Your traders exact more than ever for their goods and our hunting is lessened by the war, so that we have fewer skins to give for them. This ruins us. We are poor."

Elkanah Watson, in 1788, speaks of the trade in furs at Albany as extinct. The British Hudson Bay Company was then carrying on the trade.

The Albany Gazette, in 1796, speaks hopefully of a revival of the fur trade in the city, nine wagon loads of furs and peltries having been received by one of the merchants from the Northwest territory. But it was only a temporary matter. The old-time fur trade was no more.

SLAVERY IN ALBANY COUNTY.

SLAVERY was introduced at an early day into 2 the American colonies. The first introduction of African slaves was in 1619, by a Dutch vessel sailing up the James River in Virginia, and selling twenty negroes from Africa to the planters. The trade in negro slaves did not increase very rapidly until after 1700. In 1714 the whole number of slaves in the colonies was 55, 850; of this number about 30,000 had been imported. In 1808, the total number imported was not less than 400, 000.

The United States Constitutional Convention of 1774 resolved to discontinue the slave trade. In 1789, the Convention to frame the Federal Consti- tution looked to the abolition of the traffic in 1808.

On March 2, 1807, Congress passed an act against the importation of African slaves into the United States after January 1, 1808.

In violation of these laws, the trade continued to an alarming degree for many years; and as late as 1855, New York city was largely engaged in the nefarious business. An article in De Bow's Re- view in 1855, quotes Captain Smith, who says: "New York is the chief port in the world for the slave trade, and is head-quarters for fitting out ves- sels for all the slave ports."

As early as 1628, frequent mention is made of blacks owned as slaves in the colony of New Netherlands. The West India Company in 1629,

301

SLAVERY IN ALBANY COUNTY.

granted to "all persons who will plant colonies in New Netherlands, to supply them with as many blacks as they conveniently can, on condition and in such manner that they shall not be bound to act for a longer time than they shall think proper." It appears that parties who leased land from the Company also leased servants or slaves from indi- viduals for a term of years. The Company itself was not above this business, since we learn that in 1644, Nicholas Toorn, of Rensselaerwyck, acknowl- edges the receipt of a young black girl to be re- turned at the end of four years, "if yet alive," to the Director-General or his successor. In 1650, the West India Company sold at Albany "a farm- house, hay-loft, two mares and a horse, and a negro, all now in use by Thomas Hall."

In 1650, the States General of Holland sub- mitted a plan to the deputies of the West India Company that the inhabitants of New Netherlands shall be at liberty to purchase negroes wheresoever they may think necessary, except on the coast of Guinea, and bring them to work on the bouweries on payment of a duty. They also gave permission to import as many negroes as were required for the cultivation of the soil under certain conditions and regulations.

In these early days of slavery the price varied, $100 to $200 being the value. Rev. Johannes Polhemus, a colonial minister, paid, in 1664, $175 for a slave. Rensselaer Nicol gave permission to Jan De Decker, October 8, 1664, to sail from Albany with eight negroes for the French planta- tions of Martinico and Guadaloupe. Slaves could be emancipated after eighteen or nineteen years of service to the Company. At a court of Mayor and Aldermen for the city of Albany, Myndert Freder- ickse's negro, Hercules, was found guilty of steal- ing a chest of wampum from his master, and the court sentenced him "to be whipped throu ye towne att ye cart tale by ye hands of ye hangman forthwith, for an example to oyrs, and his masters to pay ye costs." He confessed the theft, and said he entered by an open window. This appears in City Records, 1686. In the Records of 1679 it is resolved, "That all Indians within the colony were free, nor could they be forced to be servants or slaves."

The Colonial General Assembly in 1683 enacted laws defining the privileges of slaves; also empow- ering officers to follow and arrest runaway slaves. They could not give, sell, or trust any commodity whatsoever, under penalty of corporal punishment; neither was any person allowed to buy of a slave or trade with one. The old colonial statutes are

filled with laws relating to negroes and slaves. We quote the substance of some of them. In 1704, liquors were not to be sold to negroes or Indians on the Sabbath, and tavern keepers were forbidden to entertain or harbor them in their houses. In 1705, an act was passed to prevent negro slaves from running away from Albany to the French in Canada. Other acts, passed at sundry times, for- bade all trading with those who were in bondage; allowed owners to punish with discretion; no more than three slaves to meet together under penalty of whipping; provided that a slave who struck a man or woman professing Christianity must be im- prisoned fourteen days; the testimony of negroes good only in plotting among themselves; forbade slaves to be further away from Albany than Sara- toga under penalty of death, except with master or mistress; encouraged the baptizing of negroes, Indians, and mulattoes. The law of 1730 pro- vided that no person shall traffic with a slave; that no one shall sell to a slave rum or other strong drink under a penalty of forty shillings; that each town or manor have a whipper of slaves, to be paid not exceeding three shillings a head; that any one harboring a slave shall forfeit to the master {5 for every twenty-four hours, but not to exceed the value of the slave; that the owners of slaves are liable for thefts; and that no slave shall carry fire- arms. In 1775, a law was enacted that slaves must do military duty in cases of imminent danger, and that one or more slaves above the age of fourteen, in time of invasion, found a mile or more from the habitation of his master, without his consent or a written pass, was adjudged a felon, and it was lawful for the person so finding any slave to shoot him.

The early laws of the State relative to slaves, referred to their services in the American army. The act of 1788 revised many of the existing laws, and, in 1793, a law existed binding all owners of slaves to have them housed at an early hour. In 1798, the corporations of Albany and New York frequently granted warrantee deeds of slaves.

The price of slaves was as changeable as other commodities. In 1710, Melgert Vanderpool sold a negro for {65, and a negress for £35. In 1790, Captain Bloodgood, of the sloop Olive Branch, carried a slave from Albany, the property of Mrs. Staats, to Antigua, and sold him for £51.

In 1761 a law was passed which laid a fine of fro on every master who allowed a slave to beg.

In 1710, Harmanus Fisher, of Albany, states that his negro, Yorke, had been found guilty of burglary and sentenced to be whipped round the

302

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

city, to receive nine lashes on his bare back at every corner. The sentence was not executed, but the sheriff dunned Fisher for {13 7s., the amount allowed by law for the service.

In November, 1793, several attempts were made to fire the city of Albany by slaves. Some were ar- rested and confessed their guilt. In January, 1794, Pomp, the property of Matthias Visscher, bought of Jacob Roseboom, Jr., in 1788, for {90, a negro slave, was charged with having set fire to the stables of Leonard Gansevoort. He was tried and found guilty. Bett and Deane, two female slaves, were also tried as accomplices and convicted of the same offense. All were sentenced to be hanged. On January 24th the sentence was respited for six weeks. The two girls were hanged on the 14th March, and Pomp on April 11th. The gallows was erected on Tyburne Hill, in the rear of the house of the late Rufus H. King, near the lower part of Fayette street. The concourse of people to witness the executions was immense.

A custom prevailed in slavery days of advertising them when for sale, and the newspapers generally had one or more of these "Negro for Sale" adver- tisements in them. We give a few samples : In 1784, the executors of Mrs. Schuyler offered for sale at auction, at Lewis' Tavern " A likely negro." In 1796, we find : " To be sold. - A healthy, active negro wench in her nineteenth year. Can be rec- ommended for honesty and sobriety, and sold for no fault." " A negro wench about thirty years old, strong and healthy, for sale." "For sale .- A healthy negro wench about thirty years old ; can be recommended for honesty and good conduct. Also, her two male children, both in good health. One, nearly three years old, until he arrives at the age of twenty-five years. The other, about four weeks, will be sold for life."

The abolition of slavery in the State of New York was agitated at the formation of the first constitution in 1777. When John Jay urged the early abolition of slavery he declared, "Till America comes to this measure, her prayers to heaven will be impious." Other early statesmen and philan- thropists advocated this great doctrine of law and liberty, and claimed freedom and protection as the inherent right of all men.

The agitation was continued in this and other States. The first to abolish slavery were Penn- sylvania and Massachusetts in 1780; New Jersey, provisionally, in 1784-all children born of a slave woman after 1804 to be free in 1820. In 1784 and 1797, Connecticut provided for gradual extinction. In Rhode Island after 1784, no person

could be born a slave. The ordinance of 1787 forbade slavery in the territory northwest of the Ohio. New York provisionally abolished slavery in 1799 ; twenty-eight years' ownership being al- lowed to those born in slavery after this date. This was the commencement of successive legisla- tive acts and amendments for the years including 1801-04-07-09-10. In 1813, laws were enacted relative to vagabond slaves, and to prevent kidnap- ping, with severe penalties. In 1817, a new law was passed with more severe penalties, and a more important amendment-no less than a final decree of abolition of slavery in the State of New York -- was added as follows : "And be it further enacted that every negro, mulatto or mustee within the State, born before July 4, 1799, shall from and after the 4th day of July, 1827, be free." This law was passed by twenty affirmative votes, out of a total of thirty-two in the Senate; and by seventy- five, out of a total of 128, in the Assembly. It was signed by Governor De Witt Clinton.

The enactment of 1819 made it a misdemeanor to send away from the State any slave or servant except such as might have been pardoned by the Executive for some offense ; and owners of slaves who resided for a time in other States were for- bidden to sell to parties not resident within the State. This was the last enactment, and the in- stitution ceased to exist in the Empire State, July 4, 1827.

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 71

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