Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 80

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 80

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).

THE OLD STADT HUYS OR CITY HALL.

Holland, and placed there soon after the completion of the building. For nearly one hundred and sixty years it was rung on all public occasions to sum-

mon legislators, lawyers, judges, and municipal officers to their duties in the rooms below.

After the building was demolished, the bell was placed in the cupola of the new capitol, where it hung for many years, discharging the same duties it had done in the tower of the old Stadt Huys. At last it was taken down. What became of it is somewhat uncertain; it is believed that it now hangs in one of the churches at Ballston, N. Y.

In this building was held the provincial courts under the Dutch and English laws. Here the Common Council held its first meetings after its organization under the Dongan Charter, in July, 1686.

In front of this building, in July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in Albany, to an immense crowd of people.

This building was, for a time, the Capitol of the State, in which the Legislature under the first con- stitution held several sessions.

A few years ago a memorial slab was placed in the front walls of the commercial building on Broadway, standing on the spot where this old structure stood, with appropriate addresses and other ceremonies.

ALBANY COUNTY JAILS.

T THE lower story, or basement, of the old Stadt Huys in Albany was used as the jail of the county for many years. It was made of stone, and di- vided into cells of sufficient strength and size for the confinement of prisoners from the large territory which, for many years, was embraced in the County of Albany. Heavy iron bars or grates protected the windows. The massive doors were made double, of heavy three-inch oak plank, fastened with strong iron bolts. A diamond-shape opening, a foot in size, near the top, let in light and air. These doors were secured by ponderous locks, to turn whose keys required the whole strength of a man.

Chains, with rings and clasps attached, for the more secure confinement of desperate characters, were fastened in the solid stone wall. On the whole, it was a grim, but secure place of confine- ment. It might have more properly been called a dungeon. After the lapse of years, although some repairs had been made, the building began to assume a dilapidated condition, and that part used as a jail became so insecure that the escape of pris- oners from it was a matter of such frequent occur- rence, that the High Sheriff, Samuel Babbington, appeared at the Bar at the Court of Sessions, in Oc- tober, 1718, and formally protested against the jail as follows :

"I urge upon your Worships that care may be taken to have ye same Jail sufficiently repaired to keep such bad prisoners as I may take for debt, &c., safely from escaping, as is now often ye case."

After hearing the Sheriff's complaint, the Court made the following order:

" It is resolved by this Court, in consideration of ye insufficiency of ye said Jail, that a letter be forth- with writ to ye representative of ye General Assem- bly of ye Province, to desire leave of that honor- able body now sitting, that they may bring in a bill to raise ye same, not exceeding one hundred and forty pounds for repairing ye Jail, and that ye repairs be directed to ye management of ye Jus- tices of ye Peace of ye City and County of Albany, or the major part of them."

There had been several attempts to erect a jail or prison apart from the City Hall. An applica- tion of this kind was made to the Common Council in August, 1700. On the 14th of October follow- ing, an application having been made to the Super- visors for a new and common jail, the matter came up in February, 1701, and was disposed of as fol- lows :

" Relateing ye Prepareing of ye Court-house and Common Goall, which ye Justices of ye Citty and County on ye 26th of Feb'y instant Recommended to be laid before ye Supervisors, is referred to their Consideration, who of the County Positively Re- fused to Contribute anything unto ye same, alleadg- ing that it must be Repaired out of ye 2 per cent.

348

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

to Defray ye necessary charges of ye Citty and County.'

Accordingly, the General Assembly passed a gen- eral bill for the making or repairing of the jails in the Province of New York.

At a Court of Sessions, held in the City Hall October 7, 1719, the following order concerning the jail of the County of Albany was made and entered in the records of the Court.

"Pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of the Colony of New York, entitled an Act to Author- ize ye Justices of the Peace to Build and Repair Jails and Court-houses in the Several Counties of the Province, whereby ye Justices in each County are Impowered (upon their own view) on any Insuffi- ciency or Inconveniency of their County Jail or Prison, or ye Inconveniency of their Court House, to Conclude and agree upon such sum or sums of money, as, upon examination of sufficient and able workmen, shall be thought necessary for building, Finishing and Repairing a Public Jail, etc.

" It is therefore Resolved, that any five or more of His Majestie's Justices shall make a computa- tion with sufficient and able workmen, what a suffi- cient Jail, etc., for ye Citty and County of Albany may cost, and bring a report thereof at the next meeting of this Court and the Justices thereof."

This order caused much discussion in the county, a portion of the people desiring to erect a new court-house and jail, while others were equally de- sirous that the city hall, and the jail in the base- ment thereof, should be thoroughly repaired. At length, at the Court of Sessions held in the City Hall, it was decided to repair the State House and Jail, according to the following resolution:

"It is Resolved that the City Hall shall be repaired and an addition be made of fifteen foot in length to the south'd, and in breadth to the Court Hall, and joyned in the roof of the same, made up with boards without as the present old house, with a sufficient stone seller under ye same, the north end thereof partitioned off with oak boards. To have one window with cross-iron bars therein, one cross window to the south'ard, one to the eastward and one to the westward in the first room."

The resolution continues:

" The door which stands to the South in the Court Hall, to be removed in the fore room, and in the room above to the south'ard. The gable end of the house to the westward be repaired; the room above the new floor on the top of the old floor with one and one-half inch boards. The windows are to have strong cross iron bars, and the glass windows and wall repaired, all good and sufficient work. Also a convenient place for the Jury to sit in, and the bench for the Justices' seats made larger and more convenient.

"The Justices have agreed with John Wemp to make and repair the said building according to the above dimensions, all well finished, for the sum of

£140, which he promises shall all be done by or before the first of January next."

These repairs were made; but those of the jail were so negligently done that the escape of prison- ers from it was still of common occurrence. Henry Holland, Esq., then High Sheriff of the City and County, appeared at the Court of Sessions, October 4, 1721, and represented the insecure condition of the jail. Whereupon the following order was made:

" Henry Holland, Esq., High Sheriff of the City and County of Albany, informs this Court that though the City and County of Albany Jail has been lately repaired, it is still very insufficient, and he desires it may be made sufficient. As it is, it can- not secure any prisoner, as several have gained their liberty by breaking Jail. It is therefore or- dered that meet and proper repairs at said jail be at once made under the direction of the said Sheriff."

Substantial repairs soon followed. With occa- sional and slight repairs, the city hall and jail con- tinued as described until the building was demol- ished somewhere about the year 1803.

That the lower story of the city hall was occu- pied for a jail, is evidenced by the fact that there is an account of " the prisoners in the old city hall, which was the jail," celebrating the fifth of July, 1790-the fourth being on Sunday. The fifth toast drank on the occasion was : " May the time soon come when no honest man shall be confined for debt."

In 1791, the Legislature passed a law authorizing the city authorities to raise {2, 000 towards the com- pletion of the court-house and jail.

It was some time before this appropriation was agreed to by the city and county authorities; and it was not until 1803 or 1804, perhaps as late as 1809, that the new jail was completed. The prem- ises on which this jail stood occupied about 80 feet on State street ; 84 on Maiden lane ; and 116 on Eagle street. It was sold at auction on August 11, 1832, in behalf of the trustees of the Albany Academy.

On November 1, 1831, the grand jurors visited the jail, and found it so much out of repair that they recommended to the Board of Supervisors the building of a new jail without the compact part of the city, "inasmuch as this building, which had stood twenty-two years was fast decaying, very illy constructed, and too small in order to health, com- fort and convenience, and situated in too thickly settled a locality." There were, at that time, fifty-six persons in confinement. If the jail, according to the above statement, had stood twenty-two years,

349

ALBANY COUNTY ALMS-HOUSE.

then, of course, it must have been built in 1809. We are inclined to the belief that there was some mistake about its having "stood twenty-two years," but that it was built somewhere near 1804, and succeeded the old jail in the Stadt Huys, on the corner of Broadway and Hudson avenue. It was sold at auction, August 11, 1882.

The next jail built, stood on the ground at the corner of Eagle and Howard streets, and was com- pleted in the latter part of the year 1834.

Early in April, 1834, the masons at work upon it struck, but the difficulty was adjusted.

This building was occupied as the county jail until the spring of 1854, when the jail on Maiden lane was erected, and the old jail fitted up with great taste and convenience for a hospital, and opened for that purpose August 8, 1854.

In May, 1854, John Hendrickson was executed in the jail on Maiden lane, for the murder of his wife.

ALBANY COUNTY ALMS-HOUSE.

THE County of Albany, unlike most other coun- - ties in the State, has not made any material distinction between the poor of the towns and the poor of the county. It has no Board of Superin- tendents of the Poor.

The poor laws are executed by the Superintend- ent of the Alms-house, Overseers of the Poor, and other charitable institutions.

The office of Overseer of the Poor is one of the most ancient in the State. It existed long before 1703, and has always been very important in the City and County of Albany. The powers of the office were considerably increased by the act of 1703, which continued through the colonial pe- riod, and was retained almost intact by the Legis- lative Act of March 7, 1788. This act makes provision for establishing an Alms-house in Albany. This was the first of the kind known in the State under the laws of the State. The churches had what were known as church or parish alms-houses. Thus, in the act incorporating the Reformed Prot- estant Dutch Church in the City of Albany, passed August 10, 1720, we find that a certain tenement and lot of ground, commonly called poor-house or alms-house, situated in the First Ward of the City, is described as follows: " Bounded on the south by the High street that leads to the burying-place, to the north of the Rutten Kill, and to the east of Harmon Rutgers', and to the west by the lot of Garrit Bancker, containing in breadth towards the street that leads to the Lutheran Church by the said Rutten Kill, six rods one foot; and the like breadth in the rear; and in length on the east side eight rods and two inches, all Rhineland measure."

The act of 1788 gave the Overseers of the Poor, with the consent of the towns, power to build, pur- chase or hire houses for the accommodation of the

poor. It also gave the Overseers power to purchase materials for setting the poor at work, and to ap- point proper persons for keepers. It provided that if any poor person refused to be kept in such houses, he or she was denied relief from the town or county. This act was made more favorable to Albany than to other towns.

By an act passed April 2, 1819, the act of 1788 was amended. The powers and duties of the Over- seers of the Poor were extended to lunatics, habitual drunkards and poor children. It gave Overseers the right to bind out poor children; power over illegitimate children chargeable to the public; to sue for penalties incurred by bets or wagers, and for penalties under the excise laws.

The Supervisors have the power, under certain restrictions, to abolish the distinction between town and county poor, making them all chargeable to the county.

This law provides that, in those counties where the poor are made a charge upon the counties, there shall be a Superintendent of the Poor, with the same powers and rights as the Overseers of the Poor, in respect to compelling relatives to maintain their paupers, and in respect to the seizure of prop- erty. But there are no Superintendents of the Poor in Albany.

The charter of April 23, 1883, and the city or- dinances under it, passed May 5, 1884, provide that the Overseer of the Poor of the City of Albany shall have the charge of and shall apply and dis- tribute the funds for the temporary relief and sup- port of the poor of the city. It also provides that the father, mother or children, when of sufficient ability, of a poor person of the City of Albany un- able to work by disease or decrepitude, are com- pelled to maintain or relieve such poor person. The

350

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Overseers of the Poor of Albany shall exercise and perform the same powers and duties, relative to compelling such relatives to afford such relief, as are in like cases vested in and exercised by Over- seers of the Poor of the respective towns of the County of Albany.

By the Act of the Legislature passed May 24, 1884, it is made the duty of the Overseers of the Poor of the several towns of the County of Albany; of the Village of West Troy; of the City of Cohoes; and of the City of Albany, whenever any idiot, lunatic person of unsound mind, deaf mute or pauper within the jurisdiction of the said of- ficers respectively, whenever any such person shall become chargeable to the county, and shall be lawfully liable to be committed to the alms- house or asylum, or other place for the safe keep- ing of such person or persons, to take and deliver him or her to the alms-house in said city, under certain conditions and restrictions provided by statute. Superintendents to make quarterly re- ports to County Treasurer, giving full details of all circumstances and expenses of the asylum. When- ever any child shall be in danger of becoming a charge upon the County of Albany, the Overseers of the Poor having jurisdiction of the place of resi- dence to take the child before some magistrate, who shall examine such child and its parents and other persons, touching its age, condition, and the condition of the poor parents, and all other cir- cumstances connected with the child; and if the circumstances warrant it, may be placed in the alms-house under the restriction of the act.

The present Alms-house is situated on the road south of Washington Park, and west of the Peni- tentiary. There is a very finely cultivated and pro- ductive farm of 116 acres belonging to this institu- tion, known as the Alms-house Farm. The productions of this farm, besides furnishing fine vegetables and some fruit for the poor establish- ment, are a source of some income.

Connected with the Alms-house are the poor- house, lunatic asylum, hospital, pest-house, etc. This is the poor establishment of the city and county, the former paying sixty and the latter forty per cent. of the cost of maintenance. Under the State charitable laws, paupers who have not been residents of any county for sixty days are called State paupers, and are received here and boarded at the rate of $2.50 per week, chargeable to the State.

By the statutes, the Superintendents of the Alms- house are required to make annual reports to the

Secretary of State on or before the 10th day of January of each year, covering the year ending November 30th.

The lands granted the city under the Dongan charter of 1686 have all been alienated by the city, excepting the 116 acres known as the Alms-house Farm, and what was known as the Washington Parade Ground on Willett street, and the old bury- ing-ground on State street, both included in Wash- ington Park.

The Alms-house is under the management of an officer called the Superintendent of the Alms-house.

The City Physician has the right to purchase any stores, drugs, medicines, or articles required by the institution, under the direction of the Superintend- ent of the Alms-house.

The general regulations of this poor establish- ment are admirable. Perfect care and scrutiny is directed to the health, cleanliness, and comfort of the paupers, who are carefully distributed in dif- ferent rooms-persons of different sex in different rooms.

When a child attains the age of two years, it is placed in the children's department.

Profane or indecent conversation, quarreling, drunkenness, disorderly conduct at meals, and criminal or immoral conduct of any kind are strictly forbidden in or about the Alms-house. Suitable and wholesome punishment for the above offenses is provided.

All paupers who are able are kept employed without compensation.

Careful medical attendance and nurses are pro- vided for the sick, both adults and children.

Children belonging to the Alms-house of suitable age, attend the school established for their instruc- tion, and are instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic. The girls are taught plain needle-work and knitting, and when they arrive at the proper age are bound out to suitable trades or occupations.

The paupers are suitably clothed and have a change of linen at least twice every week during the year. The linen of the paupers is numbered and is distributed among them.

Careful attention is paid to cleanliness, to ven- tilation and airing of the rooms, clothes, beds, etc. All the fuel required is distributed throughout the Alms-house. The meals are served at stated hours in a clean and decent manner.

Spirituous liquors are not allowed in the Alms- house except by order of the attending physician.

At nine in the evening the fires and lights throughout the Alms-house are extinguished, ex- cept in the hospital and asylum.

351

ALBANY COUNTY ALMS-HOUSE.

The inmates of the Alms-house assemble for religious worship in the chapel every Sabbath at the hours of ten A. M. and two P.M. Some person or persons appointed by the Superintendent reads suitable forms of prayer, approved sermons, and portions of scripture at such meetings.

In the morning some clergyman of the city, of the Protestant faith, and in the afternoon a clergyman of the Catholic faith, conducts religious services in the chapel each Sunday.

Some of the buildings are old and time-worn, but are kept in as comfortable condition as the cir- cumstances will admit. They were first erected in 1826, at a cost of $14,000. The number of per- sons occupying it that year were as follows:

White females between the ages of 19 and 80, 44; of these 13 were sick and lame and 3 insane.

Thirty-eight children between four months and eight years of age.

Three black males between the age of 45 and 80; 8 black females between the age of 35 and 80; and 30 white males; in all, 123.

The architect of the Alms-house was Henry W. Snyder.

In the Report of 1857, the Alms house, or Poor Establishment, is described as follows: "It em- braces four buildings constructed of brick, two stories in height above the basement; one in size, 40 x 70 feet; and two others, 32 x 90 feet; con- nected with a farm of 216 acres, yielding an annual revenue estimated at $6,000. The basements of one building are used for domestic purposes; the others are unoccupied.

" In the Poor-house proper are ten rooms, warmed by furnaces and stoves, but with but little ventilation.

" This building was erected thirty-four years ago. From 6 to 40 paupers were placed in a single room. The whole number of inmates was 319: 120 males, 299 females. Of these three-fourths were foreign born."

In the asylum are fifty insane paupers. All in- curables are sent to the asylum at Ovid. A pest- house has been erected on the outer limits of the farm, which will accommodate about fifty persons.

The unclaimed dead of the streets, the river, and penitentiary are buried in these grounds, and the cattle and geese are here impounded.

Visitors are admitted every day except Sunday.

Albany has been for some time burdened with paupers who are not properly charges for the county. The West Shore Railroad, when nearing the com- pletion of its road, discharged a number of its labor- ers near the city, most of whom were suffering from

malaria or similar disease. The city being the ter- minus of the canal, draws many known as alien paupers to Albany, where they apply for aid. If sent for any reason to the Penitentiary, after serving for sixty days, they remain in Albany and apply to the Overseer of the Poor for aid. If by physical or mental defect they need care, Albany County cares for them. In tracing their records, some are found to have been paupers in other cities and in other States.

The number of inmates in the Alms-house Depart- ment April 30, 1884:

Remaining at the last report 254

Admitted during the quarter IIO

364

Discharged during quarter 103

Absconded 19

Died. 9

Insane transferred to State Asylum. 2

Sick transferred to City Hospital I

Sick transferred to St. Peter's Hospital. .. I Alien transferred to Italian Consul. . I

Alien transferred to Commissioners of Emigration I

Children adopted. I

138

Inmates April 30, 1884. 226

Of those admitted during the quarter there were males, 72; females, 38.

Total number of weeks' board furnished during the quarter, 3, 274; increase over last quarter, 254.

The cash receipts for the quarter, $165.39; ex- penditures for the quarter, $5,381.71; average cost per day for each pauper was twenty-nine cents.

The employees of the Alms-house are: Overseer, monthly salary, $50; baker, monthly salary, $25; teamster, monthly salary, $30; night watchman, monthly salary, $60; hostler, monthly salary, $15; cook, monthly salary, $16; hospital cook, monthly salary, $5; hospital nurse, monthly salary, $20; hospital nurse, monthly salary, $5; two hospital nurses, each, monthly salary, $3; keeper of asy- lum, monthly salary, $50; matron, monthly salary, $20; cook, monthly salary, $5; carpenter, monthly salary, $50; farmer, monthly salary, $30; matron, monthly salary, $20; children's nurse, monthly salary, $5.

The report claims that the amount expended for the support of alien paupers for the last twelve months would have kept the institution in hospital supplies for a year.

Superintendent, John McKenna.

352-

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Inmates July 31, 1884, 184; inmates October 31, 1884, 198. Of those admitted 92 were males; 52 females. Average cost of maintenance per day, each, thirty cents.

Cash receipts for the quarter, $183.30.

The amount paid into the city treasury by the Superintendent of the Alms-house, for the year ending October 1, 1884, was $19, 649,81.

The amount paid towards the maintenance of Alms-house from the treasury, $30, 104.49.

On December 5, 1884, a resolution was passed by the Board of Supervisors to levy a tax, to be ap- plied in several ways, among which was an appro- priation of the sum of $26,000 for the Alms-house for the ensuing year, and also $2,000 to meet the deficiency of the past year.

ALBANY PENITENTIARY.

A BILL passed the Legislature incorporating the Albany Penitentiary about April 9, 1844, and on December 19th of that year the Supervisors directed a proper site to be purchased for the erec- tion of the buildings. In 1846, it was first opened, the work on the building having been done princi- pally by prisoners, who were taken to and from the jail each day. It is situated in a park of about fif- teen acres, located south of Washington Park.

Amos Pilsbury, of Connecticut, was appointed Superintendent in 1844, and continued in office until his death, in 1872. No essential change has been made in the working plans of the institution, as put into practice by him with such wonderful success as to gain a world-wide admiration. It cannot be detailed in our space. The silent or Auburn system was adopted at the beginning. The prisoners are marched in lock-step to and from their work, and are not permitted to converse with each other. They are kept at work. Some are employed in the manufacture of brushes and chairs, but the chief employment is in the shoe shops.

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 80

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