USA > New York > Comley's history of the state of New York, embracing a general review of her agricultural and mineralogical resources, her manufacturing industries, trade and commerce, together with a description of her great metropolis, from its settlement by the Dutch, in 1609 > Part 13
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quart; Brandy, 6d. per gill; Rum, 3d. per gill ; Syder, 4d. per quart ; Double beer, 3d. per quart ; Mum, 6d. per quart. The ordinary at wine-houses, Is. per meal ; at beer-houses, Sd. per meal. Lodging at wine-house, 4d. per night ; at the beer-house, 3d. per night.
Proclamation was made by the governor, Edward Andros, February 3d, that a weekly market should be held every Saturday at the houses built for that purpose by the water side, near the bridge, i.e., at the foot of Broad street, the first market to be held March 24th, and a fair to be held at Breukly for cattle, grain, and country produce, the first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in November; and in the city at the market-house and plain before the fort the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday following. All persons coming thereto are to be free from any arrest or debt coming or returning from said market or fair. This Proclamation to remain in force three years from the 24th of March next.
Matthew Hillyer petitions the common council, and says that he hath kept school for children of both sexes, for two years past, to the satisfaction of their parents ; but as he understands complaints have been made to the Mayor, etc., and to be trobled with so often removals. But your petitioner understanding of an obstruc- tion, by a person lately arrived, who endeavours the circumventing of your petitioner, and reaps the fruits of his labors, of which likewise your petitioner has fully in- formed your honor, who is by the petitioner's humble request pleased to ordering of a school and master to your worship's pleasure, giving your petitioner hopes and encouragement that by your worship's wisdom things may be better regulated; and he requests that he may be established in his employ, in which, with the help of God, he doubts not he shall give your worships satisfaction.
August 25th. Upon the petitions of Ebenezer Kirtland and Matthew Hillyer, it is ordered that Matthew Hillyer continne in the same-the school-master's office, in behaving himself for the future better than the time past, and instead of f12 the annum, according to the former order, is only to have a room provided for him.
The court choose two tanners, and forbid all others to exercise the trade; and Peter Pangborne is chosen the currier of the city. Also ordered that no butcher be permitted to be currier, or shoemaker, or tanner; nor shall any tanner be either currier, shoemaker, or butcher, it being consonant to the laws of England, and prac- tice in the neighboring colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Further, it is ordered that if any Indians shall be seen coming out drunk of any house, that it shall be a sufficient conviction ; and if seen drunk in the street, and the house not found out, or known where he or she were made drunk, the whole street to be finable. Likewise ordered that no person distill any grain unless it be unfit to grind and boalt.
Captain Kidd .- Assembly Journal, Saturday, the 18th of April, 1691. Gabriel Monville, Esq., and Thomas Willett, Esq., are appointed to attend the House of Representatives, and acquaint them of the many good services done to this province by Capt. William Kidd in his attending here with his vesse's before his Excellency's arrived, and that it would be acceptable to his Excellency and this Board that they consider of some suitable reward to him for his good services.
Per order,
DAVID JAMISON, Clerk Of the Council.
Ordered, Thursday, 8 o'clock A. M., May 14th, '91, That his Excellency be addressed unto, to order the Receiver General to pay to Captain William Kidd one
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hundred and fifty pounds, current money of this Province, as a suitable reward for the many good services done to this Province.
Classical School .- Assembly Journal, October 3d, 1732. Ordered, That care be given to bring in a bill for encouraging a public school, to teach Latin, Greek, arithmetic, and the mathematics, in the city of New York ; and that for the encour- agement of a school-master for that purpose, the unappropriated money, to rise by the act for licensing hawkers and peddlers, until the first day of December, 1737, be applied for that end ; and that the said city make up the income of that fund annually, during that time, to the sum of -- pounds; and that in consideration thereof, the said school-master shall be obliged to teach gratis the number of -- children.
Road to Harlem .-- Assembly Journal, October 4th, 1740. A petition of several inhabitants and freeholders, of the Out ward of the city of New York, was presented to the house, and read, setting forth,
That the King's Road or Highway is laid out to Adrian Hogland's house, and no farther, so that those who live or reside thereabouts are obliged to go about eleven rounds in going to Harlem ; whereas, if the King's Road or Highway be - laid out from Adrian Hogland's house to the King's Road or Highway, at Harlem, it will be no more than three quarters of a mile, and therefore, pray that a King's Road or Highway may be laid out from Hogland's house to the said King's Road at Harlem, which will be of great ease to the inhabitants there settled, as well as to travellers; Ordered, that the petitioners serve the owners of such land who may be affected by the prayer of the said petitioner with a copy of this petition; after which, both parties may attend if they think fit.
Lighting the City .- December, 1697. Resolved, that the mode of lighting the city be that, during the dark time of the moon, until the 25th of March next, every seventh householder cause a lantern and candle to be hung out on a pole every night. The expense to be divided equally between the seven. The aldermen are charged to see this done.
Arrival of a Governor .- Resolved, that a dinner be proposed at the charge of the corporation, for the entertainment of his Excellency, Richard, Earl of Bello- mont, Captain-General, etc., etc., and a committee appointed to make a bill of fare (two aldermen and two assistants), and that for the effectual doing thereof, they call to their assistance such cooks as they shall think necessary to advise.
Duties of Aldermen .- 1700. Alderman Provoost and Mr. Duykink appointed to take care that the public house or office on the dock be cleaned and put in repair, and a person appointed daily to keep the same clean.
Showing Date of Birth of the First Female Born in New York .- The ship New Netherland, which brought to the new world the first colony of fam- ilies, arrived at the bay of the Hudson River in the year 1623. The colonists com- menced at once to ereet cabins for their temporary accommodation on the southerly point of Manhattan Island, their cattle being turned out upon the island in the harbor, now known as Governor's Island. Among these colonists were Jons Jansen de Rapelje, and the young woman who was then, or soon after became, his wife, a young couple whose first child was born in June, 1625. . This child is alluded to in the public records, at a period when she had herself become a mother, and a favor was granted her of a public nature, one of the inducements to which was that she was " the first born Christian daughter" born in the colony of the New Netherlands.
Under these circumstances, the family record of the Rapeljes is of peculiar interest ; and fortunately, it has been preserved in perfect form during the inter- vening centuries. We give the translation of the original record :
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
The names and family register of the children of George Fansen de Rappelje, and Cataline his wife.
1625, the 9th of June, is born the first daughter of George Jansen de Rappelje, named Sara.
1627, the fith of March, is born the second daughter, named Marratis.
1629, the 18th of August, is born the third daughter, named Jannetie.
1635, the 5th of July, is born the fourth daughter, named Judick.
1637, the 28th of August, is born the first son, named Jan.
1639, the 28th of May, is born the second son, named Jacob.
1641, the 2Sth of March, is born the fifth daughter, named Catalyna.
1643, the 27th of June, is born the third son, named Jeronimus.
1646, the Sth of February, is born the sixth daughter, named Annetie.
164S, the 28th of March, is born the seventh daughter, named Elizabeth.
1650, the 29th of December, is born the fourth son, named Daniel.
Social Amusements in the Olden Time in New York .- The amuse- ments in bygone days partook, much more than at present, of local gatherings, such as supper-parties at the public gardens and "tea-houses," dancing-parties, etc. Public exhibitions, such as might attract amusement-seekers to an evening entertainment, were comparatively rare, although a house for theatrical performan- ces was erected as early as 1751, and a regular company was for many subsequent years established in the city. Itinerant performers of various sorts also travelled through the city and erected temporary places for their exhibitions ; but these failed to take the place of the social entertainments with which the descendants of the old Dutch stock delighted to pass away their festive hours, of which dancing-parties were the leading feature. For a long time prior to the Revolution, the dances in vogue were mostly those introduced from English sources, with others of Ameri- can production ; and they were, all of them, of a lively character, involving swift motions of the feet and aerial movements upon the toes ; the "double-shuffle," the " pigeon-wing," being steps which marked the proficiency and grace of the per- former. It was not alone, however, by individual agility, that these dances were characterized; the graceful evolutions, in which the case of the dancers might be indulged ; but on the contrary, they were of such a nature as to require constant movement and vigorous action. This period dates back to about the middle of the present century.
The Battery .- 1695, October. The governor and council, in consequence of actual war between the King and Queen on one part, and the French, and the knowl- edge that a squadron of ships are ordered to invade this city, ordered that a platform be made upon the outmost point of the rocks, under the fort. Whereupon, as the Goy- ernor says, " I intend to build a battery to command both rivers;" therefore he requires the corporation to order the inhabitants of the Out ward part of the city, and Manning and Barnes's Island, to cut down eighty-six cords of stockades of twelve feet in length, and to have them in readiness at the water-side, to be conveyed to New York at the charge of the city and county."
1694, January 15th. The common council addressed the governor. They thanked him for ordering the platform and battery on the point of the rocks under the fort-" a work absolutely needful, and of so great a. contrivance, that no doubt (by the assistance of God, your excellency's indefatigable diligence, etc.) the prov- ince for the future will be in perfect security, and the rumor thereof make the enemy change his measure, and not attack the city.
Ferry to Long Island .- 1699, February. The ferry is let for seven years, on condition of security for payment given. The former to provide two great boats or scows for cattle, etc., and two small boats for passengers, one of cach to be kept on
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
each side. That the city build a ferry-house within the first year of the lease. The fare for a single person is fixed at eight stivers in wampum, or a silver twopence.
If a company cross together, each is to pay four stivers in wampum, or a silver penny ; but after sunset, double ferriage. A single horse, Is .; several in company, gd .; a colt, 3d. ; a hog the same as a single person ; a sheep, half ; a barrel of liquid, 3d .; an empty barrel, four stivers in wampum, or a silver penny ; a beast's hide, do .; a firkin or tub of butter, two stivers in wampum; a bushel of corn, half ; a hogs- head of tobacco, 9d.
The rent per year is £165.
Mails .- 1705, May 14th. "The Pennsylvania postman has not yet come in, and it is supposed the three days of rainy weather last week has hindered him."
The Original Mammoth .- 1705, July. "There is a prodigious tooth brought here, supposed to be the tooth of a man," from the shop. "It weighs 44 lbs." It was dug up on the side of a hill, thirty or forty feet under ground, " near a place called Clovarack, about thirty miles this side of Albany ; it is looked upon here as a mighty wonder, whether the tooth of a man or beast." Other bones were dug up, which crumbled away from exposure to the air; " they say one of them, which is thoughit to be a thigh-bone, was seventeen feet long.'
Capture of Pirates .- 1723, July 25th. The Common Council, in consideration of the services done by Captain Peter Solgard, of his Majesty's ship Greyhound, in seeking and engaging two pirate sloops, commanded by one Low, "a notorious and inhuman pirate," one of which sloops he took, after a desperate resistance, and very much shattered the other, which, by the favor of the night, escaped-"Twenty- six of the pirates were lately executed at Rhode Island; therefore; ordered that the freedom of the city, in a gold box, be presented to him-the arms of this corpor- ation to be engraved on one side thereof, and a representation of the engagement on the other, with this motto, " Quesitos Humani Generis Hostes debellare superbum, roth Junii, 1723." Charles Le Roux, goldsmith, is paid, the 6th of August, f23 19S. for the above box and engraving the same. (This Charles Le Roux appeared, at this time, as an artist in New York.) The corporation waited upon Captain Peter Solgard, and presented said box, which he "accepted with great satisfaction, and invited the corporation to a collation to-morrow night." The pirates thus taken were captured off the east part of Long Island.
The First Presbyterian Church in Wall Street .- 1718, April 16th. Gilbert Livingston, Thomas Grant, Patrick Macknight, and John Nicholls, in behalf of them- selves and the congregation of dissenting Protestants, called Presbyterians, represent that they have bought a piece of ground continuous to the City Hall, or near there- unto, with intent, speedily, to erect a meeting-house for public worship, and they pay for the use of the City Hall for the same purpose, until their meeting-house is finished.
First Daily Newspaper in New York .- 1785. The Daily Advertiser was started.
Cold Weather .- 1780, January 29th. Eighty sleighs, with provisions, escorted by one hundred soldiers, crossed the harbor on the ice from Staten Island to New York.
A Nobleman's Mother .- 1760, April. Mrs. Mary Alexander died. She had kept a store in New York for many years. Her husband was a distinguished lawyer, who acquired wealth and distinction here. Her son was educated in England, and after his father's death visited that country, where he attempted to procure recognition of his claim to the title of the Earl of Stirling. Her relationship to the late Earl was
£
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so far established a's to secure the indorsement of a jury, though not under forms which were recognized by the House of Peers. He assumed the title, but was spe- cially enjoined from its use. He returned to America, where by courtesy he was addressed by his title. He became a distinguished American general.
Estimate for the Support of the City .- 1800.
Almshouse.
$30,000
Bridewell.
5,(KM)
Roads. 7,550
Streets. '5,000
Support of Prisoners
3,000
Contingencies.
29.450
Watch .. 25,000
Lamps ..
15,000
Wells and Pumps
2.500
City Contingencies
7.5(0)
Total. $130,000
Mild Weather .- 1755. The winter was so mild that navigation was open on the Hudson to Albany during the whole season.
After the Great Fire of 1776 .- Proclamation by Major-General James Robertson. Whereas, there is ground to believe that the rebels, not satisfied with the destruction of part of the city, entertain designs of burning the rest. And it is thought that a watch, to inspect all the parts of the city, to apprehend incendiaries, and to stitle fires before they rise to a dangerous height, might be a necessary and a proper means to prevent such a calamity. Many of the principal inhabitants have applied to me to form such a watch, and have all offered to watch in person. I do therefore require and direct that all persons may take a part in this matter and turn out to watch when called for. A sense of duty and interest will lead all good subjects and citizens cheerfully to give their attendance; and any who refuse to take part in preserving the city will be judged unworthy to inhabit it. I have appointed per- sons to summon and superintend the Watch of each Ward, and the number of men to be given by each is subjoined. Signed, James Robertson, Major-General, Com. mander in New York.
The Out Ward to furnish 14 men each night.
Montgomerie Ward to furnish 15 men each night.
North Ward to furnish 15 men each night.
These to meet at the Guard-Room near Cuyler's Sugar-Housc.
West Ward to furnish 6 men each night.
South Ward to furnish 4 men cach night.
Dock Ward to furnish to men each night.
East Ward to furnish 16 men each night.
These to meet at the Guard-House in Hanover Square.
The First Negro Plot in the City of New York .- The institution of slavery, as it existed in early times in New York, was a source of constant anxiety to the inhabitants of this city, arising from the turbulent character of that class of the population. This arose partly from the fact that the slave-trade was then in active operation, and New York City was the mart from whence the other parts of the colony were supplied. A slave-market was established, where the imported ne- groes were exposed for sale, and where other slaves stood for hire. The negroes. when newly arrived, were ill at ease, and differed greatly from the same class who had been born on the soil. Ignorant of the language of the country, and unused to
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
labor in the fields, and to the restraint under which they were held, the imported negroes were disposed to deeds of desperate outrage, reckless of the fact that no good result to them could arise from their wild endeavors to rid themselves of thral- dom. Their known dispositions, however, excited fear, which was kept alive by the occasional murders in different parts of the country, and especially by various plots of still more serious nature.
Among these was one in the spring of 1712. At this time a combination of from thirty to fifty newly-imported negroes was formed with the intention to make a general assault upon the town. Their plans were laid with secrecy, and do not ap- pear to have been suspected before they were ripe for execution. The design ap- pears to have been simply to murder the people and burn the town ; and the time selected for beginning their bloody work was midnight of the 6th of April, 1712. The method adopted was to set fire to a house and await the coming forth of the in- mates, when they, as well as others who came to quench the flames, were to be killed. The negroes were well armed, while it might reasonably be expected that citizens aroused from their slumbers by the cry of fire would be defenceless. The alarm took place about two o'clock, and the whole town was at once in uproar. Upon reaching the burning house, one citizen after another was dispatched, until the number killed and mortally wounded amounted to about twenty persons The cry of murder, added to the general din, soon changed the character of the affray. The citizens speedily armed and charged upon the blacks, who, after a brief resistance, fled to the woods, pursued by the excited crowd of whites. Mean- time, as morning broke, the whole town was placed under arms, under apprehension that the conspiracy was more widely diffused, and that there was danger of a gen- eral uprising of the slave population.
This state of things continued several days, in the course of which a large number of suspected negroes were arrested in the town, while the hunt was being continued throughout the forest, with which nearly all the upper part of Manhattan Island was then covered. These wild fastnesses offered peculiar facilities for concealment, as their rocks and caves were almost unapproachable. The negroes, however, had no friends to whom they could fly for ultimate safety, and starvation brought them forth from their hiding-places.
Some of these misguided persons committed suicide in the woods, using for that purpose the arms that they had brought with them. Others were taken and were brought to summary punishment in the most tormenting manner; some by burning at the stake; others by being broken at the wheel ; others by being hung up alive. No leniency was shown to any who were known to have been any way cog- nizant of the plot. Self-preservation was felt to exist in putting the abject race in fear; thus extreme measures were resorted to without stint.
The horrors of that event long dwelt as a cause of disquiet to the townspeople, and occasioned a morbid subject of household gossip, until the minds of the inhabit- ants became infected with one ever-existing apprehension-that of a negro plot. The influence of this state of feeling affected even the best classes of the population, so that in the course of a generation afterward, upon the happening of some sus- piciou scircumstances, as to which the proof in the light of history appears entirely inadequate to sustain the grave accusations, hundreds of the negro race were visited with terrible punishment.
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BROOKLYN,
A CITY, seaport, and capital of Kings County, N. Y., situated at the west end of Long Island, on New York Bay and the East River, an arm of the sea which divides it from New York City and connects Long Island Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. Brooklyn is the third city of the Union in population. Its latitude (at the navy-yard) is 40° 51' 30" north; longitude, 73º 59' 30" west from Greenwich. Its area is about 14,000 acres, which is nearly 22 square miles.
Population .- In 1698, Breuckelen had 509 inhabitants; in 1800, 3298; in isIo, 4402 ; in 1820, 7545 ; in 1825, 8800 ; in 1830, 15,292; in 1835, 24,310; in 1840, 36,233; in IS45, 59,574 ; in 1850, 96,850 ; in 1855, 205,250 ; in 1860, 226,661 ; in 1865, 296,112; in 1870, 396,350. In 1877 its population is estimated, on the basis of school censuses and directory returns. at 600,000.
Commerce .- Brooklyn is a commercial port of great and constantly increas- ing importance. The city of New York, naturally desirous of concentrating on its own shores and at its own docks, slips, and piers, its vast commerce so long as it could find room for it, discouraged all efforts for the erection of wharves, piers, docks, or warehouses on the Brooklyn side for many years. There had been a government navy-yard in the city limits since ISor, and it had ranked as first-class since 1824, but the commerce of the city had no existence be- yond a moderate coasting-trade prior to about 1844. In that year, the Atlantic Docks Company, incorporated in 1840, completed their first warehouse. . This company, after passing through many discouragements, has now three miles of wharf accommodation, 40 acres of water-area, warehouse covering 20 acres, 9 steam elevators, and every facility for shipping and storing cargoes. There have been in this dock at one time 130 sea-going vessels. The Erie Basin, south of this, has a water-area of 60 acres, and the Brooklyn Basin, still further south, a surface of 40 acres. Both are surrounded with warehouses, and are thoroughly equipped for accommodating shipping of the largest class. Since 1844, there has been invested in docks and warehouses a private capital of more than $125,000,000 on the shore line of Brooklyn, which extends 83 miles, and has 25 miles of dockage, with vast warehouses, piers, slips, docks, and basins along the whole distance. The following statistics, gathered by careful examination in 1876, will give some idea of the extent of this commerce: In the warehouse of the Atlantic Dock Company, and others south therefrom to Red Hook Point, there is stored-grain, $26,000,000; sugar and molasses, $18,000,000 ; provisions, $3,300,000 ; flour, $1,700,000 ; lumber and stone, $1,800,000 ; cotton, $2,700,000 ; guano, $1.900,000 ; rags, $970,000 ; saltpetre and brim- stone, $220,000 ; salt, $700,000 ; iron, $1,000,000 ; miscellaneous, including resin, tur- pentine, etc., $11,000,000; in the section north from Atlantic Docks to South Ferry, $80,000,000. That which diverges to the Gowanus Canal, comprising coal, building and other material, valued at $6,000,000; from South to Fulton Ferry, $140,000,000 ; from Fulton Ferry to Main street, $27,000,000; making an aggregate to this point of over $309,000,000 annually stored. These figures seem enormous, but are borne out by facts. The warehouses from Red Hook to Main street are full of merchan- dise, and literally overflowing. A number of other large warehouses are now in process of erection. From Main street, north-east to the bridge over Newtown Creek, a distance of four miles, there is an extensive commerce. Many ship-yards, gas- works, lumber-yard's, coal-yards, sugar refineries, and most of the vast petroleum refineries and shipping-houses, are on this part of the coast-line. The annual com-
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