History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, Part 3

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 664

USA > New York > Fulton County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 3
USA > New York > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 3

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and to have jurisdiction, except in capital cases. The Swedes since the early part of Kieft's adminstration had been encroaching upon the Dutch territory on the Delaware; and Stuyvesant, by order of the company, went against them with an armed force, recaptured the forts, and again resumed possession of the territory. While on this expedition, one of the Indians having been shot by a settler, the savages appeared at Manhattan in canoes, killed the offender, and crossing to the Jersey shore and Staten Island, be- gan killing other settlers and destroying their property. Stuyvesant returned, and by conciliatory measures restored peace.

In 1664 Charles 11. of England, regardless of the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands, granted to his brother, Duke of York and Alhany, after- wards James II., the whole country from the Connecticut to the Delaware, including the entire Dutch possessions. A fleet was sent out by the Duke under Colonel Richard Nichols, to enforce his claim and take possession of the Dutch settlements. Arriving in the bay he demanded a surrender, which Stuyvesant at first indignantly refused, but because of the unwillingness of the colonists to fight in his defense and of their insisting upon capitulation, together with the favorable nature of the terms offered, he was induced to yield, and on the 3d of September, 1664, the province was surrendered, and the government of the colony passed into the hands of the English. The names of New Netherlands and New Amsterdam were changed to New York, and Fort Orange to Albany. It is supposed that at this time the province contained about six thousand inhabitants. Soon after the sur- render, the Duke conveyed to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret what now constitutes the State of New Jersey, over which a separate pro- prietary government was established. In 1682 William Penn purchased the settlements on the Delaware, which were annexed to Pennsylvania. Nichols, who became Governor, devoted much time to confirming grants under the Dutch government by issuing new ones, and thus making a heavy expense to the land owners. He changed the form of the municipal gov- ernment June 12th, 1666, by granting them a city charter, and placing the executive power in the hands of a mayor, aldermen and sheriff, all to be appointed by the Governor. An invasion from Holland had been feared, and preparations for defence had incurred an increase of taxation, of which the colony greatly complained, in consequence of which, he resigned his office in 1668, and Colonel Francis Lovelace was appointed to succeed him. Holland being involved in a war with England, an opportunity was pre- sented for the Dutch to regain their lost possessions in America, and for that purpose they sent out a squadron which anchored at Staten Island July 30th, 1673. The fort was in charge of Captain John Manning, who treacherously surrendered without making any effort to resist. The city was again in possession of the Dutch, and Captain Anthony Clove in com- mand of the province. Manning was afterward tried and convicted by court-martial for cowardice and treachery, and adjudged to have his sword broken over his head in front of the City Hall, and to be incapacitated from holding any office. Under Clove, the Dutch claims to the pre- vince were reasserted, and preparations made for a vigorous defence, in case of an attempt on the part of the English for its recapture; but by the provisions of a peace concluded February 9th, 1674, the province reverted to the English. To silence all controversy respecting his claims. the Duke obtained a new patent from the King to confirm the one granted in 1664, and commissioned Major Edmund Andros as Governor. His arbitrary course made his administration very unpopular. He endeavored to extend his jurisdiction to the Connecticut niver, but his claims were stoutly resisted by the people of that province, and he finally concluded to abandon the design. He quarreled with and disputed the night of Philip Carteret, who administered the government of East Jersey, arresting and bringing him prisoner to New York. For this act the proprietors of the New Jersey government preferred charges against him, which he was summoned to England to answer. He returned, to continue his oppressions, but the resistance of the people against him was so strong that he was recalle }, and Inomi Dongan appointed as his successor, who arrived August 27th, 1683. Through the influence of William Penn. he was instructed to organize a popular assembly, and accordingly. soon after his arrival, issued orders for the choosing of representatives. This, the first Colonial Assembly of New York, was convened October 17th, 1683, and consisted of a council of ten, and seventeen representatives 1 charter of hberties was framed. vesting the supreme legislative power in the Governor and council, and the people in general assembly, conferring the right of suffrage on the frecholders without restraint ; providing that no freeman should soffer but by judgment of his peers, and that all triah

OUTLINE HISTORY OF STATE OF NEW YORK.

should be by a jury of twelve men. The imposition of any tax without the consent of the assembly was prohibited. Martial law was not to exist, and neither soldiers nor seamen were to be quartered on the inhabitants against their will. The province was divided into counties, and the representatives were apportioned according to the population.

CHAPTER III.

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS-DISSENSIONS IN THE COLONIAL GOVERN- MENT-CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF LEISLER.

At the time Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence, he found the Algon- quins at war with the Iroquois, and by an alliance of his forces with the former, he enabled them by the use of fire-arms, to them hitherto un- known, to gain a victory over their enemies. In consequence of this alliance a bitter hostility was created on the part of the Iroquois towards the French. The French, however, were successful in gaining the confi- dence and friendship of the other tribes with whom they came in contact. Through the influence of their missionaries, the traders were enabled to establish their posts among them at pleasure, and navigate the lakes and rivers. Although the artful Jesuit missionaries had persistently endeavored to win back the friendship of the Iroquois, they effected but little, till after New York fell into the hands of the English. Since their trade and inti- macy with the Dutch, they had availed themselves of fire-arms and a knowledge of their use, and had renewed their warfare with success upon the Algonquins, repelled the invasions of the French, and, in turn attack- ing them, swept over their settlements with fire and tomahawk, carrying consternation in their path even to the gates of Quebec. In 1666, the French and Adirondacks successfully invaded the country of the Mohawks, but the year following a peace was concluded, chiefly through the agency of the English colonial government acting in obedience to the instructions of the Duke of York, to whom the colony had been granted, and who, in his big- otry and blind attachment to the Church of Rome, was desirous of securing a peace between the French and Iroquois, in view of handing the latter over as converts to that church.

Trade, after this peace, was profitably prosecuted by both the French and English ; but the French, through their artful Catholic missionaries, were gaining a decided advantage. Through the instigation of these wily priests, hostilities had been committed on the frontier settlements of Mary- land and Virginia by the Five Nations. To adjust this difficulty, a council of the chiefs met the Governors of Virginia and New York, at Albany, in 1684. At this council, the difficulties with Virginia were amicably settled, and Governor Dongan succeeded in completely gaining the friendship of the Five Nations. While these conferences were in progress, a messenger arrived from De la Barre, Governor of Canada, complaining of the Sene- cas, for their hostilities against the Miamis and other western tribes, with whom the French were allied, whereby their trade was interrupted. This message was communicated to the Indian chiefs, and served to confirm their resolutions of friendship for the English, and revive their slumbering hatred of the French. Immediately on the return of the messenger, De la Barre, meditating the destruction of the Five Nations, proceeded with an army of French and Indians to lake Ontario. The French Catholics had procured a letter from the Duke of York to Governor Dongan, instructing him to lay no obstacles in the way of the invaders : but Dongan, regardless of this command, apprised the Indians of their designs and also promised to assist them. Owing to sickness in his army, De la Barre was unable to encounter his foes, and found it necessary to conclude his campaign by offering termsof peace, which were haughtily accepted, and he was allowed to depart. Ile was succeeded in the following year by the Marquis De- nonville, who, with a reinforcement of troops, was sent over to repair the disgrace of De la Barre. He attempted to crest a fort at Niagara, so as to exclude the English from the lakes, command the fur trade and subine the Five Nations : but was resisted by Governor Dongan, who claimed the territory south of the great lakes for England. In 1687. to prevent the interruption of trade with the Miamis, the country of the Senecas was in- vaded. The French through the agency of their missionary to the Onon- dugas, entived the Iroquois chiefs into their power, under pretence of making a treaty, and then seized and sent them, with others they had taken prisoners, to France, where they were consigned to the galleys. The Sen- . era country was overrun without serious resistance, and a fort erected at Niagara. A peace was finally proposed through the interposition of Gov-

ernor Dongan, who was for compelling the French to apply to him in the affairs of the Five Nations, but its conditions were rejected by the French.

The Five Nations, maddened by this refusal and by the outrages com- mitted upon them, flew to arms, and with twelve hundred warriors de- scended upon the French settlements with such terrible vengeance, that the terms that had been offered for peace were accepted, and the whole region south of the great lakes abandoned by the French. The Duke of York, on his accession to the throne of England in 1685, under the title of James II., directed Governor Dongan to encourage the Catholic priests who came to reside with the Five Nations, ostensibly for advancing the Popish cause, but really to gain them over to the French interests. Governor Dongan, although a Catholic, was apprehensive of the insidious designs of the French, and effectually resisted this policy, thereby displeasing his bigoted master. He also instructed Governor Dongan to allow no printing press to be established in the colony, and discouraged representative government. Catholics were appointed to fill all the offices, and Dongan, who, in his endeavors to protect the true interest of the province by opposing the Catholic missionaries, became obnoxious to the King, was recalled, and Francis Nicholson, the deputy of Sir Edmund Andros, who had been com- missioned Governor of both New England and New York, assumed tem- porary charge of the government in August 1688. The revolution in England, resulting in the abdication of James 11., and the accession of William and Mary, caused the authority of Nicholson under the dethroned King to be questioned. On one side it was claimed that the government in England did not affect affairs in the province, and that Nicholson's authority was unimpaired till the will of the new monarch was known; on the other side, that the government extending to the colonies was overthrown, and as no one was invested with authority in the provinces, it reverted to the people, who might appoint a person to exercise control until one had been commissioned by the ruling power. The advocates of the former of these views were mostly the wealthy and aristocratic, while the mass of the peo- ple favored the latter. The government was vested in a committee of safety, who took possession of the fort, and entrusted the exercise of authority to Jacob Leisier, the popular leader, Nicholson in the meantime having returned to England. Leisler sent a statement of what had been done to King William, and dispatched Milborne his son-in-law to Albany, with an armed force to secure the recognition of his authority, sanction to which had been refused. A letter from the English ministry arrived, directed to Francis Nicholson, or in his absence to such person as for the time being might be in charge of the government, directing him to take chief command of the province, and to call to his aid such as he should deem proper, and Leisler, considering it addressed to himself, assumed command, and appointed a council of advisors. The revolution in Eng- land which placed William and Mary upon the throne was followed by a war between England and France, and the colonies were of course involved in the conflict. Count Frontenac, who had succeeded Denonville as Governor of Canada, made an effort to detach the Five Nations from the English interest. He sent a secret expedition against Schenectady, which attacked that city, near midnight, on the 8th of February, 1690, and a frightful massacre of the inhabitants ensued. The peril of Albany, from such deadly attacks, induced its inhabitants to submit to the authority of Leisler. Expeditions were fitted out against the French and Indians, and a fleet sent out for the reduction of Quebec, but all proved unsuccessful. In March, 1691, Henry Sloughter arrived as Governor, having been com- missioned by the King in 1689. His coming was heralded by Ru hard Ingoldsby, who without proper credentials demanded the surrender of the fort. This, Leisler very properly refused, but consented to defer to Slough- ter when he shoukl arrive. Sloughter on his arrival sent Ingoldsby with verbal directions for the surrender of the fort, but Leister still refused, and asked for an interview with the Governor. The next day he complied, but this imprudent hesitation was seized upon by his enemies who arrested him and his son-in-law on the charge of treason. They were tried by a special com- mittee and condemned to suffer death. Governor Sloughter hesitated to execute this sentence, but their enemies, anxious for their execution, and failing in all attempts to procure his signature, availed themselves of his known intemperate habits, invited him to a banquet, persuaded him to sign the death warrant while intoxk ated, and before he recovered from his de- bauch, the prisoner- were executed.

During the agitation> attending this foul judicial murder, the Indians, from neglect, became disaffected toward the English, insomuch that they sent an embassy of peace to Count Frontenac; and to counteract this, a

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS-PIRACY-CAPT. KIDD'S CAREER.

council with the Five Nations was held at Albany, and the covenant chain renewed. In order to maintain this advantage, Major Schuyler, in whom the Five Nations had great confidence, led them in an invasion of Canada, and signally defeated the French. The intemperate habits of Sloughter brought on a severe illness, from which he died on the 23d of July, 1691, thus ending a weak and turbulent administration. Upon the death of Sloughter, the chief command was committed to Richard Ingoldsby, to the exclusion of Joseph Dudley, who, but for his absence, would have had the right to preside, and upon whom the government devolved ; and as Dudley, on his return, did not contest the authority of Ingoldsby, the latter governed till the arrival of Benjamin Fletcher, with a commission as Governor, in August, 1692. He was a man of small ability and violent temper, active and avaricious, but prudently took Major Schuyler into his council, and was guided by his opinions in Indian affairs. His administration was so successful the first year that he received large supplies from the assembly. The unamiable traits of his character were soon exhibited, however, and during most of his administration he was engaged in controversies with the assembly, principally in regard to appropriations for his expenses, for which he made extravagant demands. He was bigotedly attached to the Epis- copal form of church government, and encouraged English churches and schools in place of the Dutch. He procured an act from the assembly the provisions of which, though admitting of a more liberal construction, he interpreted as a recognition of the Episcopal, instead of the Dutch church, and under this act Trinity church was organized. A printing press was established in New York city in 1693, by William Bradford, who was em- ployed by the city to print the corporation laws.

CHAPTER IV.

COUNT FRONTENAC'S CAMPAIGNS-PREVALENCE OF PIRACV-MISGOVERN- MENT OF NEW YORK-FRENCH TRADING AND MILITARY POSTS.

In 1693, Count Frontenac set out from Montreal, with an army of French and Indians, and invaded the Mohawk country, capturing their castles, killing some of the tribe, and taking about three hundred prisoners. Schuyler, with the militia of Albany, hastened to the assistance of the Mo- hawks, and pursued the enemy in their retreat, retaking about 50 prisoners. In 1696, Count Frontenac made another effort for the subjugation of the Five Nations. With an army of regular troops and Indians under his com- mand, he ascended the St. Lawrence to Cadaraqui ; then crossing to Oswego, made a descent upon the Onondagas, who, apprised of his coming, set fire to and deserted their principal towns. On retracing his march he found his progress obstructed by the Onondagas, and incursions into Can- ada by the Five Nations were again renewed. In the following year the war between France and England was terminated by the peace of Rys- wick, and these barbarous hostilities ceased.

During the late war, piracy had prevailed, and was believed to be en- couraged by the governments, for the annoyance of the commerce of their respective enemies. Merchant vessels were destroyed within sight of the harbor of New York, the commercial depot of the pirates, some of whom had sailed from there, having a good understanding with Fletcher and other officers. The extinction of piracy was loudly demanded, and the English government found it necessary to resort to vigorous measures for this end; and consequently in 1695, Fletcher was recalled, and Richard, Earl of Bellamont, appointed in his place, with instructions for the sup- pression of this evil. The Earl of Bellamont, whose commission included the governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as New York, did not arrive until May, 1698. Before leaving England, an armed vessel was fitted out by Bellamont and others, and placed under the com- mand of Captain William Kidd, who sailed from England in 1696, and after cruising for a while, turned pirate himself, and became the most bold and daring of the ocean marauders. He returned to New York with his booty and concealed portions of it on Long Island. He was subsequently arrested in Boston, hy or lers of the Governor on a charge of piracy, sent to England for triul, and there convicted and executed. Bellamont favored the Democratic or Leislerian party, and the new assembly in 1699, being also Democratic, an act was passed by which the families of heisler and Milborne were reinstated in their possessions. Bellamont died in 1701, and John Nanfan, the Lieutenant-Governor, upon whom the government devolved, succeeded him until the arrival in 1702, of Lord Cornbury, who was appointed by King William as a reward for his desertion of James II.,

in whose army he had been an officer. His administration was chiefty dis- tinguished for its intolerance, and he received the unenviable distinction of being the worst Governor under the English regime. With savage bigotry he sought to establish the Church of England by imprisoning dissenting clergymen, and prohibiting them from exercising their functions without his special license, and he even robbed one clergyman of his house and glebe. With insatiable rapacity he plundered the public treasury and op- posed every measure of the people for the security of their rights. Destitute of gratitude, licentious and base, he completed the universal contempt in which he was held by appearing in public, dressed in women's clothes. As he had become an object of abhorrence, the Queen, through the pressure of popular sentiment, felt compelled to revoke his commission. As soon as he was deposed he was thrown into prison by his creditors, where he remained until the death of his father, when he became Earl of Clarendon. Upon the death of King William, his commission was renewed by the Queen, who at the same time gave him the chief command of New Jersey, the government of which the proprietors had surrendered into her hands. He was succeeded December 18th, 1708, by Lord Lovelace, who died on the 5th of May following, leaving the government in the hands of Lieutenant-Governor Ingoldsby, whose administration is only remarkable for an unsuccessful expedition under Colonel Nicholson, for the reduction of Canada. This failure was chiefly through the mismanagement of In- goldsby, who was consequently removed April 10th, 1710, and Gerardus Beekman, the oldest member of the council, exercised the authority of Governor till June 14th, when Robert Hunter arrived with a commission as Governor. This year Colonel Schuyler went to England to urge the importance of subduing Canada, taking with him the chiefs of the Five Nations, who were highly gratified with their voyage and reception.

The ensuing year another expedition for the reduction of Canada was undertaken. Four thousand troops were raised in the colonies under Col- onel Nicholson, to join an English fleet and land force before Quebec. Arriving in the St. Lawrence, many of the ships were wrecked and about a thousand soldiers lost, which put an end to the campaign. Nicholson, who had proceeded as far as Lake George, on hearing this news returned, and the expedition proved an entire failure. It had entailed a heavy debt upon the province, in consequence of which the Governor's influence was somewhat impaired, he having entered into it with much zeal. His request for a permanent appropriation for the government was refused by the assembly, which brought him into several unhappy contests with that body. In March, 1713, the war between England and France terminated by the treaty of Utrecht, in which the English supremacy over the Five Na- tions was conceded by the French, and an end put to the infliction of Indian hostilities. The Five Nations being relieved from hostilities with the French, engaged in conflict with the Indians at the south. The l'us- caroras, a tribe kindred to the Five Nations, residing in North Carolina, having been greatly reduced by a war with the whites, and unable to resist their encroachments, removed to the north and joined the confeder- acy. They settled near Lake Oneida, among the Five Nations, and the confederates were thenceforward called the Six Nations. Hunter remain- ed at the head of the government till 1719, when, his health failing, he returned to England. His intercourse with the assembly was agree- able during the latter part of his administration, and his attachment to the interests of the colony made his departure regretted.

The government devolved upon Peter Schuyler, the oldest member of the council, who successfully administered affairs until the arrival of Wil- liam Burnet, on September 17th, 1720. A trading post was commenced at Oswego, in 1722, by Governor Burnet, in order to engross the trade of the Six Nations, and with the farther design of following it up on the lakes to the westward, to obtain the trade of the more remote tribes. Acon- gress of several colonies was held at Albany to meet the Six Nations, whereby the chain of friendship was strengthened, and trade with the re- moter tribes promoted. The establishment of this post at ()wego) was highly displeasing to the French, and in order to intercept the trade trom the upper lakes, they obtained consent of the Onondagas, through the in- fluence of the Jesuits, to rebuild their trading-house and fort at Niagara. and also decided to erect a chain of military posts to the Ohio river, so as to cut off and confine the English trade. Though not without opposition, they succeeded in erecting their fort at Niagara. Although the other members of the Six Nations were opposed to this invasion by the French. it succeeded through the disaffection of a party of merchants and others interested in the French trading policy, who, since the peace of Utrecht,

OUTLINE HISTORY OF STATE OF NEW YORK.

had carried on a good trade with Montreal, through the aid of Indian carriers, and were opposed to the Governor's policy. The assembly was also strongly tinctured with this spirit of opposition, and refused a renewal of supplies except for short periods. This body was dissolved in 1727, but the next was quite as stubborn, and it was likewise dissolved, and the Governor coald only erect a small military defence for the post at Oswego, which, to his credit and the colony's shame, was at his own expense. On the accession of George Il., through the efforts of his enemies, Burnet was transferred to the government of Massachusetts, and John Montgomery appointed to succeed him. He entered upon his duties April 15th, 1728. His short administration is not distinguished for any important event. In 1729, the King, against the wishes of the best citizens of the colony, re- pealed the acts prohibiting the trade in Indian goods between Albany and Montreal. A line was surveyed and agreed upon between Connecticut and New York in 1731. The establishment of this partition gave to New York a tract of land formerly on the Connecticut side, called from its figure the "Oblong," as an equivalent for lands near the Sound, surrendered to Con- necticut.

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History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, Part 3

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 664

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 664