USA > New York > New York City > History of New Netherland; or, New York under the Dutch, Vol. II > Part 29
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312
HISTORY OF
BOOK found an excuse for not ratifying his promise. Some of V. the persons named were obnoxious " on account of former 1656. disputes, and should any new misunderstanding arise, it might be said that he was the cause, were he to sanction this nomination." On this shallow pretext he broke his Feb. 2. word, and the old officers, after a considerable discussion in the Council, were continued for another year. Willem Beekman and Hendrick Kip were, however, appointed from the list to fill vacancies in the board of Schepens.1
The Directors having received, by this time, information of the encroachments of the English at Oyster Bay and Westchester, sent out orders to erect a fort at the former place, and to repel, even by force, all attempts to settle on the Company's lands in violation of the treaty of 1650, Feb. 22. which the States General formally approved this spring.ª Pursuant to these instructions the Director-general took the necessary steps to vindicate the Company's rights to Vreedlant. The English of that settlement (" which they called Westchester,") were not only in the habit of enter- taining fugitives from justice, but had kept up, during the recent Indian excesses, a constant correspondence with the savages. To put an end to these irregularities, Captains Mar. 6. De Koninck, Newton, and the Attorney-general were sent secretly to that quarter with a suitable force to arrest the leaders and destroy all the buildings, except three or four, permitting the other settlers to remove their furniture within three days. Those of the expedition who should be guilty of plunder were to be most vigorously punished. This party set out immediately, and on reaching the place, were met by Lieut. Wheeler and other settlers, prepared for resistance, "as the land was their own." They were forthwith disarmed, and removed, twenty-three in number, to the Manhattans, where they were placed on board the Ballance. Those among them who were runaways were Mar. 14. afterwards sent to prison. The others, who had been inno-
1 Alb. Rec. ix., 163, 164, 213, 215-217 ; x., 220-222, 259, 260, 261. New Am- sterdam Rec. Anno 1656.
? Hol. Doc. viii., 122, 124; Alb. Rec. iv., 207; De Witt, iii., 192; Thurloe, iv., 526; Hazard's State Papers, ii 549.
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TIN DER DONCK'S MAP OF NEW NETHERLAND. 1656.
313
NEW NETHERLAND.
cently lured to settle on the Company's lands, were placed CHAP. under civil arrest and lodged in the City Hall. "On the VI. remonstrance of their wives," and in consideration of the 1656. inclement season of the year, the Director and Council ordered that they should be set at liberty, on promising, Mar. 15. under oath, to depart with their goods and chattels within six weeks from the district, not to return again without permission. On the following day the arrested parties Mar. 16. addressed a petition to the Director-general and Council, expressing their willingness to submit to their government " so long as we continue within your jurisdiction," pro- vided they should be allowed the liberty of choosing their officers for the administration of such laws as may be enacted for the good of the township, and have their arms restored. They likewise asked the privilege to make laws for the regulation of their town affairs not repugnant to the general laws of the province ; and to divide the lands among the townsmen, none being admitted except according to the agreement which had been made among themselves, on commencing the settlement.1 They were told, in reply, that they should be allowed the same privileges " as the freemen of the villages of Middleborough, Breukelen, Mid- wout, and Amersfoort were enjoying." They should be permitted to nominate a double number of persons to fill the offices of magistrates, from which the Executive would make a proper selection. Capt. Raith. Paxton, William Elliott, Black Marchand, John Gray, Roger Wheeler, "all Englishmen," who had taken up arms against the authori- ties, were discharged and ordered to quit the province, Mar. 25. unless some of the other towns were willing to receive them and remain security for their good behavior. West- chester sent in its first nomination of magistrates shortly Mar. 23. after the date of the above agreement .? The settlers
1 Signed, Thomas Newman, Thomas Wheeler, Robert Bassett, Isaiah Gil- bert, John Rose, Robert Rose, Therwod Caniff, [in another entry, Davis,] Uncles Bill, William Benfall, John Jenner, Robert Meaker, [Bartholomew Meares,] Obadiah Gilbert, Roderick Osbert, John Broundith, [Landish,] Ed- ward Waters, Samuel Morris, Samuel Hart, William Ward.
" These persons were Lieut. Thomas Wheeler, Thomas Newman, John Lord, Josiah Gilbert, William Ward, and Nicholas Bayley. The application
314
HISTORY OF
BOOK petitioned at the same time that no farms nor villages V should be granted or established within two Dutch miles 1656. of the centre of their settlement; that such as had land granted them may select it where they considered most convenient ; that they may have power to admit or reject new settlers for just cause; that such lands as were not entered on within six months should be forfeit ; that actual setlers be obliged to contribute to the common expenses in proportion to the extent of their farms ; that they be permitted to choose, within themselves, officers to execute justice ac- cording to law, and to maintain peace and manage town affairs ; also officers to discipline the settlers "in a military way." They requested a copy of the laws of the country " drawn out in English," that they may know how to conduct themselves, when they transgress the same, and how to pun- ish evil-doers, with power to make orders for town matters " not repugnant to the fundamentals of your laws." They finally craved arms and ammunition for self-defence, on paying therefor, and that whatever writings may pass between themselves and the government be in English, so that they " may fully and perfectly understand them." Thomas Wheeler, Thomas Newman, and John Lord were Mar. 23. selected as magistrates, but the conclusions on the other demands were postponed until the Director and Council should have an opportunity to consult the petitioners. Thus happily terminated a misunderstanding which threat- ened, at first, a different issue. This settlement was henceforward called "Oostdorp" by the Dutch, and East-town by the English.1
was signed Richard Bassett, Robert Rose, John Jenner, William Benfall, John Smith, Joseph Laugton, and John Richardson.
1 Alb. Rec. iv., 187 ; x., 38, 39, 250, 315, 316, 321, 322, 328-331, 335-337, 340, 313-346 ; xi., 283-285, 291, 300-303, 308-313, 318-321 ; xvi., 303. When the Eng- lish appeared before New Amsterdam, (August, 1664,) the inhabitants of West- chester addressed a petition " to his Majesty's Commissioners for the affairs of New England," in which, after setting forth the purchase of this tract by Pell, they refer to the arrest of the twenty-three settlers by Capt. De Koninck, who they say " were committed prisoners to the hould of a vessel, where they con- tinued in restraint from all friends, for the space of thirteen days, fed with rot- ten provision, creeping with worms, whereby some of them remained diseased to this day, after which they were carried away in chaines and laid in their dungeon at Manhatoes ; that they had perished with famine in the said impris-
315
NEW NETHERLAND.
At the close of the year, another nomination, in confor- CHAP. mity to their patent, was sent in, and Messrs. Newman, ~ VI. Lord, and John Smith were appointed magistrates. Capt. 1656. Brian Newton, Secretary Van Ruyven, and Commissary Van Brugge, were sent thither to administer the oath of office to these men, and that of allegiance to the other Dec. 20. inhabitants. The latter, however, objected to taking the vath in the absolute sense in which it was drawn, and would promise obedience only to the law provided it was conformable to that of God ; their allegiance was to con- tinue only "so long as they remained in the province." 1657. This form having been agreed to, was signed by fifteen of Jan. 1. the settlers. The whole population at this time amounted to twenty-five men, and ten to twelve women. Six of the former were absent when the commissioners visited the place, and Anthony Gill refused to sign the declara- tion.1
onment but for the relief obtained at other hands," and " that when the said pretended powers had freed the said prisoners and introduced their own gov- ernment over the said plantation, they drove away such as would not submit to their pretended authority, to their great endamagement, and the enslaving of such as remained." Book of General Entries, i., 11. This statement has been copied by some English writers, without, however, any reference to the real statement of the facts. By comparison with the text, it will now be seen how blinded these men have been by their own passions. Capt. De Koninck set out from New Amsterdam on the 7th, and returned about the 10th or 11th of March. The prisoners were landed on the 14th, and conveyed, those who had been fugi- tives from justice, to prison ; the others to the City Hall. They were, there- fore, only about three or four (instead of thirteen) days aboard the Ballance. The story of "the rotten provision," &c., is, it is to be presumed, of the same character as this representation. On the 15th, the day after they landed, all were liberated except five, who, having taken up arms against the authorities, were allowed to settle in the other towns of the province, on giving security for keeping the peace. The privileges granted to the town, show that the settlers were placed on a par with the other settlements in New Netherland, and do not in any way substantiate the representations made to his Majesty's commission- ers.
1 This first day of January, Anno 1657: In East towne in the New Nether- lands : Wee hose hands are onder writen do promise to owne the Gouernor of the Manatas as our Gouernor and obey all his magistrates and lawes that are made accordin to God so long as we live in his jurisdiction. (Signed) Robbert Bassett, George x Reith, John Finch, John Wilson, Richard x Horton, Thomas x Taylor, Hendrick x Cornelysen, Thomas x Marsin, Nick Loobey, John Quimbée, Josiah Cibber, Obadiah Cibbord, Jonathan Llockwood, Robert x Meacker, Jeffery x Fferris. The meeting to sign the above paper was called by beat of drum. The commissioners were desirous, for dispatch sake, to have the people assembled on Sunday, but they would not consent : "It was their
316
HISTORY OF
BOOK V. The people complained seriously of annoyance they experienced from the Indians, who, having guarantied the 1657. quiet possession of the land to Mr. Pell, were now dis- pleased that the settlers had submitted to the Dutch, especially as Mr. Pell insisted on having either his money returned, or the conditions of the sale honestly fulfilled. On this account they insisted on the restoration of their arms, which, they said, were not all returned according to promise. In their present condition they were exposed to great danger, should the Indians attack them, and there- fore they demanded means to protect themselves.1 The Jan. 3. Council thereupon sent them twelve muskets; a dozen pounds of powder ; the same quantity of lead; two bundles of matches, and one writing book for the magis- trates.2
1656.
Throughout the various vicissitudes New Netherland had hitherto experienced, there was one blessing it pos- sessed, from the contemplation of which the benevolent mind derives some consolation. There, at least, conscience seems to have enjoyed comparative repose, and those who bled in New England for its sake, could retire here, and for once find in the wilds of America liberty to commune with their Creator according to the dictates of their own hearts. Of this high honor New Netherland was now to be bereft. Poor human nature was again to be driven forth, to find, like the dove of the ark, no place on which to rest the sole of its foot; for Stuyvesant, forgetful of that wise and tolerant policy which enriched his native country,
Sabbath." Of their mode of worship the commissioners give in the journal of their expedition, the following account: "31 Dec. After dinner Cornelis van Ruyven went to the house where they held their Sunday meet- ing, to see their mode of worship, as they had, as yet, no preacher. There I found a gathering of about fifteen men, and ten or twelve women. Mr. Baly said the prayer, after which one Robbert Bassett read from a printed book a sermon, composed by an English clergyman in England. After the reading, Mr. Baly gave out another prayer and sung a psalm, and they all separated."
1 " Honored Sir, wee humbly desire and request that you would be pleased to send us a count book and those twelve muskets which you spak of, with the rest of the ammunition for the use and safeguard of our plantations with the orders and lawes which we are to walk by that wee may know how to act. From Este towne the 1st of January, 1657, Thomas Newman." 2 Alb. Rec. xv., 8.
317
NEW NETHERLAND.
by making it an asylum for the persecuted of all climes.1 CHAP. and which was more essential in a new country, was VI. persuaded to follow the odious example of his eastern neighbors.
This open assault on the rights of conscience was instigated by two ministers of the gospel, who should have learned, from the teachings of their Divine Master, a differ- ent lesson. The Rev. Messrs. Megapolensis and Drisius formally complained, at the beginning of this year, to the Director and Council, that some unqualified persons were, of late, in the habit of holding conventicles and acting as ministers at Middleburgh on Long Island, "from which nothing could be expected but discord, confusion, and dis- order in church and state." A proclamation was, there- upon, issued, condemning, in unmeasured terms, those who Feb. 1. presumed to preach without having been appointed so to do by ecclesiastical authority. As "numberless heresies and schisms" were to be expected from such conventicles, these were most emphatically forbidden, differing, as they did, from the established religion as propounded by the Synod of Dort, "which was not only lawful, but com- manded by the Word of God." A fine of one hundred pounds Flemish was, by this ordinance, imposed on all unlicensed preachers ; and all persons, "male or female, married or single," who should attend their meetings and listen to their exhortations, subjected themselves, each, to a penalty of twenty-five pounds. This penal law, the first against freedom of conscience that disgraced the statute book of this colony, was passed "to promote the glory of God, the increase of the Reformed religion, and the peace and harmony of the country."2
At the period of its enactment the jurisdiction of the Dutch extended over the whole of the Delaware; on the
1 The " public " exercises of religion were not allowed to any sects in Hol- land except the Calvinists. But all others were permitted to exercise their wor- ship in private houses, which were in fact as if public, the places of preaching being spacious and of sufficient size for any assembly. See Bentivoglio, Rela- zione de Fiandra, p. ii., c. 2. Under this construction of the law, every religion was, in fact, tolerated.
1 Alb. Rec. vii., 355-357,
1656.
318
HISTORY OF
BOOK North River they had two settlements, besides the city of V.
1656.
Amsterdam on the Manhattans ; Oostdorp in Westchester, and eight villages on Long Island. Previous to the ex- pulsion of the Swedes, three ministers had been maintained on the South River by the Swedish Company. The Dutch had expelled two of these, leaving a third, " a man of god- less and scandalous life," to furnish religious instruction to the Finns and Swedes who remained in the country. Forts Christina and Casimir were unprovided with any clergy. Throughout the remainder of the province there were but four clergymen of the "Established Church :" one at Beverwyck ; two at the Manhattans. The fourth, the Rev. Mr. Polhemus, ministered to the congregation furnished by the villages of Breukelen, Midwout and Amersfoort. The other towns got along as best they could. Those of Gravesend were Mennonists. They re- jected infant baptism, the institution of the Sabbath, and the office of preacher altogether, " saying that through these entered all sorts of contention into the world." Flush- ing had originally supported a Presbyterian minister, but the inhabitants changed their religious opinions, absented themselves from his preaching, and refused to pay him his salary. The minister was consequently obliged to quit the place, and " he repaired to the English Virginias." The set- tlers at Middleburgh or Newtown were partly Independents and partly Presbyterians. The Rev. John Moore preached to the former, but administered no sacraments. The latter were too poor, or too few, to support a minister. In Heemstede, the people enjoyed the ministry of the Rev. Richard Denton, " an honest, pious and learned man," of the Presbyterian persuasion. Though there were many Puritans in the town, they objected not to listen to him; " but when he began to baptize the children of such as were not members, they burst out of the church." The inhabitants of Oostdorp were Puritans also, but neither they nor the newly commenced settlement at the Esopus had any preacher. "They hold Sunday meetings, and then one among them reads something out from a sermon book." Bad as it was with churches, it was worse as regards schools.
319
NEW NETHERLAND.
"Not one of all these places, whether Dutch or English, CHAP. hath a schoolmaster, except the Manhattans, Beverwyck and Fort Casimir."
As for the conversion of the heathen, it can hardly be said to have entered into the calculations of the Dutch West India Company, or, if it did, it was soon abandoned. One young savage had been under instruction at the Man- hattans two years, and the clergy there succeeded in teaching him the prayers, so that he could answer publicly in the church, and "read and write good Dutch." He was then furnished with a Bible, and sent to evangelize the other savages. But, instead of doing so, he " fell to drink- ing brandy, pawned the Bible, and became a real beast, doing more harm than good to the Indians." The example which the Christians gave the heathens was ill adapted to promote the conversion of the latter. "When we visit Fort Orange," said an Onondago chief, "they never talk to us of prayer, and we do not know even if they pray there."2
It was under such circumstances, and in such a country, that the government resolved to build up an established church and enforce conformity-not, however, by intro- ducing an additional number of orthodox clergymen into the province, to explain to the people the principles " pro- pounded by the Synod of Dort," but by bills of pains and penalties ; by fines, confiscations and banishment, and all the other abominations so familiar to the ages of religious . persecution.
The first denomination of Christians who were troubled
1 Rev. Mr. Megapolensis' letter to the Classis at Amsterdam, 5th Aug. 1657.
2 "A Orange on ne nous parle jamais de la prière, et nous ne scavons pas même si on y prie." Charlevoix, Hist. de la N. F. i., 334. An Iroquois was noticed, one day, attending divine service in Canada among a congregation of Algonquin Christians. The officiating clergyman wished him to leave the church. He answered he believed in God, and had a rosary as well as the others. He was asked if he had been baptized ? What is that ? he enquired. It is, said a savage near him, to receive a precious water which removes all stains and impurities from the soul. He, who thought that this efficacious water was eau de vie, (brandy,) exclaimed, "Oh ! the Dutchi have often given me some of that powerful water, and I have sometimes drank so much of it, as to be so drunk that they were obliged to bind me hand and foot, lest I should com- mit mischief." Relation, 1645-6., 124.
VI. 1656.
320
HISTORY OF
BOOK were Lutherans. Application had been made, at an early V. date, to the Directors in Holland, to allow professors of 1656. this creed liberty to elect a pastor, and the free exercise of their religion in New Netherland. But this had been refused, and orders were given "to employ all moderate exertions to lure them to our churches, and to matriculate them in the public Reformed religion."1 Moderation is of little avail where conscience interposes scruples. Fa- thers were compelled, contrary to their principles, to assist at the baptism of their children in the Dutch church, and, as well as the sponsors, to declare their belief in the truth of the doctrine promulgated by the Synod of Dort. To this they objected. Many among them were, in conse- quence, imprisoned, and complaints to Holland followed. Stuyvesant was censured, and the aggrieved were then June 14. allowed to exercise their religion "in their own houses." Oct. 24. This was not enough. They demanded freedom from in- terruption in their worship. The Director-general avowed his determination to enforce the law against conventicles.2 In Beverwyck, similar harsh measures were adopted against the same sect.3
1 Alb. Rec. iv., 130.
2 Ib. iv., 212; viii., 170 ; xiii., 240. The following is a copy of the petition of the Lutherans on this occasion : " 1656, 24th Oct. We the united members of the unaltered Augsburg Confession here in New Netherland, show with all due reverence how that we have been obedient to your Honor's prohibitions and published placards, unwilling to collect together in any place to worship our God with reading and singing, although we solicited our friends in our Father- land to obtain this privilege, who as our solicitors exerted themselves in our behalf by the noble Directors of the West India Company our Patroons, when after their letters to us, containing their entreaties, they obtained that they re- solved unanimously and concluded that the doctrine of the unaltered Augsburg Confession, might be tolerated in the West Indies and New Netherland, being under their direction, as is the practice in our Fatherland under its ex- cellent government ; wherefore we address ourselves to your Honor, willing to acknowledge your Honor, as dutiful and obedient servants, with prayer, that you will not any longer interrupt our religious exercises, which we, under God's blessing, are wishing to make with reading and singing, till as we hope and ex- pect, under God's aid, next spring, a qualified person shall arrive from our Fatherland to instruet us and take care of our souls."
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