USA > New York > New York City > History of New York city from the discovery to the present day, V.1 > Part 2
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
CHAPTER VII.
1834-1835.
Election Riots-Colonel Morton ordered out-The City Council tender to him and his Regiment a Vote of Thanks-Death of General Lafayette-The City join in Funeral Obsequies for the Deceased-Stone-cutters' and Masons' Riot during the building of the University-The Five Points Riot -Antagonism between the Irish and Americans-Dr. McCaffery Killed- Destruction of the Don Jon, or " Old Debtors' Prison "-" Poppy Lownds " -Hall of Records established.
.
CHAPTER VIII.
1835.
The Great Fire of 1835-Account of it by an Eye-witness-Incidents-Burning of the Merchants' Exchange-Mail Matter in the Post-office saved-Statue of Hamilton Destroyed-Tontine Coffee-house-Honest John Laing-Ex- tent of the Fire-Statement of the Houses and Stores Consumed-Extent of the Burnt District -- Line of Sentinels placed around the Ruins-Ex- periences of Asher Taylor and Judge C. P. Daly-Public Meeting of the Citizens called-Names of the Persons appointed on the Committee- Resolutions Passed-Thanks tendered to the Citizens of Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Newark-New York by no means Crushed by the Calamity -Value of Real and Personal Estate in 1836 and 1871 compared-Riot of Longshore Workmen-Destruction of the Old Shakespeare Tavern- Reminiscences connected with it-Great Resort for the Wits of the Day : Hugh Gaine. Jeremy Cheathem, " Ready-money Provost," Percival, Sands, Stone, Verplanck, John Inman, McDonald Clark, John Hodgkinson-Park Theater.
CHAPTER IX.
1836-1837.
" Great Flour Riot "-Magnitude of the affair-Scarcity of the Cereal Crops throughout the Country-Suffering among the Laboring Classes-The feeling fanned by the Loco-Foro and Temperance Parties-Indignation Meeting called in the Park -The Rioters Addressed by the Ring-leaders- Attack on Eli Hart's Store -- Flour and Grain pitched into the Street-The
-
:
xvii
CONTENTS.
Military Called Out-Meech & Co.'s Store Attacked-The Riot Put Down -Description of the Scene at Night, by Colonel William L. Stone-Rioters Indicted and sent to Prison-The Price of Flour goes up-The People awake to the necessity of procuring an ample Supply of Water for the City-The Manhattan Works a Failure-The question of " Water or no Water" Decided in the Affirmative by a large Majority Vote-Croton Aqueduct Begun-Description of the Route pursued by the Viaduct from Croton Dam to New York City-" High Bridge," Description of-Drive on the " Bloomingdale Road " to the " High Bridge "-Receiving Reservoir in Central Park-Distributing Reservoir on Fifth Avenue-Statistics of the Croton Aqueduct.
CHAPTER X. 1837-1863.
New York distances all Competitors-Gas introduced-Telegraphic Communi- ration Opened with other Cities-Custom-house (the present Sub-Treasury) Built-U'niversity Erected-Stone-cutters' Riot-Croton Aqueduct com- pirine! and the Event celebrated by a magnificent Procession-The Bible in !!... Public Schools-Discussion between Colonel Stone and Archbishop Hughes-Death of Colonel Stone-The Catholic Spirit of New York's Dutch Ancestors Triumph-The Fire of 1845-The Burnt District-Burn- Ing of the Crystal Palace, Barnum's Museum, Academy of Music, the old Irving House, and Winter Garden Theater-Fires generally have proved beneficial to the City-Description of Fifth Avenue-New York Destitute of Public Monuments-Monument to General Worth-Middle Dutch Church used for a Post-office-History of the Post-office-Interesting In- cidents connected with its early History-Astor-place Riot-Jenny Lind- Amended City Charter-Grinnell Expedition-Exhibition of the World's Fair-Burning of the Crystal Palace and American Institute-Police Riot- Financial Disasters-Bread Riot-Dead-Rabbit Riot-The Dead Removed from the Potters' Field to Ward's Island-Quarantine Riot-Visits of the Japanese and the Prince of Wales.
CHAPTER XI. 1863.
The Year 1-63 marked by a Humiliating Event-The Riot of 1863-Details of :1 .- Riot-Railroad Tracks Torn up and Telegraph Wires Cut-Bull's Head and colored Orphan Asylum Burned by the Mob-The Governor issues a 1': clamation to the Rioters-The Draft Suspended-Murder of Colonel " Bren-His Body Mutilated-The Mob still Hold the City-The City and font.ty of New York declared by the Governor to be in a state of Insur- Iron-Archbishop Hughes Addresses the Rioters-Colonel Mayer ordered ! . the corner of Twenty-seventh Street and Seventh Avenue-Negroes Sub- jeviel to the most cruel Persecution -- Proclamation by Mayor Opdyke, d'aring that the Riot was at an End-Major-General Dix Relieved of his Conanand at Fortress Monroe-A large Force ordered to New York-The Draft takes Place-The Secret History of this affair and the Number Killed will probably never be known-In what respect it differs from other Riots.
CHAPTER XII. 1864.
. Matenation of a Paid for a Volunteer Fire Department-Interesting History of the Fire Department, from its origin in the early Dutch period to the
-
xviii
CONTENTS.
present day-A Comparison between the old Volunteer Fire Department and the Metropolitan.
CHAPTER XIII. 1868.
Erection of the National Academy of Design-Its History from its first Incep- tion-Trumbull at first its only Artist-Contrast between its past Poverty and its present Wealth-Description of the Building itself-Removal of an Ancient Landmark-The OLD WARREN MANSION-Its Interesting History -Lack of Reverence in New-Yorkers for Relics of the Past-Removal of the Ashes of the Dead from underneath the Tower of the old North Church to Greenwood-Widening of the Bloomingdale Road into the New Boulevard-The House in which Louis Philippe Taught School is Torn Down.
CHAPTER XIV. 1869-1870.
The year 1869 marked by four Events of a distinctive character-The Removal of the Old Hospital-The Blotting-out of St. John's Park by the unsightly - H. R. R. R. Freight Depot-The Extension of Church Street to Morris Street, and the Opening of Pearl Street through the grounds of the Old Hospital-The Tearing-down of old Buildings, and the Erection in their places of costly and imposing Business and Private Structures-Removal of the Courts and Civil Offices from the City Hall into the New Court- house-Elegant Business Buildings-Equitable Life, New York Insurance, &c .- Increased Value of Property in Broadway and White Street-Interest- ing Statistics of Old and Modern New York-Building of the Young Men's Christian Association-History of this Organization-Its Prosperity- Booth's Theater-The Grand Opera-house-The Arcade R. R .- Pneumatic R. R .- The Elevated R. R .- New York receives a New Charter-Its His- tory-Mr. Greeley goes to Albany to Oppose it-The "Old" and "New" Democracy-The "Old " Triumph-Wherein the New Charter differs from the Old.
CHAPTER XV. 1871-1872.
The year 1871 distinguished for both Painful and Pleasant Memories-The Orange Riot-The Chicago Fire-How the News was received in New York-Noble Action of the Citizens of New York-Nearly Three Millions in Money and Supplies raised and forwarded to the stricken City-Public and Private Liberality walk hand in hand-Exposure of the Tammany Ring Frauds-Appointment of the Committee of Seventy-Thirty-five Hundred Vouchers Stolen-Comptroller Connolly requested by Mayor Hall to Resign-He peremptorily Refuses-Andrew H. Green appointed Deputy Comptroller-His Character-Action of the Banks-Injunction granted by Judge Barnard-Mayor Hall presented for Indictment-Gover- nor Hoffman waitgd on by the Committee of Seventy -- Advises the Attor- ney-General to take Charles O'Conor as his Associate in Prosecuting the Ring-O'Conor Accepts, and in turn Appoints, as his assistants, William M. Evarts, Wheeler H. Peckham and Judge Emott-Arrest of William M. Tweed and Ex-Comptroller Connolly-Tweed obtains bail and Connolly goes to Ludlow-street Jail-Complete Overthrow of the Ring-Death of Fisk.
xix
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVI.
1872.
The History of New York now brought down to a late period-Her Publish- ing Houses-Schools of Art, Painting and Sculpture-Trumbull, Jarvis, Henry Inman, Church, Bierstadt, Ward, Thompson, &c .- Her Benevolent Institutions-Character of her Merchant Princes-Deaf and Dumb Asy- lum-Dickens' Dinner-Visit of the Russian Duke-Unveiling of the Statue of Franklin-A brief Retrospective Glance-Extracts from Dr. O,good's Address before the New York Historical Society-New York Churches-The City viewed in reference to its Extent, Wealth, Popula- tion and Institutions-Banking Capital Invested-The different Life and Fire Insurance Companies-The Industrial Army of the City passes in Review before the Reader-Marvelous Growth of Population within Twenty Years-Education of the People.
.
-
APPENDIXES.
I. Constitution of the OLD TONTINE ASSOCIATION.
HI. RICHMOND HILL, the Country Seat of Aaron Burr.
III. Inscription on the MONUMENT to General Montgomery.
IV. History of the OLD POST-OFFICE.
V. Reminiscences of MCDONALD CLARK, the "Mad Poet."
VI. Account of WILLIAM KIDD, the Pirate.
VIL The JUDICIARY in the early Dutch Period, by Chief Justice Daly.
SH lo fter from Colonel T. Bailey Myers, giving an account of the Origin of the FIREMEN'S LYCEUM.
IX History of the HALL OF RECORDS, formerly the OLD DEBTORS' PRISON. X. History of the NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN, by T. Addison Richards. X! Speech of Congressman Roosevelt on the TAMMANY FRAUDS.
XII. Act of Incorporation of the TAMMANY SOCIETY.
XIII. Reminiscences of HENRY INMAN, the Artist, from the MS. Diary of the late Mrs. Col. Wm, L. Stone.
XIV. Statement of the FINANCIAL RESOURCES of New York City at the pres- ent time, contained in a Special Message of Governor Hoffinan to the Legislature, January, 1872.
XX
CONTENTS.
XV. History of the SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIETY, by Hon. Hooper C. Van Vorst.
XVI. NEW YORK SOCIETY IN THE OLDEN TIME, by Right Reverend Bishop Kip.
XVII. Visit of GENERAL JACKSON to the City as a guest of TAMMANY, in 1819, by General Prosper M. Wetmore.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Engravings on Steel.
1. Entrance of the American Army into New York, Nov. 25th, 1783 .. Frontispiece
:. The Inauguration of Washington Vignette
3. Battle of Harlem to face page 233
+ Destruction of the Gaspe, 1772. 239
5. Portraits of Gov. G. Clinton, Gen. Gates, Gen. Schuyler, Gen. . Montgomery, Gen. J. Clinton 241
& Baple of Lexington. 244
". Hastle of Bunker's Hill. 244
". Plan showing the position of the American and British Armies, August, 1776. 246
Portrait of General Washington, after Trumbull 249
1. Capture of Major Andre. 266
1 :. Reception of President Washington in New York, 23d April, 1789. 272
: :. Portrait of Washington in 1795, after Stuart 291
13. - John Adams, after Copley . 303
14. Portraits of Gen. Steuben, Gen. Pulaski, Gen. Lafayette, Gen. Kosciusko, Gen. De Kalb.
15. Portrait of Mrs. Washington, after Woolaston
304
- -Thomas Jefferson, after Bouch. 317
338
17. James Monroe, after Stuart 365
: - James Madison, after Stuart 370
De Witt Clinton . 390
Benjamin Franklin, after Duplessis 456
Wood Engravings, Etc.
1. Hendrick Hudson's Exploring Vessel, the " Half Moon' 10
:. Fis: Settlement on the Hudson 11
3. The Swamp. 13
4. First Saw-mill on the Hudson 18
5. Dutch Mansion and Cottage in New Amsterdam 29
6. Seals of New Amsterdam and New York 40
7. Street View in Ancient Albany 44
-
ILLUSTRATIONS.
8. Old Dutch Church, Albany 45
9. View of New Amsterdam. 58
10. Portrait of Peter Stuyvesant 65
11. Bowling Green in 1861 79
12. Hell Gate:
13. Turtle Bay and Blackwell's Island.
14. Map of New York City, taken in 1728 130
15. No. 1 Broadway, fifty years ago 153
16. St. George's Chapel. 169
17. St. George Building, 1870 169
18. Old King's College 176
19. Columbia College, 1840. 178
20. Columbia College, 1872. 180
. 21. Sandy Hook from the Light-house
185
22. Parker's Mail Stage. 189
23. The Old Walton House 220
24. Kip's Bay House.
247
25. View from Fort Lee 249
26. Washington Heights 251
27. Trinity Church 252
28. Old Sugar House, Liberty street.
253
29. The Tombs
30. Bowling Green in 1783
273
32. President Washington's House in New York
316
33. Tontine Coffee-house in 1812 320
34. Tontine Building in 1872 327
35. Society Library Building . 345
36. The Grange-Hamilton's Residence 3+6
37. Richmond Hill-Burr's Residence 346
38. Tomb of Hamilton. 347
39. Burr-Hamilton Duelling Ground 347
40. The Clermont -Fulton's First Steamer. 351
41. Catskill Landing. 352
42. The Thomas Powell Steamer off the Storm King 354
43. Fulton Ferry in 1740 357
44. Fort Hamilton. 359
45. Monument to General Montgomery 373
46. Fort Lafayette 383
271
31. Federal Hall
302
8+
85
ILLUSTRATIONS.
+". The Navy Yard, Brooklyn 386
3. Sandy Hook. 390
4) Provost or Debtors' Prison. 470
3. Merchants' Exchange before the Fire of 1835. 476
after the Fire of 1835 (front) 477
(rear) 478
:. Ready-money Provost's Tomb. 491
54. The Old Bridewell. 497
S. Mouth of the Croton. 500
**. Croton Aqueduct. 501
$ *. Croton Dam 502
( *. Ich Bridge 502
B'o'mingdale Road
503
Manhattanville
503 504
" :. Datributing Reservoir and Rutger's Institute 505
7 1. Barnum's Museum and St. Paul's Chapel.
64. Fifth Avenue Hotel 511
t .;. Union Square.
514
( .. Martyr's Monument.
515
( . Middle Dutch Church. 517
"; Terrace and Mall, Central Park 530 578
"). First Fire Engine in New York in 1730 Another view
579
588
-:. National Academy of Design
". The Old Brick Church. 591 . North Dutch Church. 595 596
** * towesant Pear Tree
HI. 5 n River R. R. Freight Depot. 599
New York Life Assurance Building. 603
. Isuitable Life Assurance Building. 604
. Young Men's Christian Association Building 608 . . Both's Theatre. 609
rt. Harper & Brothers' Building 635
# :. Virtue & Yorston's Building. 636
" ;. Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb 639
: 4. Bible House, Cooper Union, and Clinton Hall. 649
*5. St. Mark's Church and Historical Society's Building 656
11. View in Central Park
513
6 -. Monument to General Worth 515
HISTORY
OF
NEW YORK CITY.
THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK NATURALLY DIVIDES ITSELF INTO THREE PERIODS OF TIME :- First-FROM ITS SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH TO ITS PERMANENT OCCUPANCY BY THE ENGLISH ; Second-FROM THE ENG- LISH CONQUEST TO THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR; AND, Third -FROM ITS EVACUATION BY THE BRITISH DOWN TO THE PRESENT DAY.
FIRST PERIOD.
1598-1674.
The settlement of New York Island by the Dutch, and its permanent occupancy by the English.
CHAPTER I.
Ir is the general belief that the first landing made on New York Island, or the " Island of Manhattan," as it was then called, was by Hendrick Hudson, in 1609. This, however, is not the case; since the earliest 1598. records extant state that as early as 1598, a few Holland- "r", in the employ of a Greenland Company, were in the habit of resorting to, New Netherlands (i. e., New York), not, it is true, with the design of effecting a settlement, but merely to secure shelter during the winter months. With View they built two small forts to protect themselves
2
10
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
against the Indians. Nevertheless, the fact remains un- disputed, that to Hudson belongs the honor of being the first who directed public attention to the Island of Man- hattan as an advantageous point for a trading port in the New World.
On the 4th of April, 1609, the great navigator 1609. sailed out of the harbor of Amsterdam, and ' by twelve of ye clocke" of the 6th he was two leagues off
THE "HALF-MOON."
the land. He was in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, who had commissioned him to seek a passage to the East Indies by the north side of Nova Zembla. Having, however, found the sea at that part full of ice, he turned the prow of his little vessel, the Half-Moon, west- ward, and. after a month's cruise, reached the great Bank of Newfoundland on the 2d of July Thence he sailed
-
1
11
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
youthward to the James River, Virginia, and again alter- " his course-still in pursuit of a new channel to India-
FIRST SETTLEMENT ON THE HUDSON.
he coasted along the shores of New Jersey, and on the 2d of September, 1609, cast anchor inside of Sandy Hook.
The topography of New York Island, as it was first seen by Hudson, was as follows :
"The lower part of it consisted of wood-crowned hills and beautiful grassy valleys, including a chain of swamps and marshes and a deep pond. Northward, it rose into a rocky, high ground. The sole inhabitants were a tribe of dusky Indians,-an off-shoot from the great nation of the Lenni Lenape, who inhabited the vast territory bounded by the Penobscot and Potomac, the Atlantic and Missis- sippi,-dwelling in the clusters of rude wigwams that dotted here and there the surface of the country. The
.
12
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
rivers that gird the Island were as yet unstirred by the keels of ships, and the bark canoes of the native Man- hattans- held sole possession of the peaceful waters.
" The face of the country, more particularly described, was gently undulating, presenting every variety of hill and dale, of brook and rivulet. The upper part of the Island was rocky, and covered by a dense forest ; the lower part grassy, and rich in wild fruits and flowers. Grapes and strawberries grew in abundance in the fields, and nuts of various kinds were plentiful in the forests, which were also filled with abundance of game. The brooks and ponds were swarming with fish, and the soil was of lux- uriant fertility. In the vicinity of the present " Tombs " was a deep, clear, and beautiful pond of fresh water (with a picturesque little island in the middle)-so deep, indeed, · that it could have floated the largest ship in our navy,- which was for a long time deemed bottomless by its pos- sessors. This was fed by large springs at the bottom, which kept its waters fresh and flowing, and had its out- let in a little stream that flowed into the East River, near the foot of James street. Smaller ponds dotted the Island in various places, two of which, lying near each other, in the vicinity of the present corner of the Bowery and Grand street, collected the waters of the high grounds which surrounded them. To the north-west of the Fresh Water Pond, or "Kolck," as it afterwards came to be called, beginning in the vicinity of the present Hudson River Railroad and Freight Depot (formerly St. John's Park), and extending to the northward over an area of some seventy acres, lay an immense marsh, filled with reeds and brambles, and tenanted with frogs and water- snakes. A little,rivulet connected this marsh with the Fresh Water Pond, which was also connected-by the stream which formed its outlet-with another strip of marshy land, covering the region now occupied by James,
13
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
Cherry, and the adjacent streets. " An unbroken chain of waters was thus stretched across the Island from James street at the south-east to Canal street at the north-west. An inlet occupied the place of Broad street, a marsh cov-
THE SWAMP.
ered the vicinity of Ferry street, Rutgers street formed the center of another marsh, and a long line of meadows and swampy ground stretched to the northward along the eastern shore.
"The highest line of lands lay along Broad way, from the Battery to the northernmost part of the Island, form- ing its backbone, and sloping gradually to the east and west. On the corner of Grand street and Broadway was a high hill, commanding a view of the whole Island, and falling off gradually to the Fresh Water Pond. To the south and west, the country, in the intervals of the marshes, was of great beauty-rolling, grassy, fertile, and well watered. A high range of sand hills traversed a part of the Island, from Varick and Charlton to Eighth und Greene streets. To the north of these lay a valley, through which ran a brook, which formed the outlet of
-
14
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
the springy marshes at Washington Square, and emptied into the North River at the foot of Hammersly street." *
Meanwhile, Hudson, having explored the river that bears his name as far as the present city of Albany, set - sail on the 4th of October for Europe, bearing the news of the discovery of a new country-the " opening for a new commerce ;" for although his patrons were disappointed in not finding a short road to the land of silks, teas, and spices, still, his great discovery was destined to open in future time mines of wealth, more valuable than all the imagined riches of the Celestial Empire.
· At that period, Holland carried on a lucrative trade with the East Indies and Russia. Every year they dis- patched nearly one hundred ships to Archangel for furs; but Hudson's glowing accounts of the rich peltry he had . seen in the newly-discovered regions, soon turned the attention of the busy Dutch to a country where these articles could be purchased without the taxes of custom- houses and other duties. Accordingly, in the year 1610, a few merchants dispatched another vessel, under 1610, the command of the Half-Moon's former mate. to traffic in furs with the Indians. This venture met with such success, that, two years after, in 1612, 1612. the Fortune and the Tiger, commanded, respect- ively, by Hendrick Christiaensen and Adrien Block, sailed on a trading voyage to the "Mauritius River," as the Hudson was first named. The following year, also, three more vessels, commanded by Captains De Witt, Volckert- sen, and Wey, sailed from Amsterdam and Hoven on a similar adventure. These were the beginnings of the important fur trade, which was, ere long, to be a chief source of wealth to Holland and America. It was now determined to open a regular communication with the
* Miss M. L. Booth's History of New York.
15
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
newly-discovered region, and to make the Island of Man- hattain the depot of the fur trade in America. It was also resolved to establish permanent agents here for the purchase and collection of skins, while the vessels were on their voyages to and from Holland. Captain Hen- drick Christiaensen became the first agent, and built a ndloubt, with four small houses, on ground which, it is .aid, is now the site of No. 39 Broadway.
A little navy was commenced about the same period by Captain Adrien Block, one of the vessels of which wwidentally burned, just on the eve of his departure for Holland. Having abundant materials, however, in t !... Idand of Manhattan, he finished another ; and, in the spring of 1614, launched the first vessel ever built
in New Amsterdam. She was named the Restless, 1614. a yacht of sixteen tons-a name prophetic of the ever- Mary and future great city. The entire winter passed in building the vessel, the Indians kindly supplying the «trangers with food. Such were the earliest movements of commerce in New Netherlands two centuries and a halfago!
A few months before Captain Block's return to Hol- Intel, the States-General of the Netherlands, with a view encouraging emigration, passed an ordinance granting :. discoverers of new countries the exclusive privilege A trailing at Manhattan during four years. Accordingly, the merchants who had sent out the first expedition had s map made of all the country between Canada and Vir- sala, as the whole new region was called, and, claiming !. t. the original discoverers, petitioned the Government : r the promised monopoly. Their petition was granted ; ad on the 11th of October, 1614, they obtained a charter for the exclusive right of trade on the territory within the moth and 45th degrees of north latitude. The charter the forbade all other persons to interfere with this mo-
-
/
16
HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY.
nopoly, in the penalty of confiscating both vessels and cargoes, with a fine also of 50,000 Dutch ducats for the benefit of the charter's grantees. The new province first formally received the name of New Netherland in this document ; and Dutch merchants, associating themselves under the name of the " United New Netherland Com- pany," straightway prepared to conduct their operations on a more extensive scale. Trading parties to the in- terior hastened to collect furs from the Indians, and de- posit them at Forts Nassau (Albany) and Manhattan. .Jacob Eelkins, a shrewd trader, received the appointment of agent at the former place, where the first one, Captain Christiaensen, had been murdered by an Indian. This was the first murder ever recorded in the new province.
In the year 1617, a formal treaty of peace and 1617. alliance was concluded between the Dutch and the powerful nation of the Iroquois. The pipe of peace was smoked, and the hatchet buried in the earth, on the present site of Albany. This treaty, as may readily be imagined, greatly increased the prosperity of the Dutch traders, who had hitherto occupied Manhattan merely by the sufferance of the Indians. Their agents accordingly at once extended their trips further into the interior, obtaining on each trip valuable furs in exchange for the muskets and ammunition so much coveted by the na- tives. This trade became so profitable, that when the charter of the United New Netherland Company expired, in 1618, they petitioned for a renewal, but failing to ob- tain it, they continued their trade two or three years longer, under a special license.
Up to this period, the Hollanders had considered Manhattan as a trading post only, and dwelt in mere temporary huts of rude construction. But the British now explored the American coast, claiming the whole region between Canada and Virginia, from the Atlantic
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.