USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 10
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
up land Itt being parte and parcell of the afore Recited Trackt or parcell of Land Containing sixtey arcers sowld by the said Townes Ibbosone un to the said John belvealle which arcer of Land being Laid out on the south & by East side of the brige halfe an acer of the fore Recited Arcer Lying on the south side the highway and the other halfe of the fore Recited arcer of Land now Given by the said John belvealle and hester his wife Lying and being on the north side the high- way opesett against the other halfe arcer To have and to hold the fore Recited trackt and parcell of upland containing won arcer to the french Congreygashone now Residing with in the Countey of Richmond To Ereckt and build A Church upon the same for the ministrey of the Gospell and the maintainence of Gods holey word and ordinantsies and for noe other yowse nor purpose unto The frensh Congreygashone their heirs Exiekitors Admin's: for Eaver and the said John belvealle and hester his wife doth covinante promise and Grante to & with the overseers of the frensh Congreygashone that they the said John belvealle and hester his wife their heirs Exekitors Adminrs and asignes shall and will for Eaver warend and defend the fore said frensh Congreygashone Their heirs and sucksesors for Eaver in the quiett and peacebell poseshone of the afore Recited wone arcer of Land aforesaid against the said John belvealle and hester his wife or from any other persone or persones what soe eaver Law fulley Clayming aney Estate Right titell or interest of in or to the same. In testimoney of the same wee the said John Bel- vealle and hester his wife have heare unto sett their hands and fixed their seales this twelfth day of Aprell and in the tenth yeare of the Reighen of our Souvring Lord williame The third by the Grace of God of England scotland france and Irland King defender of the faith Annoque dom: 1698.
signed saled and delivered
The marke of
In the presents of
John 1 B belvealle O The marke of
JACOB CORBETT
D. LUCAS
JEYN LA TOURRITTE
JOSEPH BASTIDOE
hester 1 H belvealle O."
SAMUEL GRASSET "
As a meeting house was spoken of in 1695 as already ex- isting, it must not be supposed that the acre above granted was the site of the first house of worship on the island. The site
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
of the acre referred to is upon the estate of Henry J. Seaman, Esq., about one mile from the village of Richmond, and near the road to Rossville which runs along the north side of the field in which the interesting spot is situated. It was described a few years since as being in the third field of the Seaman resi dence. The direction of the road was changed in 1831 so that it no longer serves to mark the position of the acre of upland referred to in Belville's deed. The bridge there mentioned was removed by Mr. Seaman in 1849, but another was placed by him on the same site, which was in the northwest corner of the same field, and from which the old road, after crossing the bridge, ran southeast diagonally partly across the field, and then re- turned joining the present road again near the northeast corner of the field. The church stood on the half-acre which lay on the sonth side of the highway. Some vestiges of its founda- tion remained till the beginning of the present century. It oc- cupied the northern slope of the rising ground to the south of the old road, and about two hundred feet in the same direction from the present road. The dimensions of the church were about 32 by 45 feet, and the building stood due north and south. A small stone dwelling house, probably built for a parsonage, stood to the east of it. South of the church was the repository of the dead. These graves were once marked by rough stones, bearing no inscriptions, but of which as many as two hundred could at one time be counted. The only inscriptions that have been read upon stones found in this ground are those of Tennis Van Pelt, died 1765, aged 65 years; Mary, his wife, died 1762, aged 59 years; another from which the part bearing the name was broken off, but the date of which was 1784; and an- other bearing the initials J. L. and date 1784.
This interesting spot commands a prospect of a soft and peace- ful character. From its gently swelling knoll the spires of Richmond are seen npon the right, and glimpses of the white edifices of the quiet village may be caught through the trees. Directly in front the meadow of Fresh kill spreads its level surface, backed by the woods and rising grounds of Carl's neck, while its meanderings may be traced, glistening in the sunbeams or indicated by the mast of some tiny craft, till the mountains of New Jersey bounded the scene. Such is the spot where those noble exiles, the Huguenots of Staten Island, erected the first edifice for the free and untrammeled exercise of their wor-
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
ship. Should pilgrims be attracted to the sacred place by this notice of it-Staten Islanders perchance, who can trace their families to this illustrious source-let them, as their footsteps press the hallowed soil, recall a Huguenot Sabbath of a century and three-quarters ago. Let imagination picture that humble house of God, rustic in its appearance but sublime in all its as- sociations. Mark those groups of devont and honest men, of high souled women, the dark-eyed sons and daughters of France! List to the foreign accents of the preacher's voice, and as it dies away and their solemn anthem swells upon the air, then give them their meed of praise! We grudge not the Puritans their share of honor. Break relics, if you will from the rock of Plymouth, but let not the Huguenots of France, the Huguenots of Staten Island, be forgotten! By their own children, if by no others, should the great and good be remem- bered and revered.
But we must leave these musings and return to the thread of our narrative. In March, 16SS, Richmond was divided into four towns-Castletown, Northfield, Southfield and Westfield. The town of Middletown was not organized until 1860. Before the legal division of the county into towns, it was divided into three precincts, the North. South and West: Castleton was not included in any of the precincts, but was designated "The Manor." The limits of the precincts were about the same as those of the towns as established by law on the 7th of March, 16SS. Castleton derived its name from the Palmer or Dongan patent, in which the manor conveyed was called Cassiltown, corrupted into the present name, and the corruption legalized by repeated acts of the legislature; the other towns were named from their position in the county.
Great political changes were now taking place in the province of New York. The attempt of James II to restore the Catholic church had made him odious to the British nation. In New York the citizens were mostly Protestants and bitterly opposed the Roman Catholic faith. Dongan had exhibited the greatest religious toleration, which judicious policy displeased his royal prince, and the wise and politic governor was recalled. Sir Edmund Andros having been appointed governor of all the provinces of New England received the seal of the province of New York from the retiring governor in July, 1688. Andros
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
appointed a deputy governor over New York in the person of Francis Nicholson.
James II did not long wear the crown. He was deposed dur- ing the same year, and deserting his own children, became a refugee in France. William, in compliance with the popular wish, was proclaimed king, and the great Protestant revolution was effected. A rumor spread in the province of New York that the friends of the deposed monarch intended to massacre the disaffected. A fierce popular excitement followed. The New Yorkers, while recognizing generally the sovereignty of William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, a small party remained who insisted that the colonial government was not overthrown by the revolution. They contended that it still remained vested in the lientenant-governor and his council. Nicholson was the deputy governor, and known to be an ad- herent of the Catholic church, with many of his friends; and this fact increased the distrust of the people. A mob paraded the streets of New York. Five militia companies, the entire force, surrounded the house of Jacob Leisler, a merchant of the city and captain of the militia, and demanded that he should seize the fort at the Battery, which was done. Nicholson, de- prived of his authority, sailed for England. The distrust of the people, however, was not allayed. A rumor spread that an attack was plotted on the church in the fort, and that pos- session of the government was to be taken and the standard of King James set up. These rumors, however extravagant, ex- cited a general consternation. The people of Long Island sent a large body of militia to New York "to seize the fort and to keep away French invasion and slavery."
The apprehensions of the people on Staten Island culminated in a panic. Fear reigned supreme for a while; they dared not remain at night in their own dwellings, but in the deepest re- cesses of the forest they constructed temporary shelters, to which they resorted after dark, that they might not be observed and their retreats discovered; they preferred to encounter the perils of the darkness and the forests rather than trust themselves to the tender mercies of their fellow men. Some took their families upon the water in boats, which they anchored a short distance from the shore, and thus passed the nights; and various other expedients were resorted to for concealment and security. Re- ports of various kinds were spread, which added fuel to the
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
flame and kept it burning for some length of time; among these were, that a number of papists who had been driven out of Boston had been received into the fort at New York and had enlisted as soldiers; that the papists on the island had secretly collected arms, which they kept concealed and ready for use at a moment's notice; that Governor Dongan's brigantine had been armed and otherwise equipped for some desperate enterprise, and the refusal of the commander of the vessel to permit it to be searched was not calculated to allay the alarm. He admitted that the vessel had been armed, but not for the purpose alleged, but, as she was bound on a voyage to Madeira, she was in danger of being attacked by the Turks, and she had been armed for the defense of her crew and cargo. However plausible this reason might have been it was not generally credited. The excitement at length subsided, and not a Protestant throat had been cnt.
Tradition says that several pieces of cannon were afterward found in the cellar of the governor's mill, which it was sup- posed had been concealed there, to be in readiness when they might be required. This mill stood on the south side of the recently constructed public road in West Brighton, called Post avenne, which is in fact part of an old road reopened, for, prior to the construction of the causeway which now connects West New Brighton and Port Richmond, the only communication between Castleton and Northfield, near the shore, was round the head of the cove or pond now known as the mill pond.
It is not to be wondered at that the French Protestants here were most sensitive about their religious rights and safety. At this very time their brethren in France were suffering. The Indian wars had been renewed in Canada, and the French wanted to cut a path to the Atlantic ocean. This had been resolved upon -- including the reduction of Albany and New York on the way. This, in the language of the French general would be " the only means of firmly establishing the religion throughout all North America." Louis issued his regal authority for the under- taking. All faithful Catholics were to remain unmolested, whilst the French refugees-particularly those of the pretended reformed religion-must be sent back to France. These cruel instructions were given, too, abont four years after the memora- ble revocation of the "Edict of Nantes." What wonder then 7
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
that the Huguenots should be alarmed when such a direful fate seemed to menace them.
Jacob Leisler, a prominent character of that day, exercising both civil and military authority, was intrusted by the magis- trates with the administration of affairs, after the departure of Nicholson, and one of his first acts was to cause William and Mary to be proclaimed in the counties of Richmond. Westchester, Queens, Kings and Ulster, and the city and county of Albany, and East Jersey ; the order to Richmond was dated December 17th, 1689. On the 30th of the same month, he issued an order requiring all persons who held commissions, warrants, "or other instruments of power or com- mand, either civil or military," derived from either Dongan or Andros, forthwith to surrender the same to a justice of the peace of the county wherein they resided, except the counties of New York and Richmond, who were to surrender at the fort in New York.
After the burning of Schenectady, and the massacre of its inhabitants by the French and Indians, in February, 1690, he issued another order to the military and civil officers of several counties, Richmond county being one of the number, that "fearing too great a correspondency hath been maintained between ye sd ffrensch & disaffected Prsons among us," to secure all persons reputed papists, or who are inimical to the govern- ment, or who continue to hold any commissions from Dongan or Andros, and bring them before hin.
In 1689, Leisler commissioned the following civil and military officers in Richmond county :
Ely Crossen, high sheriff. Jacob Corbett, clerk. Cornelis Corsen, do
Jaques Puillion, Captain.
Obadialı Holmes, justice. Jaques Poullion, do John Theunis Van Pelt, do
Thomas Morgan, Lieutenant.
Thomas Morgan, do Jacob Gerritse, do Cornelis Corsen, do
Seger Geritsen, Ensign.
Cornelis Nevius, do
The following persons from Staten Island were members of a company commanded by Captain Jacob Milborne, which was sent to Albany to establish Leisler's authority, the government of that city having refused to recognize it, viz .: "Jean Marlett, Francis Mauriss, Hendrick Hendricksen, Jean faefre, John Rob, John doulier and Peter Henkesson."
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
There is no evidence that the people of Staten Island took any decided stand with regard to Leisler's administration. Generally, they submitted quietly to the authorities placed over them. Further than commissioning some officers and issuing some general orders, he does not appear in connection with the history of the island. It must be admitted that Leisler had many friends on the island, though they were not very demonstrative. His appointments to office were usually from among its best citizens, which operated in his favor; no decided steps were taken in his behalf during his imprisonment and trial, but after his condemnation petitions for his pardon were exten- sively signed, which had no other effect than to bring npon the signers the displeasure of the government, who regarded the act as disloyal. Farther than the imposition of fines, which appear to have been remitted, and the brief imprison- inent of a few individuals, no punishment was inflicted on the culprits.
On the 19th of March, 1691, Henry Slaughter, having been appointed governor of the colony, arrived and demanded pos- session of the fort and the reins of government. Leisler at first refused to give up the post, but was compelled to do so, and was afterward tried, condemned and hastily executed for high treason. His execution took place May 16, 1691.
On the 28th of April preceding, a letter was presented to the council in New York from the sheriff of Richmond county, "Giving an Account of severall Riotts and Tumults on Staten Island, and that they are subscribing of papers ; " the sheriff was ordered to secure the ring-leaders that they might be prose- cuted. Thomas Stillwell, the sheriff, was not dilatory in obey- ing the order, and arrested several of the citizens of the county, among whom were John Theunison, John Peterson and Gerard Vechten, each of whom he compelled to pay three pounds ; others were obliged to execute bonds for the payment of that amount, and one refused to do either, and him he imprisoned. When information of the sheriff's proceedings reached New York, orders were sent down to have the bonds cancelled, whereupon the three individuals who had paid their money, de- manded that it should be refunded ; the sheriff, probably con- scions that he had exceeded his powers, promised that it should be done, but delayed so long, that the aggrieved parties ap- pealed to the council. At the same time, the same three indi-
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
viduals presented a complaint against the assessors, who ex- empted themselves and some others from the payment of the tax for "negers," and that poor people who have no "negers" must pay "as much accordingly like Them that Has many negers. Therefore your petitioners humbly crave That your Exlly will be pleased To signify Them iff sd negers should be Ex- cluded ffor paying Tax." What the result of these petitions was, we are not informed further than that they met with a favorable reception.
The papers which were " subscribed " were petitions in favor of the two condemned men ; the people of Westchester also sent a petition for the same purpose, but the council did not recognize the right of petition in such cases ; therefore some were cited to appear before that body, while others were im- prisoned as promoters of "riots and disturbances."
During Dongan's administration, Leisler, having imported a cargo of wine, had refused to pay the duties thereon to Matthew Plowman, the collector of the port, because he was a papist. He was, however, compelled to do so, and ever thereafter was a bitter enemy of Plowman. During his brief arbitrary admin- istration, to gratify his spite, he charged Plowman with being a defaulter to the government ; and learning that he was the owner of a quantity of beef and pork stored at Elizabethtown, he ordered Johannes Burger, a sergeant at the fort, to proceed to Staten Island, and compel snch individuals as he might re- quire to go with him and assist in the removal of the provisions. Burger obeyed the order, and the property was brought to Leisler in New York, who sent it to Albany for the use of the soldiers he had sent to that place. After Leisler's exe- cution, Plowman prosecuted all who were concerned in the removal of his property, to recover its value. Among the number were the following residents of Staten Island, viz., " John Jeronison, Thomas Morgan, Lawrence Johnson, John Peterson, Dereck Crews (Crnser), Chauck (Jaques) Pollion and John Bedine." These individuals, soon after the arrival of Major Richard Ingoldsby, as president of the province ad- dressed an "humble Peticon," to him and the council, in which they admit having assisted in the removal of Plowman's property, but that they did so under compulsion, believing that they were doing a service to their Majesties; that they consid- tred it unjust to compel them to pay for the provisions when the
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
whole country had the benefit of them; they therefore pray that they may be relieved from the whole responsibility, or if that may not be done, that every person engaged in the removal be compelled "to pay their equall proporceons of the same." This petition was presented by Plowman himself, who thereby recognized the justice of their cause, but what the result of the application was does not appear.
We must here suspend, for a little, the order of our narra- tive, to notice a matter which had its origin a few years before, and its final settlement nearly a century and a half after the time of which we are writing. We refer to the claims of New Jersey upon Staten Island.
When it was known in England that New Netherland had been reduced, and was now actually in the possession of the English, Lord William Berkley and Sir George Carteret, two of the royal favorites, induced the Duke of York, probably in- fluenced by the king, to give them a patent for the territory west of the Hudson and the bay, and as far south as Cape May; this they named Nova Caesarea, or New Jersey. With thirty emigrants, English and French, Capt. Philip Cartaret, a cousin of Sir George, and governor of the new territory, sailed for New York, but by stress of weather was driven into the Chesa- peake. While lying there he forwarded despatches to Bollen, who was commissary at the fort in New York, and also to Nicolls. This was the first intimation the governor had received of the dismemberment of the extensive territory over which he ruled; he was both astounded and chagrined; he had already conveyed several parcels of land within the limits of the new grant, and regarded the whole as the best part of the duke's domain. He remonstrated, but his remonstrances came too late, the duke evidently thought he had been too precipitate, but as he could not well retrace his steps, he suffered matters to re- main as they were. Cartaret arrived in New York about mid- summer, 1665, and immediately took possession of his govern- ment. He chose Elizabethtown as his capital. It is said that when he first landed on the soil of New Jersey, he carried a hoe upon his shoulder, in token of his intention to devote his at- tention to the promotion of agriculture.
After the Duke of York had conveyed the territory of New Jersey to Berkley and Cartaret, a doubt arose whether Staten Island was not included in the grant, by the terms of the char-
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
ter. Cartaret, the governor, not the proprietor, laid no claim to the island; on the contrary, he tacitly admitted that it did not belong to his jurisdiction, by accepting a conveyance for a tract of land on the island from Nicolls, the Duke of York's agent; this he would scarcely have done, had he considered his brother the proprietor. In 1668 the island "was adjudged to belong to New York," because one of the outlets of the Hudson river ran around the island; while Berkley and Cartaret, by the terms of their patent, were bounded by the river and bay. The Dutch always appear to have regarded the inner bay or harbor as a mere expansion of the river, and the Narrows as its mouth. In their documents, Staten Island is frequently described as lying in the river. If this view was correct, the island evi- dently belonged to New Jersey, because it was embraced with- in its limits. The Duke of York himself appears to have had his doubts about the matter, for it is said, that when the ques- tion of jurisdiction was first agitated, he decided that all islands lying in the river or harbor, which could be circumnavigated in twenty-four hours, should remain in his jurisdiction, otherwise to New Jersey.
Christopher Billop, being then in the harbor in command of a small ship called the "Bentley," which it is also said he owned, undertook the task of sailing around the island, and accomplished it within twenty-four hours, thus securing it to the duke, who, in gratitude for the service rendered him, be- stowed upon Billop a tract of 1163 acres of land in the ex. treme southern part of the island, which was called the " Manor of Bentley," after the ship which had accomplished the task.
In 1684 the question of the proprietorship of Staten Island was again agitated, and many of the landowners became appre- hensive of the validity of their title, and some of them, among whom was Billop, were desirous of selling, but as no pur- chasers could be found for a dubious title, the property re- mained in the family. Dongan was directed, if the Billop estate was sold, to find some purchaser for it in New York, and not to suffer it to pass into the possession of a resident of New Jersey.
There is still preserved in the secretary of state's office at Albany the copy of a letter written by Governor Dongan, whose country residence was on Staten Island, to Sir John Werden,
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Earl of Perth, and dated February 18, 1684-5. From this letter the following extracts will be of interest:
" The Island had been in the possession of his R'll Highss above 20 years (except ye little time ye Dutch had it) purchased by Gov. Lovelace from ye Indyans in ye time of Sir George Carteret without any pretences 'till ye agents made claime toit ;
* * it is peopled with above two hundred ffamilyes. * * *
" The Quakers are making continued pretences to Staten Is- land, which disturbs the people, and one reason given for hold- ing it is that if his Royal Highness cannot retrieve East Jersey it will do well to secure Hudson's River and take away all claim to Staten Island."
The proprietors of New Jersey had complained to Dongan against his encroachments. Dongan himself does not seem to have been perfectly satisfied with his title, for when he obtained his own patent from the Duke of York for a large tract upon the island he strengthened it by securing another patent from the East India proprietors, who had been the previous owners. This took place about the time when the province of New York was divided into counties.
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