USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 25
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Flax was raised in considerable quantities, not only for the linen fibre it yielded, but for the seed, large quantities of which were shipped to Ireland, where it brought a good price. John V. D. Jacobsen, who lived at New Dorp, and was accounted one of the three richest men on the island in his time (Judge Seguine and Jacob Mersereau being the others), died in 1826, his property being valued then at seventeen thousand five hun- dred dollars. In those times the price of a drink at a tavern was three cents, but in the time of the war of 1812 this was in- creased to four cents when sugar was taken. Cigars cost twenty-five cents a hundred, and were frequently kept by land- lords to be given away whenever asked for.
The war of 1812 passed without leaving any considerable traces upon this island that are now discernable. Fortifications were thrown up for defense in case the British fleet should come into the bay. One of these was located on the summit of the hill at Prince's bay, a little north of the light-house. The embankment was on the seaward margin of the height, and part of it has evidently been washed away by rains and the tide un- dermining the bank. It is said that the fort contained a block house, the stones of which were afterward used in the con- struction of the light-house and keeper's house adjoining. Another earthwork was at Little Fort hill, near the site of the present fort that commands the narrows.
The general laws of the state from time to time enacted for the gradual extinction of slavery were the same in their appli- cation to this county as elewhere. The records of the differ- ent towns show some interesting relics of the custom. We have only space for a few. Here is a transcription from the Westfield town records :
"I Winant Winants of the County of Richmond and State of New York and Town of Westfield, Yeoman Doth Certify that I have Had a Female Negroe Child Born of a Slave the
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
26th July 1799 Named Bett from its Birth to this Date is Six months and Twenty Four Days old.
" WINANT WINANTS.
" Recorded this 19th February, 1800.
" HENRY PARLEE, Town Clerk."
This is also from the records of Westfield :
"This is to Certify that on the third Day of February 1800 the Negro wench a Slave Belonging to Benjamin Larzelere, Yeoman of the Town of Westfield in the County of Richmond and State of New York was Dilivered of a male Child wich is now Living by the Name of Tom.
"Given under my hand the 7th Day of April 1800.
" BENJAMIN LARZELERE.
" Recorded this seventh Day of April one thousd Eight Hundred 1880
" HENRY PARLEE, Town Clerk."
The following are from the records of the town of Castleton:
"I do hearby certify that a male negro child named Nicholas the Father of whom named Sam belongs to me, and the mother named Bett belongs to Cornelius Cruser, was born In my House at Castle Town the eight day of may in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred, and I request that this return of the Birth of the Said Child may be Entered agreeable to the directions Contained In a late Act for the gradual Abolition of Slavery.
" JOHN MERCEREAU." "Castletown January 15th, 1801."
"Richmond County 30th wit :
" Personally came & appeared before me John Garretson, first Judge of the said County, the Rev. Peter I. Vanpelt, who being duly sworn deposeth and saith, that he has a coloured boy named Harry born February 1803-also that he lias a col- oured Girl named Eliza born August 1810-also a coloured girl named Dian born June 29th 1814-also a coloured boy named Ned-born Febry 28th 1818 And further this deponent saith not.
" PETER I. VANPELT "Sworn before me
this 6th day of april 1818 "JOHN GARRETSON
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
" To be recorded by the Town Clerk of Castletown as the Law directs."
"This is to Certify that my Woman of Colour named Mary had a female child born the fifteenth day of December in the Year 1814 named Mary and also same Woman had a male child born the Second day of March 1817 named harry and also my woman of Colour named Jane had a male child born the tenth day of July one thousand eight hundred and sixteen named Murry which Certificate I hereby request the Clerk of Castletown to record. Dated at Castletown the 9th day of May, 1817.
"JAMES GUYON "
"To the Clerk of Castle Town. I hereby certify to you that a female negro Child named Mary, born of my slave Jane the fifth day of February last, which was given up to be recorded, I do hereby Mannmit and give up all my right & title to the service thereof given under my hand at Castle Town the third day of February, 1804
"JACOB LOZIER"
" Richmond County }
Town of Northfield To whom it may Concern know ye that on the 24 day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred & Eleven I Joseph Ryers a free Black Man do by thease presence Manumit and abandon all My Rite and title to the service of my son Harry and he is hereby pronounced By me to be a free man agreable to the Laws of the State of New York as witness My hand
his "JOSEPH X RYERSS" mark
During the years of the first half of this century, as well as those of the eighteenth century that followed the revolution, the people paid attention to the training of their able bodied citizens in the manipulation of weapons of defense and military movements. Years afterward, when the settled condition of peace seemed to lull the public mind into indifference in regard to preparations for war, the custom fell into disuse. The mil- itia system was under similar regulations in this as in other counties of the state. It was held as the bulwark of that con- fidence which the people had in their own dominant might ; the dearest feature and safeguard of freedom ; the life guard of a
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
nation, drawn out yearly before the view of its rulers, showing them their own proper orbits by a display of numerical strength which it would be madness to oppose, and at the same time showing to the eyes of foreign powers the muscle of the nation, against which it would be folly to make conquest.
Reviews of the militia were held on the broad plain which was spread out on either side of New Dorp lane. Here the re- view by the officers annually took place, and those occasions were gala days to the people who witnessed them, as well as to those who took part in the parade. Officers and men were on the alert to make the best possible exhibition, for critical eyes were upon them, as well, as was often the case, the eyes of loved ones, the fair and the beautiful. A sumptuous dinner and gen- eral merry-making, often accompanied by the perverted good cheer that flowed from the old decanters and made discord where harmony was intended, usually followed the military review.
The militia of Staten Island in 1837 composed the One Hun- dred and Forty-sixth regiment, which was a part of the Sixty- fifth brigade, in the Second division of New York state in- fantry. The division was then in command of Major-General Van Buren, the brigade was under Brigadier-General D. Denyse, and the regiment was commanded by Colonel Tompkins. The " Mirror," a local paper of the time, in its issue of September 7, 1837, contains the following picture of one of these militia parades.
" On Friday last we were witness to a parade of the officers of the 146th regiment. Major Tompkins of the staff of Major General Van Buren, has lately been promoted to the command of this regiment, and this was his first parade, or drill of offi- cers. We unexpectedly met the battalion on its way to Rich- mond village; the sounds of martial music reverberated along the hills, and prickled up the hairs on our horse's ears, his whole frame quivered with alarm; steed threatened steed with high and boastful neighings; cows scampered off like militiamen at the clarion's sound; our own impatient nag turned tail upon the army, bearing safely away his interesting burthen: the very mud-turtles, that inhabit the ponds in the neighborhood, plunged headlong into the tide and hid their coward heads; but all this consternation and dismay was occasioned by the rascally exotics who were hired for the occasion to make a racket with
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
their drums and trumpets. The detachment themselves were as peaceable a set of men as ever shouldered arms; and we were much better pleased with their manual exercise than we have been with like exhibitions in New York. The officers of the Tompkins Guards looked well in their new uniforms, and the non-commissioned officers behaved like soldiers, One thing we have to commend Col. Tompkins for-his orders were given cor- rectly and in good time; but on the march his guides of the left were poorly covered -this is a matter of some importance, and should be attended to, We understand that the field and staff are about adopting the United States infantry nniform -- good. Old Richmond begins to pick up spirit on every hand --- she'll do presently. Go it fellow sogers,"
A statute fixed the first Monday in September of each year as the day for annual military parade, for all the enrolled militia of the state to parade by companies in each company district. This occasion was frequently denom- inated the " September training day." Those "September training days" were remarkable occasions, landmarks in the lives of the sturdy yeomanry. To get the crowd into shape was a task indeed for the officers, and the line would often be a marvel of curvature-straight as a new moon, This might be accounted for in a measure by the fact that it was the only time in each year when the privates were drilled by companies, and was also the day when the corporal would bring in his new recruits, and report their enrollment. Those new recruits, the boys, were not required to be equipped at their first appearance, but simply to answer at roll call, and when any of them remained in the ranks during the drill, it was only to have a good time generally. If those young sol- diers appeared with anything less crude than a hoe handle or a flail staff instead of a musket, the officers were to be con- gratulated.
The regimental parade, or "general muster," as it was called, was neither boys' play nor a drill with wooden guns in a half circle. Upon the adjutant, who was chief of the colonel's staff, devolved the duty of forming the companies into one regimen- tal line and to equalize the divisions, then the whole was turned over to the colonel commanding, and after drill and evolutions in his discretion the regiment was reviewed by the division and brigadier generals, each with his staff officers all mounted,
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
After passing in review, the field officers and the colonel's mounted staff were all inspected in the saddle by the brigade inspector. Then followed the inspection of the officers and privates in the line, the inspector having dismounted. Every sword, musket, lock and flint, cartridge-box and bayonet, as well as the uniform of the officers, must pass the ordeal, and the belt or buckle that betrayed any sign of weakness was at the risk of being sundered by a little extra force of the inspec- tor's arm. The confusion and loose discipline of the " Septem- ber training day " had no place in the "general muster."
The colonel commanding was required by law to issue an order annually, summoning the regimental and staff officers, the commissioned and non-commissioned officers and musi- cians of the whole island to rendezvous at some place designated by him in the order, three successive days, for drill and in- struction, which was conducted by the regimental officers under the supervision of the colonel. To be buttoned to the chin in the regulation coat, and exposed to the rays of the hot summer sun, under a brimless beaver chapeau, was an ordeal that was dreaded by those who had to pass through it, but the blasts of the sun on the parade field were not to be compared in their destructive effects with the blasts of gunpowder on the field of battle. About forty years ago the state laws were materially changed, and all those old military organizations were disbanded.
An era of improvement seemed to open upon the island about the year 1836. In the following year it was said that more buildings were then in process of erection or had just been completed than at any previous time since the revolution. In Richmond village a new street had just been opened and seven new houses had been built upon it. The village had grown dormant, but this dash seemed like the pushing forth of a new life. Tompkinsville was estimated to have doubled its population within a short space of time, a rapid growth de. veloping toward Stapleton. New Brighton was unusually full of life and bustle. Factoryville had suffered somewhat from the decreased activity in its manufactures, yet the recent erection of many new homes gave it a cheering glow of promise. Improvements were also noticeable at Rossville, the name of which had not long before been changed from the old cognomen, " Blazing Star."
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
That there are two sides to every question of public policy, and that there was a strong sentiment against some enterprises that are generally welcomed, is seen by the action of the people of this county taken in regard to the establishment of a bank, a whaling company and a steam ferry company in 1838. These three enterprises were projected here in 1838, and notice was duly given that applications would be made to the legislature for acts to incorporate them. A public meeting was called at Fac- toryville, at the "Shakespeare Hotel," January 11, 1838, in which call the "citizens of Richmond County, without dis- tinction of party, opposed to all monopolies," were invited to join in opposing the granting of charters to the aforesaid companies. The meeting, which was said to be "large and respectable," was presided over by Hon. Samnel Barton, while Paul Mersereau acted as secretary. Animated discus- sions followed, and a number of resolutions were passed, the result of which was to decide upon a remonstrance to the legislature against granting charters to any of the proposed incorporations. The sentiments prevailing in these expressions declared that " we view the application for a bank at the pres- ent as a most flagrant and daring insult to the good of the
People
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*
and that we will use all honorable
means to bring into contempt our present odious banking sys- tem;" that they regarded the incorporation of a steamboat com- pany as entirely unnecessary; and in general that all acts of special incorporation come from the people and that the people have a just right to inquire into the necessity of such acts, "and if found wanting in the balance of justice, to instruct our representative to veto the applications in the bud, and thereby save ourselves a vast amount of money which is ex- pended in payment of legislatures for discussing topics which they of right have no business to meddle with." In the re- monstrance the following passage appears, which we think worthy of notice here:
" Your petitioners think it preposterous in any government to lend its aid to carry into effect thie mad schemes of specu- lators, to permit them by the aid of their corporate privileges to appropriate all the profits arising therefrom to their private use, as long as successful, by which they often ac- quire princely fortunes, and then by their private property being exempt from the payment of their corporate debts,
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
enable them, when unsuccessful, to throw the bnrthen of their losses on the community. It is no longer a novelty to see the individual stockholders of a bankrupt institution living in splendor and rolling in wealth, while from the poor mechanic and laborer they withhold the amounts justly due to them, and thereby deprive them of the means of supporting their destitute and unhappy families. It is also a bitter reflection that such cruelty and injustice is sanctioned by the laws of our beloved country, from which there is no earthly appeal."
As we follow the chronological order of our history circum- stances invite our attention for a moment to the remarkable peculiarities of the season of 1843. The early part of the preceding winter had been quite mild, but it became very severe about February, and so continued until near May, when the weather became suddenly warm. Extremes of heat and cold followed in frequent alternations. But little spring weather was developed. On the 3d of June ice formed in the Clove road an eighth of an inch thick. All vegetation was stunted. Early in that month extreme heat commenced, accom - panied with drought which extended into July. The seventeen- year locusts appeared early in June, doing a great amount of mischief to young trees. They remained about six weeks. On the 2d of July the thermometer marked 94° in the shade, and in the afternoon of that day a terrific tornado passed over the island, adding to the damage of frost, drought and locusts. Early in August a deluge of rain followed the drought. Early in September a remarkably cold week necessitated fires to keep warm by, and this was followed by a spell of extreme heat.
The island has several times felt the shock of earthquakes. On the 21st of February, 1845, between 7 and 8 o'clock in the evening, a shock was felt. Persons seated at the time could feel the chairs oscillating beneath them. The same impression was perceptible in different parts of the island. On the 25th of the following October, another shock was sensibly felt on the island, this one moving from east to west. February 4, 1846, still another similar shock was felt. The preceding summer was one of great heat and extreme dryness. On the 8th of Septem- ber, 1848, about 11 o'clock at night, an earthquake was felt on the island. One who remembers it, thus describes his im- pressions. "I was in bed at the time, and in an imperfect sleep
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
and was awakened by it. It shook the house and was accom- panied by a noise as of many carriages passing over the paved streets of a city. Its course seemed from southwest to north- east, and it continued several seconds. But perhaps the most severe earthquake shock ever felt here was that which visited the island, in common with some other parts of the country, on the afternoon of Sunday, August 10, 1884. It passed at 10 min- utes past 2 o'clock, and was preceded by a deep rumbling sound, which increased in volume till every house on the island trembled, shaking sashes, doors and shutters, throwing dishes from tables and shelves and jostling bricks off the tops of chim- nies. Some supposed that the Standard oil works on Bergen point had exploded. At the Pavilion hotel the guests were at dinner. Great confusion prevailed, men and women rushing into the halls and about the house, while some ladies fainted. More or less confusion prevailed in other houses, but no serious damage was done.
We come now to notice one of the most conspicuous barriers to the prosperity and growth of Staten Island that its history can show. That " barrier" was indeed long since "burned away." We refer to the quarantine hospitals, which were located at Tompkinsville, and the removal of which is one of the most striking examples of the determination to which a community may in very desperation be driven by a persistent course of oppression, even when pursued under the cloak of state authority.
As the commerce of the port of New York extended itself, and vessels from all parts of the world visited its harbor, and sometimes bronght infections diseases with them, it became an imperative necessity that the authorities should establish a quarantine for the protection of the people dwelling within its limits. Accordingly, the colonial legislature, in 1758, enacted a law creating a quarantine establishment, and located it npon Bedloe's island, where it remained thirty-eight years, and from which it was removed to Nutten, or Governor's island. In 1799, the yellow fever was brought to New York, and it was decided that the establishment was altogether too near the metropolis to be of any service in protecting the people, by preventing the spread of malignant diseases. Commissioners were then ap- pointed by acs of legislature to procure a site on Staten Island. They selected a parcel of land containing thirty acres, belong-
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
ing to St. Andrew's church, beautifully located on the northeast shore of the island. Strong opposition was made not only by the owners of the land, but by the people of the island gener- ally, to its location among them, but it was taken, notwith- standing, by what in law is termed "the right of eminent domain." Hospitals and other necessary buildings were erected, and during the first year of its existence on the island, twenty- five cases of yellow fever occurred among the people residing outside of its boundaries, all but one of which proved fatal. Almost every year thereafter contagious diseases, in some form, fonnd victims among the people. In 1848, the number of per- sons sick from infectious diseases outside of the quarantine amounted to one hundred and eighty. In that year an earnest petition for relief was presented to the legislature by the people of the island, supported by powerful influences from New York and Brooklyn, and a committee was appointed by the legisla- ture to examine into the matter, and report at the following session. This committee at once proceeded to the performance of the duty assigned them, and in 1849 " unhesitatingly recom- mended the immediate removal of the quarantine." While the committee were engaged in performing their duty, the yellow fever again broke out, and extended itself to various other places. In April an act was passed for the removal of the quar- antine establishment from Staten Island to Sandy Hook. The measure had its opponents among the shipping merchants and others in New York, who were not idle ; the state of New Jer- sey also interposed its objections, and the persons appointed by the legislature of New York to carry out its intentions, took no action whatever, so that the removal act remained a dead letter on the statute books.
The fearful visitation of yellow fever in 1856 once more aroused the people of the island, and another application for relief was made. In March, 1857, another act was passed for the removal of the quarantine from Staten Island, but the op- position of the commissioners of emigration, the board of underwriters of New York, and the shipping interests of that city, again thwarted the beneficent designs of the legislature. The precautions adopted by the local authorities to protect the citizens and their families from infection, were opposed by the health officer, and every possible obstacle was thrown in the
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
way of the local officers to embarrass them in the performance of their duties.
The largest hospital building in the enclosure was three stories high, one hundred and thirty-six by twenty-eight feet, and had wings thirty-seven by twenty-eight feet at each end. A hospital building near the water was three stories high, fifty by forty-five feet, with wings at each end sixty-six by twenty- six feet. These two buildings were designed to accommodate four hundred patients. The small-pox hospital was two stories high, eighty by twenty-eiglit feet, with a piazza running along the front and rear. It was designed to accommodate fifty patients. There were twelve other buildings on the grounds, viz. : health-officer's residence, deputy health-officer's residence, assistant physician's house, steward and farmer's house, work- house, house for barge-inen, boat house, office, carpenter's shop, ice and coal house, wagon house and barn.
The board of health of the town of Castleton was organized August 2, 1856, with Richard Christopher as chairman and Dr. Isaac Lea as health officer. Freqnent meetings were held, and the health of the villages of the town, and the effect of the quarantine upon them frequently considered. Carelessness was prevalent in the management of that institution, and diseases were frequently propagated from the hospitals among the people living in the town. These diseases were communicated by em- ployees of the quarantine going out among the people, and by miasmatic transmission through the atmosphere. The history of the action of this board and the progress of the popular sentiment which kept pace with it would be interesting to those who have time to read, but space forbids following it in any detail during the three years of its growth up to the culminat- ing point. Dr. E. C. Mundy was appointed health officer dur- ing this time, and at times a guard was employed to keep sur- veilance over the enclosure, to prevent as far as possible the commerce of its employees with the people outside.
At a meeting July 15, 1858, health officer Doctor Mundy stated that a persistent determination was manifest to thwart the ac- tion of the board by misrepresentation and ridicule. In order to counteract in some measure the influence of such efforts he made a statement as follows :
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