USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 7
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 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
This bloody siege has been known as the "Peach war," from the circumstance of its origin as already narrated. The island was now almost entirely depopulated, and the settlement had to be recommenced from the beginning. Adrian Post, the overseer for Baron Van de Cappelan was one of the sixty-seven who escaped massacre and was taken captive He affirms, with
59
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
reference to Staten Island, "that all the dwelling-honses were burned in the known conflict with the savages in 1655, and that no other effects were then left than a few beasts, which he, after his imprisonment by them, collected together, and of which the greatest part died, while the few remaining were sold by him for the maintenance of his wife and children." In relation to the affair we also quote from the reminiscences of Altie Widelar, wife of Thomas Burbank, who " settled at V: Duses:" "She sd. there was 2 or 3 houses at Old Town and at Carlsneck & the Indians run off the Island and murderd. at Old Town all Except a little girl who run into the woods -- the indian put on her fatliers Cloths and Decoyd. the Girl supposing it to be her father her they savd .- The Indians Came principally from Bergain."
The Indians of Staten Island after the coming of the whites rapidly diminished in numbers. As they gave up their lands to the white settlers they moved back into the country. But in reality comparatively few of them moved in that way. Most of them ended their days either by wars among themselves or were destroyed by small-pox, a disease with which they are said to have been unacquainted before their commerce with Europeans, but which afterward made sad havoc with them. And in addition to these canses a writer during the middle of the last century said, " But Brandy has killed most of the Indians. This liquor was likewise entirely unknown to them before the Europeans came hither; but after they had tasted it they could never get enough of it. A man can hardly have a greater de- sire of a thing than the Indians have of brandy. I have heard them say that to die by drinking brandy was a desirable and honorable death; and indeed 'tis no very uncommon thing to kill themselves by drinking this liquor to excess."
The last of the old Staten Island Indians were "Sam" and "Hannah," and their daughter "Nance." The old couple lived at Fresh kill near the Seaman farm, and upon it they used to depredate for timber of which they made baskets, for this was their occupation. They were very old during the first quarter of this century. They sold their baskets for rum, and then they would quarrel. Hannah finally disappeared, and no one knew what had become of hier. It was supposed that Sam had killed her, for he always flew into a rage whenever any one
60
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
asked him where she was. After the death of one or both of her parents it is supposed that Nance left the island.
The first idea of value that was conceived by the Dutch in view of the newly discovered regions here was not associated with any design of forming settlements here. The climate of Holland and other countries of Europe, rendered furs indispen- sable to their inhabitants; hitherto these had been obtained chiefly from Russia, and at great expense. The Dutch had dis- covered that there were furs in the countries newly discovered, which were easily procurable in exchange for articles of ex- tremely trifling value; the temptation to engage in a traffic so exceedingly profitable, was too strong to be resisted by a people so prompt to promote their own interests. Accordingly, in 1611, a vessel was dispatched to the Manhattans as an experiment, and so successful was the venture, that a spirit of commercial enter- prise was at once awakened. Two more vessels, the "Little Fox" and the "Little Crane," were licensed, and under the pretense of looking for the northwest passage, sailed direct for the newly- discovered river. This was in the spring of 1613. Having ar- rived, the traders erected one or two small forts for the protec- tion of the trade on the river. The position of the island of Manhattan for commercial purposes was so favorable as to strike the Europeans at once, and the traders who had scattered in various directions made that island their head-quarters. Hen- drick Cortiansen was the superintendent of the business, and with his small craft penetrated every bay or stream where In- dians were to be found, in pursuit of furs,
The results of these expeditions were successful, and many others were projected, and crowned with similar success. When the intelligence of these discoveries reached the projectors of the several voyages at home, steps were immediately taken by them to secure to themselves the benefits of their enterprise and perseverance. All the country lying between the 40th and 45th degree of north latitude was called " New Netherland." Ex- clusive privileges to trade to these countries for a limited period were given to them. A trading house was at once erected on an island in the Hudson, near the present site of Albany, and the country on both sides of the river thoroughly explored in quest of furs; and by the time of the expiration of the grant, which was at the close of 1617, some of the merchants engaged in the trade had realized immense fortunes therefrom.
61
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
The charter having expired, the trade of New Netherland was thrown open, and adventurers from all parts of the father- land eagerly enlisted therein ; the former traders, however, held on to the advantages they had gained by their prior occu- pancy.
Different commercial associations were formed, whose several interests began to interfere with each other, and all contention and dispntes were at last adjusted by the consolidation of all interests in the organization and charter of the "Dutch West India Company."
The powers and privileges with which this company was invested were not confined to the narrow limits of the New Netherlands ; they embraced the whole range of the American coast, from the Horn to the Arctic sea, and on the west coast of Africa from the Hope to the Tropic of Cancer, not pre- viously occupied by other nations. On the American coast settlements had been made by the French at Canada, by the English at Virginia, and by the Spaniards at Florida. The prep- arations made by the directors of the newly chartered com- pany to improve the privileges granted to them, attracted, in England, the attention of the government, and a strong remon- strance was sent to Holland, insisting that all the territory claimed by the Dutch was embraced in the charter of Virginia. and therefore was under the jurisdiction of England. The matter was from time to time brought before the authorities of both countries, and the discussion protracted by the Dutch for the purpose of gaining time, that the preparations of the new company might be completed.
Thus it will be seen that the first Europeans who visited this part of the continent came for the purpose of trading, not of settling permanently ; but having become favorably impressed with the soil and climate of the country, they began to enter- tain the idea of making it the place of their future abode, and to devote to agriculture that part of the season when furs were not obtainable. The country was organized into a province, a few settlers were sent out, and a form of government was estab- lished, with Peter Minnit at its head as director; this was in the year 1624. In the same year, and probably in the same ship with Minuit, a number of Walloons arrived and settled on Staten Island ; this is the first settlement on the island of which we have any knowledge. These people came from the
62
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
country bordering on the river Scheldt and Flanders ; they professed the reformed religion, and spoke the old French, or Gallic language ; they were good soldiers, and had done efficient service in the thirty years' war. Two years before their arrival here, they had applied to Sir Dudley Carleton for permission to emigrate to some part of Virginia, npon condition that they might build a town of their own, and be governed by officers chosen by and amongst themselves. This application was referred to the Virginia company, and met with a favorable response so far as the mere settlement was concerned, but the privilege to elect their own officers was too long a step toward popular freedom, and could not be conceded ; the permission to settle upon the company's land was fettered with so many conditions affecting their civil and religious liberty that they declined to entertain it, and turned their attention to the New Netherlands, where so many arbitrary conditions were not in- sisted on. On their arrival here they appear to have aban- doned the plan of settling in a colony or single community, and separated, going in different directions, a few families taking up their abode on Staten Island. It is supposed that among these was a family by the name of Rapelje, among whom was one George Jansen de Rapelje. Surrounded by the savages and separated from their friends at Manhattan, they did not long remain here. Yielding to the necessities of their condition. lacking both food and clothing, they returned to Rapsie, the southern extremity of Manhattan island, where they found not much relief but were subjected with the other colonists to ex- tremes of privation and suffering. But relief soon after came by the arrival of a ship from the mother country. The Rapelje family soon after removed to Wallabout, on Long Island, and are recorded as the first European settlers upon that island. Their child Sarah has down to the present time borne the honor of having been the first child of European parentage born in the colony. Her birth is dated June 9th, 1625, and though some have claimed that it took place while the family were upon Staten Island, the facts indicate more strongly that the honor belongs to Long Island. She lived to be the wife of two hus- bands and the mother of twelve children, from whom has descended a large and highly respectable lineage.
For many years the traffic with the Indians for peltries had been exceedingly profitable. and large fortunes had been
63
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
secured by many of the traders, but in the course of time, as the articles of the Indian's traffic became scarcer, and the val- ue of the Dutch commodities depreciated in consequence of their abundance, the trade gradually decreased, until at length the cost of sustaining the colony was greater than its revennes, and the West India company found itself rapidly descending to the verge of bankruptcy.
The first great landed proprietors in New Netherland were called "patroons; " they were Samnel Godyn, Samuel Bloemart, Killian Van Rensselaer and Michael Panw. The two first named settled in Delaware. Van Rensselaer obtained a patent for a large tract on the Hudson in the vicinity of Albany and Troy, and Pauw became the proprietor of all the country extending from Hoboken southward along the bay and Staten Island sound, including Staten Island ; this grant was made to him by the directors in 1630. At the same time the country was purchased from the natives for " certain cargoes or parcels of goods," and called Pavonia. The name of this proprietor still attaches to a part of his possessions in the locality known as Com- munipaw. It is to be mentioned to the credit of the company, that they made it a condition in the patents which they granted, that the recipients should extinguish the Indian title by direct purchase, and this was exacted in every instance. By some it is claimed that the director general and council had purchased the island of the Indians in 1626, but what the authority is for the statement we do not know. The consideration paid to the natives was not money, which would have been useless to thiem, but cloths of various kinds, culinary utensils, ornaments, etc., but not fire-arms.
The value of the articles paid for the fee of the island varied at different times, for the Indians sold it repeatedly. Pauw's acquisition was not of much benefit to him ; it is not known that he made any effort to colonize it, or that he ever cleared a rood of it, for very soon after acquiring it, difficulties arose be- tween him and the directors, and he disposed of his territorial rights on the island and on the continent to his associate direct- ors for the sum of 26,000 guilders. He was a man of conse- quence in his own country ; he was one of the lord directors of the company, and among their names we find his set down as the Lord of Achtienhoven.
In 1636, David Pietersen de Vries obtained a grant for a
64
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
part of the island, and began to make settlements on it, but the precise locality is not known ; it is supposed, how- ever, to have been at or near Old Town (Oude Dorp). The dwellings of the settlers, on their arrival, were generally con- structed as speedily as possible, that their families might be sheltered. Excavations for this purpose were generally made in the side of a hill, or other convenient spot, and lined and roofed with rude planks, split out of the trees ; sometimes the roofs were covered with several layers of bark ; these were only meant for temporary dwelling places, until better ones could be provided.
The date of the grant which had been obtained by de Vries from Wouter Van Twiller was August 13, 1636, and de Vries set sail for Holland two days afterward for the purpose of gath- ering a colony to come and occupy the land. He returned with his settlers about the end of the year 1638. This was the third time de Vries had sailed across the ocean to the New Nether- lands, and when the ship neared the entrance at Sandy Hook he was called upon to pilot her in, as the following extracts from his journal will show :
"Sept. 25, 1638. On board the ship of the West India Com- pany, sailed from Holland.
" Dec. 26. Got sight of Sandy Hook. The captain at the request of the passengers, who all had their homes in the New-Netherlands, solicited me to pilot the ship in, which I did, and anchored the same evening before Staten Island, which was my property, and put my people on shore."
Other memoranda made by de Vries at different dates tell in his own language something of his connection with the island. Under date of August 13, 1636, he says: "I requested Wouter Van Twiller to put Staten Island down in my name, intending to form a colony there, which was granted." Under date of January 5, 1639, he writes: "Sent my people to Staten Island, to commence the colony and buildings." But his pos- session of the island was disturbed as we see by this entry of August 20, 1641: " Arrived, the ship Eyckenboom, and had on board a person named Malyn, who said he was the owner of Staten Island, that it was given to him and to Mr. Van Der Horst by the directors of the company. I could not believe this, having left the country in 1638 to take possession of this island, and in that time have settled there. I could not think
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 65
that the directors of the company would act in this way, it be- ing granted by the sixth article, and we being the first ocen- pants and of course it could not be taken from us."
The two following entries give us de Vries' view of the Indian massacre of 1641. September 1st of that year he writes : "My people were murdered on Staten Island by the Indians of Raritan. They told an Indian who was assisting my people that we should now come to fight for the killing of the men as we formerly had done for the hogs, with the stealing of which they were wrongfully accused. It was done by the servants of the company, then going to the South river, who landed first at Staten Island to take in wood and water, when they stole the logs and the blame was laid on the innocent Indians, who tho' cunning enough, will do no harm if no harm is done to them. And so my colony of Staten Island was smothered in its birth by the management of Governor Kieft, who wanted to avenge the wrongs of his people on the Indians." On the day following, that is, September 2, 1641. we have this entry : " An Indian chief belonging to the Tankitekes, called Pacham, came to the fort in much triumph, with the hand of a dead man hanging on a stick, saying it was the hand of the chief who had killed our people at Staten Island, who had avenged the wrongs of the Swannekins, whose friend he was."
De Vries is said to have been a literary man, and was the author of a historical work. There is no evidence that he re- sided upon the island himself. The settlers introduced by him, however, prospered for a time, until, as we have already seen, their bouweries or farms were desolated by the savages. De Vries remained in the colony for several years, and for some time thereafter maintained his hold on the "bouwerie" on Staten Island, but the relations existing between the Dutch and the Indians were not favorable to the growth of a settlement here, and though we have evidence to support the above statement in the fact that de Vries' bouwerie was excepted from the grant to Melyn, and also the fact that an Englishman residing here in the service of de Vries, was killed in 1642, yet it is probable that he soon afterward abandoned the attempt to maintain a settlement here.
The third attempt to found a settlement on Staten Island was made by a Dutch merchant by the name of Cornelis Melyn. He came from Antwerp, and his first visit was made here in
5
66
IHISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
1639. July 3, 1640, he obtained an order from the directors in Holland, authorizing him to take possession of Staten Island and erect it into a "Colonie." But on his passage hither, in February, 1641, the vessel in which he sailed was captured by the " Dunkirkers." and he thus lost all he had on board. and was glad to reach his native shores in safety. He was obliged then to apply to the directors for a passage to the New Netherlands, which he obtained, and again embarked, with his family and some goods for trade with the Indians, to the value of about 1,000 guilders. This voyage was made on board the ship "Eyckenboom " (meaning "oak tree"), and he ar- rived at New Amsterdam August 20, 1641. He received letters patent from the directors, bearing date June 19th, 1642, for the whole of Staten Island (excepting the bouwerie of Capt. de Vries), and constituting him patroon of the island, investing him at the same time with all the powers, jurisdiction and . pre-eminences of that privileged order.
During the administration of Kieft, Melyn, the patroon of Staten Island, lived in a state of unremitting hostility with him. Having adopted, in a great measure, the policy of de Vries in the treatment of the Indians, though not as success- fully, he found himself in almost constant collision with Kieft, who was prompt to notice and avenge every act of the savages which he could torture into a hostile demonstration.
Kieft continued to reside at New Amsterdam for a short time after he had been superseded, and Melyn improved the oppor- tunity to prefer charges against him. Stuyvesant, though on the whole disposed to deal justly with all men, would brook no direct attack upon the dignity of the directorship, either in his own person or in that of his predecessor, and this was the light in which he chose to regard Melyn's complaint, so when these charges were preferred they were met by counter-charges from the ex director, among which was one that Melyn had said he could get no justice from Kieft. However true the assertion may have been in its application to Kieft, it proved quite true in application to Stuyvesant, for after a long investigation, the attorney-general expressed an opinion that both Melyn and Kuyter, who had also been implicated in the charges, ought to suffer death. The director, however, knowing that his public "acts were likely to be reviewed, was disposed to deal more leniently with them ; he therefore, with the consent of the
67
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
majority of the council, condemned Melyn to a banishment of seven years and a fine of three hundred guilders and Knyter to three years' banishment and a fine of one hundred and fifty guilders.
In accordance with this sentence, the defendants were sent to Holland .* The attention of the government was immediately called to the manner in which justice was administered in the colony, by an appeal which the banished patroon and his asso- ciates took on their arrival. An elaborate investigation followed, and the sentence was reversed; the director was also censured, and required to return home and answer for his arbitrary con- dnct. Melyn, armed with the necessary documents, returned triumphantly to New Amsterdam, and had the satisfaction of serving them upon the director in person. These proceedings on the part of the patroon were far from mollifying the direc- tor; and, as he had proved to be a dangerous man to meddle with arbitrarily, he gratified his animosity by acts of hostility to Melyn's family. Jacob Loper, the son-in-law of the patroon, who had served under Stuyvesant in the West Indies, applied for permission to make a trading voyage to South River, Dela- ware, but it was peremptorily refused.
Stuyvesant's representatives appeared before the tribunal which had cited him, to answer for and defend the acts of their principal. The opinion of the court was that Melyn had been seriously injured in his property and person for no other crime or cause than presuming to differ in opinion with the director. In the meantime the trade of the colony had become less re- munerative, and the government, both at home and in the col- ony, had become involved in complications with other powers to such an extent as to divert attention from Melyn's cause, and it was left for the time in abeyance.
*The ex-director, Kieft, was also a passenger on the same vessel. In regard to their treatment and the events of the voyage we may quote another chronicle :- " They were brought on board like criminals, and torn away from their goods, their wives, and their children. The Princess (the name of the ship) was to carry the director and these two faithful patriots away from New Netherland; but, coming into the wrong channel, it struck upon a rock and was wrecked. And now, this wicked Kieft, seeing death before his eyes, sighed deeply, and, turning to these two (Melyn and Kuyter), said: . Friends, I have been unjust towards you; can yon forgive me?' Towards morning the ship was broken to pieces. Among those drowned were Melyn's son, the minister, Bogardus, Kieft, Captain John De Vries, and a great number of other persons. Much treasure was lost, as Kieft was on his return with a fortune of four hundred thousand guilders-160,000 dollars."
68
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Melyn's appeal seems to have at last gained the reversal of the sentence which had been imposed upon him by Stuyvesant. But notwithstanding this, the persecutions of the governor seem to have continued with unabated zeal. In the spring of 1650 Melyn associated with himself Baron Van Cappelan, a man of wealth, who immediately fitted out a ship called the " New Netherland's Fortune," with a cargo and some twenty colonists for Staten Island. The ship was commanded by Capt. Adrian Post.
The passage was one of extraordinary length and the sea was unusually boisterous, and they were obliged to put into Rhode Island for supplies. They did not reach New Amsterdam until the following winter. Making this stop at Rhode Island the occasion for another persecution, Stuyvesant seized the ship under the pretext that it belonged to Melyn, and caused it and the cargo to be sold. It was purchased by Thomas Willet, who sent it on a voyage to Virginia, and thence to Holland, where Van Cappelan replevined it, and after a protracted law suit, the West India company was obliged to pay a large sum in conse- quence of the illegal act of its representative and servant in New Netherland.
The harassed patroon immediately withdrew to his " colonie" on Staten Island, from whence he was summoned by Stuyvesant to appear, and answer to new charges which had been preferred against him. This summons he positively refused to obey, and a lot of land, with a house on it, in New Amsterdam, belong- ing to him, was declared confiscated, and accordingly was sold. Melyn now fortified himself on the island and established a manorial court.
Among the charges preferred against Melyn were the follow- ing : that he had distributed arms amongst the Indians, and had endeavored to excite hostile feelings toward the director among some of the river tribes. When he left Holland the patroon had taken the precaution of furnishing himself with a " safe conduct," as it was called, which was a sort of protection against further aggressions on the part of Stuyvesant ; to this, however, he paid little regard when he had the patroon in his power ; but now that he had proved contumacious by refusing to appear, and putting himself into his enemy's power, the di- rector scarcely dared venture to arrest by force one who was
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.