History of Rockland County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 2

Author: Cole, David, 1822-1903, ed. cn; Beers, J. B., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 993

USA > New York > Rockland County > History of Rockland County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men > 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).

ERRATA.

Page 224, first column, 21st line from bottom-For "Amenia Union," read "Sharon, Conn." Page 238, second column, 28th line from top-For "late profession " read " later profession." Page 239, first column, Itth line from bottoin-For "Rev. James I. C. Romeyn" read " Rev. James V. C. Romeyn," 2d line from bottom-For "their conditions " read " these conditions."

Page 239, second column, 4th line from top-For " quietly followed " read " quickly followed." 33d line from top-For "Totown " read " Totowa."

Page 240, second column, 20th line from bottom-For " It is time " read " Is it time."

Page 243, first column, 16th line from bottoin-For "the Seminary Class Rev." read " the Seminary Class of Rev."

Page 269, first foot note-For " Kings Bridge " read " Kings Ferry."

Page 271, second column, 3d line from top-For "past the mines " read " past the ruins."

Page 288, second column, 20th line from top-For " Rev. S. J. Harker " read " Rev. S. J. Parker."

Page 298, first column, 24th line from bottom-For "G. E. Pumcker " read "'G. E. Parucker."

Page 301, second column, 20th line from top-For "page 119 " read "page 199."

Page 305, first column, 22d line froin top-For " Henry L. Sloat " read " Henry R. Sloat." Page 315, second coluinn, 25th line from top-For " Morris Patent " read " Harris Patent."

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OUTLINE HISTORY

OF THE

STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAPTER I.

DISCOVERY OF NEW YORK-THE INDIANS OF THE FIVE NATIONS.

N 1524 John de Verazzano, a Florentine navi- gator in the service of Francis the First of France, made a voyage to the North American coast, and, as is believed from the account which he gave, entered the harbor of New York. No colonies were planted, and no results followed; and the voyage was almost forgotten.

Though discoveries were made by the French, north from this point, and colonies planted by the English farther to the south, it is not known that New York was again visited by Europeans till 1609, when the Dutch East India Company sent Hendrick Hudson, an English- man by birth, on a voyage of discovery in a vessel called the "Half Moon." He reached the coast of Maine, sailed thence to Cape Cod, then southwesterly to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, then, coasting northward, he entered Delaware Bay on the 28th of August. From thence he proceeded northward, and on the 3d of September, 1609, anchored in New York Bay. On the 12th he entered to a point just above the present site of the City of Hud- son; thence he sent a boat's crew to explore farther up, and they passed above Albany. September 23d he set sail down the river, and immediately returned to Europe.

the river that bears his name, and proceeded slowly up only the conquerors of their own race, but the powerful

In 1607 Samuel Champlain, a French navigator, sailed up the St. Lawrence, explored its tributaries, and on the 4th of July in that year discovered the lake which bears his name.

Five Nations, and by the French the Iroquois, and by themselves called Hodenosaunee-people of the long house. 'The long house formed by this confederacy ex- tended east and west through the State, having at its eastern portal the Mohawks, and at its western the Sen- ecas ; while between them dwelt the Oneidas, Ononda- gas, and Cayugas ; and after 1714 a sixth nation, the Tuscaroras, southeast from Oneida Lake. Of these Indians Parkman says that at the commencement of the seventeenth century "in the region now forming the State of New York, a power was rising to a ferocious vitality, which, but for the presence of Europeans, would probably have subjected, absorbed or exterminated every other Indian community east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio."

" The Iroquois was the Indian of Indians. A thorough savage, yet a finished and developed savage, he is, per- haps, an example of the highest elevation which man can reach without emerging from his primitive condition of the hunter. A geographical position commanding on the one hand the portal of the great lakes, and on the other the sources of the streams flowing both to the Atlantic and the Mississippi, gave the ambitious and ag- . gressive confederates advantages which they perfectly understood, and by which they profited to the utmost. Patient and politic as they were ferocious, they were not allies and the dreaded foes of the French and English colonies, flattered and caressed by both, yet too sagacious to give themselves without reserve to either. Their or- ganization and their history evince their intrinsic superi- ority. Even their traditionary lore, amid its wild pueril- ities, shows at times the stamp of an energy and force in striking contrast with the flimsy creations of Algonquin fancy. That the Iroquois, left under their own institu- tions, would ever have developed a civilization of their own, I do not believe."

At the time of the discovery of New York by the whites the southern and eastern portions were inhabited by the Mahican or Mohegan Indians ; while that portion These institutions were not only characteristic and curious, but almost unique. Without sharing the almost west from the Hudson River was occupied by five con- federate tribes, afterwards named by the English the fanatical admiration for them of Morgan, or echoing

OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

the praises which Parkman lavisnes on them, it may be truly said that their wonderful and cohesive confederation furnished a model worthy to be copied by many civilized nations, while, so long as they were uncontaminated by the vices of civilization, they possessed, with all their savagery, many noble traits of character, which would adorn any people in their public, social, or domestic relations.

They made themselves the dreaded masters of all their neighbors east of the Mississippi, and carried their victorious arms far to the north, the south, and the cast. Their dominance is thus cloquently pictured in Street's " Frontenac ": .

" The fierce Adirondacs had fled from their wrath, The Hurons heen swept from their merciless path; Around, the Ottawas, like leaves, had been strewn, And the lake of the Eries struck silent and lonc. The Lenape, lords once of valley and hill, Made women, bent low at their conquerors' will.

By the far Mississippi the Illini shrank When the trail of the TORTOISE was seen on the bank; On the hills of New England the Pequod turned pale When the howl of the WOLF swelled at night on the gale: And the Cherokee shook in his green, smiling bowers When the foot of the BEAR stamped his carpet of flowers."

It will hereafter be seen that the Iroquois acted an im- portant part in the early history of the State.

Space will not permit a description of their league, or confederation, a sketch of their tribal relations, and their religious, social and domestic customs, or a history of their warlike achievements.

Only an allusion may here be made to the many dim and shadowy records of a pre-existing people of whom not even a faint tradition remains. These records con- sist of stone, terra cotta, or bone weapons, implements or ornaments, that are occasionally discovered, and of the remains of defensive works found here and there through the State. Many similar works have been leveled by the plough, and those that remain are slowly crumbling and passing to oblivion. Some of them, though they would not be regarded as models of military engineering at the present day, give evidence of an adaptation to the circumstances that probably existed when they were built, and of skill in construction, which are not discreditable to their builders.

CHAPTER J.

NEW YORK UNDER THE DUTCH-ENGLISH GOVERNORS TO 1765.

expeditions, giving exclusive privileges of trade for four years. The Hudson River had been ascended by Hen- drick Christiansen, and a fort and trading house erected near the present site of Albany, which was named Fort Orange.

In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was chartered, and in 1623 settlers were sent thither. In 1626 Peter Minuit, as director-general or governor of the province, arrived with other settlers, and purchased the island of Manhattan from the Indians for trinkets of the value of about $24. In 1629 the company offered grants to patroons who should found settlements in the province (which had been named New Netherlands) of fifty or more adults, and several availed themselves of this offer. In 1633 Minuit was recalled and Wouter Van Twiller ap- pointed in his place. During his administration the con- troversy concerning jurisdiction was commenced between the Dutch and the English, who claimed the country on the ground of prior discovery by Cabot and the grant of James I. covering the territory. -

In 1638 Van Twiller was succeeded in the government of the colony by William Kieft. By reason of hostilities which occurred with the Indians on Long Island in 1643-44, for which Kieft was censured, he was recalled, and succeeded by Peter Stuyvesant in 1647. The con- troversy concerning jurisdiction continued during his administration, till, in 1664, Charles Il. of England, re- gardless of the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands, granted to his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, afterwards James II., the whole country from the Con- necticut to the Delaware, including the entire Dutch pos- sessions. A fleet was sent under Colonel Richard Nicolls by the duke to enforce his claim, and on the 3d of Sep- tember, 1664, the province was surrendered without bloodshed, and the government of the colony passed into the hands of the English.

Colonel Nicolls at once assumed the functions of gov- ernor; the nanie New Amsterdam was changed to New York, and Fort Orange to Albany, laws for the govern- ment of the province were prescribed, and courts for the administration of these laws established. In 1668 Gov- ernor Nicolls resigned, and was succeeded by Colonel Francis Lovelace. England at about this time became involved in a war with Holland, and this government sent a squadron to repossess its province in America. This squadron arrived July 30th, 1673, and the fort at New York was surrendered without resistance by Captain John Manning, who was in command. Captain Anthony Colve became governor; but his reign was short, for on the conclusion of peace between the two powers, Febru- ary 9th, 1674, the province reverted to the English. A new patent was issued, confirming the first, and Sir Ed- mund Andros was commissioned governor. The despotic agent of a despotic ruler he was unpopular with the peo- ple, and became involved in difficulties with the neigh- boring colonies. He was recalled and his successor, In the autumn of the same year the first colonial assem-

N 1610 another vessel was sent from Holland to trade with the natives and in 1612 two morc, soon after followed by others; and a small fort and a few rude buildings were erected at the southern extremity of Man- hattan Island, and the place was named New | Thomas Dongan, arrived on the 2end of August, 1683. Amsterdam. In 1614 the States General of Hol- land granted a charter to the merchants engaged in these | bly was convened, many needed reforms were instituted,

NEW YORK UNDER ENGLISH GOVERNORS.

and better times than the colonists had ever known ap- peared to have dawned. The most important act of this took three hundred prisoners. In 1696 he made another incursion, and ravaged a portion of the coun ry. The Indians retaliated by hostile incursions among their enemies, but the peace of Ryswick, between France and England, terminated these hostilities.

Assembly was the adoption of a charter of liberties and privileges, or bill of rights. The hopes thus raised were soon disappointed. On the accession of James II. to the English throne he refused his confirmation of the priv- ileges which had been granted while he was Duke of York, prohibited the Assembly, forbade the establishment of a printing press in the colony, and filled the principal offices in the province with Roman Catholics.

Governor Fletcher was succeeded in 1698 by Richard, Earl of Bellomont, who died in 1701, and John Nanfan, the lieutenant-governor, succeeded him till the arrival of the next governor, Lord Cornbury, in 1702. The admin- In 1687 a war broke out between the Iroquois and the French. The country of the former was invaded by the French, under De la Barre and M. de Nonville success- ively, and in retaliation the Iroquois, twelve hundred strong, fell upon the French on the south side of the island of Montreal, "burnt their houses, sacked their plantations, and put to the sword all the men, women and children without the skirts of the town. A thousand French were slain in this invasion, and twenty-six were carried into captivity and burnt alive." Shortly after- ward, in another attack, the lower part of the town was destroyed, and in all this the assailants lost only three. istration of this governor was chiefly distinguished for religious intolerance; and he received the unenviable distinction of being the worst governor under the English regime. He was succeeded, December 18th, 1708, by Lord Lovelace, who died on the 5th of the following May. Under Lieutenant-Governor Ingoldsby, who ad- ministered the government after his death, an unsuccess- ful expedition against Canada was undertaken. Gerardus Beekman succeeded him as governor pro tem., till June 14th, 1710, when the next governor, Robert Hunter, arrived. In 1711 another disastrous expedition against Canada was made, but in 1713 the treaty of Utrecht ter- In 1688 New York and the Jerseys were annexed to the jurisdiction of New England, and Sir Edmund An- dros was made governor of all. Governor Dongan was removed, and Francis Nicolson succeeded him. The government was vested in a governor and council, who were appointed by the king without the consent of the people. minated the war between England and France, and put an end to Indian hostilities. In 1719 Hunter returned to England, and Peter Schuyler was governor, ad interim, till the arrival of William Burnet in 1720. On the acces- sion to the throne of George II. Burnet was transferred to the government of Massachusetts, and succeeded, April 15th, 1728, by John Montgomery, who died July In 1689 William and Mary ascended the English throne. Sir Edmund Andros was seized at Boston, and Jacob Leisler seized the fort at New York, under the pretence of holding it for the new sovereigns. During the two years of Leisler's usurpation the French and In- dians made a descent on Schenectady, February 8th, 1690, and massacred about sixty of the inhabitants. The danger by which they were threatened induced the people, Ist, 1731. Rip Van Dam, by virtue of seniority in the council, was his successor till the arrival of William Cosby, the next governor, finished his administration and began one rendered memorable for its arbitrary proceed- ings and tumult, rather than for striking or important events. Cosby died March roth, 1736, and was succeeded by George Clark, senior counselor after Van Dam, whom Cosby had caused to be suspended. Clark was com- -who, though favorably disposed toward William and missioned lieutenant-governor in the following October. Mary, were opposed to Leisler-to submit to his authority for the time. On the arrival, in March, 1691, of Colonel Sloughter, who had been commissioned governor in 1869, Leisler at first refused to surrender the government to him. For this he was tried by a special commission, and sentenced to death. The governor, who refused to sign his death warrant, was persuaded, while intoxicated, to do so, and he was executed before the governor had re- covered from his intoxication Governor Sloughter died in July, 1691, after a weak administration of only a few months.

The colonial Assembly was again established during this year, and the oppressive laws which had been im- posed on the colony repealed. In the interim between the death of Sloughter and the arrival of his successor the chief command was committed to Richard Ingoldsby. In August, 1692, Benjamin Fletcher arrived with a com- mission as governor. He was narrow, violent, avaricious and bigoted, and his administration was a continual ex- | Lieutenant-Governor James De Lancey till the arrival, in hibition of these qualities. -

In 1693 the French and Indians under Count Frontenac

invaded the country of the Iroquois, killed some, and

An antagonism had been growing during some time be- tween the democratic and the aristocratic parties in the colonies. Clark at first sought to conciliate both, but in the end had the confidence of neither, and his retirement, on the arrival of his successor, Admiral George Clinton, September 23d, 1743, was but little regretted. The ad- ministration of Governor Clinton was characterized by a continual conflict with the people, represented in the provincial Assembly. Unable by repeated prorogations and dissolutions to coerce them into submission, he re- signed after an administration of ten years, and was suc- ceeded, October 10th, 1763, by Sir Danvers Osborne. He was charged with still more stringent instructions than his predecessors, and met with still firmer resistance from the people. After an administration of a few days he committed suicide by hanging, probably because of the embarrassment by which he was surrounded, and grief for the death of his wife. He was succeeded by September, 1755, of Sir Charles Hardy, who, though nom- inally governor, surrendered the duties of the office into

OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

the hands of De Lancey. Governor Hardy resigned in 1757 and De Lancey became governor. He died on the 30th of July, 1760, and Cadwalader Colden, president of the council, took charge of the government. He was commissioned lieutenant-governor in August, 1761, and in October of the same year General Robert Moulton, who had been appointed governor, assumed the guber- natorial functions; but on the 13th of the following monch he left the administration of affairs in the hands of Colden, and went on an expedition against Martinique. Colden's administration continued till 1765.

CHAPTER III.

WAR WITH FRANCE AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION.

S early as 1722 a trading post was established at Oswego by Governor Burnet, with the viev. of establishing others farther west on the lakes, and securing the trade of the western ! and its enforcement in the city of New York attempted. It was resisted by the populace, the effigy of Governor Colden, who was charged with its execution, was hanged

Indians. To intercept this, and secure this trade for themselves, the French established a post and erected a fort at Niagara, with the and burned in the streets, and finally a quantity of the stamped paper was seized and consumed in a bonfire.

design of extending a chain of military posts to the Ohio River, and thus limiting the English trade.

In March, 1744, war was declared between France and England, in which the colonies of New York and New England participated. During its continuance the coun- try north from Albany was frequently ravaged by parties of French and Indians. Saratoga was burned, and nearly all the inhabitants either killed or made prisoners, and the village of Hoosic taken.

In 1746 an unsuccessful expedition against Canada was undertaken, for which the colony of New York furnished sixteen hundred men. Peace was concluded at Aix La Chapelle in 1748, and a period of nominal tranquillity followed, though the frontier was desolated by savage parties, encouraged by the French.

In 1755, with the view of checking their encroach-

ments, four expeditions were sent against them, two of into by the colonists, and again the influence of the

which were in the colony of New York. One of them, that against Niagara, was unsuccessful, but the other, against Crown Point, achieved a success, which was not however followed up.

It was not till 1756 that the English ministry aroused from its imbecility and formally declared war. In the campaign of 1756 the English and colonial forces met with no success, but the two forts at Oswego were lost, with 1,600 prisoners and much war material. The cam- paign of 1757 was equally unsuccessful and disastrous. Fort William Henry, on Lake George, with 3,000 men, fell into the hands of the French under Montcalm.

their measures, and a fresh impulse given to the colonies. Success soon turned in favor of the English, and, with few exceptions, continued till Canada was subdued. Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara and Quebec fell in 1758, and Montreal, Detroit, Michilimackinac and all other Canadian posts in 1760. A great obstacle to the prosperity of New York was removed by the conquest of Canada, which prevented further hostile incursions of French and Indians into its territory.

In 1763 a controversy arose between the colonies of New York and New Hampshire concerning the jurisdic- tion over the territory between Lake Champlain and the Connecticut river, now comprising the State of Vermont. Proclamations and counter proclamations were issued, but the matter was finally referred to and settled for the time by the crown.

During many years the government of Great Britain had attempted to make encroachments on what the col- onists regarded as their rights, but without success. The taxation of the people without their consent was sought to be accomplished in some insidious manner, and was steadfastly and watchfully guarded against by the col- onists. through their representatives in the colonial As- sembly. In 1764 the notorious stamp act was passed

Through the influence of London merchants, whose colonial trade suffered by reason of the act, the odious law was repealed in 1766, but its repeal was followed by a declaration by Parliament of the right " to tax the col- onies in all cases whatsoever." Troops were quartered in New York city, really for the purpose of enforcing the laws that Parliament might enact. Collisions occurred between these troops and the people, and the Assembly refused appropriations for their support. Parliament declared the legislative powers of the Assembly annulled till compliance was had with the demands of the govern- ment. In June, 1767, a bill was enacted by Parliament imposing duties on certain articles imported into the col- onies. This was followed by a revival of the non- importation agreement that had previously been entered English merchants procured the repeal of all these duties, except that on tea, which was retained by reason of a de- termination to assert and maintain the right of taxation.

Sir Henry Moore succeeded Governor Colden in 1765, and his a lministration continued till his death, in 1769, when the government again devolved on Cadwallader Colden. Between the soldiers and those colonists who were known as the Sons of Liberty animosities continued to exist, and finally, on the 18th of January, 1770, five years previous to the battle of Lexington, a collision oc- curred at Golden Hill, in New York city, in which several of the citizens were wounded.

On the accession of William Pitt to the head of the In October, 1770, Lord Dunmore superseded Colden British ministry in 1758 new energy was infused into in the government of New York, and in 1771 he was

REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS IN NEW YORK.

transferred to the government of Virginia and succeeded in New York by William Tryon, who was rendered in- dependent of the people by a royal decree that his salary should be paid froin the revenue.

The non-importation agreement was continued so far as related to tea, and the East India Company suf- fered severely in consequence. Doggedly determined to maintain the assumed right of taxation, the British gov- ernment abolished the export duty on such tea as was shipped to the colonies, thus enabling the company to sell it there cheaper than in England, and appointed consignees in the colonial ports for its sale. Regardless of this appeal to their cupidity, the people made such demonstrations of resistance that the consignees in New York resigned, and when an attempt was made to land a quantity of tea clandestinely it was thrown overboard by the vigilance committee, and the vessel sent out of the harbor.

It is hardly necessary to say that in the other colonies the oppressive acts of the King and Parliament met with as firm resistance as in New York. The battle of Lex- ington was the signal for a general rush to arms through- out the colonies.

In New York city the arms in the arsenals were seized and distributed among the people, and a provisional gov- ernment for the city was organized. Ticonderoga was seized on the 10th of May, 1775, by Connecticut patriots under Colonel Ethan Allen, and two days later Crown Point, both without resistance, and thus the command of Lake Champlain was secured.

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History of Rockland County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 2

Author: Cole, David, 1822-1903, ed. cn; Beers, J. B., & co., New York, pub Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 993

Author: Cole, David, 1822-1903, ed. cn; Beers, J. B., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 993