History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents, Part 3

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Publication date: 1880
Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co.
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The accounts given by Hudson of his discoveries stim- ulated the Dutch to avail themselves of the advantages that might be gained by trading with the Indians, and accord- ingly in the following year another vessel was sent out to engage in the fur trade on the banks of the river he had discovered. In 1612 two more vessels were fitted out by Hendrick Christiansen and Adrian Block, which were soon followed by others. The fur trade proving successful,

Christiansen was appointed agent of the traffic, and Man- hattan Island made the chief depot. He erected a small fort and a few rude buildings at the southern extremity of the island, calling the place New Amsterdam. The island was covered with giant forest trees and dense thickets, which served as hiding places for reptiles and wild beasts. In 1714 the States General granted a charter to the mer- chants engaged in these expeditions, conferring the exclusive right of trade in this new territory, between the 40th and 45th parallels of north latitude, for four years, and giving the name of New Netherlands to the whole region. The trade flourished, and had become so profitable at the ex- piration of the charter that the States General refused to renew it, giving instead a special license for its temporary continuance.

In the meantime the surrounding country was being ex- plored. Adrian Block had passed up the East river, Long Island sound and Connecticut river, and into the bays and along the islands eastward to Cape Cod. Cornelissen Ja- cobsen May had explored the southern coast of Long Island and southward to Delaware Bay, while Hendrick Christiansen had ascended the Hudson river to Castle Island, a few miles below Albany, where he had established a trading post and erected a small fort. This fort was so much damaged by a flood that it was removed to the Nor- mans-kill, a little below. Here a council was held between the chiefs and warriors of the Five Nations and the repre- sentatives of the New Netherlands, and a treaty of peace and alliance was formed.

In 1620 James I. granted to Ferdinando Gorges and his commercial associates all the land between the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude, and extending from ocean to ocean. Captain Dermer, in the service of Gorges, appeared at Manhattan, and laid claim to all the territory occupied by the Dutch. The English ambassador at the Dutch capital had been instructed to remonstrate against Dutch intrusion, but it seems his remonstrance was without effect; for in 1621 the States General granted, a new charter to the Dutch West India Company, an armed mer- cantile association, giving them exclusive jurisdiction over the province of New Netherlands for twenty years, with power to appoint governors, subject to the approval of the States; to colonize the territory and administer justice. The executive management was intrusted to a board of directors, distributed through five separate chambers in the city of Holland. The charge of the province had been assigned to the Amsterdam chamber, which sent out a vessel in 1623, under the direction of Captain May and Adrien Joriszen Tienpont, with thirty families for colonization. A portion of these settled on the Connecticut river, and others as far up the Hudson as the present city of Albany, where they' built Fort' Orange. A fort was also erected on the Delaware river, near Gloucester, and called Fort Nassau. Their number was shortly after augmented by other accessions, and colonization fairly commenced. In May, 1626, Peter Minuit arrived in New Netherlands as director-general or governor of the province. He purchased the whole of Manhattan Island of the Indians for trinkets of the value of $24 Friendly courtesies were then exchanged with the Plymouth colony, and a brisk and profitable trade in furs was carried on.

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THE CLAIMS OF THE ENGLISH TO NEW YORK CONCEDED BY THE DUTCH.

CHAPTER III.

THE DUTCH REGIME. IN NEW YORK-RIVAL CLAIMS OF THE ENGLISH-THE LATTER PREVAIL.

O encourage immigration, in 1629 an ordinance was adopted granting to any member of the company who within four years should plant a colony of fifty persons, upwards of fifteen years old, the privilege of selecting a tract of land sixteen miles in length, on any navigable stream, and inland as far as he should choose, with the title of patroon, denoting something lordly in rank and means. The patroons on their part were to buy of the Indians the right to the land selected, maintain a minister and school-master, and pay duty on trade carried on by them; but the com- . pany reserved the exclusive right to the fur trade, which was becoming extensive and attracting dealers from the banks of the St. Lawrence. Several availed themselves of this privilege, among whom were Michael Pauw and Killian Van Rensselaer, the former securing Staten Island and a large-tract on the Jersey shore, and the latter a large tract on the Hudson river, now the counties of Albany and Rens- selaer. Although the patroons were excluded in their charter by the company from participating in the fur trade, their interference brought on a controversy, and Minuit, who it was thought favored their pretensions, was recalled. The vessel in which he sailed was detained by the English authorities at Plymouth, on the charge that he had traded and obtained her cargo in territory subject to England, and thus the respective claims of the English and Dutch to the title of New Netherlands were again called in question. The Dutch relied on the discoveries made by Hudson, and their immediate occupation, ratified by charter; and the English on the prior discovery by Cabot and the grant of James I., covering the territory. No final settlement being obtained, the question was deferred; and in April, 1633, Wouter Van Twiller arrived at New Amsterdam as the new director- general, bringing with him Everardus Bogardus, a clergyman, Adam Roelandsen, the first school-master to the colony, and a small military force, with which he subse- quently made considerable display. Soon after assuming the government, he directed Jacob Van Corlaer to purchase a tract of land of the Indians on the Connecticut river, near the present city of Hartford. The English colonies earnestly remonstrated against this invasion of their territory, but without effect. The Plymouth colony secured a tract of the Indians at Windsor, and sent Lieutenant William Holmes with a force to take possession and commence a settlement. Van Corlaer being unable to oppose them with any effect, Van Twiller sent a force of soldiers to disperse them. The courage of the Dutch commander forsook him on perceiving that they were prepared to meet him, and he refrained from trying to dislodge them. Better success, however, attended him in an expedition against the Virginia colonists. A band of these, under the lead of George Holmes, had taken pos- session of Fort Nassau on the Delaware river. Van Twiller immediately sent a force there, which captured and brought

them as prisoners to Fort Amsterdam. During his admin- istration Jacob Eelkins, who had formerly been an agent for the company at Fort Orange, arrived at Manhattan as supercargo of an English vessel engaged in the fur trade. Van Twiller refused to let him proceed without a license from the company, which Eelkins declined to present, but claiming a right to trade with the Indians as an Englishman, to whom the territory belonged, he proceeded up the river to Fort Orange, in defiance of the governor, and commenced trading with them. Van Twiller, in great indignation, dis- patched a force after him, and bringing his vessel back, sent it out to sea. He was so mindful of his own interest that he became the wealthiest land-owner in the province. Ve- hemently passionate, he became involved in a bitter quarrel with Bogardus, the clergyman, and with Van Dinklagen, a member of his council. The latter had very justly com- plained of his rapacity, for which he sent him a prisoner to Holland, on a charge of contumacy. His corruption and incompetency to govern becoming apparent, he was recalled, and William Kieft, in 1638, succeeded him in the govern- ment of the colony.

The company in the following year obtained a new charter, limiting the patroons to four miles on the rivers and eight inland. Other efforts were made to encourage immigration. Settlements were extending in all directions, and the prov- ince was rapidly filling with inhabitants. The governor, however, instead of proving useful in promoting the pros- perity of the colony with the opportunities presented, be- came involved in difficulties with the English settlements and the neighboring Indian tribes, which finally brought the colony to the verge of extirpation. By injudicious manage- · ment and cruelty to the Indians, they were incited to revenge and relentless war on the whites. A robbery having been committed, a tribe of Indians, though innocent, were sus- pected; and Kieft sent an armed force against them, killing several of their number and destroying their property. The Indians retaliated for this unprovoked attack by murdering some settlers and burning their buildings. The chiefs re- fused to give satisfaction for these outrages, and Kieft re- solved on a war against them. An Indian, whose uncle had been killed by the whites a number of years before, vowed revenge, and killed a Dutchman at Manhattan. Kieft sent a force against his tribe, with orders to exterminate them. Seeing .their danger, they sued for peace. Before the terms of a treaty had been agreed upon, a warrior, who had been made drunk and then robbed by the whites, upon recovering his senses killed two of the Dutch. Just at this time the river Indians, in a conflict with the Mohawks, were com- pelled to take refuge on the Hudson opposite Manhattan, and solicit protection from their enemies; but instead of it being granted, a party under the sanction of Kieft, and against the remonstrance of the best citizens, went over to massacre them. This wicked and inhuman outrage was perpetrated at midnight, and nearly a hundred of these helpless and unsuspecting fugitives were murdered, or driven into the river to perish. A desperate and bloody war was the result. The neighboring tribes joined to avenge this outrage. The dwellings of the settlers were burned, their fields desolated, and themselves shot by their lurking foes. Their settlements were attacked in every direction, and terror, despair and death prevailed. Captain John Underhill, who had gained some notoriety in Indian war-

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OUTI.INE HISTORY OF STATE OF NEW YORK.

fare, was appointed to command the forces of the colonists. He finally succeeded in bringing the Indians to submission. and in 1645 a treaty of peace was concluded. An earnest appeal was made for the recall of Kieft, who had been the cause of this calamitous war. The request was favorably received, and Peter Stuyvesant, who was appointed to suc- ceed him, took charge of the government May 11th, 1647. He had been in the service of the company as director- general of Curacoa. The controversy between the Dutch and English settlements still continuing, arbitrators were appointed to adjust their claims. The eastern part of Long Island was assigned to the English. A line was specified for the boundary between the Connecticut and New Neth- erland colonies, but it was unsatisfactory to the Dutch. In 1652 a municipal government was established for Man- hattan, consisting of a revenue agent, to be appointed by the company, and two burgomasters and five inferior magis- trates, to be elected by the people, and to have jurisdiction in capital cases. The Swedes since the early part of Kieft's administration had been enroaching upon the Dutch terri- tory on the Delaware ; and Stuyvesant, by order of the company, went against them with an armed force, recaptured the forts, and resumed possession of the territory. While on this expedition, one of the Indians having been shot by a settler, the savages appeared at Manhattan in canoes. killed the offender, and crossing to the Jersey shore and Staten Island, began killing other settlers and destroying their property. Stuyvesant returned and by conciliatory measures restored peace.

In 1664 Charles II. of England, regardless of the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands, granted to his brother, Duke of York and Albany, afterward James II., the whole country from the Connecticut to the Delaware, including the entire Dutch possessions. A fleet was sent out by the duke under Colonel Richard Nichols, to enforce his claim and take possession of the Dutch settlements. Arriving in the bay he demanded a surrender, which Stuyvesant at first indignantly refused; but because of the unwillingness of the colonists to fight in his defense and of their insisting upon capitulation, together with the favorable nature of the terms offered, he was induced to yield, and on the 3d of September, 1664, the province was surrendered, and the government of the colony passed into the hands of the English. The names New Netherlands and New Amsterdam were changed to New York, and Fort Orange to Albany. It is supposed that at this time the province contained about six thousand inhabitants. Soon after the surrender the Duke conveyed to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret what now con- stitutes the State of New Jersey, over which a separate pro- prietary government was established. In 1682 William Penn purchased the settlements on the Delaware, which were annexed to Pennsylvania. Nichols, who became governor, devoted much time to confirming grants under the Dutch government by issuing new ones, and thus making a heavy expense to the land-owners. He changed the form of the municipal government of New York June 12th, 1666, by granting a city charter, placing the executive power in the hands of a mayor, aldermen and sheriff, all to be ap- pointed by the governor. An invasion from Holland had been feared, and preparations for defense had incurred an increase of taxation, of which the colony greatly complained, in consequence of which Nichols resigned his office in 1668,

and Colonel Francis Lovelace was appointed to succeed him. Holland being involved in a war with England, an opportunity was presented for the Dutch to regain their lost possessions in America, and for that purpose they sent out a squadron, which anchored at Staten Island July 30th, 1673. The fort at New York was in charge of Captain John Manning. who treacherously surrendered without making any effort to resist. The city was again in possession of the Dutch, and Captain Anthony Clove in command of the province. Manning was afterward tried and convicted by court-martial of cowardice and treachery, and adjudged to have his sword broken over his head in front of the city hall, and to be incapacitated from holding any office. Under Clove the Dutch claims to the province were re- asserted, and preparations made for a vigorous defense in case of an attempt on the part of the English for its recap- ture; but by the provisions of a peace concluded February 9th, 1674, the province reverted to the English. To silence all controversy respecting his claims, the Duke of York obtained a new patent from the King to confirm the one granted in 1664, and commissioned Major Edmund Andros as governor. His arbitrary course made his administration very unpopular. He endeavored to extend his jurisdiction to the Connecticut river, but his claims were stoutly resisted by the people of that province, and he finally concluded to abandon the design. He quarreled with and disputed the right of Philip Carteret, who administered the government of East Jersey, arresting and bringing him prisoner to New York. For this act the proprietors of the New Jersey gov- ernment preferred charges against him, which he was summoned to England to answer. He returned to continue his oppressions, but the resistance of the people against him was so strong that he was recalled, and Thomas Dongan appointed as his successor, who arrived August 27th, 1683. Through the influence of William Penn he was instructed to organize a popular assembly, and accordingly, soon after his arrival, issued orders for the choosing of representatives. This, the first Colonial Assembly of New York, was convened October 17th, 1683, and consisted of a council of ten and seventeen representatives. A charter of liberties was framed, vesting the supreme legislative power in the governor and council and the people in general assembly; conferring the right of suffrage on the freeholders without restraint; prc- viding that no freeman should suffer but by judgment of his peers, and that all trials should be by a jury of twelve men. The imposition of any tax without the consent of the assembly was prohibited. Martial law was not to exist, and neither soldiers nor seamen were to be quartered on the inhabitants against their will. The province was divided into counties, and the representatives were apportioned accord- ing to the population.

CHAPTER IV.

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS-DISSENSIONS IN THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT-EXECUTION OF LEISLER.

T the time Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence, he found the Algonquins at war with the Iro- quois, and by an alliance of his forces with the former he enabled them, by the use of fire-arms (hitherto unknown to them), to gain a victory over their enemies. In consequence of this alliance a bitter hostility was created on the part of

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FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS-DISSENSIONS IN THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.

the Iroquois toward the French. The latter, however, were successful in gaining the confidence and friendship of the other tribes with whom they came in contact. Through the influence of their missionaries, the traders were enabled to establish their posts among them at pleasure, and navigate the lakes and rivers. Although the artful Jesuit missionaries had persistently endeavored to win back the friendship of the Iroquois, they effected but little until New York fell into the hands of the English. Since their trade and inti- macy with the Dutch they had availed themselves of fire-arms, renewed their warfare upon the Algonquins with success, repelled the invasions of the French, and, in turn, attacking them, swept over their settlements with fire and tomahawk, carrying consternation in their path even to the gates of Quebec. In 1666 the French and Adirondacs successfully invaded the country of the Mohawks, but the year follow- ing a peace was concluded, chiefly through the agency of the English colonial government, acting in obedience to the instructions of the Duke of York, to whom the colony had been granted, and who, in his bigoted and blind attachment to the Church of Rome, was desirous of securing a peace between the French and the Iroquois, with a view of handing the latter over as converts to the church.

Trade, after this peace, was profitably prosecuted by both the French and English; but the French, through their artful Catholic missionaries, were gaining a decided advan- tage. Through the instigation of these wily priests, hostili- ties had been committed on the frontier settlements of Maryland and Virginia by the Five Nations. To adjust this difficulty, a council of the chiefs met the governors of Virginia and New York at Albany, in 1684. At this council the difficulties with Virginia were amicably settled, and Governor Dongan succeeded in completely gaining the friendship of the Five Nations. While these conferences were in progress, a messenger arrived from De la Barre, governor of Canada, complaining of the Senecas for their hostilities against the Miamis and other western tribes, with whom the French were allied, whereby their trade was in- terrupted. This message was communicated to the Indian chiefs, and served to confirm their resolutions of friendship for the English, and revive their slumbering hatred of the French. Immediately on the return of the messenger, De la Barre, meditating the destruction of the Five Nations, proceeded with an army of French and Indians to Lake Ontario. The French Catholics had procured a letter from the Duke of York to Governor Dongan, instructing him to lay no obstacle in the way of the invaders; but Dongan, re- gardless of this command, apprised the Indians of their de- signs and also promised to assist them. Owing to sickness in his army, De la Barre was unable to encounter his foes, and found it necessary to conclude his campaign by offering terms of peace, which were haughtily accepted, and he was allowed to depart. He was succeeded in the following year by the Marquis de Denonville, who, with a reinforcement of troops, was sent over to repair the disgrace of De la Barre. In 1687, to prevent the interruption of trade with the Miamis, the country of the Senecas was invaded. The French, through the agency of their missionary to the Onondagas, enticed the Iroquois chiefs into their power, under pretense of making a treaty, and then seized and sent them, with others they had taken prisoners, to France, where they were consigned to the galleys. The Seneca country was overrun without

serious resistance, and a fort erected at the mouth of the Niagara river. A peace was finally proposed through the interposition of Governor Dongan, who was for compelling the French to apply to him in the affairs of the Five Nations, but its conditions were rejected by the French. The Five Nations, maddened by this refusal and by the outrages com- mitted upon them, flew to arms, and with twelve hundred warriors descended upon the French settlements with such terrible vengeance that the terms that had been offered for peace were accepted, and the whole region south of the great lakes abandoned by the French.

The Duke of York, on his accession to the throne of England in 1685, under the title of James II., directed Governor Dongan to encourage the Catholic priests who came to reside with the Five Nations, ostensibly for advancing the Popish cause, but really to gain them over to the French interests. Governor Dongan, although a Catholic, was apprehensive of the insidious designs of the French, and effectually resisted this policy, thereby displeasing his bigoted master. James also instructed Governor Dongan to allow no printing press to be established in the colony, and discouraged representative government. Catholics were appointed to fill all the offices, and Dongan, who, in his endeavors to protect the true interest of the province by opposing the Catholic mission- aries, became obnoxious to the King, was recalled, and Francis Nicholson, the deputy of Sir Edmund Andros, who had been commissioned governor of both New England and New York, assumed temporary charge of the government in August, 1688. The revolution in England, resulting in the abdication of James II., and the accession of William and Mary, caused the authority of Nicholson under the dethroned king to be questioned. On one side it was claimed that the government in England did not affect affairs in the province, and that Nicholson's authority was unimpaired till the will of the new monarch was known; on the other side, that the government, extending to the colonies, was overthrown, and as no one was invested with authority in the provinces, it reverted to the people, who might appoint a person to ex- ercise control until one had been commissioned by the ruling power. The advocates of the former of these views were mostly the wealthy and aristocratic, while the mass of the people favored the latter. The government was vested in a committee of safety, who took possession of the fort at New York, and entrusted the exercise of authority to Jacob Leisler, the popular leader, Nicholson in the meantime having returned to England. Leisler sent a statement of what had been done to King William, and dispatched Mil- borne, his son-in-law, to Albany with an armed force, to secure the recognition of his authority, sanction to which had been refused. A letter from the English ministry ar- rived, directed to Francis Nicholson, or in his absence to such person as for the time being might be in charge of the government, directing him to take chief command of the province, and to call to his aid such as he deemed proper. Leisler, considering it addressed to himself, assumed com- mand, and appointed a council of advisers. The revo- lution in England which placed William and Mary upon the throne was followed by a war between England and France, and the colonies were of course involved in the conflict. Count Frontenac, who had succeeded Denonville as governor of Canada, made an effort to detach the Five Nations from the English interest. He sent a secret expe-

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OUTLINE HISTORY OF STATE OF NEW YORK.

dition against Schenectady, which attacked that city, near midnight, on the 8th of February, 1690, and a frightful massacre of the inhabitants ensued. The peril of Albany from such deadly attacks induced its inhabitants to submit to the authority of Leisler. Expeditions were fitted out against the French and Indians, and a fleet sent out for the reduction of Quebec, but all proved unsuccessful. In March, 1691, Henry Sloughter arrived as governor, having been commissioned by the King in 1689. His coming was heralded by Richard Ingoldsby, who, without proper credentials, de- manded the surrender of the tort at New York. This Leisler very properly refused, but consented to defer to Sloughter when he should arrive. Sloughter on his arrival sent In- goldsby with verbal directions for the surrender of the fort, but Leisler still refused, and asked for an interview with the governor. The next day he complied, but this imprudent hesitation was seized upon by his enemies, who arrested him and his son-in-law on the charge of treason. They were tried by a special committee and condemned to suffer death. Governor Sloughter hesitated to execute this sentence, but their enemies, anxious for their execution, and failing in all attempts to procure his signature, availed themselves of his known intemperate habits, invited him to a banquet, persuad- ed him to sign the death warrant while intoxicated, and before he recovered from his debauch the prisoner was executed.

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History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents, Part 3

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co. Number of Pages:

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: