USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 18
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was proclaimed between England and Holland.1 Cromwell had July 12. stipulated his own terms with the United Provinces ; but his foreign policy was bold and manly, and, if he had robbed England of her liberty, he at least gave her glory in exchange. The nation which for half a century had been of scarcely more weight than Venice in European politics, suddenly became the most formidable power in the world, July 18. and her ruler an object of mingled aversion, admiration, and dread. Nowhere was the news received with such abandonment of delight as in New Amsterdam. Bells rung and cannon boomed, and a day was set apart by the governor for general thanksgiving.
1 Three hundred of these troops were from Massachusetts, two hundred from Connecticut, one hundred and thirty-three from New Haven, and two hundred from the fleet.
169
SALARIES.
CHAPTER XI.
1654-1660.
SALARIES.
CITY TAXATION. - THE SWEDES. - THE LONG ISLAND FERRY. - THOMAS PELL. - LADY MOODY'S LIBRARY. - THE GAY REPAST. - FIRST CITY SEAL. - CHRISTMAS. - NEW YEAR'S. - THE CITY HALL. - THE FIRST CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND. - DOMINIE POLHE- MUS. - THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SWEDES. - THE INDIAN HORROR. - VAN TIEN- HOVEN'S DOWNFALL. - THE LUTHERAN PERSECUTION. - CITY PROGRESS. - DOMINIE DRISIUS. - BURGHER RIGHTS. - UNIQUE LAWS. - THE QUAKER PERSECUTION. - HODGSON AT THE WHEELBARROW. - STUYVESANT'S INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIAN CHIEFS. - "WHITEHALL." - STUYVESANT'S COUNTRY-SEAT. - INDIAN HOSTILITIES. - OLIVER CROMWELL'S DEATH.
TI THE burgomasters and schepens, even before their first year of service had expired, found their duties so arduous, and involving so much time and trouble, that they petitioned for salaries. Stuyvesant, after mature deliberation, granted to each burgomaster one hundred 1654. and forty dollars, and to each schepen one hundred dollars, per annum. They sent in, at the same time, a double set of names from which he might choose officers for the coming year. He, however, retained the same men in office, except that he filled two vacancies in the board of schepens by the appointment of Oloff Stevensen Van Cortlandt and Jochem Pietersen Kuyter. The latter had been successful in the vindica- tion of his character, and was now in possession of his estate in Harlem, and restored to all the rights and privileges of a feudal lord. He lived in a house on the north side of Pearl Street, between Broad Street and Han- over Square. He was commissioned by the Amsterdam Chamber as city sheriff, it having been found necessary, through the rapid increase of busi- ness, to separate the office from that of the province; but, unfortunately, before the commission reached New Amsterdam, he had been murdered by the Indians, while on a tour of exploration through the wilderness to the North. The appointment was transferred to Jacques Cortelyou, an educated Frenchman, who was acting as tutor to the sons of Hon. Cor- nelis Van Werckhoven. He declined to accept it, because of the peculiar
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
nature of the instructions, and it was four years before the city was favored with a sheriff of its own.
There was, from the first, a want of harmony between the governor and the city magistrates. The latter wished to assimilate their municipal government to that of Amsterdam. They never ceased their exertions until they deprived the executive of the absolute power of appointment. They clamored, too, for the management and control of the excise. It seemed eminently proper that this should go into the city treasury, and Stuyvesant finally consented to the arrangement. But he immediately ordered that the city should provide for the support of the troops which had recently arrived from Holland, and for the maintenance of civil and ecclesiastical ministers. The magistrates replied, expressing their willingness to furnish their quota to the amount of one fifth of the whole sum necessary to pay the debt incurred for the repairs of the public works, on condition that they should be empowered to levy taxes on all the real estate within their jurisdiction, sell and convey lands, etc .; they would also pay the salary of one clergyman, one chorister (to act as beadle and schoolmaster), one sheriff, two burgomasters, five schepens, one secretary, and one court messenger; but as to the military, they considered the citizens already overtaxed for the fortifications, and unable to carry a burden which was not for the protection of the city alone, but for the country in general.
When the magistrates rendered their first report of excise income and expenditures, Stuyvesant was greatly displeased to find that the minister's salary had not been paid. As he went on with the examination of the
papers, he discovered that they had credited themselves with Sept. 16. many items which could not be allowed; as, for instance, the pas- sage-money of François de Bleue, their agent, to Amsterdam. They had not fulfilled their promise to complete the fort ; money borrowed for the purpose had been otherwise used; and the men who had advanced the loan were clamoring for repayment. They had not furnished the subsidies which they had promised, and they had failed to contribute their quota towards the public works. He took them severely to task, and by the advice of his council he reassumed the control of the excise which he had
Nov. 23. already surrendered. The subject was submitted to the Amster-
dam Chamber, which instructed the governor to enforce his author- ity, "so that those men may no longer indulge in the visionary dream that contributions cannot be levied without their consent."
Meanwhile, difficulties had been brewing on the South River. The news of the capture of Fort Casimir by the Swedes reached Stuyvesant while he was in the midst of his hurried preparations to defend New
"As he went on with the examination of the papers, he discovered that the minister's salary had not been paid, and that they had credited themselves with many things that could not be allowed ; and he took them severely to task. " Page 170.
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THE SWEDES.
Netherland from the English. To attempt the recovery of that distant post in a moment of such danger was out of the question, and therefore an account of the affair was sent to Holland, and orders thence were awaited. In September, a Swedish vessel entered the lower bay by Sept. 22. mistake, and sent to New Amsterdam for a pilot to guide her back into the ocean. Stuyvesant at once ordered the arrest of the boat's crew, and sent soldiers to capture the vessel and bring its captain to the fort. The cargo was removed to the company's warehouse, and a message sent to the Swedish commander of Fort Casimir that the vessel would be detained until such time as "a reciprocal restitution should be made."
The city magistrates, about the same time, demanded and obtained the power to lease the ferry between Manhattan and Long Island, which some- what mollified their antagonism to their stern superior. Up to this period . great inconvenience had been experienced by the community in crossing the East River. Persons had often been compelled to wait a whole day before they could be ferried over ; and the trip was dangerous at its best. An ordinance was accordingly passed, as follows : -
"No one shall be permitted to ferry without a license from the magis- trates : the ferryman must keep proper servants and boats, and a house on both sides of the river for the accommodation of passengers, and must pass all officials free. The said ferryman shall not be compelled to ferry any persons, cattle, or goods, without prepayment, and must not cross the river in a tempest." 1
The toll established by law was, for a wagon and two horses, twenty stuyvers, or one dollar ; for a wagon and one horse, eighty cents ; for an Indian, thirty cents ; for any other person, fifteen cents.
Early in November, news reached the harassed governor that Thomas Pell, an English gentleman and a rank royalist (formerly Gentle-
man of the Bedchamber to Charles I.), who had been obliged to Nov. 5. leave New Haven because he refused to swear allegiance to the local government, on the ground that he had already taken an oath in England, had bought of the Indian sachem, Annhook, a tract of land in West- chester, including the estate formerly owned and occupied by Mrs. Annie Hutchinson.2 Stuyvesant immediately dispatched a marshal to warn the intruder that the same land had long ago been bought of the Indians, and paid for, by other parties, and to forbid the transaction altogether. Pell took no notice of the message, but went on improving his newly
1 New Amsterdam Records.
2 It is supposed that the red chieftain, Annhook, was the one most concerned in the mur- der of Mrs. Hutchinson, as it was an Indian custom for a warrior to assume the name of some distinguished victim of his prowess.
11
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
acquired possessions. Thirty-five years later, the acting governor of New York himself purchased the township of New Rochelle of Mr. Pell. From the latter the town of Pelham derived its name; the word being of Saxon origin, compounded of the two words, Pell and ham. (Ham signifies home, or house.)
During the same month, the governor himself was severely repri-
manded by the Amsterdam Chamber. The following paragraph
Nov. 23.
is a key to the document which he received :-
" You ought to act with more vigor, and dare to punish refractory sub- jects as they deserve."
Opportunities for the display of courage were certainly not wanting. At that very moment, some of the English settlers on Long Island were struggling to free themselves from the dominion of the Dutch. The con- duct of George Baxter, the former English secretary, and of Mr. Hubbard, of Gravesend, was such that Stuyvesant removed them from the magis- tracy. Immediately after, he visited the settlement in person, hoping to allay in some measure the acute discontent which prevailed, and to regulate the future choice of magistrates. He was, for several days, the guest of Lady Moody ; and Mrs. Stuyvesant, who accompanied her hus- band, was greatly charmed with the noble English lady. The house of the latter in Gravesend, though primitive in outward construction, was furnished with comparative elegance and good taste, and contained the largest collection of books which had yet been brought into the colony. It was fortified against the Indians, and, in the course of its curious his- tory, sustained several serious attacks.
As the winter advanced, Stuyvesant determined to make a voyage to the West Indies, for the purpose of establishing a commerce be- Dec. 8. tween the Spanish plantations and New Netherland. He was to sail, on Christmas eve, in the Abraham's Sacrifice, and the city magis- trates were impelled to call a special meeting of the Common Council and pass the following significant resolution :-
" Whereas, The Right Honorable Peter Stuyvesant, intending to depart, the burgomasters and schepens shall compliment him before he Dec. 12. takes his gallant voyage, and shall for this purpose provide a gay repast, on Wednesday next, in the Council Chamber of the City Hall." 1
The list of edibles which was furnished to the committee of arrange- ments was a long one, and the dinner was a feast indeed. This courtesy to the chief magistrate was productive of sincere good-feeling. Wit and humor for once took the place of dignified austerity. The governor was
1 New Amsterdam Records.
.
173
FIRST CITY SEAL.
genial, even to familiarity.
DAMEI
SIGILLUM AMSTELLO
O
SIS IN
OVO BE
First Seal of New Amsterdam.
Before the party separated, he presented to the city a long-desired SEAL, which consisted of the arms of Old Amsterdam, - three crosses saltier, - with a beaver for a crest. On the mantle above were the initial let- ters C. W. C. for "Chartered West India Company," for to that corporation the island of Manhattan especially belonged. Under- neath was the legend "SIGILLUM AMSTELLO- DAMENSIS IN NOVO BELGIO," and around the border was a wreath of laurel. 1
The administration of affairs during Stuy- vesant's absence was committed to Vice-Governor De Sille and the council.
The Dutch held national festivals in high esteem. At a meet- ing of the Common Council, on Monday, December 14, the fol- Dec. 14.
lowing was placed on record : -
" As the winter and the holidays are at hand, there shall be no more ordinary meetings of this board between this date and three weeks after Christmas. The court messenger is ordered not to summon any person in the mean time." 2
Christmas was, at that period, observed as a religious, domestic, and merry-making festival throughout England and Holland, as well as in some other European countries. The Dutch often called it the " children's festival." The evening was devoted to the giving of presents, and " Christ- mas trees " were everywhere in vogue. The custom originated in the Protestant districts of Germany and Northern Europe. Saint Nicholas, whose image presided as the figure-head of the first emigrant ship which touched Manhattan Island, and for whom the first church had been named, was esteemed the patron saint of New Amsterdam. The hero of the childish legend of Santa Claus - the fat, rosy-cheeked, little old man with a pipe in his mouth, driving a reindeer sleigh over the roofs of houses - is no modern creation of fancy. His expected coming created the same feverish excitement, the same pleasurable expectancy, the same timorous speculations, among sleepy little watchers centuries ago as among the children of New York to-day.
"New Year's " was observed by the interchange of visits. Cake, wine, and punch were offered to guests. It was one of the most impor- 1635. tant social observances of the year, and was conducted with much
ceremony. Gifts, on that day, particularly in families and among intimate
1 Brodhead, I. 597. Val Man, 1848, 384.
2 New. Amsterdam Records, II. 76, 77 - 81, 92.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
friends, were by no means unusual. The custom of New-Year's visits, which had been handed down from remote ages, prevails at the present time in nearly all the large cities of the world.
The winter wore away quietly. The vice-governor was seriously em- barrassed, through the constant uneasiness and the threats of the English colonists, and longed for Stuyvesant's return ; but nothing of any impor-
tance occurred. In February, the city took its first step in the
Feb. 6. direction of police regulations. Dirck Van Schelluyne, the lawyer, was appointed high constable, and furnished with detailed instructions as to his duties. As the spring opened, the city magistrates obtained control March 1. of the City Hall for the first time, and ordered it "to be emptied of the vast quantity of salt and other trumpery with which it was encumbered ; its lodgers were also cleared out." They then proceeded to put it in better repair ; and it became a very respectable-looking edifice.1 It faced the East River, but was so closely hemmed in by other buildings that a good view of it was difficult to obtain. The Council Chamber was in the southeast corner of the second story. The prison was a small room on the first floor in the rear. Upon the roof was a handsome cupola, in which hung a bell. In the year 1699, the building gave place to a new City Hall in Wall Street, at the head of Broad, and was sold for one hundred and ten pounds sterling. Its stones, which were very finely cut, may even now be traced in the foundations of some of the stores in that vicinity.
It was found necessary to protect the shore in front of the City Hall against high tides. Prior to this date, a stone-wall had been constructed and the street filled in; but the water washed between the crevices, and it was resolved to drive planks into the shore and make a uniform " sheet pile " extending the whole distance between Broad Street and the City Hall, for the expenses of which all the lot-owners were taxed. The public school was removed, in May, from the little room in the City Hall to a small building on Pearl Street which had been rented for the purpose, and William Verstius was employed as teacher.
For many years, the people of Long Island used to cross to Manhattan on the Sabbath, to attend public worship, except when some clerical traveler preached in a private house. They had sent several petitions to the government for the establishment of a church, which was accom- plished at Midwout (Flatbush) in 1654. Stuyvesant appointed Dominie Megapolensis, John Snedicor, and John Stryker to superintend the erec- tion of a church edifice, which was to be built in the form of a cross, twenty-eight feet wide and sixty feet long, and twelve to fourteen be-
1 See sketch of City Hall on page 106.
175
DOMINIE POLHEMUS.
tween the beams. The rear of it was to be used as a minister's dwelling. The construction of this first house of worship in Kings County occupied several years, although it was sufficiently advanced in the summer of 1655 to allow of its being opened for church services.
Dominie Johannes Theodorus Polhemus was installed pastor over this church. He had just arrived in New Netherland from Brazil, where he had been laboring as a missionary. He had sprung from an ancient and highly respectable Holland stock, and was a gentleman of fair education and moderate ability. In 1656, he was joined by his wife and family. He had two sons, Theodore and Daniel, from whom have descended all of the name in this country. In order to accommodate the people scattered here and there over the wild region between Breuckelen and Gravesend, it was arranged that there should be preaching in Flatbush on Sunday mornings, and alternately in Breuckelen and Flatlands on Sunday after- noons. It was not long before Breuckelen began to grow mutinous. The minister's tax was a serious bugbear.1 The Sunday service was pronounced "poor and meager." The people said "they were getting only a prayer in lieu of a sermon, so short that when they supposed it just beginning it came to an end," - in other words, they were not getting the worth of their money,- and they asked to be relieved from supporting such an unsatisfactory gospel. The governor replied by sending a sheriff to collect their dues. He reproved them sharply for attempting thus to shirk the fulfillment of their promises ; and he reminded them that the good minister was in absolute suffering for the want of his salary, - his house being unfinished, and himself, wife, and children obliged to sleep on the floor.
In the month of July, Stuyvesant returned from the West Indies. He had been wholly defeated in the object of his voyage, through July.
Cromwell's peculiar policy,2 and he was weary, sick, and disap- pointed. He found orders awaiting him from Holland to proceed against the audacious Swedes at Fort Casimir, and to drive them from every point on the South River. A squadron of armed vessels for his use had already arrived. The city fathers had fitted up another large vessel, to swell the force. Volunteers were enlisted from both town and country. During the month of August, the little city was alive with warlike prep- arations. Three North River vessels were chartered, pilots were engaged,
1 New York Col. MSS., VIII. 406. Stiles's History of Brooklyn, I. 130-134.
2 Cromwell had issued orders, during 1654, for the management and government of the West Indies ; and the commissioners, on their arrival, laid an embargo on all the Dutch ships in these islands, eight of which were seized at Barbadoes alone. Three of the same were un- der the command of Governor Stuyvesant. O'Callaghan, II. 285.
176
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
and provisions and ammunition laid in store. The 25th of August was ob-
served as a day of fasting and prayer for the success of the under- Aug. 25. taking. On the first Sunday in September, after the close of the morning sermon in the fort, the seven vessels, manned by seven hundred men, sailed out of the harbor. They were commanded by Governor Stuyvesant in person, who was accompanied by Vice-Governor De Sille, and Dominie Megapolensis, as chaplain of the expedition.
In a few days, they entered the Delaware River, passed Fort Casimir, and landed about a mile above. A flag of truce was sent to the fort, demanding its surrender, which, after some parleying, was acceded to without resistance. The Swedish commander went on board Stuyvesant's vessel and signed a capitulation. The Swedes were allowed to remove their artillery ; twelve men were to march out with full arms and accou- terments ; all the rest retained their side-arms, and the officers held their Sept. 25. personal property. At noon, on the 25th of September, the Dutch,
with sounding bugles and flying banners, took possession of the fort. Such of the Swedes as chose were allowed to take the oath of allegiance to the New Netherland government and remain in the country. The next day was Sunday, and Dominie Megapolensis preached to the troops. Towards evening, a report was brought to the governor that the Swedish commander, Rising, had re-assembled his forces at Fort Christina, two miles farther up the river, and was actively strengthening his posi- tion there.
The Swedes had an undisputed right to the land about Fort Christina,1 having made the purchase many years before with the tacit consent of the company. They had been cultivating gardens and tobacco, and were making fair progress in the erection of dwellings. There were about two hundred independent settlers. Stuyvesant moved his fleet to the mouth of the Brandywine River, where he anchored, invested Fort Christina on all sides, and demanded a surrender. Resistance was hope- less. Articles of capitulation were quickly signed, and thus came to an end the Swedish dominions on the Delaware.
Meanwhile, a terrible calamity befell New Netherland. A few days after the governor and military had departed from the peaceful Sept. 15. little city on Manhattan Island, Ex-Sheriff Van Dyck shot an Indian woman who was stealing peaches from his orchard, on the west side of Broadway, below Trinity Church. For ten years the savages had been friendly, and the minds of the people were lulled into a state of security in regard to them. But the woman's tribe were inflamed by the
1 Fort Christina was about thirty-five miles below the present site of Philadelphia, on a small stream called Christina Creek.
177
THE INDIAN HORROR.
murder, and they determined upon revenge. They knew of the absence of the greater part of the male population of New Amsterdam, and availed themselves of the opportunity. About two thousand armed war- riors, in sixty-four canoes, suddenly appeared before the city. It was in the early morning, just as daylight was breaking in the east. They landed stealthily, and scattered themselves through the streets, breaking into several houses, under pretense of searching for Indians from the North. The people were stricken with mortal terror. The city officers sprang from their beds, as did also the members of the governor's council, and after a hurried conference, went bravely among the Indians and asked to see their sachems. The latter came to the fort, where they were received and treated in the kindest manner. They finally promised to take their warriors out of the city, and proceeded, after much delay, to their canoes. They crossed over to Nutten Island, but soon after dark they returned, and ran up Broadway to the house of Van Dyck, whom they killed. Paulus Van der Grist, who lived next door, stepped out, hoping to quiet the savages, but was struck down with an ax. The city was in arms at once, and the citizens, with the aid of the burgher-guard, drove the vindictive enemy to their canoes.
But this effected only a change in the scene of carnage. The Indians hurried to Pavonia and Hoboken, and massacred every man, woman, and child they could find. From there they went to Staten Island, where were eleven flourishing plantations, with about ninety settlers, and laid waste the entire land. Thence they carried their devas- tations into other parts of New Jersey. In three days, one hundred had been murdered and as many more carried into captivity ; twenty-eight plantations had been wholly destroyed, and property had been lost to the amount of eighty thousand dollars !
The whole country was struck with horror and fear. The farmers fled with their families to the fort for protection. The English villages on Long Island were threatened, and Lady Moody's house at Gravesend was twice attacked. Prowling bands of savages flitted in and out of the woods on the northern part of Manhattan Island. Mrs. Stuyvesant and her children were at their country-place, in the neighborhood of 13th Street ; and as the citizens were so few in number that it was difficult to spare a guard for her protection, ten resolute Frenchmen were hired for that duty.
As soon as possible, a message was sent to the absent governor, who hastened home, bringing joy and confidence to the distressed com- Oct. 12. munity. His policy with regard to the Indians was to give no new
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