USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 23
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THE DUKE OF YORK.
chief impulse of the Huguenot movement, which had begun in France, both in the capital and in the University, was coeval with the revival of letters. Hence those who fled into voluntary exile were generally of the cultivated and wealthy classes. They transplanted to New York an influence of education and graceful accomplishments, and gave a certain chivalric tone to the new society. We have seen Dr. La Montagne closely associated in the New Netherland government for more than a score of years ; and we find that the public documents of the period were written in the French as well as the Dutch language. Swedes, Germans, and some of other nationalities were here, but in smaller numbers. The inhabitants, drawn together from regions so remote, grew to be one peo- ple : a fearless, thoughtful, energetic, constructive people, politically alive, religiously free ; a people which rejected hereditary leaders and kept those whom it elected under careful limitations. New York, standing midway among the sea-coast colonies, modified with her broader views the narrowness of her neighbors, and, after guarding for a century her long frontier from the attacks of Canada, became the pivot upon which turned the most important events of that gigantic Revolution which gave birth to a nation.
The Duke of York was a practical business man. He had been told that his new territory, if well managed, would yield him thirty thousand pounds per annum. In none of his plans and arrangements did he dis- play more far-sighted common-sense than in his choice of a capable, resolute, and honest governor. Colonel Nicolls was the son of a lawyer of the Middle Temple. His mother was the daughter of Sir George Bruce. He was splendidly educated and accustomed to all the refine- ments of the higher European circles. Warmly attached to the royal cause, he had shared its fortunes, and spent much time, as an exile, in Holland. He was familiar with the Dutch literature, and spoke the Dutch and French languages as well as he spoke his own. He was about forty years of age ; a little above the medium height; of fine, stately presence, with a fair, open face, a pleasant, magnetic gray eye, somewhat deeply set, and hair slightly curled at the ends.
He laughed a little at the fort, with its feint of strength, and its quaint double-roofed church within, but found the governor's house very com- fortably furnished and quite attractive for a new country. The city pleased him. Its promise was vague and undefined, but he wrote to King James that it was undoubtedly the best of all his towns, and, with a little care, the staple of America might be drawn thither in spite of Boston.
His affability and genial nature won the citizens from the start; at 14
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
least such as were so fortunate as to come in personal contact with him,
either officially or otherwise. On the day after the surrender, the Sept. 9. burgomasters and schepens met and transacted their ordinary busi- ness, as if nothing unusual had occurred. They afterwards indicated their good-will to the administration through a letter - drawn up by Cornelis Steenwyck, and signed by each member of the board - in which appeared the following passage : " Nicolls is a wise and intelligent governor, under whose wings we hope to bloom and grow like the cedar on Lebanon."
The official counselors of Governor Nicolls were Robert Needham, Thomas Delavall, Thomas Topping, and William Wells. Matthias Nicolls, a thoroughbred English lawyer, was appointed Secretary of the province. All these were from among the new-comers, except William Wells, who had settled previously at Southold, Long Island. Cornelis Van Ruyven, Stuyvesant's provincial Secretary, was appointed collector of the customs. He was called into counsel on many occasions, and rendered material aid to Nicolls. One of the schepens, Johannes Van Brugh, was also invited to the meetings of the council, and his opinions were treated with profound deference. He was a shipping merchant, doing a prosperous business. His wife was a daughter of Anetje Jans. They lived in a stone house near Hanover Square, in front of which several im- mense forest-trees cast their broad shadows over a handsome green, where the Indians used to camp, during their visits to the city, and where mar- ket-wagons were often left standing, while the horses rested and grazed in the cool shade. Mr. and Mrs. Van Brugh were the first of the Dutch residents who gave a dinner-party in honor of the new English governor.
On the Sunday following the surrender, the English Episcopal service was celebrated for the first time in New York, by the chaplain of
Sept. 14. the English forces. It having been agreed in the capitulation that the Dutch should enjoy all their religious liberties and retain their own church edifice, it was very cordially arranged that the services of the Church of England should take place in the same sanctuary after the close of the usual morning worship. Meanwhile the city magistrates provided for the support of Dominies Megapolensis and Drisius, until the gov- ernor should make further arrangements.
Fort Orange, and Esopus, although included in the capitulation, re- mained to be brought under the Duke's authority. As soon as the safety of the capital was fairly assured, Nicolls dispatched to the former point Colonel Cartwright and his company, armed with various orders and instructions. Colonel Cartwright was a typical Englishman, heavy, grave, often morose, overbearing, of a suspicious temperament, and an excellent hater of the Dutch. The two officers next in command were
221
ALBANY.
Captain John Manning and Captain Daniel Brodhead. Captain Manning had formerly commanded a trading vessel between New Haven and New York, but was now in the military service. Captain Brodhead, from an ancient family in Yorkshire, England, was a zealous royalist, in high favor with the king. He was the common ancestor of the Brodhead family in this country, among whom in every generation have been men of culture and distinction, - the most widely known of them all, perhaps, being the late John Romeyn Brodhead, the eminent scholar and historian of New York.
Van Rensselaer was directed to obey Cartwright, and also to bring his title papers respecting Rensselaerswick to Nicolls for inspection. This was subsequently done, and a new patent was issued to the patroon by the Duke. Thomas Willett, and Thomas Breedon, ex-governor of Nova Scotia, accompanied the expedition by request, because they were accus- tomed to dealing with the savages, and it was esteemed of the first im- portance to secure the friendship which the Iroquois had cherished towards the Dutch.
The military officers were received with courtesy by Dr. La Montagne and the magistrates of the little town, which was at once named Albany, after the Scotch title of the Duke of York. It was found that John De Decker, one of Stuyvesant's counselors and a signer of the articles of capitulation, had been actively engaged in trying to infuse the spirit of resistance into the people at the north, and he was banished from the province. Few changes were made in the civil government. The
Mohawk and Seneca sachems appeared and signed with Cart- Sept. 25. wright the first treaty between the Iroquois and the English ; and Captain Manning was left in command of the fort.
On his return from Albany, Cartwright landed at Esopus, where he was warmly welcomed by William Beekman, who was confirmed in his authority as sheriff. Thomas Chambers was also retained as Sept. 30. commissary. The charge of the garrison was committed to Captain Brod- head.
Nicolls was quick to see the advantage of influencing as many of the Dutch families as possible to remain in their present homes. By the articles of capitulation he had given them liberty to sell their lands and effects and to remove to Holland. But he resolved to ask the principal Dutch citizens to take the customary oath and become British subjects. He accordingly sent for Ex-Governor Stuyvesant, De Sille, Van Ruyven, Dominies Megapolensis and Drisius, and a few others, to meet him in the chamber of the common council, where the burgomasters and schepens were assembled, and there he addressed them on the subject,
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
explaining that this new obligation did not involve any permanent
renunciation of allegiance to the Dutch government. They Oct. 14. demurred. Van Ruyven argued that the people had been pro- nounced " free denizens " by the terms of the surrender, and no provision made for assuming a new allegiance. Van Cortlandt feared such a pro- ceeding would render the articles of capitulation null and void. After much debate, the meeting declined taking the oath, unless Nicolls should add to it, "conformable to the articles concluded on the surrender of this place."
The subject was in agitation for several days. Finally, Nicolls said in writing, that " the articles of surrender " were "not in the least broken, or intended to be broken, by any words or expressions in the said Oct. 18. oath." This statement proved satisfactory, and, within the subse- quent five days, over two hundred and fifty residents of the city and adjacent country took the oath of allegiance to Charles II. and the Duke of York. Among these was Stuyvesant himself; also Van Ruyven, Van Brugh, Van Cortlandt, Van Rensselaer, Beekman, and the two Dutch Dominies.
Tonneman, the sheriff, returned to Holland, and the city was called upon to elect his successor. The choice fell upon Allard Anthony, who Dec. 12. was at once confirmed in office by the governor. About the same time a provost-marshal was appointed, to keep unruly soldiers from interfering with the citizens.
Meanwhile, Sir Robert Carr had gone, with two vessels and a large armed force, to reduce the settlements on the Delaware. He found the Swedes manageable and the Dutch obstinate. Superiority in Oct. 10. numbers, however, secured a bloodless victory. It was then that. the royal knight began to reveal his true character. He assumed au- thority independent of Nicolls, and claimed to be the sole disposer of affairs in that region. He shipped the Dutch soldiers to Virginia, to be sold as slaves. He imprisoned the commander Hinnoyssa, and appropri- ated his comfortable house and flourishing farm to his own use. He gave the stone dwelling, and a large tract of land belonging to Sheriff Van Sweringen, to his son Captain John Carr. He distributed the property of the other settlers as he saw fit. When an account of his high-handed proceedings reached the other commissioners, they were astonished beyond measure. They considered such conduct " presump- tuous and disgraceful." They peremptorily required his lordship's return to New York to attend to the further business of the commission, and when he did not make his appearance, Cartwright and Maverick deputed Nicolls to proceed to Delaware Bay and appoint such civil and military
223
CONNECTICUT DIPLOMACY.
officers there as his best judgment dictated. He was accompanied by Counselor Needham. He administered a severe rebuke to Carr and compelled him to disgorge much of his ill-gotten spoil. He regulated affairs as well as he was able, and appointed Captain John Carr as deputy-governor.
Connecticut was all this while in deep distress. The patent of the king had extended her territory to the Pacific Ocean. But here was another patent of the king to his brother, comprising every inch of land west of the Connecticut River. It was a most extraordinary complica- tion.
As for Long Island, the Duke's patent expressly included it by name ; moreover, Winthrop, at Gravesend, just before the surrender of New York, had declared that the jurisdiction formerly exercised by Connecti- cut " ceased and became null." There seemed therefore to be little room for discussion in regard to that region, and it received the name of Yorkshire.
But Hartford herself was included in the Duke's patent, to say noth- ing of republican New Haven, who had held her head so high, and stoutly refused to bend to Connecticut, because the charter of the latter had been (as was affirmed) surreptitiously obtained, " contrary to right- eousness, amity, and peace." Alas, when the choice was finally made between two great evils, Puritan dictation was judged to be far bet- ter than foreign annexation. The General Court of Connecticut held a mournful meeting in October. "We must try to conciliate those royal commissioners," said Winthrop. It was voted to present Oct. 13. them with five hundred bushels of corn and some fine horses. A com- mittee, consisting of Governor Winthrop, his son Fitz John, Matthew Allyn, Nathan Gold, and James Richards, was appointed to pay a visit of congratulation and to make the presentation. They were empowered to seize any opportunity which might offer, to settle a boundary line between the two patents.
They reached New York late in November, and were graciously received by Nicolls, Cartwright, and Maverick. After much preamble, the delicate and perplexing question was fairly brought under discussion. The two patents were spread upon the table. Win- Nov. 30. throp was reminded that, in obtaining the former, he had promised to submit to any alteration of boundaries which might be made by the king's commissioners. The authority of the later patent could not be shaken. The Connecticut gentlemen pleaded that it should not be en- forced to its full extent, thus depriving Connecticut of her " very bowels and principal parts." To this Nicolls readily assented, for his own judg-
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
ment condemned a course which would only result in the ruin of a thriving colony, and in lasting dishonor to the king. It was therefore agreed that the dividing line between Connecticut and New York should run about twenty miles from any part of the Hudson River. To define the starting-point and the compass direction, the Connecticut gentlemen inserted a clause in the document by which the line was to be drawn from where the Mamaroneck Creek flows into the Sound, and north- northwest onward to the Massachusetts line.
For the moment, this settlement seemed to be satisfactory to both parties. New Haven submitted to Connecticut and all went well. But Nicolls and his colleagues, being unfortunately ignorant of the geography of the country, were misled into the supposition that the line had been drawn twenty miles, when in reality it was only about ten miles, distant from the Hudson. It was an absurd error, which was never ratified by the Duke or the king, and proved the source of a long-continued and distracting controversy.
While the forces of the expedition against New Netherland were still on the Atlantic, in June, James dismembered his American province and
laid the foundation of another State. The treasurer of his house- June 23. hold was Lord Berkeley, who was also one of the Admiralty Board. He was a coarse, bold man, arbitrary and unscrupulous, and somewhat inclined to Catholicism. The treasurer of the Admiralty was Sir George Carteret, who had formerly been governor of the Channel Island of Jersey, where he received and entertained Charles, while Prince of Wales, and at which point he gallantly defeated the troops of Cromwell. He rode by the side of the king, when he entered Lon- don, at the Restoration, and was made chamberlain of the royal house- hold. Berkeley and Carteret were both members of the Council for Foreign Plantations, and had studied America with careful attention. They expressed a desire to purchase of the Duke a portion of his new territory ; and he, wishing to please two such devoted friends, accepted the small sum they offered, and conveyed to them by deed the June 24. section now known as New Jersey, -a name bestowed in com- pliment to Carteret. James had very little idea of the magnitude or importance of this sale, and made no reservation of the right to govern. Thence the purchasers assumed absolute control, engendering controver- sies which were prolonged for many years. They published a constitu- tion for New Jersey, and appointed Philip Carteret, a cousin of Sir George's, governor of the province.
Nicolls knew nothing of all this until the arrival of Governor Carteret off the coast of Virginia, when he immediately wrote to James, protest-
225
ELIZABETHTOWN.
ing against a movement so unexpected and so unwise. Of course, the protest came too late. Carteret reached New York in July, 1665, and received from Nicolls, according to the orders of the Duke which he brought with him, complete and undisputed possession of New Jersey. He landed on Jersey soil, at the head of a party of men, carrying a hoe on his shoulder, to indicate his intention of becoming a planter with them. He chose for the seat of government a charming spot near Newark Bay, where four families had already settled, and named it Elizabethtown, in honor of Lady Elizabeth, the wife of Sir George Car- teret.
Nicolls found serious work on all sides of him. In order to win the Dutch, he copied or rather continued, with as little alteration as possible, the form of administration to which they had been accustomed. The burgomasters and schepens of the city, when their terms 1665. of service expired, named their successors, as formerly. It was Feb. 2. just twelve years to a day since Stuyvesant had conferred the powers which they exercised. The new officers were promptly confirmed by Nicolls, and announced to the public after the usual ringing of the bell. D They were Cornelis Steen- wyck and Oloff S. Van Cortlandt, burgomas- Autograph of Johannes De Peyster. ters ; Timotheus Gabry, Johannes Van Brugh, Johannes De Peyster, Jacob Kip, and Jacques Cousseau, schepens ; and Allard Anthony, sheriff.
It is noticeable that among these names are three of Huguenot origin. Johannes De Peyster descended from one of the families of the nobility who were driv- en from France in 1572 by the religious per- secutions o f Charles IX. He himself was born in Holland. N/ Richardsonen/1
He had been in Silverware of the De Peysters. New York for sixteen or more years. He was heir to considerable wealth, some of which was invested in ships which sailed to and from Europe and the West Indies. He brought to this country many valuable articles of furniture, and a large quantity of massive silver. Several
15
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
specimens of the latter are still in possession of the family, and are esteemed by the curious as masterpieces of art. He filled important positions in the city government and in the church, and was held in great respect. Nicolls said of him that he could make a better plat- form speech than any other man outside of Parliament, only that his knowledge of the English tongue was defective. He was the ancestor of the De Peyster family, which, from its intimate connection with the fortunes of New York, will occupy our attention in future chapters.
Almost immediately, a controversy arose between the city magistrates and the governor and council. It having been stipulated that the city should provide quarters for such soldiers as could not be lodged in the fort, an attempt was made to distribute them among the inhabitants, who were to be paid for their board. In many instances, they were turned out of respectable houses on account of disorderly conduct, and complaints arose on every side. The citizens generally preferred to pay an assessment rather than have any contact with them ; and the matter was finally arranged in this way, to the satisfaction of all concerned.1
In fact, Nicolls was a provincial autocrat. Under the Duke's despotic patent, he was the real maker of the laws, and the interpreter of them after they were made. With such tact and moderation, however, did he exercise his delegated powers, that his subordinates actually believed themselves to be sharers in the responsibilities of legislation. He erected a Court of Assizes, consisting of the governor and his council, which was the supreme tribunal of the province. After a time, Long Island, or Yorkshire, was divided into three districts, or ridings. The justices of the peace appointed by the governor were to hold, three times a year in each district, a Court of Sessions over which the governor or any coun- selor might preside; and these justices, and the high-sheriff of each district, were to sit in the Court of Assizes once a year, - the last Thurs- day in September. But they had no representative character whatever.
The anomalous condition of New York required special laws. Here was a conquered province, which had no charter, like the New England colonies ; which was not a royal domain, like Virginia ; which differed materially from the proprietary of Maryland ; and whose Dutch inhabi- tants, having received special privileges for the sake of peaceable posses-
1 Among those assessed were Peter Stuyvesant, Frederick Philipse, Cornelis Van Ruyven, Oloff S. Van Cortlandt, Paulus Van der Grist, Johannes Van Brugh, Johannes De Peyster, Jacob Kip, Allard Anthony, Evert Duyckinck, Jan Evertsen Bout, Johannes De Witt, Hans Kiersted, Jacob Leisler, Paulus Richards, Simon Jansen Romeyn, Isaac Bedlow, Augustine Heermans, Ægidius Luyck, and many others. Some were taxed four guilders per week, some three, some two, and some one.
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NICOLLS A LAW-MAKER.
sion, were in many respects upon a better footing than the king's English subjects upon Long Island, which had been British territory before the capitulation. Nicolls had promised the Long-Islanders at Gravesend, before the surrender, that they should have a convention of delegates from their towns, to enact laws and establish civil offices. He accord- ingly proceeded, with the help of his council, to frame a code which should ultimately become the law of the whole province. He carefully studied the laws in actual operation in the several New England colo- nies ; and, for that purpose, obtained copies of those of Massachusetts and New Haven, the latter of which had been printed in London in 1656. He wrote to Winthrop for a copy of the statutes of Connecticut ; but they existed only in manuscript, and he did not obtain a transcript in time to make use of it. But, however much Nicolls may have bor- rowed from the experience and wisdom of his neighbors, he excelled them all in liberality in matters of conscience and religion.
He called a convention at Hempstead on the 28th of February. It consisted of thirty-four delegates, two from each of the Long Island towns, and two from Westchester. These delegates were all noti- fied to bring with them whatever documents related to the bound- Feb. 28. aries of their respective towns, and to invite the Indian sachems, whose presence might be necessary, to attend the meeting, as there was impor- tant business to be transacted, aside from the discussion and adoption of the new code of laws.1
Nicolls presided in person. At the opening of the exercises, he read the Duke's patent and his own commission. He then proceeded to the set- tlement of local boundaries, and other minor matters. The laws were delivered to the delegates for inspection. Scarcely a man among them was satisfied. They had expected immunities at least equal to those
1 The delegates to this convention were as follows : Jacques Cortelyou and Mr. Fosse, from New Utrecht ; Elbert Elbertsen and Roeloffe Martense, from Flatlands ; John Stryker and Hendrick Jorassen, from Flatbush ; James Hubbard and John Bowne, from Gravesend ; John Stealman and Guisbert Tennis, from Bushwick ; Frederick Lubbersten and John Evert- sen, from Brooklyn ; Richard Betts and John Coe, from Newtown ; Elias Doughty and Richard Cornhill, from Flushing ; Thomas Benedict and Daniel Denton, from Jamaica ; John Hicks and Robert Jackson, from Hempstead ; John Underhill and Matthias Harvey, from Oyster Bay ; Jonas Wood and John Ketchum, from Huntington ; Daniel Lane and Roger Barton, from Brookhaven ; Counselor William Wells and John Young, from South- old ; Counselor Thomas Topping and John Howell, from Southampton ; Thomas Baker and John Stratton, from Easthampton ; and Edward Jessop and John Quimby, from Westches- ter. Brodhead, II. 68. Journals New York Legislative Council ; Gen. Ent., I. 93-95. Wood, 87, 88. Thompson, I. 131, 132. Bolton, II. 180. Dunlap, II. App. XXXVII. Smith, I. 388. Hist. Mag., VIII. 211. Trumbull MSS., XX. 74. Col. Doc., II. 251 ; III. 86, 88, 114 ; IV. 1154. Deeds, II. 1-15, 43, 48, 49. Chalmers, I. 577, 578, 598.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
enjoyed under the charter of Connecticut, with which they were perfectly familiar. The code prepared did not recognize the right of the people to choose their own magistrates or to have a voice in the levying of taxes. Consequently, they objected to some of its clauses, and proposed others. The discussion occupied ten days. Several amendments were accepted by Nicolls. But when the debate waxed warm, it was very promptly checked by his emphatic announcement that all civil appointments were solely in the hands of the governor, and that whoever wished any larger share in the government must go to the king for it. The delegates were thus assured that, instead of being popular representatives to make laws, they were merely agents to accept those already made for them. It was not a pleasant medicine, but it was gracefully swallowed. The code was adopted, and was generally known as " THE DUKE'S LAWS." The subjects were arranged in alphabetical order, and, about a century after, having become obsolete, the document was first printed as an historical curiosity.
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