USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 47
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Before these papers were sent to England, the governors of Pennsyl- vania and Maryland tried to bring about a reconciliation between Bello- mont and the merchants. Bellomont was irritated, and said he had no. advances to make, unless it could be proven that he had acted contrary to law; if the merchants expected him to be reconciled and indulge them in unlawful trade and piracy, they would find themselves mistaken, for- he should be " as steady as a rock on that point." He thought it was hard on him that the landholders should not have received their doom ; he should expect insolence until the Act was ratified in England, "and until all who had obtained land by wholesale were brought under proper limits."
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BELLOMONTS HARDSHIPS.
It was confidently asserted in New York that Bellomont was to be recalled, and some went so far as to say that Fletcher had been com- missioned as his successor. This caused a disaffection among the Leis- lerians, and a number went over to the aristocracy. Bellomont was quite indifferent about being called home, and declared that no malice could spot his reputation. A letter from the Bishop of London to Rev. Mr. Vesey, however, cut him to the heart. The good divine seemed to have espoused the cause of Fletcher ; he told the people of Trinity Church that " by Easter they would be rid of their grievances." " Ah !" said Bellomont, "if I am to find my services slighted in England, I may well be troubled."
The Lords of Trade had really taken no action in the matter. The con- tradictory stories perplexed them. They wrote a cheerful letter of en- couragement to Bellomont, and appointed Judge Atwood and Attorney- General Broughton to go to his relief and assistance. They were a long time, however, in reaching New York. Bellomont was impatient with the delay, and said "the way some people shirked their duty and stayed away from their posts was intolerable." As for Weaver, who had loitered in Eng- land nearly three years, the governor asked the Lords to send him imme- diately home ; and at the same time he informed them that Major Ingolds- by had been in London four years, leaving his wife and children to starve, - the latter had now gone to stay at Judge Pinhorne's in New Jersey. Hungerford, who, on account of relationship, had been appointed assistant collector of the customs, was in jail, having "played the fool and worse." Augustine Graham (son of James Graham) had been suspended from the office of adjutant-general, " because," said Bellomont, "I esteem him a superfluous charge to the government." He was accused of intemperance, and Bellomont remarked "that the son would become sober when the father became honest." Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan was at Barbadoes, looking after his wife's fortune. Peter Schuyler never attended the meet- ings of the council, owing to the pressure of his duties in Albany. Robert Livingston could only come to New York at certain seasons of the year. Chief Justice Smith's home was a hundred miles away, and he was rarely present. Graham was at his country-seat near Morrisania, eight miles from the city, and was " either sick or sullen, for he had not shown him- self for five months." It was thus that Bellomont pictured his hardships in being obliged to attend to the business of others as well as his own, and asked for an increase of salary. He expressed himself greatly hurt at having been "so pushed at," for supposed complicity with Captain Kidd, and said it was a cruelty that every honest man who served the king should have his name torn and villified.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
In the early part of January, 1701, Bellomont publicly removed Gra- 1701. ham from the offices of attorney-general and city recorder. He January· might have spared his former friend this infliction, and said he should have done so had he known his illness was of a serious character. Graham was dying, having been suffering from a serious malady ever since his last visit to the council-chamber. He lived but a few days after he was informed of the action of the governor. His large estate near Morrisania was divided equally among his six children. Of his manner of life a passing glimpse is handed along to us in his will, which makes mention of an overseer, two white servants, and thirty negro slaves.
In November, prior to the death of Graham, Hon. Stephanus Van Cortlandt had finished his eventful career. Bellomont felt his loss keenly. Although they differed in opinions upon almost every important subject which came up for discussion in the council, they were warm personal friends. Van Cortlandt had borne his years well, and was an excellent public officer. His liberal views and large charities had greatly facilitated the growth and prosperity of New York. His last sleep was full of honors. His place in the council was filled by William Lawrence, who was pronounced " a man of good estate and honest understanding."
Feb. In the latter part of February, Bellomont was attacked with the gout, to which he had been subject for years ; but with characteris- tic energy he for several days dictated communications to the various parts of his government, and, regardless of physical pain, wrote one or two letters with his own hand. He grew worse, and on the 5th of March 5. March ended his arduous and unsatisfactory labors, at the age of sixty-five. His death caused a profound sensation. A general fast was observed throughout the province. He was interred with appropriate ceremonies in the chapel in the fort. When that structure was leveled in 1790, his leaden coffin was tenderly removed and deposited in St. Paul's churchyard.
Lady Bellomont remained in New York about a year and a half after the death of her husband, and then returned to England, where she sub- sequently married again. In her deep affliction she received the constant attention and sympathy of Mrs. Abraham De Peyster, and Mrs. Stephanus Van Cortlandt, - Lady Van Cortlandt, as she was then styled. The coach of the latter, with its outriders wearing badges of mourning, made frequent trips between the manor-house and city, although the ladies and their ser- vants were much oftener seen wending their way through the woods on horseback. Anne, the daughter of Van Cortlandt, had been married, a few months before the death of the latter, to Stephen De Lancey,1 and was now
1 Stephen De Lancey soon afterward built a large elegant homestead upon land conveyed to
-
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DEATH OF LORD BELLOMONT.
presiding over a pretentious mansion of her own on Broadway near Trinity Church. De Lancey was one of the merchants who had writhed under the imputation of piracy, and hated Bellomont with fiery intensity ; but it did not prevent his beautiful bride from showing the utmost kindness to the bereaved widow.
What the results of Bellomont's policy might have been must ever re- main a mystery. Few have been incited by more conscientious motives in their efforts to administer justice. His errors were chiefly in judg- ment ; he allowed noble and praiseworthy impulses to carry him beyond the bounds of common prudence. But through his instrumentality piracy received a check from which it never had vitality enough to recover, and although he did not succeed in destroying the political influence and in lowering the social position of the gentry of the province, he did advance men who might not otherwise have had their talents recognized, and he pro- duced something more nearly approximate to a common level than any one individual ever accomplished either before or since his time. Few would have had the courage to have raised an arm against so many adversaries, rarely another could have done so without falling in the fray. His death was the source of fresh troubles, and the only wonder is that New York did not resolve into a state of hopeless anarchy.1
him by his father-in-law, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, on the corner of Broad and Dock, now Broad and Pearl Streets. This same edifice attained celebrity at a much later period, as " Fraunces' Tavern." Chamber of Commerce Records, by John Austin Stevens, 307, 308.
1 In my account of the brief administration of Lord Bellomont, as in many other instan- ces, I abstain from citing authorities, because my authorities are too numerous to cite. My information has been derived, not only from the sources open to every student of history, but from thousands of old letters, sermons, tracts, records of trials, wills, and other musty and forgotten documents.
448
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
CHAPTER XXII.
1701 - 1710.
COLONEL WILLIAM SMITH.
COLONEL WILLIAM SMITH. - CONFLICT IN THE COUNCIL. - LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR NAN- FAN. - ILLEGAL VOTING. - ROBERT LIVINGSTON IN DISGRACE. - MRS. GERTRUDE VAN CORTLANDT. - THE CITY ELECTIONS. - EXTRAORDINARY CONFUSION. - MAYOR NOELL. - CHIEF JUSTICE ATWOOD. - MANOR-HOUSE OF CALEB HEATHCOTE. - TRIAL OF NICH- OLAS BAYARD FOR TREASON. - DEATH OF WILLIAM III. - LORD CORNBURY. - BAY- ARD'S SENTENCE REVERSED. - THE YELLOW FEVER. - THE CHURCH QUARREL. - LADY BELLOMONT. - THE LEISLER BILL. - DEATH OF FREDERICK PHILIPSE. - PHILIPSE MANOR. - PHILIPSE WILL. - THE FRENCH CHURCH. - TRINITY CHURCH. - QUEEN ANNE. - EXCITEMENTS. - THE TREASURER OF THE PROVINCE. - DEATH OF LADY CORNBURY. - LORD CORNBURY AND THE TWO PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS. - THE AS- SEMBLY OF 1708. - SPIRITED RESOLUTIONS. - LORD LOVELACE. - FIRST PAPER MONEY IN NEW YORK. - FIVE INDIAN CHIEFS AT QUEEN ANNE'S COURT. - THE SILVER VASE PRESENTED TO SCHUYLER BY QUEEN ANNE.
T THE sadness which fell like a pall over New York upon the death of Lord Bellomont was quickly pierced by a clash in the political 1701. arena. Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan was in Barbadoes, and the March 5.
government was without a head. Colonel William Smith has- tened to New York, but, owing to recent storms and swollen streams, he did not arrive until the 11th. The ice was just breaking
in the Hudson River, which prevented Peter Schuyler and March 11. Robert Livingston from reaching the city until the 21st of the month.
Without waiting for the two latter, the council met to consider what steps to take in the emergency. Colonel Smith claimed the chair March 12. by virtue of being the oldest member. The four other gentlemen present - Abraham De Peyster, Dr. Staats, Robert Walters, and Thomas Weaver - thought a vote should be taken and the majority decide the question. Smith said it was "an odd and doubtful way of proceeding," and since New York had never been so circumstanced before they must look to other of the king's plantations for a precedent in the matter. The discussion grew interesting and considerable heat was manifested. Smith
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CONFLICT IN THE COUNCIL.
wrote out his opinion, and it was twice read before the meeting. They finally separated and came together again the next morning. A March 13. written reply to Smith's arguments was produced and read. It
declared that one member had no more power than another, and that when the majority saw fit to meet as a council for the transaction of public business they should notify Smith, and if he refused to meet with them, they should act in the administration of the government without him. De Peyster acted as President of the Council.
The spirit and tone of the document offended Smith, but he maintained his position. After a long session the gentlemen separated without hav- ing arrived at any settlement. The next day and the next was but a repetition of the same. The question also came up as to whether the Assembly ought to sit on the 2d of April, the day specified at the time of their prorogation. Smith was inclined to believe that the Assembly was actually dissolved by the governor's death. Some of the gentlemen were so earnest in pressing for the meeting of the Assembly that Smith suspected they designed attempting to pass bills of private consequence, which Bellomont had only been prevented from doing by the superior discernment of the Lords of Trade. Such was the fact, as subsequent events proved. The Leisler family had never rested in the matter of securing an Act of the Legislature of the province to sustain them in instituting suits for damages, claimed to have been sustained during the revolution, and their estimates were alarmingly exorbitant. The wife of Robert Walters was Leisler's daughter, and she inherited her father's persistence in a purpose, as well as her share of the estate. It is easy to see why Walters was anxious to seize the opportunity to further her wishes and increase his own possessions. Dr. Staats had been one of Leisler's council, and had always advocated the exaction of some terrible retribution for the murder of two innocent men. Weaver was a new man in New York, and one of those blundering and shallow persons who always talk loudly, particularly upon those subjects which they least un- derstand, and who are usually restrained with difficulty from talking all the time. The speaker of the Assembly was Abraham Gouverneur, who had not only suffered himself, but his wife was Leisler's daughter, and was doubly interested through her father and her first husband. This was certainly an opportune moment for carrying a long-determined plan into execution.
Schuyler and Livingston at last put in their appearance. They at once took the ground which had been held so valiantly by Smith. Liv- March 21.
ingston had, in the earlier part of Bellomont's administration, sided
with the Leislerians. But it was more from personal regard for the gov-
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
ernor than for any sympathy in their cause. The Kidd affair, in which he had been accused of sequestering piratical treasures to a large amount, had produced coolness between himself and Bellomont. The remarkable interests now at stake brought him into his old groove. There was a sharpening of sabers and a rush to mortal combat. It was three against four, De Peyster being in sympathy with the Leislerians. The scheme of revenge was charged squarely upon the latter. In turn Livingston and Schuyler were accused of defrauding the government, and Smith was in- formed that he was considered a dangerous man by the late governor, and was just about to have been ousted from the council. Colonel Smith had actually been deprived of the office of chief justice in December, and De Peyster had been invested with the dignity - during the interim, until the arrival of Atwood - simply for necessary process without being expected to judge in any cause. The eloquent vituperation and stinging sarcasm which echoed from wall to wall in the council-chamber was un- equalled in history. The clamor of the angry disputants was so loud and threatening that people in the neighborhood spread an alarm. Weaver outdid all the rest in the elevation of his voice and in the originality of his ideas. He said if the rest of the four were of his mind, they "would put those who would not submit to the majority fast in irons and chains," for it was nothing more or less than rebellion.
The Assembly met on the 2d of April, but owing to the quarrel April 2. in the council adjourned from day to day. Both parties sent a written explanation of the controversy to the House, and it was decided that the council had the right to govern by majority of voices. But in view of the irreconcilable nature of the singular affair the House ad- May 10. journed until June. Meanwhile Nanfan arrived. There was no longer any question of pre-eminence, for, according to the provis- ion in Bellomont's commission, the lieutenant-governor was now the commander-in-chief. Other questions arose, however, of even graver mo- ment, and the spirit of antagonism increased to an unprecedented degree.
The Lords of Trade had advised Nanfan to avoid engaging himself "in the heats and animosities of parties," and in all things to use mod- eration. He attempted obedience, and his first act was to dissolve the Assembly and order a new election. The energy and tact of each party were brought into full play, and the contest was one of the most bitter and demoralizing that ever occurred in New York. There was illegal voting everywhere. The elections were sharply disputed. The Leisler- ians were in the majority ; when they came to choose a speaker for the House there was another painful disturbance. Out of twenty-one mem- bers, of which the House was composed, ten voted for Abraham Gouver-
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MRS. STEPHANUS VAN CORTLANDT.
neur and nine for William Nicolls. The minority undertook to prove that Gouverneur was an alien, for which several of the gentlemen were prosecuted. On the other hand, it was charged that Nicolls and Wessells were not properly qualified to act as members, because they were not actual residents of the counties where they were elected. They both retired from the House in anger, and sent written complaints of their treatment to England.
The oaths were administered to the Assemblymen by Atwood (who had arrived and been made one of the counselors), De Peyster, and Aug. 19. Livingston. Two days later Nanfan named a committee, by urgent request from certain sources, to audit the public accounts. It con- Aug. 21. sisted of Atwood, De Peyster, Dr. Staats, and Robert Walters, who were to meet a committee from the House at the residence of Roger Baker. It was a proceeding aimed directly at Robert Livingston. It was pretended that he had never accounted for the public money which he had formerly received out of the excise. He indignantly refused to appear before this tribunal. His conduct was pronounced "a determination not to render an account," although it was well known that his books and vouchers were in the hands of the government and detained from him. The two committees unanimously recommended that a bill be passed the House for the confiscation of his real and personal estate to the value of as much debt to the crown as could be charged to him.
A few days later Mrs. Stephanus Van Cortlandt was summoned before the auditing committee to pay an alleged deficit in her late hus- Sept. 9. band's accounts to the amount of £ 530. She took no notice of the mandate. She even withheld the books and papers when they were demanded. Quite an excitement was fomented on her account, but she stood out as fearlessly against threats as she had done in the time of the Revolution. She believed her husband to have been perfectly upright, and was determined to prevent his memory from being sullied through the implacable malice of the party in power. She hoped, too, that before matters came to a crisis a new governor and a new order of things might bless New York. Suits were instituted against her, but Lord Cornbury came just in time to save her from being publicly annoyed. Her resolute course of action was attributed largely to the influence of Nicholas Bayard, whose son Samuel had recently married her daughter Margaret, and the families were more intimate if possible than ever. She was supposed, too, to be very much under the guidance of Livingston, whose wife was her sister Alida, and who stayed chiefly at her house when in New York. Both suppositions were alike incorrect and did the lady injustice. She was a responsible, capable, and efficient member of society, abundantly able to judge and act for herself.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Nanfan informed the auditing committee, that while in Albany, in con- ference with the sachems of the Five Nations, just after his arrival from Barbadoes, the Indians had expressed great affection for Livingston, and desired that he should be sent to Europe to procure them some favors. The committee summoned Livingston before them, and this time he ap- peared. They told him that it had been made to appear that he had used some undue influence in prevailing upon the Indians to signify their pleasure that he should visit the king in their behalf; but that he could, if he thought proper, take a voluntary oath to clear himself from censure. Livingston was too well acquainted with English law and liberty to abet such insolence. He knew that there was not a shadow of proof against him. He contemptuously replied that he "did not think it worth his while."
The House immediately addressed Nanfan with a petition to be for- warded to the king for the removal of Livingston from the office of Sec- retary of Indian Affairs. A bill was prepared, obliging Livingston to account, which was passed, with an amendment by Nanfan, to the effect that time should be given him until the 25th of March, 1702.
Other bills passed, but the one entitled "An Act for the pay- October. ment of the debts of the government made in the late happy Rev- olution," was delayed day after day by the persistent opposition of the minority. Finally young Leisler went to Nanfan with a petition that it might receive immediate consideration. Nanfan received him graciously, but coolly remarked that the Assembly had been sitting a long time, and the remaining bills must all be dismissed until the next session. The same afternoon he prorogued the House until the third Tuesday in March.
The city elections were as disorderly as those of the province. Both parties seemed lost to all sense of honor and decency. There was as much illegal as legal voting, and several bloody skirmishes among in- dividuals. At last there was a violent dispute about which party had really won. As there were to be six aldermen and six assistants, should party division be equal, Thomas Noell, the new mayor, who belonged to the aristocracy, would have the casting vote. But the Leislerians claimed the victory, and, departing from the customary method, were severally sworn in by the retiring mayor, who was of their own party.
Mayor Noell was sworn, as usual, before the governor and council, and then repaired, in company with the elected aldermen, to Trinity Church to listen to an appropriate discourse by Rev. Mr. Vesey. From there they proceeded in solemn state to the City Hall, where the bell was rung, Mayor Noell published his commission and took the chair. The retiring
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EXTRAORDINARY CONFUSION.
mayor, De Riemer, arose and gracefully presented him with the city charter and seal. Abraham Gouverneur was city recorder, and took his seat by the mayor. Noell told the clerk to proceed with the ceremony of swearing in the members elect. Several responded, as their names were called, by saying they had been sworn in already. Shouts of " It cannot be done," and "It is not according to law," caused great confusion. There were crowds of citizens present, and all talked together, until the hubbub was deafening. Some declared that no one could be legally sworn by the old mayor, and others with equal emphasis maintained the right by law. Not only voices but fists were raised, and the uproar became of such magnitude that Mayor Noell apprehended a fight and arose and dis- solved the meeting.
Noell declined to sit with aldermen, as a common council, who refused to be sworn by him. And as the common council was the only legal au- thority for scrutinizing disputed elections, the city was in danger of being without a government. The urgency of the case induced Noell to take upon himself the responsibility of appointing four men in each ward to inspect returns. The Leislerians whom he placed on these committees refused to serve. They pronounced the proceeding irregular, and claimed that the common council could only judge of the qualifications of its own members. The remainder of the committees went on with their labors, and returned the names of all the voters in the disputed wards, with the men for whom they had severally voted. It was found that the aristo- cratic party were in the majority.
Mayor Noell then called a meeting at the City Hall to swear in the new aldermen. Those who would be displaced by such action joined
them, and they all marched along the streets and entered the hall Nov. 11. together. They took their seats side by side, with angry determination resting upon their countenances. Mayor Noell arose, and said he should use no violence to eject those who had no business there, and went on swearing in such as had been legally chosen. Voices were meanwhile protesting from every part of the hall. The clerk administered the oaths amid a deafening roar of tongues, and when the mayor proceeded to the transaction of business, all took part. with audacious effrontery until the confusion became so great that he adjourned the Board for two weeks. The case went before the Supreme Court, which decided upon an equal division of the aldermen and assistants between the two Dec. 29. parties. As Mayor Noell and Recorder Gouverneur were opposed, the Board stood equally divided.
With Chief Justice Atwood came Attorney-General Broughton from England. A round of dinners and entertainments was given these gen-
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
tlemen, which, together with the great heat of the summer, caused Brough- ton a severe fit of illness. He had a family of eight, and houses were so scarce that he could find no accommodations except in crowded lodgings. He finally wrote to the Lords of Trade for special permission to occupy one of Captain Kidd's vacant dwellings. He also petitioned that the office of surveyor-general might be given to his son, in case Augustine Graham, who had sailed for England to settle his father's estate, should resign.
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