USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 54
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
retained the whole, and in his right to do so was ably sustained by Philipse.
Upon Hunter's arrival in England he effected a change of business with William Burnet, by resigning the government of New York and New Jersey, and accepting an offer of comptroller of the customs in Lon- don. In 1727 he was appointed governor of Jamaica. He died in 1734. He maintained an active correspondence with his friends in New York and New Jersey from the time he left the provinces to the end of his life, and was kept informed of all events of consequence political and per- sonal. He continued to be a property-owner also, and in 1730 wrote to James Alexander, expressing his desire to purchase six or seven hundred acres of land at New Brunswick, if it could be bought reasonably. Alex- ander in reply told him that the country about there was being settled very fast, and that " all the way for thirty miles south was a continuous line of fences and many good farmers' houses "; that a lot of ground in New Brunswick had grown to nearly as high a price as so much ground in the heart of New York.1
Thirteen months from the time of Hunter's farewell to New York, on the 20th of September, 1720, Schuyler was relieved from executive duties by the arrival of Governor William Burnet.
1 Whitehead's Contributions to East Jersey History. Rutherford MSS.
O
TANDEM VINCITUR
Morris Arms. (For description see page 545.)
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CONDITION OF THE PROVINCE.
CHAPTER XXIV.
1720 - 1732.
GOVERNOR WILLIAM BURNET.
GOVERNOR WILLIAM BURNET. - SOCIAL EVENTS. - BURNET'S MARRIAGE. - DR. CADWAL- LADER COLDEN. - ROBERT LIVINGSTON SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY. - JOHN WATSON THE FIRST PORTRAIT-PAINTER. - ROBERT WALTERS. - BURNET'S INDIAN POLICY. - REV. JONATHAN EDWARDS. - BURNET'S COUNCIL. - YOUNG MEN GOING WEST. - BUR- NET'S THEOLOGY. - THE FRENCH PROTESTANTS. - STEPHEN DE LANCEY. - WILLIAM BRADFORD. - THE FIRST NEWSPAPER IN NEW YORK. - THE SILVER-TONED BELL. - BURNET AND THE INDIAN CHIEFS. - DEATH OF GEORGE I. - BURNET'S DEPARTURE FOR BOSTON. - THE NEW POWDER-MAGAZINE. - GOVERNOR JOHN MONTGOMERY. - CON- FERENCE WITH THE INDIANS AT ALBANY. - JAMES DE LANCEY. - THE FIRST LIBRARY IN NEW YORK. - THE JEWS' BURIAL-PLACE. - THE CITY CHARTER. - FIRST FIRE-EN- GINES IN NEW YORK. - FIRST ENGINE-HOUSE. - RIP VAN DAM PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL AND ACTING GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK.
T THE advent of Governor Burnet was an event of special interest. New York was in holiday attire. Flags were flying, cannon speak- ing significant welcome, and the military on parade in full uni- 1720. form. It was a beautiful September day, and the balconies of all Sept. 20. the houses along the route were filled with ladies, as the new governor was escorted with stately ceremony to the City Hall in Wall Street, ac- cording to ancient usage, to publish his commission.
William Burnet was the son of the celebrated prelate, Bishop Burnet. He was named for the Prince of Orange, who stood sponsor for him at his baptism. He was a free-and-easy widower, large, graceful, of stately presence, dignified on occasions, but usually gay, talkative, and conde- scending. He was esteemed handsome, and greatly admired by the ladies, to whom he was specially devoted when in their presence. His gallantry was not a recommendation, however, to public favor. Some of the grave heads in high places were shaken dubiously. One gentle- man wrote to Hunter, "We do not know yet how the fathers and hus- bands are going to like Governor Burnet, but we are quite sure the wives and daughters do so sufficiently."
He had been carefully educated by his learned father, who, it is said, saw nothing in the youth but faint promise of moderate scholarship, until
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
he was at least twenty years of age, and had been so uneasy on the sub- ject that he had counseled anxiously with Sir Isaac Newton in relation to the best methods for training so refractory a mind. William took a sudden turn finally ; books became his delight as well as his companions, and he began to hoard them as a miser hoards gold. One of his relatives was charged with the buying of new books, and the frequent and expen- sive orders brought many a sharp and serious rebuke upon the young student's thoughtless head, for he was greatly exceeding his income. When this restraint became intolerable, he drew upon his brothers for
Portrait of Governor Burnet.
money. But they only laughed at his bookish proclivities, and admon- ished him to browse in his own pastures.
His early life was passed in the atmosphere of William and Mary's Court. As he matured into manhood he was in constant and daily inter- course with the most cultivated and polished men of the age. He traveled extensively and became thoroughly conversant with the language and customs of the different nations of Europe. He was free from affectation, and treated all classes with the most cordial politeness. He possessed an exhaustless fund of humor and anecdote, but he was not always noted for the discrimination with which he made choice of friends. His brother Gilbert wrote to him, shortly after he reached New York, in a strain of great caution, advising him against being "led by his genial and winning temper into too much familiarity, which might be turned to his great disadvantage."
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BURNET'S MARRIAGE.
He was pleased with the society of New York, which compared favor- ably with that to which he had been accustomed. He met, within a week after his arrival, the lady whom he married the following spring. She was Anne Marie, the daughter of Abraham Van Horne and Maria Pro- voost, a beautiful and accomplished young woman of eighteen summers. The Van Hornes were an ancient and eminently respectable family of Dutch ancestry. No one of the name had hitherto figured conspicuously in political life, but they were wealthy and refined people. Abraham Van Horne was a merchant, owning and occupying a large storehouse,
Portrait of Mrs. Burnet.
and a bolting and baking house, besides other property. He was ap- pointed to the council of New York through the recommendation of Burnet in 1722, and held the office until his death in 1741.1
Burnet and Hunter were personal friends, and the affairs and leading characters of New York were thoroughly discussed by them before the former accepted the chair of state. He was better prepared, therefore, for active and efficient work from the beginning of his administration than his predecessors had been. His opinions and tastes differed materially from those of Hunter, and the friends of the latter were not altogether predisposed in his favor. He was treated with courtesy, however. Lewis
1 Governor Burnet buried his wife, Anne Marie, or "Mary," as he calls her in his will, in 1727, while in New York ; also one child. He had one son, Gilbert, by his first marriage, who was sent to England upon his death in 1729. He had children by his second marriage, William, Mary, and Thomas. Mary married William Browne, of Beverly, Massachusetts. New England Historical Genealogical Register, Vol. V. p. 49.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Morris, bustling, penetrating, and in many things inconsistent, stood highest in his confidence, and still filled the office of chief justice. Bur- net was exceedingly fond of him. Lewis Morris, Jr., was taken into the council in place of Caleb Heathcote, recently deceased. Hunter, as has been seen, was liberal in his religious views, and not disposed to make tenets and doctrines the test of friendship. Burnet, on the contrary, was inclined to theological arguments, and rarely let his heart go out towards those who differed from him in matters of religion.
The Lords of Trade deemed it wise that the Assembly, which had been so favorably disposed towards the government before Hunter resigned, should be continued without an election. This measure was opposed by Schuyler and Philipse, on the ground of its illegality. Hence Burnet removed them both from the council, and appointed Dr. Cadwallader Colden and James Alexander in their places. It was a hostile step, and provoked no little comment and criticism. Burnet's reasons for pursuing such a course were obvious. The members of the present Assembly were pledged to grant the revenue again for five years. Symptoms of the old tumult in the political atmosphere at once became apparent. Meanwhile the new members of the council were able and sagacious, and worthy the high place they afterwards held in the governor's esteem.
Dr. Cadwallader Colden was the son of Rev. Alexander Colden of Dunse, in the Merse, Berwickshire, Scotland. He was born February 7, 1687, O. S. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh with a view of settling in the Church of Scotland, but, after completing his studies in 1705, he applied himself to the study of medicine. He was attracted finally to Philadelphia, where his mother had a widowed and childless sister. After practicing his profession in that city for some three years, he visited New York. It was in the summer of 1718. He only stayed three days. He received, however, the most polite and com- plimentary attentions from Governor Hunter. He was invited to the executive mansion, and a ceremonious dinner was given in his honor. About two weeks after he returned to Philadelphia, he received a letter from Hunter, inviting him to New York, and offering him the office of surveyor-general of the province. Henceforth his name will be identi- fied with our history, until we find him occupying the position of lieu- tenant-governor in the interesting Stamp Act period. We are indebted to him for much of our science, and some of our most important early institutions. Hence a brief outline of his career will not be amiss at this juncture.
He bought some three thousand acres of land in Orange County in 1719, which he named " Coldenham." He removed his family, a wife
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DR. CADWALLADER COLDEN.
and six young children, there in 1728, having brought the land under cul- tivation, and built a fine large dwelling. This retired home gave him leisure for philosophical study, to which he was greatly inclined. He maintained a voluminous correspondence with the learned scientists of Europe for more than thirty years, - with Linnæus, Gronovius, Peter Col- linson, of the Royal Society of London, Peter Kalm, of the Royal Acad- emy of Stockholm, the Earl of Macclesfield, Dr. Franklin, and a host of others. The subjects embraced botany, history, natural history, astron- omy, mathematics, philosophy, electricity, and medicine. His writings all bear evidence of indefatigable industry, of solid as well as varied acquire- ments, and of original conceptions. Mrs. Colden was a lady of genius, able to instruct her children, - indeed, took almost the sole charge of their education, - and assisted her husband materially in his literary labors and correspondence. Colden was the first New-Yorker who achieved an ex- tensive transatlantic reputation, either as a historian, a man of scientific acquirements, or as a philosophic writer, or who was recognized abroad solely on account of his literary labors. His connection with the govern- ment of New York from time to time will appear in future pages. In 1672 he purchased an estate of one hundred or more acres near Flushing, Long Island, where he erected a substantial country-house, and called the place Spring Hill. It was here that he died, in 1776, and was buried in a private cemetery on the property.1
The speaker of the Assembly at this time was the venerable Robert Liv- ingston. He was of great service to Burnet in the affairs of the Indians, which had become more complicated than ever. An active trade was go- ing on between the French and Indians which would soon prove disas- trous to New York. The French purchased English goods in New York and Albany, and sold them to the Indians. Aside from the profits of this commerce to the French themselves, it was clear that the Indians would soon get under their controlling influence; and there was no predicting the terrible power which might be used against the province. Burnet at once laid plans to prevent the circuitous trade, by the encouragement of direct intercourse with the red men.
Owing to his duties in the Assembly, Livingston desired to resign the office of Secretary of Indian Affairs in favor of his son Philip, and Burnet warmly seconded the arrangement by writing to the Lords of Trade and speaking of the younger Livingston in high terms. The
1 The children of Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader Colden were as follows : 1, Alexander, 2, David, died in infancy ; 3, Elizabeth, married Peter, third son of Hon. Stephen De Lancey ; 4, Cadwallader ; 5, Jane ; 6, Alice ; 7, Sarah, died young ; 8, John ; 9, Catherine ; 10, David. Genealogical Notes of the Colden Family in America, by Edwin R. Purple.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
result was a commission promptly forwarded, and the son quietly assumed the father's duties.
Meanwhile Burnet actively favored a bill which had been drafted by Livingston and Morris, forbidding the sale of such goods to the French, under severe penalties, as would be merchantable to the Indians. By this means the French would be compelled to procure their wares from Boston or directly from England at advanced prices. The merchants strenuously opposed the measure in the House. They had been re- ceiving cash in hand, and good profits on their goods, and the loss of such a valuable trade would materially affect their purses. The bill passed, however, and was cordially approved by the governor and council. Then the merchants in great heat appealed to the Lords of Trade. But the Act was sustained in England, and its manifold advantages were unquestionable.
Burnet purchased Hunter's country-seat in Amboy, and resided there a part of every year. His public duties in New Jersey were scarcely less onerous than in New York. But he easily overcame the slight opposi- tion of his first Assembly, by consenting to increase the circulating me- dium of the province, and they granted him an annual salary of £ 500 for five years. Burnet made the acquaintance in Amboy of John Watson, the first portrait-painter who ever took up his permanent abode in America. He was from Scotland, having arrived in New Jersey in 1715. He was an eccentric man, of irascible disposition and penurious habits. His neigh- bors disliked him. They stood aloof and called him a miser. He was a crusty bachelor. His family consisted of himself and a nephew and niece. He was unquestionably a man of taste and talent, and devoted to art, but he never courted the favor of any one. Burnet became interested in him and allowed him to pen miniature sketches of himself and Mrs. Burnet in India ink, and from the originals, recently discovered by Hon. William A. Whitehead, the New Jersey historian, our engravings are copied. Between that time and the Revolution, Watson accumulated a collection of paint- ings, which entirely filled one of his houses in Amboy, but they disap- peared during the war and have never since been traced. The painter himself lived to an old age. He became blind, and deaf, and bedridden, and still lived. His nephew waited with some impatience for the " dead man's shoes." " Hope deferred actually made his heart sick." He could not handle the bonds and mortgages and coin until the proper time, which was long in coming. Meanwhile he had an heir's affection for the old house, which was surely going to decay unless it had a new roof. So he set carpenters privately at work, and had it unroofed and reroofed while the owner was living in it, perfectly unconscious of the operation which was
Beech
AN.
" Governor Burnet met the Indian sachems in Albany during the summer of 1721 ; * * * they said they had heard that he was married in New York ; they were glad, and wished him much joy. They also begged leave to present the bride with a few beavers for pin-money." Page 517.
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FIRST PORTRAIT-PAINTER IN AMERICA.
in progress over his head. One morning the nephew was startled by the inquiry, " What is the meaning of the pecking and knocking which I hear every day ?" The heir hesitated a moment, then replied : "Pecking ? pecking ? Oh ! ay ! 't is the woodpeckers ; they are in amazing quantities. this year, leave the trees and attack the roofs of the houses, there is no driving them off." And the old man was satisfied.
Robert Walters was the mayor of the city from 1620 to 1625. He was one of the wealthy men of the period, liberal and public-spirited. He lived in style, kept several horses, owned a large number of negro slaves, and his family always dressed in the latest fashion ; but they never entertained guests except their own immediate relatives. Mrs. Walters. had turned her face against society ever since her father's unhappy death. Although more than a quarter of a century had elapsed, and every rep- aration had been made by the government which was possible, the sting remained, and it was with her incurable.
About this time Hon. Abraham De Peyster retired from the office of treasurer of the province, which he had filled ably and to the satisfaction of all parties since 1706. He also resigned his office of counselor to the. governor, much to the regret of his associates. He had, through all the bitter controversies attendant and consequent upon the Revolution, main- tained a straightforward, conscientious course, rigidly adhering to the primitive principles of honesty and justice, and we find him in his advanced years commanding the respect and confidence of his political opponents,. as well as the admiration and cordial regard of his more immediate friends. His public services were crowned with honor. His son, Abraham De Peyster, Jr., was appointed treasurer of the province in his stead, and re- mained in that position of trust forty-six consecutive years.
Governor Burnet met the Indian sachems in Albany during the 1721. summer of 1721, and was so affable and kind to them, ignoring their rude ways, and the stench of bear's-grease with which they were: plentifully bedaubed, walking and talking (through an interpreter) and dining with them every day, that they became exceedingly fond of him,. and were quite ready to bind themselves to his terms of peace. In order to preserve their good-humor the more effectually, he promised to found and encourage an English settlement in their wild country. They were. greatly pleased, and said they had heard that he was married in New York ; they were glad, and wished him much joy. They also begged leave. to present the bride with a few beavers, for pin-money, and added, signifi- cantly, that it was " customary for a brother upon his marriage to invite his brethren to be merry and dance."
Burnet laughed heartily, while thanking them for their good wishes.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
When he had distributed the presents prepared by the crown, he ordered several barrels of beer to be given them, " to rejoice with and dance over." 1
One of the sons of Colonel Peter Schuyler offered his services to lead the expedition into the Iroquois country, and Burnet appointed him at once, in order to prove that he had no personal dislike to the family, even if he had removed the father from office. Young Schuyler received a captain's commission, a handsome salary, and several substantial presents for his outfit. Ten young men joined him in the enterprise, and went pre- pared to purchase land, erect a trading-house, and start a settlement. Each took with him a stock of guns, and a few blankets, beads, and other trinkets, and a bark canoe. The object was to establish a permanent and direct trade with the Indians. The company were absent a year, when they returned, all in good health, having developed both physically and mentally, and laid the basis of not a few colossal fortunes. They had ac- complished a noble work, the fruit of which was to bless New York in all the future. Within a brief period over forty young men had followed their example by plunging boldly into the Indian country as traders, which served to strengthen the precarious friendship existing among remote tribes.
It was in the autumn of 1721 that Jonathan Edwards, fresh from the study of divinity in Yale College, came to New York to preach the gospel to a small society of Presbyterians who had seceded from the new church in Wall Street. New York had an ill name in New England at that time, from being, as the Puritans expressed it, "too much given to Episcopacy." The "show and ostentation and purse-pride " which pre- vailed in the metropolis was supposed by the New Englanders to be an effect- ual barricade to the kingdom of heaven. Therefore a company of clergymen sent the young dominie to our shores, in much the same spirit that missionaries are now sent among the Bramins of Hindostan.
First Presbyterian Church, Wall Street.
He was a youth of only nineteen, silent and uncommunicative, but he had the air and dignity of mature
1 Governor Burnet to Lords of Trade, October 16, 1721. New York Coll. MSS., Vol. V. 630 - 640.
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REV. JONATHAN EDWARDS.
manhood. He was tall and slender, stooped slightly, his face was pale and somewhat wasted but singularly refined, and he always dressed in homespun gray. He had not then grasped the tenets of his sect, as he did at a later date with the eager, enthusiastic love which accompanies original conceptions, rather than with the languid assent with which an inherited creed is usually received. His education was not even com- pleted, and in a few months he returned to Yale, where as pupil and then tutor he developed into one of the shining lights of Christianity. Writing afterwards of his brief labors in New York, he said : " If I heard the least hint of anything that happened in any part of the world that appeared in some respects or other to have a favorable aspect on the interests of Christ's kingdom, my soul eagerly catched at it; and it would much ani- mate and refresh me. I used to be eager to read public news-letters, mainly for that end; to see if I could not find some news favorable to the interests of religion in the world. I very frequently used to retire into a solitary place on the banks of Hudson's River, at some distance from the city, for contemplation on divine things and secret converse with God ; and had many sweet hours there."
The subsequent career of Edwards is familiar to every American, and his influence is felt to this day by millions who never heard his name. While yet a young man sermons and volumes from his pen were repub- lished in Europe and widely read. The picture of his removal into the wilderness with his wife and ten children, on a mission to the Indians, after he had passed middle life, has in it a touch of religious romance. Mrs. Edwards and her daughters, in order to solve the problem of daily food, made lace and painted fans, which they sent to Boston to be sold. One daughter married the accomplished Rev. Aaron Burr, the first presi- dent of Princeton College, and her son was the notable Aaron Burr of New York. Among the descendants of Rev. Jonathan Edwards are an army of distinguished individuals, - men of worth, talent, and high posi- tion ; women gifted, good, and beautiful.
Meanwhile the Five Nations had made frequent inroads into the province of Virginia, contrary to the treaty long since consum- 1722. mated with Lord Effingham at Albany, and which had been several times renewed by subsequent governors. A serious affair had occurred in Pennsylvania during the summer which resulted in the killing of an Indian from the Five Nations by one of the white settlers. Sir William Keith deemed it advisable to meet the sachems and come to some under- standing in regard to the matter. Burnet was somewhat afraid of under- handed negotiations with subjects of the New York government, having had certain experiences of that character which had proved disastrous, and
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
went to see the sachems himself, expostulating with them for their con- duct. They said, if some person of distinction would come from Virginia to renew the covenant chain, they would keep clear of that territory in all their future hunting and warlike expeditions ; " which means," wrote Burnet to the Lords of Trade, "that a fine present would refresh their memories." Burnet proposed a congress of governors and commissioners from all the colonies to meet the Indian chiefs at Albany. The object was ostensibly to confirm treaties, but really to produce an impression upon the Indian mind that the English were going to act in unison as well as the French, and become stronger and more powerful than the latter. This august body met in September. Governor Spottswood of Virginia, at that time one of the most elegant and accomplished men on this side of the Atlantic, came in person, and with becoming deference submitted all his propositions to the Indians, first to Burnet and his counselors, for approval. Sir William Keith of Pennsylvania presided over the congressional deliberations. Burnet acted as an agent for Boston. The session occupied several days, and terminated satisfactorily to all parties.
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