USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 56
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
must necessarily pass. But the Six Nations thought goods ought to be sold cheaper to them than to anybody else. He thanked Montgomery for the present which he had brought from the great king, his master, but as night was approaching, asked him to delay delivering it until the morrow.
Montgomery responded briefly, saying that it was absolutely necessary to send rum to Oswego for the refreshment of the men in the garrison, but that he should give orders that none should be sold to the In- dians. He thanked the savages for the promised land, and said no one should go beyond the bounds fixed ; as for the fort, it was indeed built for the protection of the Six Nations, but if attacked by any party whatso- ever, he should expect them to assist the English garrison to defend it, as nothing could be more natural than for them to assist in the defense of a place which was maintained for their security. He then desired the Indians to send two of their number the next morning to receive the presents.
That same evening two of the principal sachems called at the govern- nor's lodgings and requested a private interview. They wished to make some explanations concerning the defense of the Oswego fort if it should be attacked. They were quite willing to do their part, they said, and desired to correct the impression made upon the governor's mind by the orator's significant allusion to the subject. They wanted a magazine provided, and questioned pointedly in regard to the possibilities of an- other war between England and France. They were sorely troubled about the rum business. It was exceedingly mischievous in its effects. If rum must be brought to the trading-house at Oswego, they begged for strict orders that it should not be carried to their castles.
The minor details of the conference occupied the three following days. When the Indians finally departed, Montgomery enjoined upon them the necessity of watching their young men on the homeward journey, lest they do mischief to the cattle of the country people along their route.
This renewal of the ancient covenant-chain with the Indians was ex- tremely seasonable, for the next spring the French prepared to demolish the Oswego fort. News reached New York in time, and a reinforcement was sent in great haste to the help of the little garrison, which, together with the understanding that the Indians were pledged to assist in the defense of the post, effectually prevented the attack, and from that time to 1754, it remained undisturbed, and was the source of great profit to New York.
James De Lancey, whose name appears in connection with this confer- ence, was the elder son of Stephen De Lancey and Anne Van Cortlandt. He was a young man, only about twenty-six years of age, and a happy
531
JAMES DE LANCEY.
bridegroom, having recently married Anne Heathcote, the elder of the two daughters of Hon. Caleb Heathcote.1 He had been educated, after attending the best schools New York afforded, in England, where he en- tered the University of Cambridge, as a Fellow - Commoner of Corpus Christi College, on the 2d of October, 1721. The Master of Corpus was then Dr. Samuel Bradford, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle, and Rochester. The gentleman whom young De Lan- cey chose for a tutor was the learned Dr. Thomas Herring, who became successively Bishop of Bangor, Arch- bishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury. The master and pupil kept up an intimacy by letter, long after the one became priniate of all CLEMENT England, and the other chief justice Portrait of Caleb Heathcote. and lieutenant-governor of New York, and the richest man in America. In the various political controversies in which De Lancey was afterwards involved, the Archbishop's influence was exerted in his behalf at the court of Great Britain's sovereign.
De Lancey commenced the practice of law immediately upon his return to New York, and soon rose to eminence at the bar. He was one of the most brilliant and successful advocates of his time. His sound and cul- tivated judgment won him the respect and confidence of the community, and his influence broadened and deepened with every passing year. He possessed a large library collected in Europe, and was greatly devoted to books. The classics were to him as household words. He was ardently devoted to progress, and lent his careful attention to every topic of inter- est from law to agriculture. He had also many personal attractions and was a charming social companion.2
1 In Governor Montgomery's letter to the Lords of Trade, dated May 30, 1728, in which he recommends James De Lancey as a suitable appointee for the council in place of Mr. Barbarie, deceased, he says " He is in every way qualified for the post ; his father is an eminent merchant, a member of the Assembly and one of the richest men in the province." James De Lancey started in life with a fortune, and his bride inherited half of her father's large estate real and personal. Hon. Caleb Heathcote was mayor of the city of New York for three years, was one of the governor's counselors, was the first mayor of the borough of Westchester, was judge of Westchester, was colonel of the militia all his life, was commander-in-chief of the colony's forces for a considerable period, and from 1715 to 1721 was receiver-general of the customs for all North America. His daughter Martha married Dr. Johnson of Perth Amboy.
2 Etienne (Stephen) De Lancey -the name originally "de Lanci," and in the 16th and 17th centuries "de Lancy," was in the 18th Anglicized "De Lancey" -was born in
532
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
The year 1729 was marked by the gift of a valuable library, consisting
of 1,622 volumes, to the city of New York. This favor emanated 1729. directly from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the books having been bequeathed to that organization by Rev. John Millington. To these were added a small collection which had been donated to the city in the beginning of the century, by the Rev. John Sharpe, and the whole was carefully arranged in a room in the City Hall in Wall Street, and opened to the public as the " Corporation Library." Mr. Sharpe was appointed librarian. It became at once a popular resort ; even gentlemen from Pennsylvania and Connecticut were permitted to borrow rare volumes, and keep them for an indefinite period. After Mr. Sharpe's death the books were without care, and the room which contained them seldom accessible. In 1754 a few public-spirited citizens founded the New York Society Library, and obtained permission from the Common Council to combine with it this old Corporation Library. the city of Caen, Normandy, in 1663. At the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, his father the Seigneur Jacques (James) de Lancy was dead, and his mother was too aged to fly ; she was concealed, while young Stephen escaped to Rotterdam in Holland. The follow- ing year he came to New York by the way of London, where he was denizened a British sub- ject. He married, in 1700, Anne, the daughter of Hon. Stephanus Van Cortlandt and Gertrude Schuyler. Their children were : 1, James, born 1703, who married Anne, daughter of Hon. Caleb Heathcote and Martha Smith ; 2, Peter, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Lieuten- ant-Governor Cadwallader Colden ; 3, Stephen, who died unmarried ; 4, John, who died un- married ; 5, Oliver, member of the governor's council, and brigadier-general ; 6, Susanna, who married Admiral Sir Peter Warren ; 7, Ann, who married Hon. John Watts.
James De Lancey's children were as follows : 1, James, who married Margaret, daughter of Chief Justice William Allen of Pennsylvania ; 2, Stephen, who married Hannah Sacket ; 3, Heathcote, who died unmarried ; 4, John Peter, who married Elizabeth Floyd ; 5, Maria, who married William Walton ; 6, Martha, who died unmarried ; 7, Susanna, who died un- married ; 8, Ann, who married Hon. Thomas Jones.
John Peter De Lancey's children were as follows : 1, Thomas James, who married Mary J. Ellison ; 2, Edward Floyd, who died unmarried ; 3, William Heathcote, who married Frances, daughter of Peter Jay Munro, and became Bishop of Western New York ; 4, Anne Charlotte. who married John Loudon McAdam, the originator of macadamized roads ; 5, Susan Augusta, who married James Fenimore Cooper, the novelist ; 6, Maria, who died young ; 7, Elizabeth Caroline, who died unmarried ; 8, Martha Arabella, who never married.
Thomas James De Lancey's only child was a son, also Thomas James, who married Frances A. Bibby, but died without issue.
William Heathcote De Lancey's children were as follows : 1, Edward Floyd, who married Josephine M. De Zeng ; 2, Margaret M., who married Dr. Thomas F. Rochester ; 3, Elizabeth, who died young ; 4, John Peter, who married Wilhemina V. Clark ; 5, Peter Munro, who died unmarried ; 6, William Heathcote, who died in infancy ; 7, Frances, who died young ; 8, William Heathcote, who married his cousin, Elizabeth D. Hunter.
The children of Peter De Lancey, second son of Stephen De Lancey, were : 1, Stephen, who married Esther Rynderts, and was recorder of Albany ; 2, John, whose only daughter mar- ried Governor Joseph L. Yates ; 3, James ; 4, Oliver, who married Rachel Hunt ; 5, War- ren ; 6, Peter ; 7, Alice, married the celebrated Ralph Izard of South Carolina ; 8, Anne, married John Coxe of the West Indies ; 9, Jane, married Hon. John Watts (the younger) ; 10, Susanna, married Colonel Thomas Barclay.
533
THE CITY CHARTER.
A Jewish cemetery was laid out during the summer. It was bounded by Chatham, Oliver, Henry, and Catharine Streets. It was given by Mr. Wil- ley of London, to his three sons, who were merchants in New York, with the expectation that it would be used as a burial-place for the Jews forever. Could the eye of the good Hebrew have penetrated into the future, what must have been his emotion ! Warehouses of every size and descrip- tion have for long years covered the site of this sacred enclosure, - com- merce has effectually monopolized the space allotted for the sleeping dead.
The chief event during Montgomery's administration, which tended towards rendering his name interesting in history, was the grant- 1730.
ing of a new charter to the city, with an increase of powers and privileges. It was accomplished chiefly through the exertions of De Lancey, and in courteous acknowledgment of the same, the corporation voted him the freedom of the city. This charter, henceforth known as Montgomery's charter, recited the charter of 1786; and extended the limits of the city to four hundred feet below low-water mark on Hudson River, from Bestaver's Rivulet southward to the fort, and from thence the same number of feet around the fort beyond low-water mark, and along the East River as far as the north side of Corlear's Hook. It gave the city the sole power of establishing ferries about the island, with all the profits accruing therefrom ; it also granted or confirmed the lands held on Long Island, and all the docks, slips, market-houses, etc., upon Manhat- tan Island. It secured to the city the appointment of all the subordinate officers, and the power to hold a Court of Common Pleas every Tuesday ; also authority to make or repeal such by-laws and ordinances as were desirable, and to erect all necessary public buildings.1 The extent of the city at this period is best illustrated by the map, which was made from an actual survey by James Lyne in 1728.
It was not long afterward before Greenwich and Washington Streets were rescued from the water. Three new slips were also built, one oppo- site Morris Street, another opposite Exchange Place, and the third oppo- site Rector Street. In December of the same year a line of stages was established between New York and Philadelphia, which per- Dec. 6.
- formed the tedious journey once a fortnight. The city was divided into seven wards the following spring, and the first steps taken to organize a fire department. Hitherto the leathern fire-buckets which every family was obliged to possess, were the only resource in case of fire. When the confusion and danger consequent upon such an occurrence were over, the buckets were thrown into a promiscuous pile, and the town-crier shouted for each bucket proprietor to come and identify his own. It was the har-
1 Kent's Book of Charters. Hoffman. New York City Records.
534
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
vest moment for the boys, and there was often great strife among them who should carry home the richest man's bucket. Finally a committee was appointed to procure from London, "by the first conveniency," two fire-engines. They soon reported a contract effected with Stephen De Lancey and John Moore, for the importation, by the ship Beaver, " of two of Mr. Newsham's new inventions, fourth and sixth sizes, with suctions, leathern pipes and caps, and other materials thereunto belonging."
Men were employed the next winter to fit up a room in the City Hall for the reception of the two great wonders of the century. It was in 1736, April 15, that the first effort was made to build an engine-house. It was located on Broad Street, adjoining the watch-house. In October, 1737, the legislature appointed twenty-four able-bodied men from the city to work and play the engines upon all necessary occasions, and en- acted a law regulating their duties. Thus was formed the first fire-com- pany in the city.
And presently a new market was established a little to the north of the ferry on the Hudson River, for the accommodation of New Jersey people. The most notable market (simply a market stand) in the city just then was in the middle of Broadway, opposite Liberty Street; the country wagons that stood there on a market morning stretched quite a distance in the direction of Trinity Church, and the plenty and variety they afforded in the way of edibles were much commented upon by foreigners. The old market-place near Whitehall Street was about this time divided into lots and sold at auction, bringing an average price of about £ 260. Pearl Street was extended into a common road a little to the north of Wall Street in 1732. It took the line of the old cow-path which led to the common pasture.
1731. The year 1731 was distinguished by the settlement of the dis- May 14. puted boundary-line between New York and Connecticut. An agreement was signed by the surveyors and commissioners of both colo- nies. A tract of land lying on the Connecticut side, consisting of above sixty thousand acres, and from its figure called the Oblong, was ceded to New York, as an equivalent for lands near the Sound surrendered to Connecticut. The very day after the transaction a patent to Sir Joseph Eyles and others, intended to convey the whole Oblong, was executed in
London. A posterior grant, however, was issued here to Hanley and Company, of the greater part of the same tract, which the British pat- entees brought a bill in Chancery to repeal. The defendants filed an an- swer containing so many objections against the English patent that the suit was abandoned indefinitely, and the American proprietors have ever since held possession of the property. Francis Harrison of the council
THE CITY OF NEW YORK From an Actual survey by JAMES LYNE. 1728.
REFERENCES.
a Kings Chapel , Built 1694, 1 The Governor's House 2 Secretary' s Office
b Trinity Church
e Old Dutch Church
3 Custom House
d French Church
4 Weigh House
e New Dutch Church
5 City Hall
f Presbyterian Mecting Ho
6 Byards Sugar House
Ellisons, Doc
g Quakers Meeting Ho.
7 Exchange
h Baptist Meeting HIo.
8 Fish Market
Comforts Duck
i Lutheran Church
9 Old Slip Market
k Jews Synagogue
10 Meat Market
1 Dutch Free School Ho.
11 Fly Market
T
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ITTLE
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English.
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Livingstons W.
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Wrecks Wharf
Rusevelts W.
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Manhorns Board Yd.
Frenich Ship Yd.
Wanases Ship Yd.
after Ho.
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536
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
solicited this controversy for Sir Joseph Eyles and his partners, which contributed in a large degree to the troubles so remarkable in the suc- ceeding administration.1
The sudden death of Governor Montgomery on the 1st of July, 1731, cast a brief shadow over the skies. He had avoided quarrels, consequent- ly had made few enemies. He had had no particular scheme to pursue for his own or others' aggrandizement, and, drifting along in a peaceful, un- interrupted stream of commonplaces, was regarded as amiable, and prob- ably came as near inspiring affection as is possible for any good-natured inactive man of moderate abilities.
The government devolved upon Rip Van Dam, the oldest member and president of the council, and a well-known merchant of wealth and high respectability. He was spoken of as "one of the people of figure." He took the oaths of office in the presence of James Alexander, Abraham Van Horne, Philip Van Cortlandt, Archibald Kennedy, and James De Lancey.2 The small-pox was raging throughout the city, and the As- sembly, having been adjourned from one date to another, at last convened at " the house of Mr. Rutgers near the Bowery Road." One of the first subjects to which the attention of the legislators was called was the startling encroachments of the French at Crown Point. They had actually erected a fort, enclosed it with stockades, and garrisoned it with eighty men, at the south end of Lake Champlain. The country belonged to the Six Nations, and the very site of the fort was included within a patent to Dellius, the Dutch minister of Albany, granted under the Great Seal of the province in 1696. Nothing could be more evident than the danger to which New York was thus exposed. It was through Lake Champlain that the French and Indians made their former bloody incursions upon Schenectady, the Mohawk castles, and Deerfield; and the erection of this fort was apparently to facilitate inroads upon the English settlers along the frontiers. It served as an asylum after the perpetration of inhumani- ties, and was a depot for provisions and ammunition.
The Commissioners of Indian Affairs at Albany had discovered this palpable infraction of the treaty of Utrecht, and sent a letter to Van Dam by the hand of Colonel Myndert Schuyler.3 Van Dam laid the
1 Smith, Vol. I. 245.
2 It seems that Lewis Morris, Jr., was suspended from the council for words dropped in a dispute relating to the governor's drafts upon the revenue, on the same day that James De Lan- cey was elevated to that honorable position.
3 Smith, the great authority of the history of this period, is evidently in an error respecting the manner in which Van Dam received the first information of this encroachment. The letter of Governor Belcher was not received until some time after Van Dam had been notified by the commissioners at Albany, and it was in answer to one written to him by Van Damn.
RIP VAN DAM ACTING GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK. 537
subject before the House. It was duly considered, and ways and means discussed to put a stop to the audacious movements at the north. It was very clear that the French could march on Albany in three days from Crown Point, in case a rupture should happen between France and England, which was always possible at any moment. And in the mean time the beaver and fur trade might be obstructed at Oswego. The fol- lowing resolutions were finally adopted : "1, That the president repre- sent the case to the king ; 2, That the Commissioners of Indian Affairs at Albany dispose the Six Nations, particularly the Senakas, to pre- vent the French from obstructing the trade; and, finally, That his Honor be further addressed that he will be pleased to send copies of the above- mentioned letters and minutes to the governors of Connecticut, Massa- chusetts, and Pennsylvania, inasmuch as the said attempts may affect them likewise."
As acting governor of New York, Van Dam was singularly consistent in all his acts. He made no effort to overreach his authority, but quietly and resolutely maintained his views of right and justice, without apparent thought of himself. He was opposed to Courts of Chancery, and refused to take the oaths of Chancellor, notwithstanding direct instructions from the English government, and the damage it was likely to inflict upon the revenue. No other court possessed authority to compel the payment of quit-rents, or to adjudicate contested titles ; hence it will be seen that the anti-rentists were favored by this course, and it no doubt led to some of the serious subsequent events. Immediately after the news of the death of Governor Montgomery reached England, the government of the province was committed to Colonel William Cosby. This latter gentleman had formerly governed Minorca, and exposed himself to much criticism during his residence on that island; among other offensive things he had ordered the effects of a Catalan merchant, residing at Lisbon, to be seized at Port Mahon in 1718, several months before the war of that year was actually declared against Spain, and he was charged with scandalous practices to secure the booty, by denying the right of appeal, and secreting the papers tending to detect the iniquity of the sentence. These rumors reached New York long before the new governor himself, who remained in London, leaving Van Dam to supply his place, for thirteen months. During part of this time New York was in dread of a law before Parliament, called the Sugar Bill, which was manifestly
Chamber of Commerce Records, by J. Austin Stevens, p. 108. "The error of Smith in his statement was first pointed out by Dr. O'Callaghan, in a MS. note, communicated to the New York Historical Society." Letter of Van Dam to Secretary Popple, October 29, 1731. Letter of Van Dam to Lords of Trade, November 2, 1731. New York Col. Doc., V. 924 - 930.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
in favor of the West Indies, and ruinous to the Middle Colonies of America. Cosby used his influence to oppose the bill, although without effect, the matter still remaining in abeyance at the time of his departure for New York. But he made it his first business, after reaching his desti- 1732. nation, to apologize for his long delay upon the other side of the Aug. 1. water, on the ground of his friendship for New York, and his de- sire to defeat the odious bill in order to further her interests.
Cosby met the Assembly on the 10th of August, and delivered a well-
Aug. 10. prepared and flattering speech, with which the members were much pleased.1 A revenue to support the government for six years was cheerfully granted, which included a salary for the governor of £ 1,560, with certain emoluments (to be gained out of supplies for the forts) amounting to £ 400; the new governor's expenses (£150) in a journey to Albany were also to be paid by the government, and a sum was raised to be laid out in presents for the Iroquois. It was some time before the House voted any special compensation to Cosby for his services in Lon- don, in assisting the agents from New York in opposing the Sugar Bill. When it was at last done, the sum named was £ 750.
Chief Justice Lewis Morris met Cosby the following morning on the street, and stopped to tell him the action of the Assembly. The small- ness of the gift angered the haughty colonel, who had come to New York to make a fortune. "Damn them!" said he. "Why did they not add shillings and pence ?"
Van Dam caused still fiercer emotions in the breast of the new-comer when a settlement of accounts was instituted. Van Dam, who had been in the governor's chair for thirteen months, received the salary. Cosby brought with him the king's order for an equal division (between himself and the president of the council) of the salary, emoluments, and per- quisites of the office since the commencement of Van Dam's administra- tion. Cosby proceeded to demand one half of the salary which Van Dam had received. The latter was willing to divide the salary, but it must be with division also of emoluments and perquisites, according to the sovereign's order. Van Dam was aware that Cosby had received, while yet in England, for pretended services and expenditures for Indian pres- ents never given, for overcharges of clothing, subsistence, etc., for troops, sums of money which exceeded what had been paid to himself by over £ 2,400. The governor refused to divide, and Van Dam not only refused to refund any part of the salary, but demanded the balance due him.
The Assembly, prior to its adjournment, discussed at some length the subject of education. A bill for a free school, where Latin and Greek
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