USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. II > Part 14
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There were many large importing merchants in New York at this date, notable among whom were Isaac and Nicholas Gouverneur, Robert Mur- ray, Walter and Samuel Franklin, John and Henry Cruger, the Living- stons, the Beekmans, Lott & Low, Philip Cuyler, Anthony Van Dam, Hugh and Alexander Wallace, Leonard and Anthony Lispenard, Theophy- lact Bache, and William Walton.
William Walton was one of those who feted the victorious officers. He was a very rich as well as a very hospitable man, and his expensive banquets were afterwards prolific subjects for criticism in England. His table was spread with the choicest viands, and "groaned under its weight of brilliant massive silver," while a forest of decanters graced the side- board, and costly wines flowed free and fast.
He had recently (in 1752) built what is now known as the "Old Wal- ton House," in Franklin Square, then the continuation of Queen Street. It was the most costly private residence which had been attempted on this continent. It was English in design ; and it was as far as practica- ble an improvement upon all previous architecture. Its walls were as substantial as many modern churches. Its bricks, brown-stone water-
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tables, lintels, jambs, and decorations were all imported, as also its expen- sive furniture, which was in keeping with the style of the structure. The superb staircase in its ample hall, with mahogany hand-rails and bannisters, by age as dark as ebony, was fit for any nobleman's palace. It had a broad portico upheld by fluted columns, and surmounted by armorial bearings ; and quaint heads cut from the freestone looked down
Walton House in 1760.
upon the street from between the windows. The grounds extended to the water, and were laid out and cultivated with fastidious care.
William Walton had acquired his fortune in part through an advanta- geous contract with some Spaniards at St. Augustine. He was the son of Captain William Walton, who was an enterprising builder of vessels, as well as a shipper of goods ; and who appears also to have sailed his own vessels on trading voyages to the West Indies and to the Spanish Main.
He married (January 27, 1731) Cornelia, daughter of Dr. William Beekman and Catharine Peters de la Noy. His brother Jacob had, five years prior to this date, married Maria, the sister of Dr. William Beek- man, and daughter of Gerard Beekman and Magdalen Abeel. The two brothers were in partnership until the death of Jacob, in 1749. A son
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WILLIAM WALTON.
of the latter, whose name was William, became the favorite and heir of the uncle. It was he, the younger William Walton, who in 1757, mar- ried the daughter of Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey, a lady whose for- tune was equal to his own, and whose tastes were in the direction of the same princely style of living which rendered the walls of the old edifice famous.
William Walton (the elder) was genial, full of brilliancy, and a master of the arts of politeness. Dinners were his hobby, and he gathered about his table from time to time such of the celebrities of the Old World as, officially or in the pursuit of pleasure, visited the New. He was regarded as the first merchant of his time, and as a prominent legislator and an honored counselor, held an enviable political position. He died childless in 1768.
William Walton (the younger) was one of the most distinguished young men of his time. His alliance with one of the highest and proudest of the aristocratic families of New York, brought him early and conspicu- ously into notice. After the death of his uncle he associated himself in business with his brother Jacob, who had married a daughter of Hon. Henry Cruger, and the firm was known as that of William and Jacob Walton & Co. They owned large tracts of land in the northern part of the State and elsewhere. William Walton was one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce, in 1768; was its treasurer in 1771, its vice-presi- dent in 1772, and its president from 1774 to 1775. He was one of the first petitioners for the Marine Society, incorporated in 1770, the object of which was to assist the widows and children of masters of vessels. He was one of the foremost in sustaining the measures adopted by the mer- chants to resist the Stamp Act. He was one of the Committee of Corre- spondence of fifty-one, chosen in May, 1774, when the citizens learned of the closing of the Port of Boston ; from the special recommendations of this committee sprung the First Continental Congress of 1774. He was one of the committee of sixty, chosen to carry out the non-importa- tion and non-exportation ordinance adopted by that Congress. And he was one of the Committee of Safety of one hundred, chosen in May, 1775.
In the final contest his family connections were divided, and he desired to take a neutral part. He retired to his country residence in New Jer- sey, but he was too marked a man to be left in peace, and was compelled to return to the city when it was occupied by the British. Hence his New Jersey estates were confiscated. He remained in New York during the war, and devoted large sums of money to the relief of the destitute. He was one of the vestry named by Governor Robertson, December 29, 1779, to look after such, and it was gratefully recorded of him that he
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was unceasing in his efforts to soften the miseries of the confinement to which the American prisoners were subjected. He was one of the mer- chants who resumed the meetings of the Chamber of Commerce, June 21, 1779, and was again chosen vice-president in 1783.1
When Parliament manifested its disposition to tax the colonies in order to refund the debt incurred by the French war, poverty was pleaded as an objection. The lords sitting about the king's table laughed at the plea, and indulged in graphic accounts of the prodigal entertainments given in New York to the officers of the British army, making special mention of the display of silver plate at Walton's dinners, which they said was equal if not superior to any nobleman's. Such exhibitions indi- cated enormous riches. It was absurd for the colonists to waste their substance in mad extravagance; there was wealth sufficient in New York alone to pay the whole debt of England. Thus they discussed the question over their wine, and thus they argued the next day in Parlia- ment. There was force in the logic, hence the long train of conse- quences.
On the thirtieth day of July, New York was startled by the very sudden 1760. and unexpected death of Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey. He had July 30. dined and spent the evening before very agreeably with Ex-Gov- ernor Robert Hunter Morris, William Walton, John Watts, and several other distinguished gentlemen, on Staten Island. He returned, and drove to his beautiful country-seat in the suburbs (just above Canal Street) about ten o'clock. He was, to all outward appearances, in ordinary health. He rose in the morning as usual. But about nine o'clock his little daughter found him reclining in his easy-chair in the library in a dying condition, too far gone for medical aid to be of any avail, his death having been occasioned by an affection of the heart. Friends were sum- moned. John Watts, and other gentlemen, mounted their horses and hur- ried to his side, but the life which had so long received the love and hom- age of the people had departed. The courtly home was full of sorrow, and the city grieved as it rarely ever was known to grieve for the loss of a public character. No American ever exerted a wider or more whole- some influence than De Lancey. No ruler of New York ever possessed to such a degree the elements of popularity. And no chief justice of the
1 William Walton died August 18, 1796, aged sixty-five. (His wife, Mary De Lancey, died in 1767.) He left three sons, William, James De Lancey, and Jacob ; the latter entered the British navy, and rose to the rank of rear-admiral. He had one daughter, Ann, who married Daniel Crommelin Verplanck. The Walton name is now continued by the Rev. Wil- liam Walton, a son of the admiral. Historical and Biographical Sketches, in Chamber of Commerce Records. By John Austin Stevens.
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FUNERAL OF DE LANCEY.
province ever gave such universal satisfaction in his decisions. His polit- ical opponents were many, and often atrociously malicious, but they never attempted to deny his genius or his marvelous abilities.
The funeral was conducted with great pomp. Minute-guns from vessels in the harbor gave the signal, at 6.45 P. M., for the procession to move from the country-seat of the deceased ; and at the same moment minute-guns from Copsey Battery spoke out with solemn distinctnesss the years (fifty-seven) of the life which had passed away. The Battery was followed by the man-of-war Winchester, and the General Wall Packet, suc- cessively, each firing fifty-seven guns, as the sad column of over half a mile in length, proceeded towards Trinity Church. The order of procession was as follows : -
1. The clerks of Trinity Church and St. George's Chapel in an open chaise.
2. The Rector of Trinity Church in a chaise.
3. The clergy of the several Protestant denominations of the city, two by two, in chaises.
4. An open hearse, bearing the coffin, covered with black velvet, richly adorned with gilt escutcheons. The hearse was drawn by a beautiful pair of white horses belonging to the illustrious departed, in mourning, and driven by his own coachman.
5. The counselors in mourning coaches, as pall-bearers.
6. The family and relatives in mourning coaches.
7. The members of the Assembly in coaches.
8. The mayor and aldermen of the city, two by two, in coaches and chaises.
9. The lawyers of the city, two by two, in coaches and chaises.
The procession paused opposite the house of Edward Willett, on Broad- way, and the coffin was placed upon men's shoulders; the members of the Council came from their coaches and supported the pall. The mourners alighted, as also the long train of attendants and friends, and, walking in the order of rank, entered Trinity Church, which was brilliant- ly illuminated. Rev. Mr. Barclay conducted the funeral services, at the conclusion of which the remains were interred in the middle aisle, a few yards from the altar.1
De Lancey was the fourth and last native New-Yorker who adminis- tered the affairs of the colony under the crown. He had corresponded per- sonally as well as officially with the English statesmen during the critical period of the war with France, and his opinions had been carefully noted, and often quoted, at the Court of St. James. His death was deeply lamented there as well as in New York. It was spoken of as an irretrievable loss. His sister, Lady Warren, went immediately to Secretary Pitt, and asked
1 The New York Mercury, Monday, August 4, 1760.
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that her younger brother, Oliver De Lancey, might be appointed to the vacant office. The minister received the application coldly. "I hope, Mr. Pitt," she exclaimed with warmth, " that you have had reason to be satisfied with the brother I have lost ?"
" Madam," was the answer, " had your brother James lived in England, he would have been one of the first men in the kingdom." 1
The government of New York devolved upon Dr. Colden, as the senior counselor, until the wishes of the Ministry could be ascertained, who im- mediately came from his rural retreat where he had been for the past few years devoting himself to scientific and literary pursuits, and at the age of seventy-three, took his seat in the chair of state.
Although the war had been nominally brought to a close by the reduc- tion of Canada, yet the French with malicious intent continued to gener- ate jealousies and hate among the Indians towards the English. And the conduct of adventurers and traders of desperate fortunes, who were rushing like a flock of harpies into the western wilds, was equally ill- fated in results. The savages considered themselves, and doubtless were, cheated and abused. No treaty having been made or presents sent them, a feeling of hostility grew, which every now and then broke forth in some shocking massacre. There was no peace on the western borders. An enterprising trader who penetrated the wilderness of Michigan as far as Michilimackinac, at the peril of his life, was waited upon by a Chippewa chief, who complained bitterly of the treatment his tribe had received from the English. He said :-
" Englishmen ! Although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us ! We are not your slaves ! These lakes, these woods, these mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live without bread and pork and beef. But you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains."
1 This remark was mentioned by Lady Warren to the lieutenant-governor's younger son, John Peter De Lancey (who was educated at Harrow, and the military school of Greenwich, in England), by whom the anecdote was related to his son, Bishop De Lancey, and to his son- in-law, J. Fennimore Cooper. The great fault of Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey's charac- ter was indolence. He read, but did not like to write. He loved his ease rather than money. One of the sources of profit to the colonial government was the fees payable upon the signing of land-patents. At his death it is said that so many of these patents awaited his approval that the signing them gave a large sum at once to his successor, Cadwallader Colden. Memoir of the Honorable James De Lancey. By Edward F. De Lancey. Doc. Hist. N. Y., Vol. IV. 1037 - 59.
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SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON AT DETROIT.
When it was rumored that Wyoming was being settled by people from Connecticut, the Indians claimed that their right to the property in that valley had never been relinquished, and that the settlement was in the very spot selected by the Six Nations for the residue of the Delawares, and other tribes, who were obliged to remove from the inner country on account of the increase of their people and the scarcity of hunting. Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania was very much afraid it would occa- sion a fresh rupture, and wrote to General Amherst asking his interposi- tion. The massacre of Wyoming did not occur until 1778, but the settlement from its first inception was regarded with unappeasable rancor; and revenge upon it was a cherished luxury in the hearts of the infuri- ated savages.
The Mohawks had their own peculiar wrongs to settle with the land speculators from Albany and Schenectady, whose frauds were remembered with an intensity increased by long meditation upon the subject. And a thousand other causes of irritation were keeping the whole savage atmos- phere in a tumult.
Sir William Johnson, at the request of General Amherst, visited De- troit in the early summer of 1761, to consolidate a treaty if possible, regu- late the fur-trade, and learn what the French were about in that region: It was a perilous journey, as we may well suppose. He was accompanied by his son, John Johnson, and by his nephew - afterwards his son-in- law- Guy Johnson, who acted as his private secretary, and by a large body of servants and military attendants. At Oswego, and other points on the route, they tarried to distribute presents, and in some instances to give silver medals, sent by Amherst as a reward for good conduct. Com- plaints were everywhere poured into his ears about the haste with which the English were grasping lands, and he found that his journey had
not been undertaken a moment too soon. A general rising up of the Indians throughout the whole western world had been skillfully planned, and the garrison and settlers were all to have been tomahawked and scalped. The arts by which Sir William had so long influenced the sav- age were never more successful than in this instance. His gilded trap- pings and pompous ceremonials were extremely fascinating to the red man's eye. An Eastern prince could hardly have moved through the country with more show and circumstance. On one occasion some depu- tations from the different tribes waited upon him bringing presents of maize. He reciprocated promptly with Indian pipes and tobacco, and then ordered a barbecue of an immense ox roasted whole. While waiting to arrange preliminaries for the conference at Detroit, the evenings were devoted to dances. The French officers and their families participated,
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as well as Sir William and his private retinue. They would assemble about eight o'clock and dance until five the next morning.
The council opened on the 9th of August, the firing of two cannon be- ing the signal which called the Indians together. Seats were prepared in the open air. The number of tribes represented was much larger than had been anticipated. They came from beyond Lake Superior, and from every point of the compass. They wanted to see with their own eyes the Grand Mogul, whose house was the " fireplace " of the dreaded Iroquois. When the assemblage was quietly seated, he appeared with his officers, all in gorgeous uniform, walked majestically to his place, and, amid pro- found silence, delivered his speech with that dignity of mien always enticing to an Indian. Several days were occupied. Every nation had some favor to ask of Sir William. The final result was an apparently amicable understanding, and it was believed if the directions given to the officers of the garrison were strictly obeyed, and no further provo- cations given to the Indians, they would not break the peace. Before Sir William started on his homeward journey, he gave a grand dinner to the people of Detroit, and closed the gala entertainment with a ball in honor of the wives and daughters of the officers. He halted on his return at Sandusky, to examine the proposed site for a blockhouse. At Niagara he was detained several days by illness. He reached Fort Johnson on the last day of October.
Nor was it all peace in and about New York City. No little bitterness had been engendered by the system of impressemnt. The captains of British men-of-war claimed the right to board colonial vessels and take thence any number of men required to fill their quota; or, failing to do this, they hesitated not to land and kidnap citizens for the service of the British navy. In August, 1760, a New York merchant-vessel arrived from Lisbon, and a man-of-war lying in the harbor immediately sent a boat to board her and demand some of her men. The crew seized their own cap- tain and officers and confined them below, and then refused to admit the intruders. The captain informed them through the cabin window that he and his officers were prisoners and consequently unable to obey orders, but they opened fire upon the unoffending merchantnian, killing one man, and wounding others. This was only one of many outrages, which stirred the indignation of merchants and traders, until forbearance almost ceased to be a virtue.
And presently Dr. Colden was instrumental in an act which set not only the Assembly but the whole city and province of New York in a blaze. By the death of De Lancey the seat of chief justice was vacant, and a general wish was expressed that it should be at once filled. Colden was urged to
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BLOW AT THE NEW YORK JUDICIARY.
appoint a successor without delay. Instead, he wrote to Halifax, asking him to nominate a chief justice. The result was the appointment of Ben- jamin Pratt, a Boston lawyer, not, as hitherto, " during good behavior," but " at the pleasure of the king." Judges Chambers, Horsemanden, and Jones refused to act longer unless they could hold their commissions dur- ing good behavior. Vigorous thinkers and writers protested loudly against this attempt to render the judiciary dependent upon the crown. Conspicuous among these were William Livingston, John Morin Scott, and William Smith. Massachusetts was at the same moment writh- ing under the " writs of assistance," which the Ministry had recklessly
determined to inflict upon the colonies. These writs were in effect search-warrants, designed to enable custom-house officers to break open with impunity any person's house for the enforcement of the revenue. The fearless and impulsive James Otis had resigned his office of advocate- general, that untrammelled he might argue this case against the crown. He pronounced it the worst feature of arbitrary power, and his eloquence so stimulated the indignation of the people of Boston, that, when the writs were granted, the custom-house officers dared not in a single instance carry them into execution. Still less were the people of New York in humor for further encroachment upon their sacred liberties. The blow at the judiciary seemed to be the precursor of trouble indeed. Chief Justice Pratt was treated with indignity for accepting an office on such terms. Colden, for the part he had taken, lost many of his warmest friends. The Assembly, in answer to the request of Colden that the salary of the chief justice might be increased, resolved, "that, Dec. 17. as the salaries usually allowed the judges of the Supreme Court, have been and still appear to be sufficient to engage gentlemen of the first fig- ure, both as to capacity and fortune, in this colony, to accept of these offices, it would be highly improper to augment the salary of chief justice on this occasion "; and the outraged and obstinate body actually went on to say they would not allow any salaries, unless the commissions of the chief justice and the other judges were granted during good behavior.
The Lords of Trade were amazed when they heard of this "unduti- ful and indecent opposition to his Majesty's just rights and authority." They reprimanded the judges, who had in some degree countenanced the measure, and recommended temporary salaries from the quit-rents,1- which would be even more advantageous towards securing the depen- dence of the colony upon the crown, and its commerce to the mother country. It was further hinted that the latter course would insure
1 Lords of Trade to Lieutenant-Governor Colden, June 11, 1762. New York Coll. MSS., VII. 503, 504.
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judgments in favor of the crown, against the great landed proprietors of New York, and serve to balance their power in the Assembly.
Major-General Monckton 1 had been commissioned governor of New York shortly after Colden received the appointment of lieutenant- governor (April 28, 1761), and in his forty-sixth instruction had been directed to annul, by every legitimate method, all "exorbitant, irregular, and unconditional grants of land." The Lords of Trade were of the opinion, and wrote the same to Colden, that the lieutenant-governor and Council of New York and prominent members of the Assembly were in league respecting measures for landed grants and settlements, which were for the good of themselves and families rather than the subject in general. Colden resented the imputation. He said he had never while in the gov- ernment been interested in any purchase, or in any share or part of any purchase, of land from the Indians, either great or small. As to his chil- dren they were of full age and maturity, and not under his direction; there was no reason to debar them from any privilege or benefit which was accorded to other of the king's subjects in the province, but at the same time he denied their having been concerned in any purchase of the kind since he was honored with the administration of the government. But he went on to explain how difficult it was for men of small means to improve land in the woods. In the first place, it was necessary to call a whole tribe together in order to buy a farm, whatever its size, and there must be several conferences, attended with great expense. Then it would be full three years before the land could be cleared and rendered self-sup- porting. The settlers were a great distance from the market, and there were numberless reasons why it was desirable for men of fortune to be- come enlisted in the purchases, and advance money for improvements, etc. He knew of only two of the acting counselors who had interested themselves in this manner, one of whom was Sir William Johnson. He
1 Governor Monckton received his commission October 20, 1761, and was sworn into office with the usual ceremonies October 26. He, however, had received the king's permission to leave the province, and entered into nothing more than the necessary forms of government. He sailed from New York on the last day of November, in command of an expedition against the French and Spanish possessions in the West Indies ; for while England was rejoicing in the near prospect of peace, Spain had formed a secret alliance with France and declared war. Seventeen hundred and eighty-seven of his troops were native New-Yorkers, and among his officers were, General Lyman, the second in command at Lake George in 1755 ; the afterwards distinguished General Gates, who captured Burgoyne ; and Richard Montgomery, the hero of Quebec, a few years later. Monckton, in a letter to the Lords of Trade, November 10, 1761, acknowledging the receipt of his commission, said that Hon. Archibald Kennedy wished to retire from the Council on account of his advanced age, and that he might better attend to his office of collector of the customs, and Joseph Reade, "a gentleman of fortune and every way qualified for the trust," was recommended to fill the vacancy.
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