USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. II > Part 22
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Tryon took up his abode in the governor's house in the fort - which was burned on the night of December 29, 1773, the family escaping with difficulty and one servant perishing in the flames - Non and subsequently in a large mansion on Broad Street. His wife and daughter were so- cial favorites. His counselors were Seal and Autograph of Governor Tryon. Chief Justice Horsemanden, John Watts, Oliver De Lancey, Charles Ward Apthorpe, Roger Morris, William Smith, Henry Cruger, Hugh Wallace, James Jauncey, Henry White, and William Axtell.1 Watts at this time had reached nearly threescore well-rounded years ; his scholarship and refined tastes were often quoted in England, and his name was under discussion for the governorship of New York. His wealth and influence were elements of strength to the De Lancey party. His family led in the aristocratic society of that date. His eldest son Robert had recently married Lady Mary, daughter of William Alexander (Lord Stirling) ; his daughter Ann was the wife of Archibald Kennedy, and resided in her stately home, No. 1 Broadway ;2 his daughter Susan was the wife of Philip Kearny ; his daughter Mary was the youthful bride of Sir John Johnson, of Johnson Hall; and his son John, who had recently been graduated from King's College (in 1766) was shortly to be married to his cousin Jane, the daughter of Peter De Lancey of Westchester. This wedding occurred in 1775. The sister of the bride was married the same evening to Thomas, son of Rev. Dr. Barclay. The invited guests drove from the city to the De Lancey mansion in Westchester, in old-time coaches and chaises, not a few performing the journey on horseback. So gay and brilliant an assem-
1 William Axtell was appointed to the Council in the place of Hon. Joseph Reade, deceased, whose daughter was the wife of James De Peyster. William Axtell's wife was the sister of James De Peyster. Their residence was in Flatbush, Long Island. - De Peyster Genealogy.
Charles Ward Apthorpe had a beautiful country-seat (now standing) near what is Ninth Avenue and 91st Street ; Roger Morris's mansion was on the Heights beyond ; Oliver De Lancey had an elegant villa overlooking the Hudson nearer the city.
2 See sketch, page 655; also sketch of Watts Mansion, page 732.
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THE COURT END OF THE TOWN.
blage had hardly met since the marriage of Alice, the eldest sister of the brides, to the celebrated Ralph Izard, of South Carolina, some eight years before. John Watts, the younger, was the last City Recorder under the Crown; and he was one of the prominent characters of the city after the Revolution, of whom we shall have occasion to speak further.
The quarter nearest the fort was the court end of the town. The man- sions of the' Lawrences, Crugers, Van Dams, Bayards, Morrises, Van Hornes, and other consequential families, were in full view of the Bowling Green. Fashion had set her face towards Wall Street, and the Ver- plancks, Winthrops, Marstons, Buchanans, Roosevelts, Ludlows, and a few others, were already there. Daniel Ludlow had a country-seat at Bar- retto's Point on the East River, from which he was accustomed to drive into the city four-in-hand during the summer months.
Chief Justice Robert R. Livingston, father of the future chancellor, occu- pied a city mansion on Broadway, just north of the Wattses. His numer- ous sons and daughters had not all as yet reached mature age, but their influence was beginning to be felt. The journey of this family to and from their manor-house at Clermont every spring and autumn was some- thing imposing, for they were attended by a long train of men-servants and maid-servants, and the transportation either by sloop or by land occu- pied many days. There were many fine houses on Broadway. Nos. 9 and 11 belonged to the Van Cortlandts, whose country-seat was at King- bridge.1 They were built together, presenting a somewhat peculiar front, and were surrounded by grounds filled with shrubbery and flowers. No. 11 was the inheritance of Eve Van Cortlandt, who married Henry White, the counselor, and it was where she lived for more than a half-century after the Revolution ; she died within its walls, August 11, 1836, aged ninety- eight.2 John Stevens, whose wife was a sister of Lord Stirling, lived next door. Dock Street contained the handsome residences of the Wallaces.
1 See sketch, page 697.
2 After the death of Mrs. White the two dwelling-houses were converted into a public house known as the Atlantic Garden. It was pulled down a few years ago, and historic fiction hav- ing erroneously identified it with the Burns Coffee-House, sundry chairs and canes were made from its rafters. The place where the famous non-importation agreement was signed, October 31, 1765, was the old De Lancey homestead, just north of Trinity Church, converted into a public house known variously as the " Province Arms," the " New York Arms," the "York Arms," the "City Arms," and often called by the name of the proprietor, as " Burns Tav- ern," and " Burns Coffee-House." It had a variety of proprietors : Willett, Crawley, Burns, Bolton, Hull, and others. During the Revolution it was the favorite resort for the military officers on account of its piazzas and balconies, and its proximity to the fashionable prom- enade, "The Mall," in front of Trinity Church. It had a large ball-room, where concerts and dancing assemblies were given. In 1793 it was taken down and the City Hotel erected on its site. - Judge Robert R. Livingston's Correspondence, Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., X. 560. Progress of New York in a Century, by John Austin Stevens.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
It was at the house of Hugh Wallace, the counselor, that Governor Tryon was sumptuously entertained on his return from England in 1775. Isaac Low lived also on this street; and Robert Gilbert Livingston, Jr., and Robert Cambridge Livingston.1 Philip Livingston, the eminent merchant, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, had a house on Duke Street, but he spent the greater part of every year at his country-seat on Brooklyn Heights. The ancient town-house of his brother Robert, the third lord of Livingston Manor, was on Broad Street. Another brother, Peter Van Brugh Livingston (whose wife was the sister of Lord Stirling), lived on Princess Street ; another brother, John Livingston (whose wife was the daughter of Treasurer Abraham De Peyster), dwelt in a pre- tentious mansion on Queen Street ; and still another, William Livingston, lived on Pine Street, near the town mansion of the lord of Philipse Manor. He was, however, building " Liberty Hall," in Elizabeth, New Jersey, at this time, which he completed and occupied late in the autumn of 1773, having owned some one hundred and twenty acres of rich land in that region for the last dozen years. His four brilliant daughters were sadly missed when they removed from the city; and they were in no wise backward about expressing their own regret at the change, saying they expected to be " buried from society in that sequestered part of the globe." But, notwithstanding their gloomy predictions, the toilsome and muddy way from the landing was kept well trodden by gay and ever-welcome guests. And on the twenty-eighth day of the next April (1774), the beautiful Sarah Livingston, who had not yet reached her eighteenth birthday, was wedded to the afterward celebrated John Jay, and a large proportion of the notable people of New York were present at the cere- mony. Lord Stirling, who had married the sister of these numerous Liv- ingstons, had a city home on Broad Street, although his estates were chiefly in New Jersey.
The De Lanceys, like the Livingstons, had many mansions, several of which have been already described. The most famous public house in the city, as far as its historic associations were concerned, Fraunces' Tavern, corner of Broad and Dock Streets, had been in former times the family homestead of Etienne (Stephen) De Lancey, built on land conveyed to him by his father-in-law, Hon. Stephanus Van Cortlandt. It was purchased by Samuel Fraunces in 1762, and opened under the sign of " Queen
1 Robert Gilbert Livingston, Jr., was the grandson of Gilbert, second son of the first lord of the manor. He retired to Red Hook on the Hudson during the war. Robert Cambridge Livingston was the son of Robert, third lord of the manor ; he took his middle name, as a distinction, from having graduated from Cambridge University, England. His wife was Alice, the daughter of John Swift, one of the most beautiful and gifted women of her day. They had a country-seat on Brooklyn Heights.
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LOCATION OF DWELLINGS.
Charlotte." It had various names and keepers. Societies met here ; and in one of the great rooms of the second story the Chamber of Commerce held its monthly meetings for many years. Here occurred the immortal farewell of Washington to his officers in 1783. Two stories have since been added to the edifice, as may be seen in the sketch.1
Hanover Square was the great business center of the city. A few private dwellings of the better class were there, but the buildings were chiefly stores and warehouses. On the corner of Hanover Square and Sloat Lane was the mansion of Ge- rard W. Beekman, whose wife was Mary Duyckinck. He and his brother, James Beekman, sons of Dr. William Beekman and Catharine Peters de la Noy, and great-grandsons Interior of the great Historic Room in Fraunces' Tavern. of Hon. William Beekman, with whom the reader is acquainted, were im- porters and held a prominent position among the merchants. Their sister Cornelia was the wife of the elder William Walton.2 James Beekman had recently built the Beekman mansion on the East River.3 His wife was Jane Keteltas, a lady of New York birth, so clever and accomplished that she was able to superintend the education of her children during the seven years' exile of the family in the Revolution, and fitted her sons for college. Queen Street (now Pearl) was dotted with fine residences. One owned and occupied by Henry White, the counselor, was formerly the De Peyster mansion, with its wealth of balconies and grounds.4 After the war it was
1 See page 656. Among the public houses in New York at that time was one on Brown- john's Wharf, at the Fly Market, largely patronized by British officers; another, near by, was known as "Smith's Tavern." "Bull's Head," in the Bowery Lane, was a two-story and attic country tavern, surrounded by pens for droves of cattle. It was near the public slaughter-house. Mead-houses and tea-gardens were numerous. The celebrated garden and tavern of La Mon- tagne was opposite the present park. "Vauxhall " was a garden at the foot of Warren Street, reaching to Chambers Street, the residence formerly of Major James of Stamp-Act Riot mem- ory. Coffee-houses were much in vogue. The "Merchants' Coffee-House " stood on the south- east corner of Wall and Water Streets, the site later occupied by the Journal of Commerce.
2 See sketch of Walton mansion, page 684.
8 See sketch of Beekman mansion, page 569.
4 See sketch, page 656.
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the residence of George Clinton, the first governor of New York as a State. To the north of it was the home of Andrew Elliot, lieutenant-governor from 1780 to 1783, whose daughter married Lord Cathcart; another daughter married James Jauncey, the counselor. The Brevoorts resided in the same neighborhood ; also Whitehead Hicks, mayor of the city from 1766 to 1776, who married the only child of John Brevoort. Elias Des- brosses, whose name has been perpetuated by a street ; James Duane, the famous lawyer, whose wife was the daughter of Robert, third lord of Livingston Manor; Theophylact Bache,1 fifth president of the Chamber of Commerce; one branch of the Van Zandts, and many other families of note lived upon this street. Walter Franklin, an importing merchant of the time, occupied an elegant mansion on the corner of Cherry Street and Franklin Square (near the Walton House), which was afterwards the residence of the first President of the United States. He owned, besides, a beautiful country-seat at Maspeth, which became in course of time the residence of De Witt Clinton, who married his daughter.
Shops and places of business were upon every street to some extent. Of the great sugar-houses, one, owned by the Livingstons, was on Lib- erty Street near the Dutch Church ; another, a massive structure, built by Henry Cuyler, Jr., for his heir Barent Rynders Cuyler (in 1769), and later belonging to the Rhinelanders, is still standing on the corner of Rose and Duane Streets. There was one, also, which belonged to the Van Cortlandts, on the northwest corner of Trinity Churchyard; and another, built by the Roosevelts, on Skinner Street near the Walton House. The Bayard sugar-house on Wall Street was, in 1773, converted into a tobacco manufactory. Sidewalks had only reached St. Paul's Chapel. Broadway above that point was a pleasant country-road, open nearly as far as An- thony Street. The map will give the reader a general idea of the farms and country-seats upon Manhattan Island at this point in our narrative.
Governor Tryon, accompanied by his wife, visited Sir William John- son, at Johnson Hall, in the summer of 1772, his ostensible object being to meet the Mohawk sachems in relation to their land grievances ; his real purpose, to effect some land purchases for private speculation. The settlement of Johnstown had become a flourishing village, and the whole valley of the Mohawk wore the appearance of a rich farming country. Oliver De Lancey and Henry White, with several other gentlemen, were
1 Theophylact Bache married Ann Dorothy, daughter of Andrew Barclay. Of Mrs. Bache's sisters, Catharine married Augustus Van Cortlandt ; Sarah married Anthony Lispenard ; Ann Margaret married Francis Jay ; Helena married Major Moncrieff, a British officer of distinc- tion ; and Charlotte Amelia married Dr. Richard Bailey. Richard Bache, a younger brother of Theophylact, married Sarah, the only daughter of Benjamin Franklin.
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DISTRESS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
present at this conference with the Indians. The militia of the region, amounting to upwards of fourteen hundred effective men, of whom John- son was justly proud,1 was reviewed by Tryon before he left. The next spring, Tryon traveled through New England, and was hospitably enter- tained by Governor Trumbull of Connecticut; and he also visited the different districts of New Jersey.2 An act having been passed by the Assembly for founding the present New York Hospital, he laid 1773. the corner-stone in July of the same year. The scheme originated July 23. with three physicians, Drs. Middleton, Jones, and Bard, who had started subscription-lists three years before. Five acres of land on Broadway between Duane and Anthony Streets had been secured, and the buildings were erected at a cost of some $ 18,000. While in process of completion, they took fire and sustained great injury. They were finished just in time to be used as barracks for the British soldiers in 1776.
The persistent refusal of the colonies to receive tea from England finally brought distress upon the East India Company. Its stock de- preciated nearly one half.3 It could not pay its annual debt to the Brit- ish government, which was a terrific shock to credit. The directors con- fessed their bankrupt condition and entreated Parliament for relief. Lord North, determined not to relinquish the right to tax the colonies, proposed to allow the company to export its teas duty free in England, which would enable the colonists to buy at a lower price. Hence an act of Parliament to that effect.
The tranquillity of New York, which for months had been in singular contrast to the raging of political elements in other portions of America, was fiercely disturbed by this intelligence, and that tea ships were on the ocean destined for her port. Such an attempt to enforce the controverted tax was offensive in the superlative degree. The whole city was in com- motion. " The general voice is no sales, no consumption, while the Ameri- can duty remains unrepealed by Parliament," wrote Tryon.4 "The tea shall not be landed," was the universal and emphatic exclamation. Two
Oct. 26. days after Philadelphia had convinced her tea agents of the policy
of resigning their appointments, a meeting was held at the City Hall in Wall Street, where Tea Commissioners were denounced, and resolutions passed thanking masters of vessels who had refused their ships to the use of the East India Company. The attempted monopoly of trade was stigmatized a " public robbery." The columns of the newspapers ran over with anony-
1 Governor Tryon to the Earl of Hillsborough, August 31, 1772.
Governor Tryon to the Earl of Dartmouth, May 31, 1773.
3 Bancroft, VI. 457 - 465.
Governor Tryon to the Earl of Dartmouth, November 3, 1773.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
mous articles on the subject, and handbills were circulated freely among the people.1 "The Alarm " was conspicuous among the latter, issued in series, the writer signing himself "Hampden." "If you touch one grain of the accursed tea, you are undone," was the sentiment it conveyed. There were others signed "Cassius," " A Farmer," " A Tradesman," " A Student of the Law," etc. "America is threatened with worse than Egyptian slavery. . . The language of the Revenue Act is that you have no property you can call your own; that you are the vassals, the livestock of the people of Great Britain .. The inhabitants of New York have more wisdom and spirit than to be duped into a measure that will ruin their commerce and enslave them," were some of the bold words which fell from bolder pens. Within three weeks the New York agents prudently retired from the field. It was thereupon announced that gov- ernment would take charge of the tea upon its arrival.
The Sons of Liberty reorganized at once. The salient features of the
Nov. 29. Association, to which they subscribed their names, and which was passed from hand to hand through the city for signatures, appear in the following extracts : "It is essential to the freedom and security of a free people that no taxes be imposed upon them but by their own con- sent ; .... for what property have they in that which another may by right take when he pleases to himself ? . . and yet, to the astonish- ment of all the world and the grief of America, the Commons of Great Britain insist upon imposing taxes on the colonies. . . . . To prevent a
calamity which of all others is the most to be dreaded, - slavery and its terrible concomitants, - we, the subscribers, being disposed to use all lawful endeavors in our power to defeat the pernicious project, and to transmit to our posterity the blessings of freedom which our ancestors have handed down to us ; and to contribute to the support of the common liberties of America which are in danger of being subverted, DO agree and engage our honor to and with each other faithfully to observe and perform." Then came a list of stern resolutions. Owners and oc- cupants of stores were warned against harboring the tea; and whoever should dare to transgress in the way of aiding or assisting in the landing, carting, or depositing of the tea, or in buying or selling, or in any manner contributing to the purchase or sale of the tea, was threatened as an enemy to the liberty of his country; at the same time handbills were issued notifying the "Mohawks " to hold themselves in readiness for active work.
The tea ships reached Boston first, and the world is aware how the issue was met. At the very moment when three hundred and forty
1 Handbills preserved in New York Historical Society.
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" 'Is it, then, your opinion, gentlemen, that the tea should be landed, under this circumstance ?
There was one prolonged and vociferous shout, which echoed far into the street, and was three times repeated, 'No ! no ! no !' " Page 763.
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THE NEW YORK TEA MEETING.
chests of the condemned article were mixing with the salt of Boston harbor, handbills were being distributed through New York calling a meeting of " All Friends to the Liberties and Trade of America " Dec. 16. for one o'clock the next day, at the City Hall, " on business of the utmost importance." The weather was bad, yet a great crowd of citizens
assembled at the time appointed, and were addressed by John Lamb. Dec. 17. After stating the object of the meeting, he read letters from Boston and Philadelphia on the subject of the " dutied tea"; he also read the Asso- ciation of the Sons of Liberty, with the resolutions previously adopted. Just then the Mayor, Whitehead Hicks,1 entered, accompanied by the Recorder, Robert R. Livingston (afterwards Chancellor), and, taking his place near the speaker, said :-
" Gentlemen, I have a message from the government to deliver to you. The governor declares that the tea will be put into the fort at noonday, and en- gages his honor that it shall continue there till the Council shall advise it to be delivered out, or till the king's order or the proprietor's order is known ; and then the tea shall be delivered out at noonday. Gentlemen, is this satisfactory to you ?"
There was an immediate and boisterous response of "No ! No ! No!"
Lamb proceeded, excitedly, to read the Act of Parliament which pre- scribed the payment of the duty upon the landing of the tea, and after some pertinent remarks upon the giving and granting of the property of the Americans, asked, "Is it, then, your opinion, gentlemen, that the tea should be landed under this circumstance ?"
There was one prolonged and vociferous shout which echoed far into the street, and was three times repeated, "No! No ! No!"
It was voted unanimously that the action of the meeting should be published and transmitted to the other colonies, after which it adjourned to await the arrival of the tea ship.
The winter wore away, yet it did not appear, having been de- 1774. tained by contrary winds. In April Governor Tryon and his April 7. family sailed for Europe for a brief absence, and the affairs of government once more devolved upon Lieutenant-Governor Colden. The sails of the vessel which bore the governor across the seas had hardly disappeared, when the tea ship, Nancy, Captain Lockyer, arrived off Sandy Hook. The pilot declined to bring her through the Narrows until the sense of
1 Whitehead Hicks, son of Thomas Hicks, was born at Flushing, Long Island, August 24, 1728. He studied law with Judge William Smith, in the same class with William Smith, the historian (son of the former), and William Livingston. He rose to distinction at the bar, was mayor of the city from 1766 to 1776, when he resigned on being appointed one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. He died in 1780.
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the city was known. Handbills were quickly in circulation, and the committee decided that the captain's request to visit Hon. Henry April 18. White, one of the consignees, and to procure supplies for his return voyage should be granted, but none of his crew might come ashore ; he was to be attended and closely watched in all his movements by
April 19. a special committee chosen for the purpose.
On the 22d the London, Captain Chambers, arrived, and on being visited by the committee denied having any tea on board. Private infor- mation from Philadelphia, however, induced an examination ; none April 22. being found, the vessel was conducted to the city, and the captain informed that every package in the hatches must be overhauled. He imme- diately confessed that he had eighteen chests stored below which had been shipped for private speculation. The committee went to the Merchants Coffee-House to consult with a number of gentlemen there assembled, and presently made a public announcement that the tea on the London was confiscated. Meanwhile an excited multitude collected on the wharf, and without disguise or ceremony proceeded to the execution of justice. A proper guard was detailed by the merchants to prevent waste, and the tea was thrown into the bay, without confusion or injury to other prop- erty. The captain was nowhere to be found.
The next morning the bells of the city began to ring at eight o'clock, according to a previous notice for the calling of the citizens together to April 23. witness the departure of Captain Lockyer. The object was to let him see with his own eyes, and thus be able to report truthfully in England, the detestation with which the measures of the English Min- istry were regarded in New York. The bells rang for an hour without intermission (he was to embark at nine), and an immense but orderly throng filled the streets. He was conducted from his lodgings to the wharf, the band playing "God save the King," and placed in a pilot-boat - still under escort - and conveyed to his vessel, the ships in the harbor displaying their colors, and the flag on the liberty-pole rising under a royal salute of artillery.
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