USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. II > Part 26
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Colonel Johannes Hardenburgh,
Richard Yates,
Robert Van Rensselaer, Henry Glen,
Christopher Tappan, John Nicholson,
Jacob Hoornbeck,
Francis Nicoll, For City & County of Albany. For Ulster County.
David Clarkson, Thomas Smith, Benjamin Kissam, John Morin Scott, John Van Cortlandt, Jacobus Van Zandt, John Marston,
Dirck Brinckerhoff, Anthony Hoffman,
John Coe, David Pye, For Orange County.
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Volkert P. Douw,
Melancton Smith,
Dirck Swart,
Colonel James Clinton,
Abraham Ten Broeck,
.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
were borne by influential private citizens and wealthy business men, who, although indisposed to hasten acts of violence, coolly imperiled their all by such unusual proceedings. Benjamin Kissam, for instance, was an educated and able lawyer, in whose office John Jay and Lindley Murray had been law-students together. He was a man of sterling qualities, and one who commanded universal respect. His wife was Catharine Rutgers. He and his family were on terms of special social intimacy with William Livingston ; and he was one of the famous coterie of lawyers - the " Moot"1 -which met to discuss legal questions only, of which Livingston was pres- ident, and such men as James Duane, Robert R. Livingston, Egbert Ben- son, Whitehead Hicks, William Wickham, Gouverneur Morris, John Jay, William Smith, Richard Morris, Samuel Jones, Stephen De Lancey, John Morin Scott, and John Watts, Jr., regular attendants. His brother, Daniel Kissam, was also an eminent lawyer and a judge in Queen's County, where he married Mary Betts. The Kissams were of purely English origin, the first of the name having early settled in Flushing,2 and in the various generations since have perhaps contributed more valuable men to the legal and medical professions than any other of the old New York families.
Michael Jackson,
Selah Strong, For Suffolk County.
William Paulding,
Benjamin Tusteen,
Peter Clowes,
William Allison, For Goshen County.
Gouverneur Morris,
Lewis Graham,
Henry Williams, Jeremiah Remsen, For Brooklyn, King's County.
Colonel Nathaniel Woodhull,
John Sloss Hobart,
James Van Cortlandt, Stephen Ward, Joseph Drake, Philip Van Cortlandt,
Paul Michean, John Journey,
Thomas Tredwell,
John Foster,
James Holmes,
Aaron Cortelyou,
Ezra L'Hommedieu,
David Dayton,
Richard Conner,
Thomas Wickham, James Havens,
John Thomas, Jr., Robert Graham,
Richard Lawrence, For Richmond County.
For Westchester County.
1 See Vol. I., 644 (note). The discussions were conducted with great gravity ; and it is traditionary that the conclusions reached were considered as settling the law on those points, thus giving to the " Moot" the character of a court of the last resort.
2 John Kissam, the common ancestor of the family in America, married Susannah Thorne, and settled in Flushing, Long Island. Daniel, his son, married Elizabeth Combs ; their children were, Daniel, Joseph, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Martha. Daniel (2d) married Ann Mott, and Joseph (1st) married Deborah Whitehead ; the children of the latter were, Daniel Whitehead (who married Ann Duryea), Joseph (2d), Benjamin (the lawyer referred to above), Daniel and Samuel. Benjamin Kissam and Catharine Rutgers had five sons (two of whom, Benjamin and Richard S., were educated at Edinburgh, and became distinguished physicians in New York, Dr. Benjamin being " Professor of the Institute of Medicine " in Columbia Col- lege from 1785 to 1792, a trustee of the college, vestryman of Trinity Church, etc.), and one daughter, Helena, who married Philip Hoffman, and was the great-grandmother of ex-Gov- ernor John T. Hoffman. Samuel Kissam, a brother of Benjamin and Daniel, received the first degree of M. D. conferred in this country by King's College (in 1769), and became a cele- brated physician in the West Indies.
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THE VAN ZANDTS OF NEW YORK.
Jacobus Van Zandt represented an opulent family of as purely Holland origin, the ancestors of whom were men of note on the Continent. Wynant Van Zandt, styled "gentleman" in the records, held important trusts under Charles I. In 1638 he was commissioned by that mon- arch as agent for England of the city of Am- sterdam, to act in connection with the Brit- ish minister in regard to cer- Portrait of Wynant Van Zandt. From an original painting in possession of the family. tain matters of
moment. The first of the name settled in New York about 1682.1 His son Wynant, educated in Europe, married a Dutch lady; their home in William Street for a decade was one of refinement and luxury, many relics of which in old and elaborately wrought silver, a carved chair of state, etc., are still preserved, as well as the portraits from which the above sketches are copied. They had six sons, of whom Jacobus,2 the elder, occupied the old homestead in 1775. Fired with the true Dutch spirit in which he had been bred, he was quickly ranked among those who declared for resistance, and was a most useful member of this Congress.
1 Johannes Van Zandt married Margareta Van der Voel in 1681, and emigrated from the city of Anheim, Holland, to New York, in 1682. His son, Wynant (of the sketch), was born in New York in 1683, and died in 1763. Wynant's son Wynant was born in 1730, and died in 1814. And Wynant, son of Wynant (2d), was born in 1767, and died in 1831. Thus there were three Wynant Van Zandts in Old New York, all men of wealth and worth in their generation. Also Wynant, grandson of Wynant (3d), and his son Wynant of to-day. The full-length portraits of Wynant Van Zandt and his beautiful wife (painted holding a tulip in her hand) were on exhibition at Peale's Museum at the time of the great fire.
2 Jacobus was surgeon in the army under Washington at Valley Forge and Trenton, and VOL. II.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
David Clarkson, second son of Hon. David Clarkson, so long active in
Portrait of Mrs. Wynant Van Zandt. From an original painting in possession of the family.
New York city affairs, was a grandson of the Matthew Clark- son, notable as Secretary of the Province, whose father was an eminent Eng- lish divine and whose mother was of royal descent.1 Da- vid (2d) was one of the sub- stantial men of the city at this period, - wide- ly known and widely honored, middle - aged, rich without pride, and lib- eral without os-
tentation. He, like his father before him, had been educated in Europe
served honorably his country throughout the Revolution. His wife and beautiful daughter, Catharine (born in 1760), fied to Morristown, New Jersey, during the occupation of New York by the English. It was this Miss Van Zandt who was one of the leading belles at the Inauguration Ball of our first President, and married, in 1788, James Homer Maxwell, son of the founder of the first banking establish- ment in New York. In 1796, Louis Philippe, while in New York, was entertained by Wy- nant Van Zandt (3d), and after his return to France wrote an autograph letter of thanks for the hospitality shown him, sending at the same time to Van Zandt a beautiful watch-seal as a token of appreciation and remembrance, of which the sketch is a careful copy.
1 Rev. David Clarkson was born at Brad-
Watch Seal. A Gift from Louis Philippe d'Orleans to Wynant Van Zandt in 1796.
ford, England, in 1622, and completed his studies at Cambridge University about 1642. He
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THE CLARKSONS OF NEW YORK.
and seen much of the world. He married, in 1749, Elizabeth French, the sister of Mrs. William Livingston and Mrs. David Van Horne. Shortly afterward he built upon the Clarkson property, corner of Whitehall and Pearl streets, an elegant mansion, which was considered at the time an " ornament " to the metropolis, but which was swept away by the great fire of 1776. It was sumptuously furnished, some of the European impor- tations consisting of beautiful curtains, and stuffed sofas and easy-chairs (made in London), "mirrors in carved gold frames," works of art, por- traits, ancient relics, fine table-service in costly porcelain, cut glass, and silver plate, and a library embracing the popular novels and standard works of the day.1 The household servants, as in many other of the New
married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Holcraft, Knight, M. P., etc., and Lettice, daughter of Francis, Lord Aungier, who was of the same family as the sovereigns of England. Their son, Matthew Clarkson, was appointed Secretary of the Province of New York under William and Mary, and in 1692, January 19, married Catharine, daughter of Hon. Goosen Gerritse Van Schaick of Albany. (Vol. I. 370. The Clarksons of New York, Vol. I. 126.) The Van Schaicks were one of the important Dutch families of New York. One of Mrs. Clark- son's sisters, Gerritje, born 1658, married Andries Drayer, Rear-Admiral in the Danish navy, and their daughter, Anna Dorothea, married the Rev. Thomas Barclay, and they were the ancestors of the Barclays of New York. Another sister, Engeltje, born in 1659, married the famous Colonel Peter Schuyler, first Mayor of Albany. Another sister, Margreta, born in 1665, married in 1705 the Rev. Bernardus Freeman, whose only child became the wife of her cousin, the Hon. David Clarkson. And still another sister, Anna Maria, married John Van Cortlandt, son of the Hon. Stephanus Van Cortlandt, and their daughter Gertrude mar- ried Philip Verplanck.
Secretary Matthew Clarkson's children were : 1, Elizabeth, died in infancy ; 2, DAVID, born in 1694, married Ann Margaret Freeman in 1724, and died April 7, 1751 ; 3, Levinus, born 1696, died in Holland, unmarried, October 6, 1769 ; 4, Matthew, born 1699, married in 1718 to Cornelia De Peyster, daughter of Johannes De Peyster ; among their descendants have been many eminent personages, as, for instance, Matthew Clarkson, Mayor of Philadelphia and Member of Congress ; Gerardus Clarkson, a prominent physician ; Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby, Chancellor of the University of New York ; Rev. Dr. Robert Harper Clarkson of the Epis- copate of Nebraska ; and Anna, who died in Holland unmarried. In 1718 the three brothers mentioned, David, Levinus, and Matthew, were established as merchants in London, Amster- dam, and New York respectively. David in the course of six years returned, married as above, and settled in New York. He was in five successive Assemblies (1739-1751), and was one of the most tenacious in his constantly expressed opinion that the colonists were entitled to all the privileges of Englishmen, and was in every instance on the side of resistance when the liberties of the people came in question. His children were : 1, Freeman, died in 1770, unmarried ; 2, DAVID, born 1726, married Elizabeth French, died 1782; 3, Matthew, died young ; 4, Streatfield, died young ; 5, Matthew, born 1733, married Elizabeth De Peyster, daughter of Treasurer Abraham De Peyster, in 1758, died in 1772 ; 6, Levinus, born 1737, died young ; 7, Levinus, born 1740, married Mary Van Horne, died 1798.
1 In one of the private letters of Mr. Clarkson to a friend in England in 1767, he requests the gentleman's wife to buy for Mrs. Clarkson "twenty-four yards of best bright blue satin, and a fashionable winter cloak of crimson satin for her own use "; also, " a handsome silver bread-basket, openwork, light and thin, with the crest, a griffin's head, upon it"; a carpet was at the same time ordered with a green ground. David Clarkson and his wife, Elizabeth
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
York families of the time, were chiefly negro slaves. The summer resi- dence of the family was at Flatbush, Long Island. David Clarkson was one of those who advanced money to the state and city for revolutionary purposes, and his two sons, David and Matthew (the former twenty-four and the latter nineteen), were among the foremost to offer their lives in fighting the battles of the country ; Matthew was early appointed an aide- de-camp to General Arnold.
A more peculiar condition of human affairs was never chronicled than at this juncture. In defiance of kingly authority a Continental Congress was in session which recognized the existing royal government of New York, tolerated its governor, and all naval and military officers, contrac-
tors, and Indian agents, and instructed the city and county not May 15. to oppose the landing of troops, but to prevent the erection of fortifications for their benefit ; and under any circumstances to act simply on the defensive. It also recommended the provision of warlike stores and a safe retreat for the women and children; in accordance with which latter clause, though in direct conflict with preceding directions, John Lamb - afterwards general -obtained a vessel from Connecticut, and with a resolute band of men passed up in the night to Turtle Bay, sur- prising the guard and capturing a quantity of the king's military stores there deposited, a portion of which were at once forwarded to the army at Cambridge, an exploit of signal service to the country.
The Provincial Congress of New York came together after these rules had been laid down for their province, and voted obedience to the May 22. Continental Congress so far as the general regulation of the asso- ciated colonies were concerned, but declared themselves competent to " freely deliberate and determine all matters relative to the internal police of New York." They made no effort to interfere with the royal officers, while their own edicts were executed to the letter. The Asia, a British war vessel, was allowed to obtain provisions from the city; but inter- course between the ship and shore was restrained. When a little later one of the Asia's boats was destroyed by some rash and irritated citizens, it was restored at the expense of the city.
" Why such scrupulous timidity ? Why suffer the king's forces to possess themselves of the most important post in America ?" asked Edmund Burke in passionate indignation.
French, had eight children, as follows : 1, David, born 1750, died in infancy ; 2, David, born 1751, married Jane Mettick, was an officer in the Revolution, died 1825 ; 3, Philip, born 1754, died in infancy ; 4, Freeman, born 1756, married Henrietta Clarkson, died 1810; 5, MATTHEW, born 1758, served in army through the war, married 1st, Mary Rutherford, 2d, Sarah Cornell, died 1825 ; 6, Ann Margaret, born 1761, married Garrit Van Horne in 1784, died 1824 ; 7, Thomas Streatfield, born 1763, married Elizabeth Van Horne in 1790, died 1844 ; 8, and Levinus, born 1765, married Ann Mary Van Horne, died 1845.
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THE. EMISSION OF PAPER CURRENCY.
" Because there is no effective military organization, no artillery, no ammunition, no means of protection for New York," was the reply of one who saw the madness of hastening hostilities before the semblance of preparation had been effected.
The formation of the American Republic must ever be a theme of wonder, and constitute one of the most novel chapters in the history of mankind. The hazard of attempting self-government, of which internal anarchy is quite as much to be apprehended as the fate of those con- cerned in case of failure, is clear to every intelligent mind. But it will be observed that wherever the power of Great Britain was disavowed in the colonies it passed naturally into the hands of the people, and in the methods of election, whether of committees or congresses, there was judi- cious, uniform, and systematic management. The leaders were so cautious that the power should actually and visibly come from the people, that there was no instance of a member of any elective body on the continent taking his seat without exhibiting a well-authenticated certificate that he was duly chosen. In New York City the certificate was signed by the vestrymen of the wards ; in some parts of the State, by the chairman of committees, moderators and clerks of town-meetings, or by judges and justices. Thus confidence was established and union cemented. In no colony was there more perfect harmony between the elected and the electors than in New York ; and the wisdom of moderation was nowhere else more pronounced and praiseworthy.
The New York Congress was opened and closed with prayer each day of the session, the clergymen of the Episcopal Church officiating as well as those of the Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and other denominations.1 The first act was to decide upon rules of procedure ; then arose the ques- tion of the emission of paper currency, which it was argued would create a common interest among the associated Colonies in the property of the circulating medium, and a common responsibility for its final redemption ; and the report forwarded to the Continental Congress contained the main features . of the plan finally adopted by the nation. Other subjects crowded rapidly upon notice. There were threatened troubles with the Indians, and it was understood that Colonel Guy Johnson was acting in accordance with orders from England, and actually engaged in the work
1 On May 26, Rev. Dr. Auchmuty of Trinity officiated ; May 27, Rev. Dr. Rodgers of the Brick Church ; May 30, Rev. Mr. Gano of the Baptist Church ; May 31, Rev. Charles In- glis, Assistant Rector of Trinity ; June 1, Rev. Dr. Laidlie of the Middle Dutch Church ; June 2, Rev. Dr. John Mason of the Cedar Street (Scotch Presbyterian) Church ; June 6, Rev. Dr. John Henry Livingston of the North Dutch Church ; and so on, alternating as conven- ience dictated through the entire summer of 1775.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
of trying to influence the Six Nations to take up the hatchet against the " king's rebellious subjects in America." Affairs at Ticonderoga de- manded attention, but as no troops had yet been raised in New York, Connecticut was requested to send forces to hold the post, and responded promptly. The Continental Congress was inclined to abandon the conquest, being yet so unprepared for war, and rejected a proposition from Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold to invade Canada. But New York was alive to the importance of holding the fortress, and took the matter in charge. Such means of defense as time and circumstances would allow were devised; a bounty of five pounds was offered for every hundred pounds of powder manufactured in the colony, and twenty pounds for every hundred muskets, over and above the regular market price. Resolutions were passed for fortifying the Highlands and the positions about Kings- bridge; new regulations for the militia were instituted, and General Wooster, who was in command of the Connecticut forces at Greenwich, was requested to take up his quarters at Harlem, as a security against a possible invasion. This he did, remaining there several weeks. Philip Schuyler and Richard Montgomery were unanimously nominated, the first as a Major-General and the second as a Brigadier in the army of the con- tinent, and shortly confirmed by the Continental Congress. At the same time every attempt upon the part of the impatient to provoke hostilities was sternly discountenanced.
On the morning of May 25, the great British generals, Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, reached Boston with reinforcements, and were obliged May 25. to land upon a narrow peninsula with no available outlet save by the sea. The nearer and more imminent the danger, the more the New England heroes displayed their courage; they stripped every island be- tween Chelsea and Point Alderton of sheep, cows, and horses, and burned the lighthouse at the entrance to Boston Harbor. They were confident that if gunpowder could be obtained they could effectually drive the British from any foothold on their coasts.
An order came for the few British troops in the barracks at Chamber Street in New York to join the army in Boston. They accordingly marched towards the point of embarkation on the morning of the 6th of June 6. June. A whisper ran through the city that the committee had not given them permission to take their arms with them. Marinus Willett accidentally came in front of the party on the corner of Beaver Street in Broad, and without any preconcerted plan caught the horse of the fore- most cart of arms by the bridle, which brought the whole procession to a standstill ; while he was having sharp words with the commander a crowd collected. Gouverneur Morris reached the scene and declared with
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AGGRESSIVE PROGRESS.
warmth that the troops should be allowed to depart unmolested; but John Morin Scott came upon a run, exclaiming, " You are right, Willett, the committee have not given them permission to carry off any spare arms." The front cart was immediately turned and the cartman directed to drive up Beaver Street, all the other carts being compelled to follow. They were conducted amid the deafening cheers of the people to Broad- way, corner of John Street, and their contents deposited in the yard of Abraham Van Dyck, a prominent Whig; these were afterwards distrib- uted among the troops raised in New York.1
June was a memorable month for America. While Congress at Phila- delphia was groping irresolutely in the dark, the very air was exhilarant with aggressive progress all the way from the hills of New Hampshire to the remote forest wilds of Kentucky ; far beyond the Alleghanies a few men had organized themselves into a convention on the 25th of May, and founded that commonwealth. Virginia had been peopled by the average cavaliers of the day, under the direction of higher grades of intellect, and now a large array of men of education, property, and condition were revolving the new notions and ideas which were to make us a free and independent people. Maryland, from the beginning, rose upon the shoul- ders of persons of high birth moved to their destination by the best thought at home, but taking in the vagaries of a larger freedom under a new sky. The county of Mechlenburg, North Carolina, had already been the scene of political meetings which were in tune with the urgency of the times ; the inhabitants were chiefly Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, of the race who early emigrated from Scotland to the North of Ireland.2 The little town of Charlotte was the centre of the culture of the western and most populous portion of North Carolina, and the Royal governor
1 Lieutenant-Governor Colden to Earl of Dartmouth, June 7, 1775 : Colden Mss. Colonel Marinus Willett's Narrative, New York in the Revolution, 53-65. Colonel Willett was born in Jamaica, L. I., July 31, 1740. He had been an officer under General Abercrombie, in Colonel De Lancey's regiment, in 1758 ; and accompanied Bradstreet in his expedition against Fort Frontenac. He was one of the earliest Sons of Liberty in New York ; afterwards joined the army, and subsequently became a brigadier-general. He was mayor of the city of New York in 1807. He died on the 22d of August, 1830, aged 90.
2 The Scotch-Irish brought to this country the creed and the courage of the Covenanters, as well as their thrift, integrity, and morality ; with ideas eminently republican, they exerted no little influence in molding the American mind. Some settled in New England and New York, but the greater portion passed into the upper regions of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. From this stock have sprung some of the most prominent families in the South and West. Of eminent men might be mentioned five of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Read, Thornton, Smith, Taylor, and Rutledge ; also General George Clinton, General Richard Montgomery, and Lord Stirling ; three Presidents of the Union, Jackson, Polk, and Buchanan ; and John Caldwell, John C. Calhoun, Horace Greeley, General McClellan, Charles Johnson McCurdy, and many other well-known public characters.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
was dazed when he read the resolutions of those whom he had hitherto supposed he might command in an emergency ; he said, "They most traitorously declare the entire dissolution of the laws and Constitution, and set up a system of rule and regulation subversive of his Majesty's government." The settlement of the Colonies had been but the removal of ripening European minds in European bodies to another country. As good came here as were left behind, and the heads of these Colonies had ever since been in intercourse with the best talent and wisdom of Europe. Fast-sailing packets brought to our shores Parliamentary discussions, which were scattered broadcast by the press, and repeated from mouth to mouth. The lofty sentiment which was taking shape was constantly fed and fos- tered by words of sympathy and encouragement from the home continent. It was a period of greater significance than mere development; it was that of interpretation. Nowhere was the conduct of Gage more severely criticised than in England. Lord Effingham retired from military service as soon as he learned his regiment was destined for America. Many other gallant officers did likewise. The king's own brother, the amiable Duke of Gloucester, through genuine admiration for the men of Lexington and Concord, expressed himself so forcibly in his descriptions of the uprising of New England, at a banquet of Louis XVI. given in his honor while in France, that he won a champion for American Independence in the youth- ful Lafayette, who was present.
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