USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. II > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
1 New York Gazette, May 26, 1740.
11
582
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
the fort ; and a few hours later, the roof of Mr. Hilton's house near the Fly Market was discovered on fire, and, on the same afternoon, Colonel Frederick Philipse's storehouse was all ablaze.
The coincidence of circumstances seemed to render it certain that some if not all of these fires were the effect of design, and suspicion fell upon the negroes. The wholesale alarm induced many of the citizens to remove their goods and valuables to places of safety beyond the city limits ; while every colored individual who could not tell a straight story was lodged in jail.
April 11. On the 11th of April the Common Council offered a reward of one hundred pounds, and a full pardon, to any conspirator who would reveal his knowledge of the plot, which was now believed to exist among the negroes, for burning the city and effecting a general revolution. The negroes were examined without eliciting any facts, and the city was searched for strangers and suspicious persons without success.
Finally the prisoners were brought before the Supreme Court, Judges Philipse and Horsemanden presiding. The grand jury on this April 21. occasion were, Robert Watts, foreman, Jeremiah Latouche, Joseph Read, Anthony Rutgers, John Cruger, Jr., John McEvers, Adonijah Schuyler, Abraham De Peyster, John Merrit, David Provoost, Abraham Ketteltas, Henry Beekman, Rene Hett, David Van Horne, Winant Van Zandt, George Spencer, and Thomas Duncan. The proclamation of par- don and reward was read to Mary Burton; after much persuasion she testified that meetings of negroes had been held at her master's house, and that they had a plan to burn the fort and city, after which her master was to be king, and Cæsar governor ; that Cuff Philipse 1 used to say that some people had too much and others too little, but that the time was coming when master Philipse would have less and Cuff more. She swore, however, at that time that she never saw any white person present when the negroes talked of burning the town, except her master and mistress, and Peggy Carey. The latter was a woman of questionable repu- tation. She was next examined; but denied all knowledge of the fires, and said she could not accuse any one without telling a falsehood. She was convicted of having received and secreted the stolen goods, and sen- tenced to death. Terrified, she begged for a second examination, and grasping the means of rescue that had been previously offered to her, she made a startling confession, implicating many persons, who were imme- diately arrested on her evidence ; but her stories were apparently invented to save herself from the gallows, and the magistrates were incredulous.
1 The negroes were familiarly called by the surnames of their masters.
12
583
BURNING AT THE STAKE.
She was executed, and with her dying speech pronounced all her former confessions " lies."
In the mean time several fires had occurred at Hackinsack, New Jersey, and two negroes, condemned as incendiaries, were burned at the stake in a most horrible manner.
Cæsar and Prince were the next victims. They denied all knowl- edge of the conspiracy to the last, although they confessed to the
stolen goods. The terrified negroes began to criminate each other May 11. upon all sides, hoping thus to save themselves from the dreadful death which awaited them. Many more were arrested. The details of the several trials and executions are too sickening for repetition. The tav- ern-keeper and his wife were hung on the 12th of June, their June 12. conviction and condemnation resting on the sole evidence of the girl Mary Burton. Several other executions presently followed. The burnings at the stake were enough to make humanity shudder.
On the 19th of June the lieutenant-governor issued a pardon June 19. to all who would confess and reveal the names of their accomplices, before the ensuing 1st day of July. Upon this the accusations multiplied with frightful rapidity. Mary Burton suddenly remembered that John Ury, a Catholic priest and a school-teacher in the city, had been con- cerned. The evidence received against this unhappy man can only find its parallel in the annals of the Salem witchcraft. He was condemned to the gallows and suffered on the 29th of August, proclaiming his innocence to the last. Many white people were arrested ; finally, Aug. 29. Mary Burton, grown bolder by success, began to implicate persons of con- sequence. This startled the government, and a stop was put to all further proceedings.
But the catalogue of victims had already been fearful. One hundred and fifty-four negroes had been imprisoned, of whom fourteen were burned at the stake, eighteen hanged, two gibbeted, seventy-one transported, and the rest pardoned or discharged for want of proof. Twenty-four white persons were tried and imprisoned, four of whom were among the exe- cuted.
Ury was tried not only as a conspirator, but for officiating as a Popish priest, under the law of the colony passed in 1700, for the purpose of driving the French missionaries from the Indian country, and was con- victed on both indictments. A letter from General Oglethorpe, the vis- ionary Lycurgus of Georgia, to the lieutenant-governor, gave weight to the suspicions against the poor fellow. It had been discovered that some Spanish Catholic slaves, lately captured and sold in the city at public vendue, were accomplices in the plot. Oglethorpe wrote that he was in
13
584
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
possession of private intelligence to the effect that the Spaniards had employed emissaries to burn all the towns of any note in English North America, in order to prevent the subsisting of the great naval expedition bound for the West Indies, and that many priests were employed as aids in the infernal project, who were expected to gain access to families as physicians, dancing-masters, etc. The fate of Ury was lamented after it was too late; and when the community was restored to its right mind, and became convinced that the conspiracy only existed in the imagina- tion, excepting as far as negroes were desirous of creating alarms, to en- able them to commit thefts with more ease, the proceedings against him were generally condemned as harsh, cruel, and unjust. There was no resisting the whirlwind when every man thought he was in danger from a foe in his own house. A panic seized the whole population which produced effects similar to the terror which drove men mad respecting witches and witchcraft in both Europe and America, and which made all England insane in the time of Titus Oates. A woman testified in court one day, that she saw three negroes walking up Broadway (at the time the fires were occurring with the greatest frequency), and one of them threw up his hands and with a chuckling laugh said, "Fire, fire, scorch, scorch a little, - damn it by and by !" The judges and the jury esteemed such evidence overwhelming. The Assembly caught the infection. It was in session while these tragedies were being enacted in the court-room and under the broad blue skies. It thanked the officers who were the most active and vigorous in detecting supposed criminals, and passed severer laws against the slaves.
The perjured Mary Burton received the £ 100 which had been prom- ised. Her various statements should have rendered her whole testimony unworthy of credit. It is probable that the fear of death and the hope of pardon induced many who were not guilty to make confessions. The negroes were afraid of each other, and each wanted to be first at the con- fessional. They had no defense nor legal advice, and their total igno- rance led them into such singular behavior, in many instances, as to insure almost certain condemnation.
Sept. 24.
When the danger seemed to have passed, a day was set apart by the lieutenant-governor for general thanksgiving.
Clarke's power over the Assembly diminished as months rolled on. In his address on the 18th of September, he said, "It is high time for you to make provision for rebuilding the house, chapel, barracks, and other edifices in the fort which were destroyed by the late fire kindled as the horrid result of an execrable conspiracy to burn this whole town and to destroy the people, which nothing but a Divine Providence hindered
14
585
THE WAR WITH SPAIN.
from being fully executed, nor do I think we ought now to rest in such supine security as to be careless of our present and future safety : where- fore I think it necessary that you pass some good law for the proper regu- lation of military night-watches." The war with Spain involved many expenses. It seemed as if the purse of New York was constantly assailed for warlike outlays in one direction and another. Hitherto the French and Indians had almost driven the Province to bankruptcy. Now Eng- land had involved herself in bloody controversy with a great power, and dutiful New York must contribute to the sending of expeditions to the West Indies and elsewhere. "It may enrich you beyond all other means that can be devised," said Clarke, coaxingly ; " for conquests in that direc- tion will increase your trade and navigation."
However much such arguments influenced the House in its appropria- tions for the war, Clarke could not accomplish a settlement of the revenue as he desired. It responded haughtily to his address. He wrote to the Lords of Trade that the Assembly had unmasked. He said it was more than ever determined to give the revenue only from year to year. He also warned the Lords against an address which the Council had drafted and signed, praying the king to furnish money for the rebuilding of the house, chapel, barracks, secretary's office, etc., in the fort; the plea of poverty he pronounced false, the province never having been in as flour- ishing a condition as at present, and there was, in his opinion, no province in America less burdened with public expenditures.
One of the most important acts of this session was that of intro- ducing the English practice of balloting for jurors. Clarke had formerly recommended it, which was the very reason why it had been sup- pressed until now. It was a useful law, although, like many others of that decade, expressed ambiguously, and subjected to more than one interpretation. The honor of penning it was claimed by both De Lancey and Horsemanden, and is supposed to have been the result of a joint effort.
Clarke was never indifferent at any time to the Indian affairs of the colony. The Rev. Henry Barclay,1 afterwards rector of Trinity Church, was laboring as a missionary among the Mohawks, and the sachems peti- tioned the governor for a new chapel. Clarke invited the attention of the Assembly to the subject in vain. The reply he received was that if
1 Rev. Henry Barclay, D. D., was a native of Albany, and a graduate of Yale College in 1734. He received orders in England. He was several years in the Mohawk country, and then came to New York. The translation of the liturgy into the Mohawk language was made under his direction, and that of Rev. W. Andrews and Rev. J. Ogilvie. Rev. J. Ogilvie suc- ceeded him in his mission, and also as rector of Trinity Church. Mr. Barclay died in 1765. 37
15
586
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
the Christian converts were increasing among the Indians, the funds required for a new chapel should be raised by private contributions.
An approaching rupture with France was confidently apprehended ; hence a grand council of the Confederates was held at Albany for the purpose of strengthening these important allies in their regard for the people of New York. Clarke urged the chiefs to prevent their young men from being enticed to join tribes in the interests of the French. " When united," he said, "you are like a strong rope, made of many strings and threads twisted together, but when separated are weak and easily broken." This council terminated amicably, and the Indians, well laden with presents, returned to their homes, professing friendship for Corlear (the governor) which was to endure so long as the Great Spirit should cause the grass to grow and the water to run. Notwithstanding such good resolutions, it was well understood that confidence might be placed in these forest kings only while no circumstance awakened their slumbering jealousy.
A short time before, Admiral Sir Peter Warren (then Captain 1742. Warren) had purchased an immense estate in the Mohawk coun- try. He was the younger son of a British naval officer of the ancient and honorable family of Warren, in Warrentown, county of Down, Ireland. He had been trained to the nautical profession, and in the summer of 1727 was appointed to the command of the Grafton, one of the four ships of the line sent out under Sir George Walton to join Sir Charles Wager, then in the Mediterranean command. He was shortly transferred to the Solebay frigate, and sent to the West Indies with orders touching upon the preliminaries of peace between England and Spain. Returning to London, he was appointed commander of the Leopard, of fifty guns, which position he held until 1735. After the rupture with Spain (in 1741) he was in command of the Squirrel, a twenty-gun ship, and afterwards suc- cessively of the Launceton of forty guns, and the Superbe of sixty guns, and in 1743 was commodore of a squadron.
It was during Cosby's administration that he became especially inter- ested in New York, and from the time of his marriage with the sister of Chief Justice De Lancey, made his home in the city.
A tour of adventure into the wilderness resulted in a trade with the Indians for the tract of land above-named. At his instance the son of his sister, William Johnson, - afterwards Sir William Johnson, Bart., - then a young man of twenty-three, came to this country to superintend the im- provement of this wild property.1
1 Sir William Johnson, Bart., was the elder son of Christopher Johnson and Anne Warren, of Warrentown, county of Down, Ireland. He was born in 1715. His early education is in-
16
587
SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON.
Young Johnson was the architect of his own fortune and subsequent fame. He succeeded from the beginning in winning the confidence and affection of the Indians. He formed a settlement upon the estate of his uncle ; kept a small country-store ; encouraged trade of every description ; rode fifteen miles to mill, with his bag of grain, on horseback; visited the sachems in their castles, and the common people, both whites and Indians, in their huts ; and mingled in all their rustic sports. He was one of the most industrious of men. His style of living was plain, his figure robust and commanding, and his bodily health perfect. Warren sent from New York and Boston such goods as were chiefly salable, - rum, axes, wrought- iron, etc., - and directed the planting of orchards, which he said would not hinder the growth of grass or Indian corn, since the trees should be placed at a great distance from each other. He also suggested that fields should be laid out in exact squares, with hedge-rows on each side to keep the land warm, and please the eye, and that shrubs and flowers should be planted for ornament. He directed his nephew to keep well with all mankind, act honorably and honestly, refrain from being notional, and to be specially careful to say nothing about the badness of the patroon's horses, for it might be taken amiss; adding "he [the patroon of Albany] is a near relation of my wife, and may have it in his power very much to serve you."
Erelong Johnson commenced the cultivation of a landed estate of his own, and secured a valuable water-power upon which he erected a saw- mill. This led to no inattention as far as the affairs of his uncle were concerned. He was equal to the management of a multiplicity of enter- prises. From a farmer and dealer in furs and small wares, he became an extensive merchant, a government contractor, a general in the armies of New York, and a baronet of the British realm, with possessions exceeding any of the nobles of Europe. He was the hero alike of history and ro- mance ; his character has furnished the basis for many a weird tale, and has been invested with all manner of ingredients.1 His peculiar relations and influence with the Indians rendered him a tower of strength when the French again set about the conquest of New York with iron determi- nation ; and his intimate connection with public affairs during the thirty years prior to the Revolution has given him a high place among the per-
. volved in some mystery, but from the invoices of books which he ordered from time to time for his private library, through his correspondents in London, and from his correct use of the French and Latin language in his correspondence, it is presumed that he received a University course of instruction.
1 Chrysal ; or, The Adventures of a Guinea, by Charles Johnson, Vol. III., Book II., Chaps. 1, 2, 3. The Dutchman's Fireside, by Paulding. The Gipsey, by G. P. R. James. The satire in Chrysal is an exaggeration of the errors in the baronet's life.
17
588
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
sonages of the period. The massive stone mansion which he erected and fortified, was ever afterward known as Johnson Hall.
At one time a Mohawk chieftain coveted a new scarlet coat trimmed with gold lace, which Sir William had just received from London. He hesitated only a day or two before calling at Johnson Hall in the familiar manner which Johnson had himself inaugurated, and said he had " dreamed a dream." He had dreamed that the grand knight gave him his fine red coat. Sir William understood the significance of the hint, and, in tender consideration of his own popularity, gave the chieftain the much-desired treasure.
But Sir William presently dreamed a dream. He went to see the chief- tain, and related it to him. He had dreamed that the chieftain and his council gave him a large tract of land, designating the boundary with geographi- cal precision, from such a tree to such a rivulet. The gift was made, but the old Indian said, " Ugh ! I no dream any more. White chief dream better than Indian."
Admiral Sir Peter Warren purchased a considerable es- tate on Manhattan Island, Sir Peter Warren's House. which was called Greenwich. He built upon it a country- mansion, (which stood for nearly a century,) at about the corner where Fourth intersects Perry Street, overlooking the Hudson, and laid out and beautified extensive grounds.
The Indian name of the point of land was Sapokanigan. The mansion, which was elegant in its appointments, was afterwards the residence of Abraham Van Nest.
The prevalence of yellow fever in New York was a subject which agi- tated men of science all over the country. Dr. Colden had long since re- linquished the practice of medicine, except among his immediate friends, but his love for the profession induced him to contribute valuable addi- tions to the medical literature of the day. He was the first to introduce into the country what he called " the cool management " of the small-pox, in which he was more successful than any other physician in America. In 1742 he made it his special business to study into the features and
18
- J.KARS
"Ugh ! I no dream any more. White chief dream better than Indian. " Page 588.
589
GOVERNOR CLINTON.
progress of the yellow fever in this latitude, and wrote an interesting paper, carefully pointing out local circumstances which increased its vio- lence.1 He recommended remedies which proved efficacious in a multi- tude of cases, and sanitary measures which were so prolific in results that the Common Council of New York tendered him a vote of thanks.
A governor for New York had been for some time foreshadowed. 1743. Clarke's seven years of rule terminated ingloriously. The conces- sion by which he allowed the Assembly to prescribe the disposition of supplies granted - hitherto the legal prerogative of the crown - appeased the popular party only for a short time. The governed are rarely satis- fied with concessions ; each successful demand increases the clamor for more. It was thus in the experience of the lieutenant-governor. The Assembly claimed the right to appoint its own treasurer. As soon as this was conceded, there was a strenuous effort made to secure the privi- lege of choosing the auditor-general, failing in which, the salary of that officer was withheld. And it was with sullen disregard that all of Clarke's later speeches urging for appropriations were received. The House, for several months prior to the rising of the new sun, accomplished little except an Act for securing Oswego, and another providing for the ordinary supplies and salaries of the year. And the counselors at the same time were quite ready to welcome a new potentate.2
Admiral George Clinton arrived. He was accompanied by his wife and several children. He was a younger son of the late Earl of Lincoln, and had been described as a man of talent and liberality. Sept. 22. He was cordially received. He landed near the new Battery, and at the moment of his placing his foot upon New York soil, the guns of the fort, and of the Loo (the vessel which had brought him to these shores) spoke loudly and well. He was met by the Council, a fine group of dig- nified men, and by the mayor and Common Council of the city, the militia, and many of the principal citizens. After a ceremonious greeting he was conducted to the governor's house in the fort, the way being lined with sol- diers in full dress. After being refreshed with burgundy, champagne, and other wines, the distinguished procession moved to the City Hall, where his commission as governor of New York was duly published, and the usual oaths administered.
Clinton had spent his life thus far in the navy. He was easy, good- natured, unambitious, and given somewhat to high living. He hoped to
1 Nearly two hundred and fifty persons died of yellow fever in the city during the year 1742.
2 Clarke returned to England with a large fortune acquired in New York, and purchased a handsome estate in Cheshire, where he spent the remainder of his life. He had several children, but they made no connections in this country.
19
590
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
mend his fortunes. Beyond that he troubled his mind very little about the results or length of his administration. He resigned himself to the current and drifted along smoothly at first.
Having learned that the Assembly was under adjournment to meet in a few days, and that the great mass of the people would be pleased with an opportunity to choose new Assemblymen, he dissolved the body and ordered an election. It was conducted for once without tumult. The
new members convened in November. They voted the governor Nov. 8. a salary of £1,560, besides £150 for house-rent, £ 400 for fuel and candle-light (intended to cover the wants also of the garrison), £ 150 to enable him to visit the Indians, £ 800 to be used in presents for the Indians, and £1,000 as compensation for unsuccessful solicitations at court (at the instance of the Assembly) for aid towards rebuilding the fort, and obtaining a supply of ammunition. They continued the salary of £300 to the chief justice, half that sum to Judge Horsemanden, and, on motion of Lewis Morris, began the practice of enabling the governor and Council to draw upon their treasurer for contingent services, to the amount of £60 per annum. This sum was subsequently increased to £ 100 per annum. The governor made no objection to their limiting the support to a year, and assented to all the bills offered him.
There was business before the House, the following year, how- 1744. ever, of vital importance. France had assumed a threatening atti- tude towards England. The prospect of rebellion in Scotland, also, called for active military preparations ; whatever involved England involved her American colonies, particularly New York.
James III., or The Pretender, who up to this time had lived in France, taking advantage of dissensions in Parliament, was trying to create a party in his favor, which with the aid of France was expected to subju- gate Great Britain.
To excite loyalty in the minds of the people of this country it was only necessary to announce that their civil and religious liberties were in dan- ger. Popery was aiming for the throne of England ; this was sufficient in itself to absorb all other considerations, and brace the colony into united resistance. Lewis Morris, Jr., offered the sentiment, " The most steadfast adherence to the king and the Protestant religion," and it was immedi- ately adopted by the House. Large sums were given for fortifications, £ 3,000 voted towards a mansion-house for the governor, and arrears of salary paid to Mr. Barclay, the Mohawk missionary.
The formal declaration of hostilities was known in New York early in
July. Everybody was alarmed, for the city was exposed by land
July. and by sea. The Council and the Assembly prepared a joint ad-
20
591
CLINTON AND THE ASSEMBLY.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.