History of the state of New York Vol I, Part 67

Author: Brodhead, John Romeyn, 1814-1873. 4n
Publication date: 1871
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Number of Pages: 844

USA > New York > History of the state of New York Vol I > Part 67

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).

1 Dec. Standing Foreign Planta- tions.

* Hol. Doc., ix., 136-301 ; London Doc., i., 84-104 ; N. Y. Col. MSS., iii., 30-37.

687

PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

CHAPTER XX.

1661-1664.

THE Restoration of Charles the Second, though hailed at CHAP. XX. first with joy in Holland, did not produce in Great Britain more friendly feelings toward the Dutch. The two nations 1661. were now commercial rivals; and it was soon perceived at

English jealousy of the Dutch. the Hague that another erisis with England was approach- ing. The Aet of Navigation had already closed, against Holland and New Netherland, the ports of New England, Virginia, and Maryland ; and it was evident that no more was to be hoped from the king than from the Protector. While British statesmen were exhibiting such a spirit of commercial exclusiveness, a new element was introduced into political affairs. The Restoration had by no means been the unanimous aet of the nation ; and at Breda Charles had endeavored to win the good-will of all his subjects by deelaring liberty to tender consciences. But the Royalists and Churchmen, who had so long endured Intolerance the yoke of Puritanism, now that they were again in pow- alists. of the Roy- er, insisted upon restoring the hierarchy. The Independ- ents and Dissenters, wounded where they were most sens- itive, could scarcely conceal their vexation ; and many of them desired to seek new homes not subject to English rule, and where they would be free alike from monarchy and prelacy.

These considerations were not overlooked in Holland ; and the West India Company, finding that there were scarcely any colonists within their territory between the North and South Rivers, now forming the State of New Jer- sey, determined to invite emigration thither by the offer of large inducements. A new charter of "conditions and privileges" was therefore drawn up, granting to "all such

688

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

Liberal conditions offered by the W. I. Company.

CHAP. XX. people as shall be disposed to take up their abode in those 1661. parts" fifteen leagues of land along the sea-coast, "and as far in depth in the continent as any plantation hath, or may be settled in New Netherland." The emigrants were to have "high, middle, and low jurisdiction ;" freedom from " head money" for twenty years ; the property in mines ; freedom, for ten years, from taxes or recognitions to the company ; the right to use their own ships; freedom of the fishing trade; and, in case of difference with Stuyvesant or his successor, "to choose a director or chief-only they shall issue out all writs, of what nature soever, in the name of the States General of the United Netherlands." The advantageous situation of the country was described in glowing terms. "Therefore," added the company, "if any of the English good Christians, who may be assured of the advantages to mankind of plantations in these latitudes from others more southerly, and shall be rationally dis- posed to transport themselves to the said place under the conduct of the United States, they shall have full liberty to live in the fear of the Lord upon the aforesaid good con- ditions, and shall be likewise courteously used."

14 Feb. Approved by the States Gen- eral.

These conditions were immediately approved by the States General. An act under their seal was issued at the Hague, by which was granted to " all Christian people of tender conscience, in England or elsewhere oppressed, full liberty to erect a colony in the West Indies, between New England and Virginia, in America, now within the juris- diction of Peter Stuyvesant, the States General's governor for the West India Company ;" and all concerned were for- bidden to hinder such colonists, and were enjoined to af- ford them "all favorable help and assistance where it shall be needful."*

While the West India Company and the States General were thus endeavoring to attract emigrants to New Neth- erland by the promise of courteous treatment, and " full lib- erty to live in the fear of the Lord," their chief provincial officer was reviving the religious persecutions which for

* Alb. Rec., iv., 363; Lond. Doc., i., 105-109; N. Y. Col. MSS., iii., 37-39.

689

PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

the last two years had been generally suspended. But the CHAP. XX. Quakers were still objects of suspicion ; and the cruelties with which Massachusetts and New Haven visited the dis- 1661. ciples of Fox seem to have stimulated the director of New Netherland to fresh severities. In spite of the law, the Quakers had continued to attend private conventicles at Quakers the house of Henry Townsend, of Rustdorp, who had al- secuted. again per-

ready been twice fined. Richard Everett and Nathaniel Denton now communicated to Stuyvesant the names of eleven persons who had attended these prohibited meet- ings ; and the inhabitants, at the same time, petitioned that a minister might be sent from New Amsterdam to baptize some of their children. Domine Drisius was ac- cordingly desired to visit Jamaica and administer the holy rite ; and Waldron, the deputy schout, and Bayard, one of the director's clerks, were sent to examine into the affair of the conventicles. John and Henry Townsend, of Jamai- 8 Jan. ca, and John Tilton and Samuel Spicer, of Gravesend, were Jamaica Arrests at arrested and conveyed to New Amsterdam, where Henry Gravesend and Townsend and Spicer were sentenced to be fined, and John 20 Jan. Townsend and Tilton to be banished. This was followed by the appointment of the two informers, Everett and Den- 24 Jan. ton, together with Andrew Messenger, to be magistrates of istrates at New mag- Rustdorp, and, by stationing soldiers in the village, to sup- Jamaica. press the unlawful meetings. The people, soon petitioning.10 Feb. that the detachment might be withdrawn, were answered that they would be gratified upon signing a pledge to sus- tain the government. The new magistrates, with twelve of their townsmen, accordingly set their names to a paper, 11 Feb. drawn up by Denton the clerk, engaging "that if any meetings or conventicles of Quakers shall be in this town of Rustdorp, that we know of, then we will give informa- tion to the authority set up in this place by the governor, and also assist the authority of the town against any such person or persons called Quakers as needs shall require." But some refusing to sign the pledge, the soldiers were 15 Feb. quartered upon them, and Townsend was ordered to leave the province. The Independents and Presbyterians of Mid- Xx

690

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAP. XX. delburgh, however, "fearing that some of the inhabitants

1661. Middel- burgh asks for a minis- ter.

may be led away by the intrusion of Quakers and other heretics," petitioned the director to aid them in obtaining a minister in place of the deceased John Moore .*

Stuyvesant's refusal to erect a court at Esopus had, meanwhile, brought upon him the severe censure of the Amsterdam directors, who peremptorily ordered him to 16 May. Charter of Esopus or " Wilt- wyck." execute their commands. " By a formal charter, municipal powers were accordingly conferred on the settlement, which was now ordered to be called " Wiltwyck," or Indian vil- lage, as the ground on which it stood was a gift from the savages. The charter appointed Evert Pels, Cornelis Ba- First mag- rentsen Sleght, and Elbert Heymans Roose, schepens, who, istrates. with a schout to be named by the director, were to form a court of justice for the government of the village. These magistrates were to see the laws of the Fatherland and the ordinances of the director and council faithfully exe- cuted, and were forbidden to publish any acts of their own without the previous consent of the provincial government. As it was customary in the Fatherland that annual changes should take place in the magistracy, the schepens were re- quired to "pay due attention to the conversation, conduct, and abilities of honest and decent persons," inhabitants of their village, and to inform the authorities of New Amster- dam, "about the time of the next election, as to who might be sufficiently qualified to be then elected by the director 27 June. Swartwout schout. general and council." The next month, Stuyvesant com- pleted the organization of the first municipal court in the present county of Ulster, by installing Roelof Swartwout as schout of Wiltwyck.t

Beyond Esopus Fort Orange was now the extreme front- ier post of New Netherland. The territory west and north of Beverwyck had, indeed, been explored ; but, excepting a few scattered husbandmen near the Cohooes Falls, no

* Alb. Rec., xix., 2, 11, 18, 21-28, 40-46, 55, 56 ; Jamaica Rec., i., 120 ; Thompson's L. I., i., 380 ; ii., 143, 292, 293 ; O'Call., ii., 450, 451 ; Hutchinson, i., 183, 184 ; Hazard, ii., 565-572 ; ante, p. 638. Moore, of Newtown, died on the 13th of October, 1657 .- Letter of Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis, 22d of October, 1657.

t Alb. Rec., iv., 352 ; xviii., 158; xix., 36, 112, 114, 125-131, 137-140 ; Kingston Rec. ; O'Call., ii., 432-437 ; ante, p. 76, 677. The name is frequently spelled Wildwyck.

691

PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

pioneers of civilization had yet fixed their homes within CHAP. XX. the eastern hunting-ground of the Mohawks. That ter- ritory, however, which, when Fort Nassau was first built, 1661 had abounded in beavers and wild deer, was now almost destitute of peltries ; and its aboriginal owners felt dis- posed to sell the land, which to them had become of little value. On the other hand, many of the inhabitants of Beverwyck, where there was often a dearth of food, were anxious to settle themselves as farmers in the neighborhood of Fort Orange, yet not as dependents of the patroon of Rensselaerswyck. Van Curler accordingly applied to Stuy- 18 June. vesant for permission to buy the "Great Flat" west of the fort, "toward the interior of the country ;" which was promptly given, upon condition that the lands should, as 21 Juno. usual, be transferred to the director and council as the rep- resentatives of the West India Company, and that "what- ever the petitioners shall pay for the aforesaid lands to the original proprietors shall in due time be returned to them, or be discounted to them against the tenths." The next month, several chiefs appeared before Vice-director La Mon- 27 July. tagne at Fort Orange, and formally conveyed to Van Cur- Schenecta- Purchase of ler the Great Flat, lying between Fort Orange and the Mo- dy Flats. hawk country, "called in Indian Schonowe." This was the first step toward the settlement of "Schaenhechstede," of which the name survives in that of the present city of Schenectady. The next year the provincial government confirmed the purchase by a grant; but the lands were not surveyed and laid out until the spring of 1664 .*

Not long afterward, another court, similar to that at Eso- pus, was established back of Gamoenepa, where there was now a thriving settlement. The name given to the new village was "Bergen," after that of a small town in North 15 Sep: Holland ; and Tielman van Vleeck, a notary in New Am- Bergen. sterdam, was appointed the first schout, and Michael Jan- sen, one of the former "Nine Men," Hermanus Smeeman, and Casparus Steynmets, the first magistrates of the ear-

Village cf

* Alb. Rec., vi., 345 ; xix., 179, 180 ; xxi., 135-139 ; xxii., 169, 234; Fort Orange Rec. ; Renss. MSS .; O'Call., ii., 438, 439 ; ante, p. 306, 660; post, p. 732.

692

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAP. XX. liest organized municipal government within the present 1661. Church at Bergen. State of New Jersey. A log building, to serve as a place of worship, was presently erected by the inhabitants, who voluntarily taxed themselves for the purpose; and nine male and eighteen female members composed the first church. For many years divine service was conducted, and the sacraments were administered at Bergen by the clergymen of the neighboring metropolis .*

Surrender of Melyn's claims to Staten Isl- and.

The difficulties respecting the title to Staten Island were now arranged. Melyn, visiting Amsterdam, surrendered to the West India Company all his rights as a patroon, for which he received fifteen hundred guilders, indemnity for his losses, the promise of certain privileges as a " free col- onist and inhabitant" in New Netherland, and a " full am- nesty with regard to all disputes.". Under this arrange- ment Melyn returned to New Amsterdam. This was fol- Of Van de Capellen's. lowed by the purchase of all the claims and estate of Van de Capellen, who had recently died, to any part of Staten Island. The whole island thus became the property of the company, which by this time had sufficient experience of the inconvenience of patroonships. Grants of land were presently made to various persons, among whom were sev- and Hugue- eral French Waldenses, and afterward many Huguenots from Rochelle. A new village was commenced a few miles south of the Narrows, where twelve or fourteen families Village and were soon settled. To secure themselves against the sav- ages, they built a block-house in 1663, which was provided with two small guns and a garrison of ten soldiers. At the request of the inhabitants, who were not able to sup- Domine Drisius. port a clergyman of their own, Domine Drisius visited Staten Island every two months, to preach in French and administer the sacraments.t

22 August. Waldenses nots

block- house.

* Alb. Rec., xix., 273 ; xx., 277-280 ; xxiv., 117, 143, 372, 398 ; O'Call., ii., 428 ; ante, p. 642. The Bergen church records begin in 1664; and in 1680, a stone edifice of an oc- tagonal form was built. I am indebted to the Rev. Dr. B. C. Taylor, its present minister, for an interesting sketch of this first church in New Jersey.

+ Alb. Rec., iv., 282, 307, 365, 384, 425, 437, 457, 461 ; viii., 222, 290 ; xviii., 11, 140, 160, 198, 236, 251, 295 ; xxi., 49 ; Hol. Doc., xii., 141 ; New Amst. Rec., iv., 359; Drisius to Classis, 5th Aug., 1664 ; Dr. De Witt, in N. Y. H. S. Proc , 1844, 69, 70 ; 1848, 78 ; O'Call., ii., 426, 576 ; ante, p. 615, 641.

693

PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

On the south side of the Narrows, the lands which had CHAP. XX. been granted to Van Werekhoven remained uninhabited for several years. After his death, Jacques Cortelyou, his 1661. former agent, commeneed a settlement, which was named Settlement " New Utrecht," in compliment to Van Werckhoven's place Utrecht. of New of birth. Fiseal De Sille became one of the proprietaries, and the village grew slowly until 1660, when it was dc- termined to palisade it, and build a bloek-house in its cen- tre. At the end of the next year, New Utrecht received a 22 Dec. village charter, giving it municipal powers similar to those charter. Village of New Haerlem ; and Jan Tomasse, Rutger Joosten, and Jacob Hellekers were appointed its first magistrates. It had, however, no schout of its own, the duties of which office were performed by Adriaen Hegeman, who had suc- ceeded Tonneman as schout of the neighboring villages of Breuckelen, Amersfoort, and Midwout.

Several Frenehmen wishing to settle themselves on the lands between Breuekelen and Middelburgh, Stuyvesant, at their request, went thither early in 1660, and fixed upon a place " between Mespath Kill and Norman's Kill" as the site for a new village. In a year the settlement contained twenty-three families, and the director again going there, 14 March. at the request of the inhabitants, named the place " Bos- wyck," now known as Bushwick. A few days afterward, a 25 March. subaltern court was established at the new village, of which charter Bushwick Pieter Jansen de Witt, Jan Tilje, and Jan Cornelissen were appointed the first magistrates. Two bloek-houses were built in 1663 for the defense of the village, which had in- creased so rapidly as to contain forty men able to bear arms. Boswyek, like New Utrecht, having no schout of its own, was subject to the jurisdiction of Hegeman, the schout of Breuckelen, Amersfoort, and Midwout; and the district The Five now became known as " the Five Dutch Towns."* Dutch Towns.

The metropolis had continued to prosper ; and its inhab- itants, still jealous on the subject of residenec, now obtain- 31 Jan. ed from Stuyvesant a decree that those who should absent right. Burgher

* Alb. Rec., xviii., 235 ; xix., 444 ; Doc. Hist. N. Y., i., 633-655 ; New Utrecht Rec. ; Bushwick Rec. ; Thompson's L. I., ii., 155, 190 ; O'Call., ii., 429, 430 ; Riker's Newtown, 50, 51 ; ante, p. 537, 580.

694

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAP. XX. themselves from New Amsterdam for four months, "with- 1661. 4 October. Stone wall proposed. out holding fire and light" there, should lose their burgher right. It was also proposed to replace the decaying stock- ade with a more substantial defense, and to require each North River yacht, in lieu of wharfage, to make one or two voyages to Tappan for stone, "in order to surround the city with a wall in course of time." A better currency having 12 October. also become indispensable, the burgomasters and schepens templated. resolved to write the Fatherland for authority to establish A mint con- a mint for the coinage of silver, and after this should come into circulation, to make wampum or sewan, without which no beavers could be obtained from the savages, an article of trade. This, however, the Amsterdam directors would not Latin school. consent to yield. The Latin or High school, which had been established in 1659, did not prosper under the su- perintendence of Curtius, who fell into disputes with the parents of some of his pupils in regard to discipline, and with the burgomasters and schepens respecting the collec- Curtius re- tion of taxes, from which he claimed to be exempt. Cur- turns to Holland. tius, therefore, returned to Holland, and was succeeded by 1662. Domine Ægidius Luyck, who came out from the Fatherland especially to educate. Stuyvesant's sons. Under Luyck's superintendence, the High School at New Amsterdam gained such a reputation that children were sent to it from Fort Orange, the South River, and Virginia.

January. Succeeded by Ægidius Luyck.

1661. 14 April. Salt-works on Coney Island.

A number of breweries, brick-kilns, and other manufac- tories were now in successful operation ; and the potteries of Long Island were esteemed equal to those of Delft. Salt- works were also attempted ; and Dirck de Wolf, having ob- tained from the Amsterdam Chamber an exclusive privilege for seven years to make salt in New Netherland, began its manufacture upon Coney Island, of which he received a grant. But the people of Gravesend, who claimed the isl- and, forcibly arrested De Wolf's enterprise, which he was obliged to abandon, notwithstanding Stuyvesant sent a military force to protect and encourage him .*

* Alb. Rec., iv., 341, 373, 375, 387, 396, 411 ; viii., 319, 321 ; xvii., 150 ; xviii., 44, 85, 164, 228; xxi., 257-270 ; New Amst. Rec., i., 99 ; iv., 136, 296, 408, 435, 635 ; Bancroft, ii., 311 ; O'Call., ii., 542, 546 ; ante, p. 656, 674. Luyck afterward became a magistrate of the city

695

PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

In the mean time, the New England colonies had re- CHAP. XX. ceived the news of the Restoration with varied feelings. Massachusetts adopted an apologetic address to Charles the 1661. Massachu- setts and Charles II. Second ; ordered the royal warrants against the fugitive regicides, Whalley and Goffe, to be executed ; and even 17 May. asked Stuyvesant to deliver them up. The refugees, how- Regicides. ever, found an asylum in New Haven. The General Court 17 June. at Hartford, in a loyal address drawn up by Governor petitious Hartford Winthrop, besought the king to accept that colony as " a ter. for a char- little branch" of his cmpire, and also petitioned for a royal charter to "assure" them possession, against their " nox- ious neighbors" the Dutch, of the territory for which they had "not so much as a copy of a patent." The governor Winthrop was also commissioned as agent in England, and instruct- agent. - ed to procure a charter which should include all the region "eastward to Plymouth line, northward to the limits of the Massachusetts colony, and westward to the bay of Dela- ware, if it may be," together with the adjacent islands. With these instructions, Winthrop, repairing to New Am- 21 July. sterdam, where he met " honorable and kind reception," set New Am- Sails from sail for England in the Dutch ship " De Trouw." sterdam.

The ready submission of the Hartford Court did not please the more sturdy republicans of New Haven, who for several months omitted to proclaim the king. At length, 31 August. "taking encouragement from what has been done in the faction at Dissatis- rest of the United Colonies," they ungraciously acknowl- ven. New Ha- edged Charles the Second. But the extorted avowal dis- gusted many of the more rigid Puritans, who dreaded a prelacy surrounding the throne .*

And now the liberal conditions, which the States Gen- eral and the West India Company had published in the spring, becoming generally known, several persons visited New Netherland, to examine the lands between the North and South Rivers proposed to be colonized. A report of their courteous entertainment soon reached New Haven ;

* Alb. Rec., iv., 382, 405 ; xviii., 189 ; Lond. Doc., i., 110-117; N. Y. Col. MSS., iii., 39- 42 ; ii., N. Y. HI. S. Coll., i., 456 ; Hazard, ii., 451, 586-588 ; Col. Rec. Conn., 367-369, 579- 585 ; Trumbull, i., 240-248, 511-514 ; Hutchinson, i., 195-201 ; Chalmers, 250-253 ; - Ban croft, ii., 50-54, 71-74 ; Hildreth, i., 448-450 ; ante, p. 262, 654.

696

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

1661. 28 Nov. Deputies visit New Amster- dam.

CHAP. XX. and Fenn and Treat, two of the magistrates of the dissat- isfied colony, accompanied by two others, came to New Amsterdam to negotiate for the establishment of a Puritan colony under the Dutch provincial government. The agents insisted upon several preliminary conditions. These Conditions were the right to establish a church "in the Congregation- lemanded. al way, such as they have enjoyed in New England ;" the calling of a synod by the English churches in New Neth- erland, "for the suppressing of heresies, schisms, and false worship, and for the establishment of truth and peace" in those churches ; the establishment of a civil government, to be administered by their own elected magistrates and officers, under laws similar to those of New Haven, and without any right of appeal ; the extinguishment of the In- dian title by the Dutch government, and the conveyance of the lands to the settlers; the exclusion of all persons from settling among them, except such as they might ap- prove ; and the right to collect debts.

Stuyve- sant's con- cessions.

To all of these demands Stuyvesant promptly acceded, except to that which contemplated the introduction of the New Haven system of government. "In the way of mag- istrature, judicature, and civil affairs," he replied, " shall be granted to the petitioners all such power, authority, privilege, and liberty, as all other towns and colonies in New Netherland have obtained." This, however, did not satisfy the New Haven men. They insisted upon intro- ducing their own civil code in all its vigor, and without any appeal to the supreme provincial authorities of New 1662. Netherland. The suspended negotiation was renewed the next spring. But Stuyvesant, feeling that he had already conceded enough, insisted upon the double nomination and the right of appeal ; and the authoritative decision of the question was referred to the Amsterdam directors .*

11 March.

30 May. Referred to the W. I. Company.

Doubts had, meanwhile, arisen in the council of Mary- land whether New Amstel was really within their limits; and all further demonstrations had been delayed until the

* Alb. Rec., xix., 409-421 ; xx., 73-77, 147 ; N. A. Rec. ; O'Call., ii., 447, 448 ; White- head's East Jersey, 22, 183.

697

PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

will of the proprietary should be ascertained. Baltimore, CHAP. X.X. however, took care to obtain from the king a confirmation of the patent which had been granted by Charles I .; and Stuyvesant, receiving the news, wrote to the directors "that Lord Baltimore's natural brother, who is a rigid Pa- pist, being made governor there, has received Lord Balti- more's claim and protest to your honors in council (where- with he seems but little satisfied), and has now more hopes pany. of success. We have advice from England that there is an invasion intended against these parts, and the country solicited of the king, the duke, and the Parliament, is to be annexed to their dominions." The savages around the South River showing signs of hostility, Hinoyossa and Pie- ter Alrichs went to Maryland to propose the negotiation of 6 Sept. a general treaty of peace with the neighboring Indians. Calvert approving the suggestion, soon afterward sent com- missioners to the South River, who were courteously re- ceived by Beeckman at Altona. On their return, they were accompanied by Hinoyossa, who met Calvert at the head of the Apoquinimy Creek, where a treaty was concluded October. with the sachem of the savages. The English, at the same with the Treaty Indians. time, proposed to deliver two or three thousand hogsheads of tobacco annually to the Dutch, in return for negroes and merchandise .*

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.

History of the state of New York Vol I, Part 67

Author: Brodhead, John Romeyn, 1814-1873. 4n Publication date: 1871 Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers Number of Pages: 844

Author: Brodhead, John Romeyn, 1814-1873. 4n
Publication date: 1871
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Number of Pages: 844