USA > New York > History of the state of New York. Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 25
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Nathaniel Sylvester now asked for a confirmation of the &G August. privileges which Nicolls had granted to Shelter Island in 1666. It was found, however, that the heirs of his de- ceased brother Constant, of Barbadoes, and Colonel Thomas Middleton, who lived in England, were part owners. Their share was accordingly confiscated, and Sylvester bought it &# Anguss, of the Dutch authorities for five hundred pounds "in this and. Shelter Ist
country's provisions." Upon his giving a bond for this payment, Shelter Island was duly conveyed to Sylvester, 28 .August. with all the usual privileges. David Gardiner, who had carly offered his submission, was likewise, on his personal promise of obedience, confirmed in the possession of his 20 Septem. 1 October. island, with " the same privileges and pre-eminences that Gardiner'a may be granted to the other subjects of this Government."+ Island.
Upon the return of their deputies from New Orange, the five eastern towns of Long Island, having " duly weighed" their circumstances, and found that they must follow their " neighbour townes in submitting to the Dutch Govern- 'S August. " Septem. ment," nominated magistrates, and sent their discarded En- Submission of the East- glish flags and constables' staves to Fort Willem Hendrick. en towns.
* Col. Doc., ii., 593, 581, 586 ; Mars. H. S. Coll., xxx., ST.
! Col. Dec., il., 567-590, 622; Thompson, L, 155, 307; Wood, 9; ante, 90, 107.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. V. From these nominations the Council of War chose Isaac 1673. 29 August. 8 Septem. Officers ap- pointed. Arnold, of Southold, to be schout, and Henry Pierson, of Southampton, to be secretary of the five towns, and two from each town to be magistrates. A petition for a modi- fication of the oath from some of the more scrupulous in- habitants was at the same time presented, which the coun- cil promptly granted, and instructed Schout Arnold to give notice that it would be administered by commissioners to be sent for that purpose. Nevertheless, the five towns were very reluctant to acknowledge the Dutch authority ; 29 August. and Southampton felt constrained to address a declaration 8 Septem. Southamp ton ad- dress. to all his British majesty's subjects in Massachusetts, Con- necticut, Plymouth, or elsewhere, " to take off an aspersion cast upon us, as though we should freely submit to this foreign government."*
22 August. 1 Septem. Kingston named. Swanen- burg.
Albany named Willem- stadt.
Delegates from Albany and Esopus had meanwhile ap- peared at the fort, and received prompt satisfaction. The name of Kingston was changed to "Swanenburg," after Evertsen's flag-ship ; but the names of Hurley and Mar- bletown were not altered. Albany was ordered to be call- ed " Willemstadt," and its fort was named "Nassau." A garrison was directed to be maintained, and presents made to the five Iroquois nations, "in order to prevent the de- signs and undertakings of our enemies the French." Sche- nectady was to observe the regulations established by Stuyvesant and Nicolls. Jeremias van Rensselaer was al- lowed to enjoy his previous privileges for a year, upon con- tributing three hundred schepels of wheat; but was re- quired to obtain a new grant from the States General.+
25 Angust. 4 Septem. Rensse- laerwyck.
Dutch authority was quietly re-established over New New Jersey Jersey, the name of which was changed to " Achter Col." nomned "Achter Col."
The very day that Evertsen and Binckes began their ses- & August. sions at Fort Willem Hendrick, delegates came to them from Elizabethtown, Newark, Woodbridge, and Piscata- way, to treat for a surrender. They were partisans of James Carteret, and opponents of Berry, the acting gov-
* L'ol. Doc., ii., 601, 602; Mass. II. S. Coll., xxx., S6-S3 ; Hist. Mag., i. (ii.), 293; Col. Rec. Conn., ii., 212, 563; Wood. 96.
t Col. Doc., iL, 559, 592-597; Doc. Hist., iii., 60; Val. Man., 1852, 431. Van Rensselaer was ordered to account to Joanna de Laet, wife of Schepen Jeronymus Ebbing, for the tenth part of the colony, which she had inherited from her father, John de Laet. The next year she gold her interest to Van Rensselaer: Col. Doc., i., 406, 407, 510, 534; if., 549-501, 536, 507; Val. Man., 1555, 521; Barnard's Sketch, 109, 132; ante, vol. i., 204, 535.
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COUNCIL OF WAR OF NEW NETHERLAND.
ernor. A few days afterward delegates from these towns, CHAP. V. and from Middletown and Shrewsbury, came to the fort, and were granted the usual privileges. Berry and his 8 August.
1673. friends were treated with the same liberality. Bergen, of 18 which the population was chiefly Dutch, nominated offi- 31August. cers, who were promptly confirmed; and every one of her seventy-ciglit burghers who were present when the com- manders visited the town the next Sunday, " after the ser- 37August. mon," took the oath. John Ogden was appointed schout, and Samuel Hopkins, whose timely information had 22 August. 1 Septem. brought the Dutch fleet from Virginia, was made secre- Officers ap- tary of the other six towns; from each of which three pointed. magistrates were likewise chosen, among whom was Daniel Denton, of Piscataway, the author of the recently publish- ed " Brief Description of New York." Bollen, the late sceretary of New Jersey, was directed to deliver his papers; 2S August. to Hopkins; but, as he was charged with "having made 7 Septent. away with some of them," the records were ordered to be & Septem. deposited with the provincial secretary Bayard, in Fort Willem Hendrick .*
Deputies from the Delaware were promised freedom of ie Septem. trade and commerce, and equal privileges to all the in- affairs. Delawnre habitants who should take the oath of allegiance. Courts of justice were also established at New Ainstel, Upland, and the Hoarkill ; and the usual nominations of magistrates were ordered to be sent by the schout, Peter Alrichs, to New Orange, for approval.t
The affairs of the metropolis went on with great regu- larity. Measures were taken to improve the fortifications ; and, as these were made chiefly of earth, owners of hogs 38 August. New Or- were directed to prevent them from roaming in the streets ange regu. south of the "Fresh Water," or Kolek, lest they should lations. damage the works. The Dutch Church having again be- The Dutch Church come the establishment in New Netherland, its service again ea. was conducted by Domine van Nieuwenhuysen, to the tablished.
' Col. Doc., ii., 571, 572, 576-580, 582, 597, 505, 508, 600, 002, 603, 606, 607; ill., 201, 203, 311, 914; Smith, i., 44; Whitehead, 60, 61, 62; ante, 154. The estate of Governor Philip (afterit was ordered to be inventoried; and Robert la Prairie, or Vanquellen, and Jona- than singletary, who had tried to secrete some of it. were brought to the fort, where the Int- * * *** fined, and Vanquellen sentenced to banishment for publicly declaring "that the 1+ k- of York had still an interest in Fort James, and that there would be another change
« .. Lib half a year."
t Col. Doc., Ii., 604, 603; S. Hazard, 407, 405.
£
£
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CuAr.V. great acceptance of Reformed Protestant Dutch people, in Kieft's old church in the fort .*
Fality cf New Or- Auge to the cral
Import- thee of + Hand to Holland.
1073. Van Ruyven now intending to return to Holland, the August. schout, burgomasters, and schepens of New Orange intrust- Letter of ed to him a letter to the States General, in which-after thanking them for reducing the inhabitants of New Neth- States Gen- erland again under the obedience of "their lawful and native Sovereigns, from whose protection they were cut off, about nine years ago, in time of peace"-they repre- sented how advantageous the province, which now consist- ed of three cities and thirty villages, miglit be made to the fatherland. Many private families there, ruined by the French invasion, could live easily in New Netherland, which, with a larger farming population, would soon be- come "a granary and magazine of many necessaries" which Holland ordinarily imported from the Baltic. Eso- pus alone, which the last year had produced twenty-five thousand schepels of grain, could supply the Dutch colo- nies of Curacoa and Surinam. New Netherland could also, by its peltries, maintain the Dutch commerce with Mus- covy; and the tobacco trade, besides many other interest- ing details, would be personally explained on his arrival by Van Ruyven, who had filled " divers respectable offices here." But, above all, the province would be especially important as a naval station, and as a watch-tower, from Ww Ath- which a constant eye could be kept on the King of En- gland, " who, in case he only came to be Lord and Master of this northern part of America, would be able to equip ships here, unknown to any Prince or Potentate in Europe, and thus, most unexpectedly, fall on our state or its allies." Yet, without speedy re-enforcements from the fatherland. its " good Dutch inhabitants," who were not more than six or seven thousand, and scattered over a vast country, could not resist "its numerous neighboring English and French enemies, by whom it is encompassed around on all sides." The States General were therefore urged to dispatch such aid as might, after the departure of the Dutch fleet, defend "this newly-recovered Province." This statesmanlike let-
* New Orange Rec., vii., 16-20; Val. Man., 1550, 490-498; Corr. Classis of Amsterdam !; Letter of Van Nieuwenhuysen, 26 July, 1674; Col. Doc., ii., 705, 730. The other Dutch cler- gymen in New Netherland were Polhemus on Long Island, and Schaats at Albany, or Wil- lemstadt : Blom having left Esopus in 1667, and Drisius having died on 18 April, 1673.
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COUNCIL OF WAR OF NEW NETHERLAND.
ter could hardly have failed to produce a decisive effect in Ciar. V. Holland. But a remarkable fatality prevented its delivery in time to advance " the Dutch interest."* 1673.
This appeal of the corporation of New Orange was quickened by the determination of Evertsen and Binckes to depart with all their ships of war, leaving New Nether- land unprotected. Hearing of this, the city authorities represented the exposed condition of the country, surround- 27 August. ed by English and French colonies, and its scattered Dutch The corpo- 6 Septem. population of six thousand outnumbered, fifteen to one, by New Or- ration of ange de- that of New England. These English and French sub- sies ships jeets had now become enemies, and would endeavor to its protec- of war for gain New Netherland as soon as it should be left to its tion. own resources for defense. The Duke of York, and Berke- ley, and Carteret were all alike interested in its recovery. "This, without doubt, renders some so bold as to say al- ready that something else will be seen before Christmas, and that the King of England will never suffer the Dutch to remain and sit down here, in the centre of all his do- minions, to his serious prejudice in many respects ; so that we are inevitably to expect a visit from our malevolent neighbors of old, now our bitter enemies, unless they be prevented, under God, by your valiant prowess and accom- panying force." Two ships of war, under the command of one of the superior officers, should therefore winter in the province, and not leave its inhabitants "a prey to be de- stroved or to be sold as slaves to the English Plantations."+
The commanders replied that the garrison in the fort could protect the place sufficiently against all enemies ; but. Smart- as the petitioners were so urgent, the frigate Surinam, of water forty guns, Captain Evert Evertsen, and the sloop or snow Zeehond (or Seal), Captain Cornelis Ewoutsen, would be left under the command of Governor Colve until the province should be " furnished with other help, either from Fatherland, or by the ships already sailed hence." As these vessels belonged to Evertsen's Zealand squadron, Binckes
* Col. Doc., ii., 526, 527. 532, 538; Lambrechtsen, 83-86; N. Y. II. S. Coll , i. (ii.), 115, 116. Van Ruyven embarked in the snow "Expectatie," Captain Martin Vonck, which, having Let her mast and sails in a storin, managed to get into Nantucket, whence Van Ruyven re. turned to New York in the following November : Col. Doc., ii., 532, 053, 662, 663 ; Col. R. Can., il., 565: Masa. Rec., iv. (ii.), 573, 574 ; Mass. II. S. Coll., xxx., 103. Vonck ssiled a rin in the ketch " Hope" in January, 1074: Col. Doc., ii., G77; post, p. 25S. t Col. Doc , il., 508-600; Doc. Ilist., i., 467.
105
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. V. agreed that the Admiralty of Amsterdam should bear its 1673. 31 August. just proportion of all expenses and damages which might happen to them during their special service in New Neth- 10 Septem. erland .*
9 Septem. Police reg- ulations.
Some necessary police regulations were now adopted. Resolved Waldron was directed "to forbid the ferry peo- ple at Haerlem and Spytenduyvel to put across any stran- gers from this Island, unless they first exhibit a pass to that effect." As many strangers were passing in and out of the i' Septem metropolis, it was ordered that all persons who had not taken the oath of allegiance should leave New Orange within twenty-four hours, and that none but Dutch sub- jects should visit it without license ; and all the inhabitants were forbidden to harbor strangers without reporting them! to the schout.+
13 Septem. Visit of In- dian sach ems to New Or- ange.
Attracted by the fleet in the harbor, the Hackensack sachems came to the fort with several of their people, and declared their desire to live as before, in peace with the Dutch. The commanders made them presents, and prom- ised that they should be considered "good friends" as heretofore. A few days afterward, the sachems of the & Septem. Mohawks, who had come " to see the naval force and make a report," were likewise dismissed with satisfactory pres- ents. The people of Schenectady were also confirmed in the privileges formerly granted by Stuyvesant, and the local officers nominated by them were approved .;
Colve's commission as governor general was now enter- ed on the records of the province. The experienced Cor- Septem. nelis Steenwyck was appointed counselor of New Nether- Colve's counselor and subor- dinate offi- cera land, " to assist in the direction of all cases relative to jus- tice and police, and further in all such military concerns both by water and by land, in which the Governor shall decm proper to ask his advice and assistance." Cornelis Ewoutsen, the commander of the snow Zeehond, was made superintendent of gunners and ammunition. Nicholas Bayard, who had been commissioned as secretary and reg- 10 Septem. ister of New Netherland, was also appointed receiver gen- eral of the provincial revenue. All these appointments
* Col. Doc., il., 600, 611, 612, 649, 654, 655, 662, 661, 692, 702, 707, 715, 726: Val. Man., 1850, 522.
# Col. Doc., ii., 600, 608, 600.
t Col. Doc., ii., 603, 604.
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ANTHONY COLVE, GOVERNOR OF NEW NETHERLAND.
were made subject to the approval of the "Lords Princi- CHAr. V. pals" in the fatherland .*
1673. 1.2. Septem.
The commanders now issued a proclamation, referring to their former one of the eighteenth of August, and de- claring that, as "not the smallest capitulation" was en- glish and tion of En- tered into at the surrender of the fort and province to the property. French States General and the Prince of Orange, all the property belonging to the kings of England and France, and their subjects, was liable to confiscation and forfeiture. They therefore confiscated all such property, especially that of the Duke of York, his governors, officers, and agents, to the benefit of the Dutch government. Nevertheless, they excepted the effects of " the actual inhabitants of the neigh- Exception. boring colonies of New England, Virginia, and Maryland," which, "for sufficient reasons," were for the present ex- empted from this confiscation.+
and others
Under this act, the property of Lovelace, Delavall, Car- Lovelace', teret, Manning, Willett, and others was placed in the hands property of commissioners. Lovelace was also required forthwith seized. to leave the province, and go either to New England or to Holland in one of the returning vessels. His request to gro to Europe in Commander Binckes's ship was promptly granted. Delavall accompanied Lovelace. The Dutch The Dutch commodores soon afterward sailed-Binckes directly to dores mail Holland; and Evertsen by way of the West Indies, Fayal, for Europe. and Cadiz, to Zealand.#
ANTHONY COLVE NOW assumed the government of New Colvras Netherland. To give greater state to his office, he set up.parma a coach drawn by three horses. In all ordinary business Nes Nel. Ment of he was assisted by Counselor Steenwyck and Secretary wird. Bayard. On important occasions, the authorities of the
· Col. Doc, IL, 6:2-614: ante, p. 211.
+ Col. Ixxx., if .. 575, 611, 612, 710; S. Hazar1, 400 ; ante, p. 912. Palfrey, ili, 120, note, i zrerts that this forbearance on the part of the Dutch commandere may have ariven from Uc hope of the States General that New England would ally itself with them. But Vir. + blan dad Maryland property was at the same time exempted from forfelture by the art of I vert n any. Binckes: and. moreover, the States General knew nothing about the matter. : ( L. Inc., IL. 559. 557, 591. 595, 597. 603, 005, 617, 638, 043, 644, 015, 617, 651, GOT, CT2, 1 7. 6-3, 720, 721 ; 1, 205, 20G: Smith, L. 41. Binchez afterward commanded a squadron 2 .tet the French in the West Indies; and was killed at Tobago in December, 16:1. Iv- .". a me to the rank of admiral. and, in November, 10-5, commande d a divi in of the ** il which rinvered the Prince of Orange to England. He died in November, 1000, and va. Lared at MANelBargh, in Zealand : Sylvius. ix, 605. 2. 93; Wagenaar, ziv., 376, 401. 1. 41%: 78, 905: Lambrechtsen, 32. 50, ST, 53: Hoz, v1, 592 ; zia, 501; Col. Dec., u., 474, 522; Col. M.SK., xxv., 171; Doc. Hist, ili., 54, 50.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. V. city of New Orange were consulted. When questions 1673. arose about the treatment of foreigners or their property, Captains William Kuyff and Carel Epesteyn, of the Dutch infantry, were added as a Council of War .*
16 Septem. Alrichs Colve's first official act was to commission Peter Alrichs commander commander and schout "on the South River, in New South Hiv- Netherland, lately called Delaware," where he was to on the er. maintain the Established Dutch Church, keep his soldiers in discipline, the Indians in good temper, and obey all or- ders from New Orange. Walter Wharton was also com- 3 g Septem. missioned to be surveyor of all the Dutch territory on the South River.t
Septem. Andries Draever command- Lieutenant Andries Draeyer was appointed commander of Fort Nassau, and schout of the town of Willemstadt and er at Wil- the colonie of Rensselaerwyck. Dracyer was instructed, 1:mstadt. among other things, to maintain "the pure true Christian Religion agrecably to the Synod of Dort ;" and, as much as he could, " keep the natives and Indians devoted to him, and, according to his ability, render the Dutch government agreeable to them, and obtain from them all the informa- tion he can respecting the trade and doings of the French, and present all correspondence they may carry on with the inhabitants of Willemstadt."#
Lutheran3 at Willem- stadt. The Lutherans at Willemstadt, who had enjoyed much liberty under the Duke of York's government, petitioned Colve at the same time for the " free exercise of their re- ligious worship, without let or hindrance, to the end that they may live in peace with their fellow burghers." Their 16 Septem. request was granted, " on condition of comporting them- selves peaceably and quietly, without giving any offence to the Congregation of the Reformed Religion, which is the State Church."§
' Col. Doc., ii., 630, 642, 641, 662, 664, 665, 710, 715; Doc. Hist., fif., 4S.
t Col. Doc., il., 614, 615, 618, 619 ; S. Hazard, 408, 400.
# Col. Doc., ii., 593, 506, GOS, 61S, 627, 659, 662, 676. On the 23d of January, 1674, Com- mander Draeyer was married in the Dutch Church to Gerritje, a daughter of Gosen Gerrit- sen van Schaick, and a sister of Levinus van Schaick : Holgate, 129, 144, 145, 146; Munsell's Collections, i., 361 ; MISS. of Matthew Clarkson, Esq., communicated to me. Draeyer after- ward entered the Danish service, in which he became a rear-admiral; and in March, 1699, his widow, having returned to New York, was received, " with attestation from Copenhagen," into the membership of the Dutch Church. Her son, Captain Andries Draeyer, returned to Denmark in April, 1700: see Records of the Collegiate R. P. D. Church of New York. Liber A. The Widow Draeyer's daughter, Anna Dorothea, afterward married the Reverend Thomas Barclay, of Albany : Holgate, 120, 144.
$ Col. Doc., ii., 617; ante, 175. It appears, however, that the " Aanspreker," or sexton
225
ANTHONY COLVE, GOVERNOR OF. NEW NETHERLAND.
To assure the safety of the metropolis, the magistrates at CHAP. V. "the Nevesings," near Sandy Hook, were ordered to send 1673.
the earliest information to the governor of the arrival of 1º Septem. any ships from sea. Martial law was also necessary to Military precau- check the unruly troops who had so recently spoiled the tions. West Indies. Ensign Jan Sol, the major of the garrison in Fort Willem Hendrick, was accordingly directed to en- 21 Septem. force it severely within the citadel; and the burghers 1 October. were prohibited from selling liquors or giving credits to the soldiers .*
The fort itself was miserably insecure. Its condition, as described by Stuyvesant, had been very little strengthened by Nicolls and Lovelace, neither of whom seem to have apprehended its being again occupied by a foreign force, Insecurity and certainly not by its old masters. Houses, gardens, and Willem of Fort orchards were clustered thickly under its earthen walls. Hendrick. " The newly-begun fortification of New Orange" was in the same case. Obstructions were ordered to be demolish- 2s Septem. ed, and their owners summoned before the governor. At S October. the same time, an extraordinary duty was laid to indemni- Incumber- fy those whose property was to be taken. Several of the demolish- ing houses owners accordingly appeared ; other lots were assigned to ed. most of them; and all were promised satisfaction out of the new duties. Counselor Steenwyck, with Burgomasters Van Brugh, De Peyster, and Luyck, were directed to esti- Fr Oct. mate the damages, and report to the governor. The dem- olition of the doomed houses was effected ; and each own- ig Oct. er was recompensed for the property which the public safety required should be taken. Among the buildings thus destroyed was the Lutheran Church, which had just been built " without the gate."t
To establish a general system for the government of the 21 Septem. towns in New Netherland, Colve drew up a "Provisional i October. Instruction," some of the articles of which were annoying
of the Dutch Church at Willemstadt required the Lutherans to pay fees to himself, as was the custom in Holland, notwithstanding they employed their own sexton; which produced " monstrance to Colve from Arensius, their minister, and others : Doc. Hist., iii., 525; ( . L MSS., xxiii., 206, 313, 403. * Col. Doc., ii., 619, 622-625, 050. * tA L. Doc., ii .. 440, 629-631, 633-637, 655, 688, 697, 699, 700, 710, 716; iii., ST; Val. Man., : *** 511, 512, 521, 525, 530; 1551, 435, 447, 448; New Orange Rec., vii., 42; Moulton's New * *** * gp, 11, 12 ; Valentine's New York, 175; ante, 26, 81. 200. 'The Lutherans were allowed 4 :her lot, " No. 5 in the Company's garden," within the gate, on which they built a new arch. It was at the corner of Broadway and Rector Street, where Grace Church was aft- ¿Tward built : Col. Doc., ii., 636; Doc. Hist., iii., 245; ante, 174.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1673. Provisional articles for the govern- ment of towns.
CHAr. V. to the English inhabitants. The local magistrates were, above all things, to " take care that the Reformed Christian Religion be maintained in conformity to the Synod of Dor- drecht, without permitting any other sects attempting any- thing contrary thereto." Local ordinances must be con- formable to the laws of Holland, and be approved by the governor. All officers must acknowledge the authority of the States General and the Prince of Orange, and "main- tain their sovereign jurisdiction right and domain over this country." The magistrates were to nominate as their suc- cessors "a double number of the best qualified, the lion- estest, most intelligent and wealthiest inhabitants, exclu- sively of the Reformed Christian Religion, or at least well affected thereunto, to be presented to the Governor, who shall then make his election therefrom, with continuation of some of the old ones, in case his Honor may deem it necessary."*
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