Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 3

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374

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Van Twiller married into the Van Rensselaer family and came over as agent of the patroon in locating land. Later he was one of the ex- ecutors of the Killian Van Rensselaer estate. He was faithful to the interests of the West India Company, but lacked good judgment and ability to execute his own ambitious plans. He, however, lived on peaceable terms with the Indians and his subordinates. It was during his administration, in 1633, that the first English vessel, the " William," came up the Hudson without a license from the Dutch governor at New Amsterdam, and halted a mile below Fort Orange and began trading. The Fort Orange traders protested, and with the aid of ships sent up from New Amsterdam, drove him out of the river and he re- turned to England.

Of William Kieft little is known previous to his arrival at Manhattan; but he was evidently unpopular beyond the ocean, as he was here, for his effigy was hung at Rochelle, France, where he lived. In this coun- try his administration was marked with concentration of power in him- self; permission to traders to cheat the Indians after getting them drunk; demanding fur tribute from the natives around Manhattan ; threatening the Indians with war; the massacre of fugitive Indians at Hoboken in 1643; neglect of the counsel of the popular assembly; per-

sonal greed, and other obnoxious acts. De Vries prophesied in 1643 as follows: "The murders in which you [ Kieft] have shed so much in- nocent blood, will yet be avenged upon your own head;" and the prophecy was fulfilled, for the vessel on which Kieft sailed for Hol- land, August 16, 1647, with more than $100,000 of ill gotten gain, was wrecked on the coast of Wales and he was drowned. A little benefit was conferred on the settlers here during his stay; he corrected many abuses that had become prevalent, repaired Fort Amsterdam and built new warehouses, planted orchards, framed and enforced police ordi- nances, and inaugurated a more liberal policy in respect to ownership of land, thus increasing immigration.

Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor previous to the surrender, was a different character from his immediate predecessor. He had seen mili- tary service in the West Indies where he lost a leg. He was welcomed warmly to New Netherland. He considered his position one of great dignity and surrounded his reign with pomp and ceremony, assuring the people that they should have exact justice. While extremely des- potic in many of his acts, he was at the same time honest and generally wise. He introduced many needed reforms, abolished the trouble stirred up by Kieft between the Manhattan Dutch and the Swedes on the Delaware; adjusted the difficulties with the Puritans in the east, and renewed amicable relations with the natives. He ardently opposed the encroachments of the English on the east, but was finally forced to yield to the pressure of changing conditions. When the English ships came in front of New Amsterdam and demanded the surrender of the province (August, 1664), he stoutly refused the demand, although the people were willing to submit. The old governor held out for a week, but at last, on September 8, 1664, he yielded and the surrender followed. In the following year he went to Holland, but returned to Manhattan and there passed the remainder of his life, and was buried under St. Mark's in the Bowery in New York city where his remains now lie.

CHAPTER IV.

In the year 1629 was inaugurated a plan for the more rapid and permanent settlement of New Netherlands, which was also intended to largely increase the power and wealth of the Dutch West India Com- pany. The details of this plan were embodied in a so-called "Charter of Privileges and Exemptions," under which lordly manorial rights could be conferred upon whoever successfully sought them and ob- ligated themselves to act under them in colonizing the new country. That charter offered to grant lands in any part of New Netherlands (reserving Manhattan Island) to the extent of sixteen miles along any navigable stream (or four miles if on each shore) and extending in- definitely into the interior, to any person who should agree to plant a colony of fifty adults thereon within four years; if such person should bring in more than fifty colonists, his domain would be proportionately enlarged. He was to be made absolute lord of his manor, politically and judicially, holding inferior courts for the adjudication of small of- fenses; and in case a city should grow up on his domain, he was given power to appoint magistrates and other officials for such municipality, and have a deputy to confer with the governor. These manorial lords were given the title of Patroons (or patrons) and settlers under them were exempted from all taxation for support of the provincial govern- ment for ten years, during which period every person was bound to re- main in service of the patroon, unless released by consent of the latter. The colonists were forbidden to manufacture cloth of any kind, under penalty of banishment. The company stipulated to supply them with as many African slaves "as they conveniently could;" also to protect them against enemies. Each colony was bound to support a minister of the gospel and a schoolmaster.

Such was the system under which a considerable area of territory in the eastern part of what is now New York State was first permanently settled. It brought across the Atlantic representatives of all classes, many of whom were men of lofty character and exceptional attain- ments; men of integrity and high purposes; men who cannot be blamed for whatever faults were inherent in the system under which

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they acted. The system itself, naturally enough, fostered aristocratic ideas and methods; it recognized the right of the Indians to the soil by compelling its purchase in order to acquire it; it invited independent farmers who would be able to secure homesteads, safe from the vicis- situdes of war and under the beneficent influences of religion and edu- cation. It is, therefore, not surprising that such a system of coloniza- tion of an Eldorado, which had been painted in such lovely hues by earlier comers, found ardent participators.

Several patroon domains were promptly secured by directors of the Amsterdam Chamber. Among these was the great tract which became known as Rensselaerwyck, the larger part of which was purchased for Killian Van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam pearl merchant, in 1630. The purchase of the first section was effected through Bastiaen Jansen Krol and Dirck Cornelissen Duyster, respectively commissary and under commissary at Fort Orange. Three months later Gillis Hoosett pur- chased for Van Rensselaer the lands lying south and north of Fort Orange and extending to within a short distance of Moenemines Castle, then on what is now Haver Island, at the mouth of the Mohawk. The same man purchased also from an Indian chief, lands on the east side of the river from opposite Castle Island to a point facing Fort Orange, and thence from Poetanock, the Mill Creek, north to Negagons. These conveyances were ratified and sealed with the seal of New Netherlands on the same day the charter before described was proclaimed at Am- sterdam. On the 13th of April, 1637, the Van Rensselaer domain was en- larged by the purchase of the Papsickenekaas (or Papsekenea, as it is now called) district on the east side of the river and extending from opposite Castle Island to the point opposite Smack Island, including the adjacent islands and all the lands back into the interior belonging to Indian owners. Payment for this latter purchase was made in "cer- tain quantities of duffels, axes, knives, and wampum." Mr. Van Rensselaer's domain was twenty-four miles long and forty-eight miles broad, contained over 700,000 acres, which now compose Albany, Rens- selaer and part of Columbia counties. The manor is clearly shown on the map made by John R. Bleecker in 1767.

On the 1st of October, 1630, Mr. Van Rensselaer, Samuel Godyn, Johannis de Laet, and Samuel Bloomaert formed a copartnership, and associated with them as co-directors of Rensselaerwyck were Adam Bissels and Touissaint Moussart. The stock of this company was di- vided into five shares, two of which were assigned to Van Rensselaer,

one each to Godyn and Bloomaert, and one to the other associates. The management of the affairs of the " colonie," as it was termed, was placed with a board of four persons or votes, of which Van Rensselaer held two, Bloomaert or Bissels one, and De Laet or Moussart one. The only respect in which Van Rensselaer was superior in rank or authority over his associates was that he held the title of Patroon. This, with its feudal honors, was vested in him alone, the partners binding themselves to do fealty and homage for the fief on his death, in the name and on behalf of his son and heirs.

Early in the spring of that year (1630) a number of colonists with their families sailed in a company ship, the "Endracht," under com- mand of Capt. Jan Brouwer, with stock, implements and other neces- saries, and landed at Manhattan after a passage of sixty-four days. They were soon placed at Fort Orange, furnished with dwellings and other buildings at the expense of the patroon, and began improvements. 1

Other colonists followed and permanent prosperity seemed inaugu- rated along the Hudson, a condition of affairs which continued to about 1640. Trade was prosecuted with vigor and shrewdness and in 1640 the number of persons thus engaged in Rensselaerwyck was about equal to the number of other individuals. The introduction of firearms among the Indians was soon to bring its terrible consequences. The English had been demanding and receiving from the natives twenty beaver skins for a musket and proportionate prices for powder and lead. This profitable trade was now taken up by the Dutch, and the Indians were soon armed to the teeth, and all the neighboring na- tions from Canada to the sea coast felt the effects of warfare with the Mohawks. This strife for trade between the English and the Dutch eventually became bitter and relentless, leading finally to conquest by the former power.

The population of the " colonie " at the time under consideration con- sisted of three classes: first, freemen who came over at their own ex- pense and were subject only to the general regulations; second, farmers, and third, farm servants. To accommodate the farmers the patroon

1 Of the condition of the settlements at about this time, the Planter's Plea, London, 1630, said: "This which they have settled in New England, upon Hudson's River, with no extraordinary charge or multitude of people, is knowne to subsist in a comfortable manner, and to promise fairlie both to the State and undertakers. The cause is evident. The men whom they carrie, though they be not many, are well chosen and known to be useful, and serviceable, and they second them with seasonable and fit supplies, cherishing them as carefully as their owne families, and employ them in profitable labors, that are known to be of speciall use to their comfortable subsisting."

laid out farms along the river and on the islands, built dwellings and barns, stocked them with horses, cattle and sheep, and supplied the nec- essary tools. This liberal policy enabled farmers to begin life here with almost no capital and greatly stimulated immigration. Some of the farms were rented for a fixed sum, while others were let out on shares. The patroon was at the same time entitled to one-half the in- crease of stock and reserved also one-tenth of the products of each farm and sometimes a small annual allowance of butter. Tenants were bound to keep fences and buildings in repair, but the patroon bore all risk of destruction of property by the elements or by Indians. Unimproved land was usually rented free for ten years, the patroon having the priv- ilege of making improvements during the life of the lease. The pa- troon was at the same time to supply his colonists with a sufficient num- ber of laborers to assist them on their farms. For his services in en- gaging these and his advances to bring them over, he was entitled to sixteen guilders (or six dollars) per annum for each laborer, to be paid by the farmer; the wages ranged from forty to one hundred and fifty guilders and board. Many of the emigrants were furnished in Holland with clothing and a small sum of money, which was to be repaid at some future time at an advance of fifty per cent., the high rate being made to compensate for the difference in value between money in Holland and in the colony, which was about forty per cent.

While these were the mutual relations to some extent between the patroon and the settlers, the former was invested with certain peculiar privileges which existed in the feudal system. At the close of harvest the farmer was obligated to hand in a return of the quantity of grain which he had for sale, less what was due to the landlord, and offer the latter or his commissary the pre-emption of such produce If the landlord refused to purchase it, then the farmer was at liberty to sell elsewhere. The same rule applied to cattle. The settlers were obliged to grind their corn at the patroon's mill, and he was obligated to keep the mill in re- pair and ready for the work, The patroon granted licenses for hunt- ing and fishing on his lands. He was entitled to the first option in any sale, purchase, or exchange of lands within his domain, and as "lord of the manor," succeeded to the estates of all persons who might die intestate in the colony.

With many privileges in their favor the colonists did not always deal justly by the patroon. He complained that they often threw upon him the payment of the wages of laborers employed on the farms, and

also took quantities of goods from his store for which they made no account. He probably met with the same percentage of losing ven- tures that has characterized business ever since.

With the profitable fur trade and the advancement in agriculture the little hamlet on the site of Albany grew. The news of the rich country across the sea was carried over to Holland and immigration was active. It is believed by some authorities that Mr. Van Rensselaer in person visited his colony in 1637, but there is no direct evidence of the pre- sumption.

The patroon system as a whole did not encourage individual enter- prise. Private persons of means and intelligence, who might have emigrated under other conditions, dare not do so. The patroons be- came ambitious beyond their chartered rights; some of them were grasping and attempted to secure broader privileges, finally presenting to the States-General in Holland a new plan for granting them a monop- oly of more territory ; for giving them longer time in which to settle the required number of colonists; for larger feudal powers; for free trade throughout New Netherland; for a supply of convicts from Holland for servants and for negro slaves. These extravagant demands caused their existing privileges to be curtailed by a new Charter of Privileges and Exemptions issued in 1640.

The Dutch were not to remain in undisturbed control of the rich and growing fur trade. It is difficult at this distance to convey an adequate idea of that business; but when its principal phases are understood it ceases to be a source of wonder that there was a struggle to capture it. Early in their settlement the Dutch sought to exclude rigidly from their colony all foreign and unlicensed traders. All settlers were bound by oath to purchase no furs from the Indians on penalty of forfeiture of their goods and wages, unless properly licensed. The patroon and his partners were the only privileged importers of merchandise at Fort Orange. The Dutch farmers soon saw that they could make more money in furs than they could in tilling their lands, and it was not long before almost every one of them was a dealer to some extent; but the power of the patroon compelled all of them to bring their furs to his storehouse, to be sent thence to Holland, he retaining one-half of the profits. Later on he received each sixth beaver and one guilder duty on the remaining five sixths,

RUFUS H. KING, SR.

CHAPTER V.

The rich fur trade became a source of long continued trouble in Rensselaerwyck, for competition had become intensely active, and the business had reached large proportions, since, for example, in 1632 there were reported sent over to Holland "15,000 beaver skynnes, besides other commodities." The export had gradually grown to this number from about 1,500 shipped from Fort Orange in the first season of the trade. In 1633 about 16,000 beaver skins were sold in the Hudson River trade, most of them at Fort Orange, their value being more than $50,000. In 1638 it was noted by the States-General that "nothing came from New Netherland but beaver skins, minks and other furs." In 1656 there were sent from Fort Orange 34,480 beaver skins and 300 otter, while in 1658 the number of beaver reached 57, - 640 and 300 otter. The farmers, even, became fur traders, since in that occupation they could make more money than in tilling the land. The traders sent emissaries far into the Indian country and practiced all the arts of persuasion, of which they were possessed, to secure the rich furs, for which purpose the boschloopers (bush runners) were employed. To accomplish their purposes the Indians were made drunk and were often cheated in the grossest manner. The trade at length became so profitable and active that dealers at New Amsterdam (New York) and others, who had no claim to residence at Fort Orange, engaged in suc- cessful competition with the patroon and his associates to their great financial detriment. It naturally followed that prices of furs advanced, so that in 1656 a beaver skin was worth 8 to 10 guilders, or $3.50 to $4.00. When rates had advanced about one hundred per cent. the authorities of Rensselaerwyck and at the Fort issued a joint proclamation fixing the price of furs at 9 fathoms of white, or 412 of black, wampum, and forbid- ding all persons, whether servants of the company or residents of the col- ony, from going into the woods to meet the Indians for trade, and another proclamation of that period forbade all traders from coming with sloops within the limits of the colony, under penalty of forfeiture of the vessel. On the next court day a third edict went forth prohibiting the inhab- itants from purchasing any goods from the local traders, this measure

being for the purpose of protecting the patroon in his monopoly of im- ports. It was the intention of the patroon to fully supply the Indians with whatever goods they wanted, thus rendering it, at the least, unnec- essary for them to deal with others.

Graver troubles were now at hand. To still further protect and en- force his interest and authority in controlling the fur trade, and to pre- vent the shipments of grain that were being made by the farmers with- out paying the stipulated one-tenth to the patroon, he caused to be erected on Beeren Island a fortified trading post commanding the river channel, for the exclusion of all vessels from the upper Hudson, except his own and those of the West India Company. In the mean time ill feeling had developed between Sheriff Van der Donck 1 and Commissary Van Curler, and the former so influenced public opinion that a strong pro- test was drawn up against the Commissary, the signatures to which were placed in a circle. This done, the colonists denounced Van Curler bitterly, threatened to drive him from the colony, and even to take his life, Van der Donck posing the meanwhile only as the conser. vator of the welfare of the people.

To carry out his purpose of establishing an unlimited supply of goods at his stores in Beverwyck and on Beeren Island, the patroon sent over the ship " Arms of Rensselaerwyck " in September, 1643, with a cargo of miscellaneous merchandise valued at 12,850 guilders, in the profits of which the skipper, the supercargo and the pilot also had a personal interest. This vessel arrived at Manhattan while Kieft was in great trouble with the Indian war, and his soldiers were suffering for want of sufficient clothing. He must have considered the ship a providential interposition, for he promptly made a requisition on the supercargo for fifty pairs of shoes, offering, however, payment in "silver, beavers, or wampum, at such price as the supercargo might demand." But this was not the purpose for which the cargo had been shipped, and the ship's officer refused to sell the shoes. Thereupon the director and council ordered the ship's cargo overhauled, and some guns and ammuni- tion being found on board which were not named in the vessel's papers, and which were also contraband by law, these with the ship were con- fiscated. The vessel soon returned to Holland, whither also sailed Van Curler to give account of his stewardship.

The Beeren Island fort was finally completed under direction of

1 Adrian Van der Donck succeeded Jacob Albertsen Planck, as schoutfiscal or sheriff of Rens- selaerwyck, the latter having been the first to hold this office.

Nicolaus Coorn, "wacht meester" for the patroon, some cannon mounted and a small garrison installed. Acting under direction of the patroon his subordinates now boldly imposed a toll of five guilders, (about two dollars), which they claimed as a staple right on every trad- ing craft passing, and, moreover, insisted that such craft should lower their colors in honor of Rensselaer-Stein, which was asserting a sovereign right by the patroon over a great natural highway.

In the summer of 1644 the yacht " Good Hope," Govert Lookermans master, sailed from Fort Orange for New Amsterdam, but on reaching Beeren Island she was hailed and ordered to lower her colors. When asked for whom, the commander replied, "For the staple right of Rensselaerwyck." The sturdy skipper knew no such master and with an oath refused to strike his flag "for any individual save the Prince of Orange and the lords his masters," whereupon Coorn fired several shots at the vessel, one of which, according to the record, "perforated our princely flag."

The excitement created at New Amsterdam by this incident may easily be imagined, whither Coorn was at once summoned, and pleaded the the authority of the patroon for his conduct. This, not justifying him, he was condemned to pay damages and forbidden to repeat the offense under penalty of corporal punishment, and he was also required to obtain the patroon's approval of this sentence. The whole proceeding called out from Attorney-General Van der Huygens a protest against the works on Beeren Island as beyond any privilege granted to the patroon. A fort there, cutting off free navigation, it was contended, would be ruinous to the West India Company. It was also claimed that no patroon could extend his colony more than eight miles along the banks of the river on both sides, while this island was outside of that limit. But this protest from Kieft's attorney-general made little impression on Commander Coorn, who said:

As the Vice Commander of the honorable Van Rensselaer, I call on you, Cornelis Van der Huygens, Attorney-General of New Netherland, not to presume to oppose and frustrate my designs on Bear's Island, to defraud me in any manner, or to cause me any trouble, as it has been the will of their High Mightinesses, the States- General and the privileged West India Company, to invest my patroon and his heir with the right to extend and fortify his "colonie," and make it powerful in every re- spect. If you persist in so doing, I protest against the act of violence and assault committed by the honorable Lords-Majors, which I leave them to settle, while this undertaking has nothing else in view than to prevent the canker of free-traders en- tering his "colonie."

The first patroon died in 1646, but his general policy was afterwards continued by his executors. At the same time Sheriff Van der Donck was superseded by Nicolaus Coorn, while in 1647 Kieft was succeeded by Peter Stuyvesant. The Indian wars which had been a source of so much trouble and loss to the southward, did not materially affect Rensselaerwyck, throughout which a fair degree of prosperity and growth prevailed, though at the time of Stuyvesant's arrival there were only about a dozen houses in Beverwyck, with a small settle- ment at Bethlehem, while a few "bouweries " were also cultivated on the east side of the river opposite Fort Orange. Little had been done in the Katskill region, it being substantially a wilderness from Fort Orange to Manhattan.

The heir to the patroonship of Rensselaerwyck was Johannes Van Rensselaer, a minor, whose interests devolved upon his uncle, Johannes Van Wely, and Wouter Van Twiller, executors of the estate, who im- mediately rendered fealty and homage to their High Mightinesses for the "colonie " and in behalf of their ward. The immediate management of the estate, however, was entrusted to Brant Arent Van Slechtenhorst, of Nieukerke in Guilderlandt, who was appointed director of the colony, president of the court of justice and superintendent of all the bouweries, farms, mills and other property descending from the patroon. His salary was 750 florins ($300) per annum, with a house, four cows, two horses, eight acres of tillage and the same quantity of pasture land. He was charged to maintain and defend the freedom and privileges of the colony; to promote the interests and advance the settlement of Beverwyck and its immediate neighborhood, and to acquire by purchase the lands about Katskill, as some of the colonists were forming com- panies to remove thither. He was ordered also to explore for minerals, and to report in full to his superiors. His son, Gerrit, was to act as schout-fiscal, at a salary of 600 florins, but served thus only two months, when the office was merged in that of director.

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 3

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374