USA > New York > New York City > New York panorama : a comprehensive view of the metropolis > Part 7
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
60 HISTORY
The Pre-Civil War Period: 1842-1860
By 1842, New York had entered upon an era of remarkable expansic in population, wealth and commerce. Population leaped from 312,710 a 1840 to 813,669 in 1860. The clipper ship carried the American mercha: marine to its glorious peak in 1860, creating great fortunes as the Amer can flag became supreme in the trade with China, in the California goreti rush and on the Atlantic; until in 1860 American merchant tonnage rell resented not far from one-third of the world-total. The lower part of the city was crowded with buildings, the upper section began to develop 1853, and in 1860 the total assessed valuation of all real estate had inge creased 206 millions of dollars over the figures for 1842. The passengerpr elevator, without which modern New York architecture would be impoa sible, made its first screw-propelled appearance in 1859 at the Fifth A; enue Hotel. Express services for packages had been developed by 1843den postage stamps for prepaid letters were inaugurated in 1846 by the Nets York postmaster and extended nationally in 1847; and the telegraph cl maxed the speeding of communications when the first New York line wai opened in 1845. P
It was in this period that land for Central Park was purchased and cor struction of that beautiful development was begun. In 1850, the need foc more parks was stressed by civic organizations; and in 1851, authority t buy land was approved by the legislature, and commissioners of estimat and assessment were appointed to secure land for a park. In 1856, thi Central Park Commission, consisting of the mayor, street commissioner an several prominent citizens, was created. Designs for the park were sul, mitted in 1856-57, those of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vau being selected. Land was acquired in 1856, work was begun in 1857 an the park was considered completed on the basis of the Olmstead-Vau plans in 1876. To Andrew H. Green, executive officer and president of th Central Park Commission from 1857 to 1870, was given chief credit fc the work.
Hard times swept over the city in the same year that Central Park wa begun, about 40,000 laborers being thrown out of work. Hunger meeting;d were held in public centers, particularly Tompkins Square. People marche through the streets demanding bread and work. Threats were made agains. public buildings, and troops were called out to guard the Custom Hous, and the Subtreasury. Damage was done to private property, but no death
TRADING-POST TO COSMOPOLIS 6I
re recorded as a result of these disturbances. Improved business condi- ns solved the problem, which had threatened to get completely out of nd when such gangs as the "Dead Rabbits" and the "Bowery Boys" took vantage of the situation in violence and looting.
Politically, this period was marked by two distinct developments. Slavery came a national issue, splitting the Democratic Party. In New York, at- ition was centered on the charter, which was amended five times without illy correcting the lack of centralization of power that contributed no le to the efficiency of Mayor Fernando Wood's corrupt political machine d the development of a technique whereby "Boss" Tweed later plun- red the city.
Progress was made, however, in dealing with the three most important inicipal problems: an adequate supply of water, public education and provement of the police department. Of these, water supply was by far e most pressing, and construction of the Croton system became the great- single advance of the period.
The second great advance of this period was in the field of public edu- tion, which the Free School Society had dominated since 1805 and in ich it had effected several improvements, including those of 1828, when opened the first of its more than 60 primary schools. Although the ciety had been sharing in the State's school funds, it had not and still s not operating under the regulations of the State-wide public education of 1812.
In 1831, the old question of permitting religious societies to share in blic educational funds was re-opened when the Roman Catholic Benevo- it Society requested the common council to help its orphan asylum with grant from the school fund. The council acceded to this request, thus versing its position of 1824, despite objections by trustees of the Public Shool Society. Nine years later, the Catholics went considerably beyond eir former request when the trustees of the Catholic Free Schools applied the common council for aid. On this occasion, the Public School So- ty's objections were sustained by the council's denial of the application. The Catholics struck back at the common council's refusal to grant them by pointing out that the use of the King James Version of the Bible, well as of other books that they deemed unacceptable to their church, tually excluded them from sharing in the facilities of the common school stem if they were to maintain their religious integrity. The subsequent letion of objectionable matter from text-books failed to satisfy the Cath-
62 HISTORY
olics, who carried the issue to the legislature, where it was taken up 1841. Then the Catholic groups organized and entered municipal polit They were badly beaten in the subsequent mayoralty election.
As a result of this agitation, and of recommendations by Governor V liam H. Seward, the legislature enacted a law in April 1842 that provi for management of schools sharing in public funds by officials elected the people; extended the State's public school system to include New Y City; and, most important of all, prohibited allotment of public funds any school that taught or practiced a sectarian doctrine. This was follov by creation of school districts within the city, one to each ward, wh the voters elected two commissioners, two inspectors and five trustees common schools. These ward commissioners became the board of educat for the city of New York.
The first ward school was opened in 1843. Five years later, 24 St schools had been organized. By 1853, after clashes with the new board education, the Public School Society had transferred its 17 schools other property to the city. In that year the Society, which had done much for public education in New York, voluntarily dissolved. After 18 the board of education completely controlled the schools.
The third contribution of this period to municipal betterment was 1 development of the police department on a more efficient administrat and personnel basis. The department had long been woefully inadequa In 1833 and again in 1844, public officials had sharply criticized it. As i Watch Department, it consisted of 1,525 regular and 300 special office Its 100 marshals were paid on a fee system that very obviously depend on the existence (and even the instigation) of crime. Night watchm worked at other jobs during the day, and found it practically impossil to stay awake on their posts. There were no uniforms and there was lit discipline.
In 1844, the legislature passed an act empowering the city to organi a regularly paid day-and-night police force. Both mayor and comm council refused the necessary approval; instead, they created a municit force by city ordinance. One of the amusing results of this move was May Harper's attempt to get the policemen into uniform, a proposal reject by the men on the ground that, as free-born American citizens, they d not propose to wear "livery" and look like servants.
By 1845, the failure of the locally-created police force was so obvio as to lead to approval of the legislative act previously rejected by the may and the common council. Under this act, the city was divided into regul
ich let F
let
and
cho of The
tpo
P On ne WIE
Ice d Pointe as, as por a asse ice pecto
TRADING-POST TO COSMOPOLIS 63
ice districts, each with its local police court; the chief of police was pointed by the mayor with the approval of the common council; cap- is, assistants and "roundsmen" were appointed for each ward by the yor after being nominated by the ward's aldermen, assistant aldermen d assessors. The duties of the force were many. In addition to the usual lice work, they lighted street lamps, sounded alarms and acted as street pectors, health wardens, fire wardens, dockmasters and in other capac- ·S.
On June 19, 1845, George W. Matsell was appointed the first chief of s new organization, which managed to acquit itself in such a manner as win official commendation from Mayor Havemeyer in 1848. Inciden- ly, Matsell later published the National Police Gazette; and he was the thor of Vocabulum, or The Rogue's Lexicon, the first considerable glos- y of New York underworld slang.
The department was further improved in 1853, when revision of the y's charter created a Board of Commissioners to appoint officers, such pointments to stand during good behavior and to be revocable only "for use." The free-born American citizens having resigned themselves to the ea of wearing "livery," a uniform was adopted, consisting of a blue coat th brass buttons, gray trousers and blue cap. This was the first com- etely uniformed, tax-supported, full-time police force in the city's history. Four years later, at the time of Mayor Fernando Wood's second admin- ration, this force had become so inefficient and corrupt that the State gislature voted to abolish the Municipal Police, setting up in its stead a etropolitan Police under five commissioners appointed by the governor. utraged, Mayor Wood struck the appropriate pose; and the Municipals id Metropolitans had it out in a spirited hurly-burly on the steps of ity Hall. The Metropolitans, outnumbered, got much the worst of the acas until the Seventh Regiment, fortuitously marching down to the Bos- on boat, was called in. The mayor submitted to arrest; and the authority E the Metropolitan Police was subsequently established.
An affair of international interest in this period was the "Exhibition of e Industry of All Nations," held in 1853-54. Inspired by the Crystal Pal- ce Exposition of 1851 in London, civic-minded New Yorkers incorporated company to promote and stage a similar exposition on a municipally- ranted site now occupied by Bryant Park, west of the present Public ibrary. The building, of iron and glass, resembled the famous Crystal alace of the English exposition; and in it a total of 4,000 exhibitors from Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Holland, Austria, Italy, Sweden,
as rat
Ices
4 S ard Is one I8
en up polit or
ected WY un ds ollo wh tees ucat
64 HISTORY
Norway, Mexico, Turkey and other countries displayed their wares to a lotm proximately 1,250,000 visitors. Le e
The Civil War: 1861-1865
Human nature being what it is New York's part in the Civil War almost invariably associated with the dramatic Draft Riots of 1863 rath at than with the more prosaic record of men, money and supplies that ti fon city contributed generously toward the winning of the war. 186
The riots were precipitated by many factors, among these being thede previous hard times and the anti-militarist and anti-Union sentiment e.dein tertained by large groups of New York Democrats. The main factor, y. course, was resistance to the draft, in particular the popular indignatic I aroused by the actual setting up of drafting lotteries in Provost Marshalvar offices throughout the city. em
As J. T. Headley, a contemporary chronicler, points out in his Pen andbo Pencil Sketches of the Great Riots, most of the conscripts "were laborinput men or poor mechanics, who were unable to hire a substitute . . . If a welbe known name, that of a man of wealth, was among the number, it on.mil increased the exasperation, for the law exempted everyone drawn who would pay three hundred dollars towards a substitute. This was takin practically the whole number of soldiers called for out of the laborinf classes. A great proportion of these being Irish, it naturally became ant Irish question and eventually an Irish riot." Tinho
Street battles began on Monday, July 13, and continued into Thursdays evening. Mobs sometimes numbering 10,000 persons-the total of thostle involved was estimated at from 50,000 to 70,000-smashed the lotterieng and, joined by the gangs that flourished under Mayor Wood, looted storech and burned buildings. Fury ruled the island from Union Square on thipp south to Shantytown on the north. Along with opposition to the draft wen resentment toward Negroes as the precipitating cause of the war. Th Colored Half Orphan Asylum, a substantial building on Fifth Avenue be tween Forty-Third and Forty-Fourth Streets, was burned, and many Ne groes were killed.
By July 16, when troops recalled from the front took over the city, casus alties were as numerous as in some of the important battles of the Revolu ta tion and the Civil War. Estimates run all the way from 400 to 2,000 killedm with about 8,000 wounded. Property valued at between $1,200,000 ancs $5,000,000 was destroyed. "Investigation," says Bassett, "showed that the
55 Made N
65
TRADING-POST TO COSMOPOLIS
to alotments of the Democratic enrollment districts were excessive, and when e error was corrected the draft proceeded quietly." In the end, exactly 557 men were actually enrolled out of the 77,862 examined for service ider the draft in New York State.
New York City, however, contributed thousands of volunteers. By April Tar ath 3, 1861, the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, twelfth, twenty-first and sixty- nth State regiments of volunteers were on their way to, or already at, the ont. In 1862, the city's troops were guarding the upper Potomac line; in 363, 12 regiments of the National Guard were used to check the Con- derate advance on Pennsylvania and to defend Baltimore, their work teeing cut short when they were recalled to prevent further rioting in the r, ty.
In addition, troops were equipped and moved, in the early days of the ar, by the Committee of Union Defense of the City of New York, this markable organization sending 36 regiments to the front and expending about $800,000. Of even greater importance was the Sanitary Commission, utgrowth of the Women's Central Association of Relief. It received and pent about five million dollars, and distributed supplies worth about 15 millions. Its work in caring for the sick and wounded, and in the preven- on of disease, cannot be too highly praised.
The city's total war contribution to the national treasury, including that f banks and other financial institutions, was estimated by Mayor Opdyke at 400 million dollars. Despite such expenditures, however, New York was ot seriously crippled by the war. True, the physical growth of the city, das well as its population growth, had been checked, the population actually osdecreasing nearly 100,000 from 1860 to 1865. But the huge business of riequipping and forwarding troops had so supplanted the former trade with rethe South that the commercial and financial structures more than held their thown.
he Tweed Ring: 1865-1874
Perhaps the most important development of the decade immediately ollowing the Civil War was the beginning of a profound change in the uource of New York's wealth. Heretofore, the city had been dependent utalmost entirely on foreign and inland trade; now it began to develop those denanufactures which today constitute an enormous share of its economic re- sources and power. This development was accompanied by excessive spec- elilation, by many dubious or dishonest promotional activities, and by the
en be Je-
atic hai
rin vel on wh cin rin
66
HISTORY
welding of corrupt relations between business and politics. To these facto was due, in no small measure, the rise of the Tweed Ring, probably ti greatest plunderers of a great city the world has ever known.
The leading members of the ring consisted of William M. Tweed, Pet B. Sweeny, Richard Connolly and A. Oakey Hall, all of whom held ir portant posts in the city government. The extent of their looting has nev been accurately ascertained, because of the disappearance of records and tl manner in which their transactions were carried out. Estimates vary from minimum of 30 million dollars to a maximum of 200 millions, the latt figure including all the issues of fraudulent stock with which the ring w associated. Seventy-five million dollars is a fairly conservative figure.
It is impossible to give definite dates for the entire period in which th ring operated, Tweed's own testimony on the subject being none too der nite. But it was chiefly active from about 1867 to 1871. During those year the construction and equipment costs for public buildings were somewh startling. Items for one building, for example, included $7,500 for the mometers, $41,190.95 for brooms, $531,594.22 for plastering, and $I ca 294,684.13 for repairs to that plastering before the building was con pleted.
exe Fat
One of the favorite devices whereby the ring looted the city treasury Wagon that of raising accounts. If, for example, a bill was presented for $5,0008 the creditor was told that the city could not possibly pay that amount, bu that it would willingly discount a bill for $10,000. Thereupon, the creditc would present a new bill at the higher figure and receive the amount of hik original bill, while the ring would pocket the difference. On most tran: fo actions the difference was comparatively small in 1869. By 1870, re-sul mitted bills were normally 67 percent higher than the original bills. Latera they were 85 percent greater.
Credit for bringing about the exposure and downfall of Tweed and hi associates belongs to George Jones, proprietor, and Louis J. Jennings, edi tor, of the New York Times, and to Thomas Nast, brilliant cartoonist o Harper's Weekly. When Jennings had finally secured a sufficient amount of incriminating evidence from within the organization itself, Jones wa offered five million dollars to suppress publication of the facts, while Nas was approached with a bribe of $500,000. But the ring had at last com up against men who could not be bought; and on July 8, 1871, the Time. began publication of its exposé, as Nast kept hammering away with hi cartoons.
The result, from the standpoint of justice, was disappointing. Tweecd
Tibseo
jecl or th On lor.
iron 0 kant
TRADING-POST TO COSMOPOLIS 67
as the only important member of the ring to go to prison. He died in idlow Street Jail on April 12, 1878, nearly six years after his first arrest, bsequent escape, flight to Spain and extradition to stand trial here.
erritorial Expansion: 1874-1898
Two years before the nation celebrated the rooth anniversary of the eclaration of Independence, the limits of New York City were expanded, r the first time in its history, beyond the shores of Manhattan Island.
On January 1, 1874, the townships of Kingsbridge, West Farms and forrisania (which were then part of the Borough of the Bronx in West- fester County ) became a part of New York City by authority of the State de ear gislature. Today the area constitutes that part of the Borough of the ronx (in Greater New York) lying west of the Bronx River.
On November 6, 1894, a proposal to consolidate certain localities adja- nt to New York was submitted to popular vote. Included among these calities was an area within Westchester County that had not been an- exed in 1874. This part of the county now voted against the proposal. ut the adverse majority was so small that it was ignored by the annexa- onists; and on July 1, 1895, the whole section east of the Bronx River ecame a part of New York City, as a result of Senator Robinson's Annexa- on Bill. This action occurred three years prior to the effective date of the habling legislation that created Greater New York. The territory thus ken included Throg's Neck, Unionport, Westchester, Williamsbridge, ronxdale, Olinville, Baychester, Eastchester, Wakefield and Bartow.
The history of the area embraced in these two annexations north of the arlem River is very confused, representing the coalition of several villages tat had been assembled little by little in an uneven manner. The first corded settlement was that of Jonas Bronck, "a Dane or Swede" who ar- edi ved in New Amsterdam with his Dutch wife in 1639, and settled in 1641 dear the mouth of the river named after him. In addition to Bronck, the ost prominent names in the earliest history of the Bronx are those of Mrs. nne Hutchinson, who settled in 1643 at Pelham's Neck; John Throck- orton and a few others, who came in October 1642 to what is now hrog's Neck; and Jonkheer Adrien Van Der Donck, who was made a me atroon and settled on a tract of land extending about eight miles north hilf Spuyten Duyvil.
In 1874 and 1895, the annexations already noted made the old Borough ef the Bronx, in Westchester County, part of New York City under the
the
W
b
ani ten
ner
Per
y
act
68
HISTORY
then existing charters. In 1896-97, the charter of the proposed Great New York was prepared, submitted to the people and approved. On Jan ary 1, 1898, the area comprising the 1874 and 1895 annexations north the Harlem River, which was already part of New York City, became t Borough of the Bronx in Greater New York.
Since that time, the Bronx has developed at a rapid rate. In 1900, population was 200,507; 25 years later, it exceeded one million; and 1936 it was only 288,001 less than Manhattan's, as compared to 1,477,7 less in 1916. Today, the Bronx ranks third in population among the fi boroughs, fourth in area and fourth in assessed valuation.
When Greater New York became a legal fact in 1898 by virtue enabling legislation, the Bronx was already an established part of N York City. Not so, however, the areas that were to become the Boroug of Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond.
The flourishing city of Brooklyn had a background almost as old as th of New York itself. In 1636, the first grant of land was made there A. Bennett and Jacques Bentyn at Gowanus, where they erected a house. T following year, Joris Jansen de Rapalje and his wife, Catelyna Trico, car to live on adjacent land known as the Waal-boght. It was this same Ca lyna Trico who, outliving her husband by many years, became known "the mother of Brooklyn" by virtue of her eleven children and subseque descendants, numbering 145 in 1679.
In 1645, settlers between the Waal-boght and Gowanus Kill (a secti roughly approximating the present Fulton, Hoyt, Smith Streets distric founded a town called Breuckelen, the name being the same as that of ancient village in the Netherlands. It was granted local officials in 1646 other towns-Roode Hoek (Red Hook), so named because of its rich r soil, Gowanus, Nieu Utrecht and Amersfoort (Flatlands )-developed Long Island. Later, English settlers came to Gravesend, Jamaica and Flus ing.
After the English seizure of New Amsterdam in 1664, Breuckelen I came, successively, Brockland, Brocklin, Brookline, and finally Brookly In 1816, it was made an incorporated village; in 1834, a city; and in 18che the Borough of Brooklyn in Greater New York. Its population at the tir pl of consolidation was considerably less than Manhattan's. In 1923, it pass Manhattan's figure. Today, it leads all of New York's boroughs in popu. tion, stands second only to Manhattan in assessed valuation, and is secos in area with 47,660 acres.
Adjacent to Brooklyn and southeast of Manhattan lies another of t. op
69
TRADING-POST TO COSMOPOLIS
'eas consolidated in 1898, the Borough of Queens. The first settlement in is territory was made at Flushing Bay, the formal charter of Vlissingen Flushing) being dated 1645. The first provincial laws to recognize Vlis- ngen officially were the so-called Duke's Laws, proclaimed in 1665 by overnor Nicolls and his council, sitting as a court of assizes at Hempstead efore deputies assembled for the purpose from Vlissingen and other Long land and Westchester towns. This code was designed principally for what as then known as Yorkshire, a political entity, composed of Long Island, aten Island and what was then Westchester County.
In 1683, Governor Dongan of the province of New York issued writs or the election of a general assembly that met October 17 at New York id resulted in the creation of Queens County from a part of Yorkshire. ven then, Queens was famous for its two race courses, New Market and eaver Pond, the mile-long course around Beaver Pond at Jamaica being pecially well known. On May 27, 1823, a race run there for a $20,000 irse was witnessed by a crowd estimated at between 40,000 and 50,000 ersons.
In 1929, Queens went over the one million mark in population, and by )36 its total of 1,280,805 was not far behind that of the Bronx and was urth among Greater New York's boroughs. In assessed valuation, it was ell ahead of the Bronx. In area, it ranks first by a wide margin, its total 70,370 acres being practically four times greater than Manhattan's, and tieger even than the Manhattan and Brooklyn areas combined. It is in iqueens, at the historic Flushing Meadows, that the World's Fair of 1939 ill be held.
Southwest of Manhattan lies Staten Island, another of the territories in- perporated in Greater New York. This island, which became the Borough Richmond under the 1898 consolidation, resembled and still resembles rly New York more than any other division of the modern city. For here main such hills and other natural beauties as long ago disappeared in anhattan's leveling process.
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.