USA > New York > New York City > The Memorial History of the City of New York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892, Volume II > Part 53
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Even then there were the germs of a tasteful architecture in the city. Beginning with No. 1 Broadway (whose owner, Captain Archi- bald Kennedy, R. N., afterward Earl of Cassilis, occupied Bedlow's Island in summer), we find a landmark almost as imperishable as Bowling Green. Under its roof, soon after, lived Lord Howe; there honest old Putnam entertained a fair British spy, and noisy but thrifty "King" Sears rested awhile from his turbulence. Next door was the dwelling of John Watts,1 prominent in the provincial coun- cil; his neighbor was Robert Liv- ingston,2 the father of the famous chancellor, while fourth in the row came the Van Cortlandts; on the ----- opposite side was the handsome house of Sir Edward Pickering, Bart. The west side of Broadway has always been the popular one; then most of the houses had gar- dens extending to the river, which afforded a beautiful view from the balconies on that side; across the street there were few if any im- PHILIP LIVINGSTON'S TOMB. portant dwellings, but shops were numerous. Other handsome residences were those of Leonard Lis- penard, near Laight street; George Harrison, on "the Road to Green- wich "; Abraham Mortier, the British paymaster, of "Richmond Hill " (Varick and Charlton streets) ; and Lady Warren (widow of Admiral Sir Peter Warren, R. N.), whose grounds were bounded by Charles, Perry, Bleecker, and Fourth streets. Other country-seats were those of the De Lancey, Bayard,3 Clarke, Murray, Scott,' Jauncey, Keteltas,
1 This house cost Mr. Watts, in 1792, £2,000; in 1836 $107.000 was offered for it and declined, and in 1858 it changed hands for $37,500.
2 " Mr. [Peter Van Brugh] Livingston is a downright, straight-forward man: sensible and a gentleman : he has been in trade, is rich and now lives upon his income. Philip Livingston is a great, rough, rapid mortal. There is no holding any conversation with him. He blusters away : says if England should turn us adrift, we should instantly go to civil wars among ourselves, to de-
termine which Colony should govern all the rest." Diary of John Adams, 1774-75.
3" Mr. William Bayard, Mr. McEvers and Mr. Beech are gentlemen who were very intimate with General Gage when he was here. Mr. Bayard has a son and a son-in-law in the army and a son in the service of the East India Company." Diary of John Adams, 1774-75.
+ John Morin Scott, born at New-York, 1730: died September 14. 1784. Fourth in line of de- scent from Sir John Scott, Bart., of Annam,
1
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NEW-YORK DURING THE REVOLUTION
.
Apthorpe, and Stuyvesant families. Perhaps the most elaborate and expensive house was that of the rich merchant William Walton,- known as "Boss" Walton,- standing on what is now Franklin Square, and described in a previous chapter.
A detour from the Walton house by way of Hanover Square to Broad street would, in 1775, have taken us through the seat of trade. There were the warehouses of the shipping merchants and importers' as well as of the general dealers. Although, as a rule, a man confined himself to the sale of particular wares, as teas, wines, dry-goods, or hardware, yet, occasionally, the features of modern Twenty-third street and of Sixth Avenue, as to a "general assortment," were an- ticipated; and we read, in the advertisements of the day, of one who sold "cables, hemp, and broadcloths for cash or country produce"; of another who was "a tallow-chandler, soap-boiler and dealer in watches, music and jewelry," while a third offered, without fear or favor, "pig- iron, anchors, pot-ash, kettles, negro-wenches and children, horses, etcetera." M. de Crève Coeur, an intelligent Frenchman, who visited New-York shortly before the Revolution, said: "I do not think there are any cities on this Continent where the art of constructing wharves has been pushed to a further extent. I have seen them made in 40 feet of water. This is done with the trunks of pines attached, which they gradually sink, fill in with stones and cover the surface with earth. Beaver street, to-day so far from the sea shore, was so called because formerly it was a little bay where these animals made a dike. Nothing is more beautiful, nothing can give to the contemplative spectator a higher idea of the wealth of this City as well as of the nature of a happy and free trade, than the multitude of vessels of all sizes which are constantly tacking in this Bay to leave or to reach the City."
At the corner of Pearl and Broad streets stood (and still stands) a famous "house of entertainment," kept by Samuel Fraunces, already frequently mentioned- familiarly known as "Black Sam," from his very dark visage, he being of French West-Indian blood. Sam was the Delmonico of his time, originally noted for the excellence of his pickles and preserves, from the profits of which he was enabled to set
county Roxburgh, Scotland. Graduated at Yale, 1746, and became a lawyer; eminent patriot, mem- ber of provincial committee and Congress, and brigadier-general New-York State troops, 1776; also member of Congress. "Mr. Scott is a lawyer of about fifty years of age ; a sensible man but not very polite. He is said to be one of the readi- est speakers upon the continent." "This morn- ing rode three miles out of town to Mr. Scott's to breakfast - a very pleasant ride. Mr. Scott has an elegant seat there, with Hudson's river just beyond his house, and a rural prospect all around him. We sat in a fine airy entry till called into a front room to breakfast. A more elegant break- fast I never saw - rich plate, a very large silver
teapot, napkins of the very finest materials, toast and bread and butter, in great perfection. After breakfast a plate of beautiful peaches, another of pears, and another of plums, and a muskmelon were placed upon the table." Diary of John Adams, 1774-75.
1 Among merchants of the time were the follow- ing names: Allicocke, Axtill, Beekman, Bancker, Bache, Bowne, Brinckerhoff, Broome, Burling, Bruff, Curtenius, Cuyler, Duryee, Duyckinck, Far- quharson, Franklin, Goelet, Hammersley, Laight, Le Roy, Livingston, Louden, Low, McEvers, Ramage, Remsen, Seaton, Ustick, Van Dam, Van Wagenen, Verplanck, Williamson, Wilson, et al.
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
"VIEW OF NEW-YORK."1
up for himself as a publican and caterer to those sinners who enjoyed good old Madeira, pipes, and politics. Here, for a long time and up to the eve of the Revolution, came "the Social Club,"2 the forerunner of
1 This and similar illustrations following are reproduced from views (published about 1783) forming part of the collection at the Augsburg Imperial Academy of Liberal Arts, after copies in possession of a Philadelphia collector. The titles are translated from those in French attached to the originals. It is obvious, of course, that the artist was guided by what he knew of contempo- raneous architecture in some European capital, rather than by the reality.
2 " List of Members of the Social Club," which passed Saturday evenings at Sam Francis', corner Broad and Dock streets, in winter and in summer at Kip's Bay. where they built a neat, large room for the club-house. Members of this club dis- persed in December, 1775, and never afterward assembled. With comments by John Moore, for- merly of H. B. M. Customs -N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. : John Jay (disaffected). Became member of Con- gress, a resident minister to Spain, comr. to make peace, chief justice, minister to England, and on his return governor of New-York-a good and amiable man.
Gouverneur Morris (disaffected); member of Con- gress. minister to France, &c.
Robert R. Livingston (disaffected) ; minister to France. chancellor of New-York.
Egbert Benson (disaffected) ; district judge, New- York, and with Legislature - good man.
Morgan Lewis (disaffected) ; Governor of New- York, and a general in war of '12.
Gulian Verplanck (disaffected), but in Europe till 1783, President of New-York Bank.
John Livingston and his brother Henry (disaf- fected), but of no political importance.
James Seagrove (disaffected) ; went to the south- ward as a merchant.
Francis Lewis (disaffected), but of no political im- portance.
John Watts (doubtful); during the war recorder of New-York.
Leonard Lispenard and his brother Anthony (doubtful), but remained quiet at New-York.
Richard Harrison (loyal), but has since been re- corder of New-York.
John Hay (loyal) ; an officer in British army. killed in West Indies.
Peter Van Schaack (loyal) ; a lawyer, remained quiet at Kinderhook.
Daniel Ludlow (loyal) during the war, since Pres- ident Manhattan Bank.
Dr. S. Bard (loyal), though in 1775 doubtful, re- mained in New-York - a good man.
George Ludlow (loyal) ; remained on Long Island in quiet - a good man.
William, his brother (loyal). or supposed so, re- mained on Long Island -- inoffensive man.
William Imlay (loyal) at first, but doubtful after 1777.
Edward Goold (loyal), at New-York all the war - a merchant.
John Reade (Pro and Con) ; would have proved
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NEW-YORK DURING THE REVOLUTION
the " Union," the " Union League," and the "Manhattan," combining as it did the features of all. It was a small and somewhat exclusive organization, and it died of too much politics. But "Black Sam " sur- vived to see many an invading redcoat soothed into peace or profound insensibility under the influence of his good cheer; to hear many a patriotic toast;1 to furnish a stirrup-cup to the departing Britons, and to welcome to his table the victorious Washington. Later, Sam became the keeper of the presidential digestion as steward of the offi- cial mansion. We may also call to mind the shot from H. B. M. S. Asia, which opened hostilities in the harbor and a hole in Sam's roof, impelling the patriotic Freneau to indite the lines beginning :
Scarce a broadside was ended 'till another began again. By Jove! It was nothing but fire away Flanagan ! Some thought him saluting his Sallys and Nancys 'Till he drove a round-shot thro' the roof of Sam Francis.
9 June-ryg4- Mec? of-B Dan'- dridge one hundred and seventy nine dollar twenty three cents to purchase Samircer '& hay samory billy as rendered I Read the day whenwe have the Prefieres force.
$ 179 7,30. Samt France
Other famous taverns there were, notably Burns's City Arms, which disputed with Faneuil Hall the right to the title of the "Cradle of Lib- erty." It stood for many years just above the Van Cortlandt House and opposite the upper end of Bowling Green. Its upper rooms were used for select dancing assemblies and special meetings of citi-
loyal. no doubt, had not his wife's family been otherwise.
J. Stevens (disaffected).
Henry Kelly (loyal) ; went to England and didn't return.
Stephen Rapelye, died in the New-York Hospi- tal.
John Moore (loyal); in public life all the war and from 1765.
1 At a dinner given at Fraunces' Tavern to Gen- eral Wooster by the New-York Military Club, there were eighteen toasts, among which were (1)
The King - better counselors to him : (3) General Washington and the army under his command: (5) A speedy union on constitutional principles be- tween Great Britain and America : (8) May the dis- grace of the rebels against the constitution be as conspicuous as that of the rebels against the House of Hanover : (13) May the enemies of America be turned into salt-petre and go off in hot blasts : (16) The daughters of America in the arms of her brave defenders only : (17) Death and jack-boots before dishonor and wooden shoes. "New-York Gazetteer," July 5, 1775.
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
zens. Here the two hundred principal merchants met in 1765 to sign the non-importation agreement, and here was formed the first com- mittee of correspondence. A less honorable use was made of it as the temporary lodging-place of Arnold after his desertion to the enemy. On the same side, opposite Crown street (now Liberty street), stood the Kings Arms Tavern, a favorite lounging-place for British offi- cers and young American bloods. One of its charms consisted of a broad piazza, in the rear, overlooking the river. Another famous re- sort was Hampden Hall, in the Spring Garden, which covered the ground now bounded by Broadway, Fulton, Nassau, and Ann streets. The house occupied the site of the "Herald" building, and was (1775) the headquarters of the Sons of Liberty.
Temples of learning were not numerous, but they were of excellent quality. King's College was, of course, the most important, although at the time but forty students were on its roll. The schools of El- phinstone and Murray, the former known as "the English School," fostered by Trinity Church, were among the most noted; and there was Mrs. Stakes, famous for the grandiloquence of her prospectus,' evidently framed to fit republican tastes. Literature and art, so far as native talent was concerned, were yet unborn. But one public library existed - the Society Library; the college had a working outfit, while private libraries were confined to the limited collections of professional men.
Of churches there was no lack. Leading off with the Church of England came Trinity, with its quaint interior, its towering spire, and its rounded chancel fronting the street; St. George's Chapel (Beekman, above Cliff) and St. Paul's, then a comparatively new struc- ture destined to survive most of its contemporaries; the Lutheran (Rector and Broadway); Swamp Lutheran (Frankfort and North William); Old Dutch (Exchange Place, below Broad); Middle Dutch (Nassau and Liberty), where, in 1764, the first sermon in Eng- lish was preached to the congregation; Presbyterian? (Wall, near
1 "Mrs. Stakes gives notice that at May next she expects to move into King street (next house but one to the late Doct. Ogilvie). . . . Her plan of teach- ing, though new, and very different from the com- mon methods in use, has succeeded beyond any other. . . . Among the little Masters under her Care she flatters herself with hopes that the Publick as well as their respective families will receive great advantages -and from the towering Geniuses apparent among them, that some will hereafter attain to high posts and places of importance in government: and that they may fill their stations with Dignity and Honour. And among her little Misses she hopes she will become so famous for erudition and polite behavior, that all who esteem good rather than fine breeding in a Female, will love and admire them. If any should ask her meaning in the above distinction it is - That she
teaches nothing appertaining to either Thrones or Theatres : For as she never expects any of her Scholars will be Kings and Queens. Gods or God- desses: so she esteems it too gross a misuse of time, to lavish it on acquirements, which are an imposition on their senses, while young: and would be too immoral, as well as impracticable for them when grown older - She might hint too by the way, That her plan is a saving one as there will be no requirement of Dollars, to pave the high road to ambition, nor exhibition neither, in a school where they are taught that merit and not fine clothes, makes a fine woman. and that " man- ners make the man." "New-York Journal," April 27, 1775.
2 Erected, 1718; enlarged, 1768; rebuilt, 1810: burned, 1834; rebuilt and removed (1844) to Jer- sey City.
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NEW-YORK DURING THE REVOLUTION
Broadway); Brick Presbyterian (Boston Road and Beekman); Ger- man Reformed (Nassau, near John); New Scots (Cedar, between Broadway and Nassau); Du St. Esprit, the ancient Huguenot church; Friends' Meeting House (Liberty, east of Broadway); the Mora- vian (Fulton); and, finally, the low wooden edifice under a sail-loft (William, between John and Fulton), used in turn by the Baptists and Methodists. The first Roman Catholic service in the city was held after the Revolution in what had been known as the Vauxhall Gar- den, on what is now Greenwich street, between Warren and Chambers streets, facing the North River.
Visitors to the city in 1775 would naturally have been taken to see some of the public improvements, such as the bridewell-the new stone two-storied jail just completed upon the common (west of the present City Hall); the waterworks, in course of construction, com- prising a new well at the intersection of Broadway and Chambers street, with a system of wooden pipes1 through which the water was distributed to the houses. If it were summer, a jaunt in a two- wheeled chaise over the Monument Drive would be the proper thing-along the line of Park Row and the Bowery to Astor Place, thence westward by way of Greenwich lane (passing Wolfe's monu- ment) to the river road, on the present line of Greenwich street, and back to the point of departure; the tourist having enjoyed the varied charms of woodland and waterside, where now one is wearied with miles of brick and mortar and the roar and grime of ceaseless traffic.2 Winter amusements included sleigh-rides and turtle-feasts, or an evening at the solitary theater in John street, near Broadway.
Society was divided into at least three classes : first, the large landholders and rich merchants; second, the ordinary tradesmen, small farmers, and mechanics; third, the sailors and fishermen, who form a transient and often turbulent element of every seaport. In the first class were found dignity, education, and refinement. In an extract from the letters of a young Hessian officer who visited New- York early in the war time, the reader may perchance recognize the portrait of a fair ancestress. History says the Hessians in America
1 " I visited the Waterworks that are being made to convey water through the city, as that from the wells is very bad; so that the inhabitants prefer to buy water for making coffee out of carts employed in carrying it around the city. The well is forty feet in diameter, and thirty feet down to the surface of the water. In this well is an en- gine which forces the water almost to the top. and from thence through a wooden tube up to the top of the hill, which is a distance of about five rods. At the top of the hill is a pond covering one quarter of an acre from 8 to 11 feet deep." Diary of an American officer, 1776: Historical Magazine, 14; 315.
2 It was not every citizen of good family and fortune who chose to possess an equipage in those days, as witness a tabulated statement of the number and description of private carriages in the city in 1770, with names of owners (see Mr. G. W. Houghton's "Coaches of Colonial New- York "). It comprises only fifty-two residents and nine officers of the British army, whose coach- . houses contained twenty-six coaches, thirty-three chariots, and twenty-six phastons.
3 " Letters of Hessian Officers" (William L. Stone), New-York, 1891.
and
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
were brutal and mercenary. Here is one both graceful and gallant: "The ladies in this vicinity are slender, of erect carriage, and, without being strong, are plump. They have small and pretty feet, good hands and arms, a very white skin, and a healthy color in the face, which requires no farther embellishment. They have also exceed- ingly white teeth, pretty lips, and sparkling, laughing eyes. In connection with these charms they have a natural bearing, essentially unrestrained, with open, frank countenances, and much native assur- ance. They are great admirers of cleanliness, and they keep them- selves well shod. They friz their hair every day, and gather it up at the back of the head into a chignon, at the same time puffing it up in front. They gener- ally walk about with their heads uncovered, and sometimes, but not often, wear some light fabric on their hair. Now and then some country nymph has her hair flowing down be- hind her, braiding it ENGINE OF THE CITY WATERWORKS, 1776 with a piece of ribbon. Should they go out (even though they be living in a hut) they throw a silk wrap about themselves and put on gloves. They have a charming way of wearing this wrap, by means of which they man- age to show a portion of a small white elbow. They also put on some well-made and stylish little sunbonnet, from beneath which their roguish eyes have a most fascinating way of meeting yours."
The second class included very industrious and intelligent citizens -the real "minute-men" of the Revolution. Before that struggle they made no pretension in dress, wearing their leather aprons or other garb of avocation at all times. But it would seem that with the declaration that all men are born equal came the desire to demonstrate it by wearing fine clothes. The same observer whom we have already quoted wrote that "the wives and daughters of these people spend more than their income upon finery. The man must fish up the last penny he has in his pocket. The funniest part of it is, that the women do not seem to steal it from them; neither do they obtain it by cajolery, fighting or falling into a faint. How they obtain it, as obtain it they do, Heaven only knows; but that the men are heavily taxed for their extravagance is certain." When Lafayette revisited this country, long after the Revolution, he was struck by
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NEW-YORK DURING THE REVOLUTION
the comparative uniformity of dress in the men he met with on the streets; nowhere did he see the apprentice's leather apron, and he was forced to exclaim, "But where are the people !"
The third class-the rough seafaring folk and loungers along the wharves-furnished reinforcements for the ante-Revolutionary riots. In all cases of tar and feathers and fence-rail equitation they were prompt and skilful. In the rural districts, occasionally, an element of humor softened the treatment of Tories.' The institution of slavery flourished on a small scale; it had entered the northern col- onies as a West Indian luxury, side by side with rum and molasses; the negroes made good house-servants, and few New-York households were without at least one; many families owned four or five. In the pre-Revolutionary ferment the New-York slaves had not become an element of popular agitation, as in Boston in 17682 and Virginia in 1775. Perhaps the traditions of 1741, when a negro uprising in the city was promptly crushed, were unfavorable to such madness. In fact, the fidelity of these chattels was fully tested, during the war, as substitutes or body-servants for their masters in the field.
Nevertheless, at the period at which this chapter begins, the spirit of unrest pervaded every part of the town and every social relation. Trade languished, holidays were ignored,3 the churches were deserted, the taverns were thronged. Staid merchants gathered at the Ex- change on Broad street, and gravely discussed the situation ; excited Liberty Boys "rallied" at Hampden Hall, and waxed wrathful over the latest London or Boston news; noisy groups of sailormen lounged
1 " Kinderhook, September 28, 1775. A young fellow, an enemy to the liberties of America, going one afternoon to a quilting, where a number of young women were collected, and he the only man in company, he began his aspersions on the Con- gress, as usual, and held forth some time on the sub- ject. till the girls, exasperated at his impudence, laid hold of him, stripped him naked to the waist, and. instead of tar, covered him with molasses, and for feathers took the downy tops of flags, which grow in the meadows, and coated him well, and then let him go. He has prosecuted every one of them, and the matter has been tried before Justice S -. We have not as yet' heard his worship's judg- ment." Rivington's "New-York Gazetteer."
2 "The several Constables of the Watch directed by the Selectmen to be watchful of the Negro, and to take up those of them that may be in gangs at unseasonable hours: Zachary Johonnet, Esq. Messers. Nathan Spear, William Foster and others enter their Complaint with the Selectmen against John Willson, Esq., of the Fifty-ninth Regiment of Foot, for practising on their Negro servants to induce them immediately to enter into a dan- gerous conspiracy against their Masters, promis- ing them their freedom as a reward." Minutes of the Selectmen of Boston, October 31, 1768.
3 Holidays (1774-75): " By order of the honor- able commissioners of his majesty's customs in
North America, the following days are to be kept and observed as holidays, viz :
January 1 .... . New Year's Day.
January 18. .. . Queen's Birthday.
January 30. .. . King Charles' Martyrdom.
Shrove Tuesday. Ash Wednesday.
March 25 Lady Day. Good Friday.
Easter Monday and Tuesday.
Ascension.
April 23 St. George.
May 29 King Charles' Restoration.
June 4. . King's Birthday.
Whitsun Monday and Tuesday.
August 12 .... Prince of Wales Birthday.
September 18. Landing of King George I. and II.
September 22. Coronation.
October 25 .... Ascension.
November 1. . All Saints.
November 5. . Powder Plot.
December 25 .. Christmas Day.
December 26 .. Christmas Holiday.
December 27 .. Christmas Holiday.
December 28. . Christmas Holiday.
"To the above may be added the following Provincial Days: General Fast, Thanksgiving, General Election, and Commencement at the College." "Valentine's Manual."
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
about the wharves, ready to take a hand in any mischief that brighter brains might concoct. The few redcoats in garrison were kept closely to their barracks to avoid increasing the friction. James Rivington, the editor of the "Gazetteer," one of the principal weekly newspapers, fell under the frown of the Liberty Boys on account of certain paragraphs believed to be detrimental to the patriot cause, notwith- standing the motto at the head of his jour- nal, which he announced to be published at his "ever open and uninfluenced press." For this offense he was hung in effigy at New Brunswick, N. J.1 This seems to have had a salutary effect upon his politics, for we read HANGING OF RIVINGTON IN EFFIGY. that "about 1781 he began to see that under the influence of the French Alliance and dis- sension in England the rebel cause was brightening. While, therefore, still continuing to utter the most loyal sentiments in his journal, he supplied the enemy, in rather an ingenious way, with all the latest intelligence. Being a bookbinder as well as a publisher, and being wholly unsuspected, he was permitted to send books to the Jerseys and elsewhere for sale. In the binding of the books were concealed despatches for Washington, who was thus supplied with the latest news from New-York and England."" The agents carrying these dangerous volumes were ignorant of their surreptitious contents, which the enemy never appear to have discovered.
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