The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 53

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114

USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I > Part 53

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Constable .- This office, in former days, was one of considerable importance, and its duties required respon- sible men. For over a century the office was held by some of the most prominent citizens of the town. The office of village constable was created by the Hemp- stead Convention in 1665. The names of the earlier constables cannot be found. Jacob Stryker is the first mentioned constable, serving from 1669 to 1670. The list of his successors is long; and since, in modern times, the office has become of very much less importance

225

DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

Jacob Ebücherg. 1680.

Facsimile of Jacob Stryker's Autograph,

than formerly, it is hardly necessary to give the names of its ineumbents, especially as they are to be found in Dr. STRONG's History of Flatbush, published in 1842.

Treasurers of County .- From 1714 to 1840, a period of one hundred and twenty-six years, the Treas- urer of the county was, with one exception, a resident of Flatbush.

For these, as well as those who have served the eounty as clerks of the Board of Supervisors, and as judges of the County courts; as members of the Colonial Assembly and of the State Legislature, see the chapter on " Bench and Bar of Kings County."

Distinguished Citizens .- Many of the inhabitants of Flatbush have been ealled upon, from time to time, to fill representative positions of responsibility and trust in the County, State and National Governments.

Aeeording to BERGEN'S Early Settlers of Kings county, Gerardus Willemse Beekman, of Flatbush, was also ehosen as a member of the Colonial eouneil, and its President. He was also acting-governor in 1709- 1710, and Colonel of Militia, as well as Justiee of Peace for Flatbush in 1685. He will be more particu- larly mentioned in our Chapter on the Medicine and the Medical Profession in Kings County.

Dr. STRONG states " that among the delegates from the eounty of Kings who met in the city of New York, in convention April 10, 1775, for the purpose of ehoos- ing delegates to the first Continental Congress, was JOHN VANDERBILT; who, from his being subsequently a member of the Senate of the State was ealled "Senator John," to distinguish him from Judge John Vander-

bilt. Among the delegates chosen by that convention to represent the county in that Congress, were no less than three from this village, viz .: Johannes Lott, John Lefferts, and John Vanderbilt. These delegates eon- vened at New York on 22 of May, 1775; and continued to meet at different places, from time to time, till the adoption of the Constitution of the State in April, 1777.

JOHN LEFFERTS, of this village, was also a mem- ber of the Provincial Congress, from this eounty, which met on the 30th day of June, 1776. His son, PETER LEFFERTS, of Flatbush, was one of two dele- gates from this eounty to the convention which met at Poughkeepsie on 27th day of June, 1778, to adopt the Constitution of the United States. He was afterward a member of the Senate of the State, in which he ap- peared in a suit made entirely of homespun eloth, of so fine a texture and finish that it attracted special notiee. His son, JOHN LEFFERTS, of Flatbush, was at one time

a member of Congress from this distriet; and also a delegate to the convention of 1821, which met for the amending of the Constitution of the State.

It is probable that no man in the eounty has been better known for his uprightness, honesty and talent, or has received higher honors at the hands of his party and the people, or rendered greater benefits to the village of Flatbush, and better protected the interests of the eounty towns, than the Hon. JOHN A. LOTT, whose full biography will be found in the chapter on the Bench and Bar of Kings county ; as will, also, that of his talented law-partner, the late Judge JOHN VANDERBILT. The Hon. JOHN OAKEY's biography will also be found in the same chapter. He is a native of Brooklyn, but removing in boyhood to Flatbush, his whole active life has been prominently identified with the welfare of Flatbush.

On a comparison of these various lists the singular faet is noticeable, that while the inhabitants of Flat- bush were so frequently ealled upon to take such an aetive part in the county and State government, from the original settlement until 1842, comparatively few of them have held sueh positions sinee that time. A reason for this may be found in the faet that Flat- bush, until 1832, a period of nearly two hundred years, was the county town. As a consequence the inhabi- tants were brought into a more immediate eontaet with the politieal interests of the county and State, than they were after the county seat was moved to Brooklyn.

Flatbush During the Revolution .- As hereto- fore stated (page 32), the people of Kings county entered upon the revolutionary struggle with mueh reluetanee. Stimulated by the proximity of the tur- bulent population of New York city, as well as by the contagious exeitement of eurrent events, they "equally, with the other colonists, resisted the eneroaehments and taxation of their foreign rulers ; they also, at first, had their meetings and expressed their sympathy with the general uprising. On April 5, 1775, a meeting was held at Flatbush, at which deputies were appointed for choosing delegates to the Continental Congress, to be held at Philadelphia in May, from Flatbush. DAVID CLARKSON, ADRIAN VOORHEES, JACOBUS VANDEVENTER and JOHN VANDERBILT were appointed ; and May 20, the magistrates and freeholders met in Brooklyn to eo- operate with the freeholders of the City and County of New York, and other meetings for a similar purpose were afterward held." (Field.)

The news of the battle of Lexington (received in New York April 23d, the very day when the Provincial Convention had dissolved), led to a eall by the citizens for the assembly of a Provincial Congress on the 24th of May. It was in compliance with this request that a meeting of town delegates was held at Flatbush, May 22d. But, even then, prudenee had taken the place of valor, and Flatbush, through her delegate, Nicholas

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

Cowenhoven, declined any complicity in the proceed- ings of the Convention; and, at the same time, expressed the intention of remaining neutral in the approaching struggle. Nicholas Cowenhoven and Johannes E. Lott were the delegates chosen to represent Flatbush.

In June, 1776, we find some of the royalists of Flat- bush engaged in a wide-spread plot to seize the person of Gen. Washington; and, in the confusion ensuing, to rise and overawe the whigs. MR. T. W. FIELD mentions that :

" David Mathews, the mayor of New York, resided for a portion of the year at his country-seat in Flatbush ; and, although by his great adroitness and caution, he managed to avoid such complicity with the plot as could be proven, he was undoubtedly the lieutenant of the chief conspirator, Gov. Tryon. Near him, in the village of Flatbush, lived William Axtel, a loyalist gentleman of wealth and influence, afterwards Colonel of the British provincial militia. The plot undoubtedly had its inception on board the British ship- of-war Asia ; was matured at Flatbush, the residence of Mayor Mathews, and relied for its principal sustainers and adherents upon the loyalists of Long Island. Of the ninety- eight persons who were ultimately charged with complicity in this plot, fifty-six were residents of Kings and Queens counties. The nightly return of Mathews to his residence, not more than four or five miles from the landing-place of boats from the Asia, and his daily return to the city, made him the fittest organ of communication between the Gov- ernor and the loyalists. The conspiracy failed to accomplish anything, except to increase the rigor of surveillance over the Long Island loyalists, who felt its influence for many months subsequently."

The Skirmishes of Flatbush .- This village had a distinct share in the movements and events which culminated, on the 27th of August, 1776, in what is known as the Battle of Long Island-more properly the Battle of Brooklyn. As will be seen by reference to the account of the Battle of Long Island (Chapter VI. of the General History of Kings County, in this volume), Flatbush lay in the track of one of the British columns of attack, and was the scene of some of the preliminary fighting of that eventful action. When the British army landed at Denyse's ferry, on the morning of the 22d, a heavy column, under Lord Corn- wallis, pushed forward to Flatbush. " A small redoubt had been constructed by the Americans, near the western boundary of the village, and here occurred the first collision between the British and the American forces on our island." Cornwallis' vanguard, under the Hessian Colonel, Donop, reached Flatbush in the evening. We quote from T. W. FIELD's History of the Battle of Long Island, Vol. II. of the Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society :

"Three hundred American riflemen, who had occupied the village, abandoned it as soon as the Hessian battery of six guns had taken position and opened fire. The possession of this slumbrous little Dutch village by the Hessians was not, however, destined to be maintained without a struggle. The awe inspired by the imposing array of the German troops had worn away in the cool night, and early on the morning of the 23d the slumbers of the heavy-eyed Hessians

were broken by a dash upon their right wing, resting near the west end of the village. On the thickly wooded hills near Flatbush, Colonel Hand was in command of the whole Pennsylvania battalion of riflemen, consisting of 553 officers and privates. Believing that the familiarity acquired by combat with the formidable strangers would dissipate the increasing dread with which they were regarded, Col. Hand ordered an assault upon their lines. The attack was spirited, though feebly maintained, as the Americans retired to the woods as soon as a field-piece was brought to bear upon them."

Emboldened, however, by their success, the Ameri- cans, on the afternoon of the same day (23d), made another assault on Donop's left wing, encamped a short distance west of the Brooklyn and New Utrecht road. *

* * So impetuous was this attack, that *

"that portion of the Hessian corps was driven back upon the main body, then lying south of the Dutch Church, and the whole detachment was held at bay for more than one hour. The fire of the American riflemen was so galling that the Hessians were compelled to improvise redoubts, from the houses of Adrian Hegeman and Lefferts Martense, for the purpose of repelling their attack. In these buildings they cut holes, wherever these afforded them position for firing upon the American sharp-shooters. At length the cannon, from which the Hessian gunners had doubtless been driven by our riflemen, were brought into position, and opened their fire upon the assaulting party. At this time the houses of Jeremiah Vanderbilt, Leffert Lefferts, and Evert Hegeman were in flames, and added, by their confla- gration, the horrors which war had brought upon this quiet village. Although it has been a popular habit to charge this incendiarism upon the Hessian invaders, it is yet certain that these dwellings were fired by the Americans, to prevent their occupation as defensive positions by the enemy."

"On the 25th the Americans determined to meet the Hes- sian artillery with the same arms ; and, accordingly, a strong body of riflemen, accompanied by several guns, pushed for- ward beyond the edge of the woods, and opened fire with round and grape-shot, upon the devoted village, behind whose walls the enemy sought shelter from the rebel sharp- shooters. The attack was well maintained for a time, but was at length repulsed by the greater weight and steadiness of the Hessian artillery,"

The poor Germans, however, were much harassed and disgusted by this, to them, novel and irritating method of warfare; and Cornwallis was finally obliged to relieve them from picket and guard duty, so that they might be enabled to procure a little rest.

"The inconsiderate Americans, however, beat up their camp again at 2 o'clock on the morning of the 26th, and they were once more hurried to the front to assist in repelling these midnight prowlers. This was the fifth considerable skirmish, in three days, which those uneasy Yankees had . compelled the slow-moving Germans to repel, and their per- tinacity was becoming unendurable. During the afternoon of the 26th a stronger force than had yet been engaged was pushed forward upon the Hessian lines ; and this time with such threatening demonstrations that Lord Cornwallis, whose instructions were imperative not to press the rebels from their position, immediately ordered Col. Donop to retire. The brave, though cruel, Hessian, begged hard to be per- mitted to remain and intrench himself, but was compelled to retire to the main body, which was far too powerful for

227

THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF THE TOWN, 1776-1783.

the light assaulting column of the Americans to make any impression upon it."

Late in the evening of that day, the whole British foree was in motion, in the decisive movement which precipitated the battle of the 27th.

The British Occupation of the Town, 1776- 1783 .- Flatbush, of course, suffered its full share of the lawlessness and oppression to which Long Island was subjected during the seven years occupation of the British forces. Mrs. G. L. VANDERBILT, in her very interesting Social History of Flatbush, thus speaks of its unhappy condition after the battle of the 27th Au- gust, 1776, which placed the whole county at the mercy of the British :

" It is almost impossible to realize the picture of devasta- tion this village presented at that period. The cattle belong- ing to the farmers had been driven, by command of the American officers, into Queens and Suffolk Counties, to pre- vent their falling into the possession of the invaders, and the grain, the produce of the year, was stacked in the fields and burned, for the same reason. The houses of those in the northern section of the town were burned. In the line of march of the British, and over the district of hills and woods which embraced or bounded the area of the battle-ground, were strewn the bodies of the dead who had fallen either in battle, or in irregular fighting in the hills and hollows, for there was no quarter given by the Hessians. It is probable that some of these were never buried, for bones were fre- quently found long after the engagement, and the supersti- tious avoided a locality said to be haunted. During that dreadful August many of the inhabitants fled from their homes, which were taken possession of by lawless adventur- ers. The sick and wounded were placed in the church, and the want of attention to their sufferings caused the whole air to be infected. In the Autumn a camp-fever became epi- demic, and proved very fatal. The grass grew in the streets, all business was at an end ; the wet Autumn which succeeded a hot Summer added to the filth of the encampment, and the want of many of the common comforts of life caused almost constant illness, even among those who escaped the fever. Amid all their sickness and poverty they were constantly harrassed by petty exactions from which there was no ap- peal ; their fences and even their farming utensils were used for firewood ; their horses were taken from before the plow ; their cattle were driven away or butchered ; their fowls were stolen ; and frequently small parties of soldiers on the march took temporary possession of their homes, driving out the owners if the room was needed. As a sort of practical joke the feather-beds were sometimes emptied into the wells. The dark cherry-wood cupboards were dismantled, and from the shelves the horses of the cavalry-officers were fed. It was useless to seek redress, none could be had. To make the scanty supply still more inadequate, the whole town was filled with soldiers. Some of these were of the roughest class. These were billeted upon the people without their consent, and often in opposition to their express wishes. For a regiment of Waldeckers no compensation was ever given. Even where Congress promised two dollars per week, there were very little prospect at that time that it would be paid ; and the Continental money, which was a legal tender, was much depreciated. There was no safety from thieves either day or night, but the loss of property was small compared to the danger of life, and the constant feeling of personal security. A band of men of notoriously bad character con-

stituted a company under the name of the 'Nassau Blues,' and were in possession of the Court House. They not only helped themselves freely to the property of the inhabitants, of whom they were called the 'Guards,' but they were the terror of respectable people."

In connection with this subject the reader is referred to pages 100 and 101; as well as to Chapter VI, of our General History of Long Island.

In the appendix to Mrs. VANDERBILT's book, is an exceedingly vivid sketch of "Home Life During the War of the Revolution," taken from the lips of an old lady of Flatbush, who was in her sixteenth year at the time of the Battle of Long Island.

Old Mills .- In former days two large windmills formed a conspicuous feature in the village landscape. One of these stood east of the main road and south of the road to New Lots, formerly called Cow Lane, now East Broadway,-or near the northeast corner of present Erasmus street and Nostrand avenue. It was of very peculiar construction ; built by a Mr. Molincaux, of Westbury, L. I., in 1820, and owned by Rich. Willis, of New York city. It was eireular in form, about 60 feet in diameter, and about 25 feet high to the eaves, surmounted with a conical roof, from the top of which issued the shaft, rising some 25 feet above the roof. To this shaft were attached an upper and lower set of arms, extending at right angles to the shaft, for a dis- tance of 20 feet. Between these upper and lower arms, at their extremities, a series (16 or 18) of perpendicular fans, or movable wings, were attached, which could be so adjusted, at any angle, as to take the wind from any direction. It turned one "run" of stones only, and was more lately known as "Lloyd's Mill. It is sup- posed to have been the only mill of this peculiar construction upon the Island, and was taken down January, 1868. Another old mill stood upon Mr. John C. Vanderveer's farm, in the southern section of the village, and was always called " Vanderveer's Mill." This is said to have been the first windmill erected upon Long Island. The Rural Gazette, March 4, 1879, states that it was completed in 1804 by John C. Van- derveer. It was of immense strength, the main timbers being twenty-eight feet high and two and a half feet thick. It was four stories high, with a stone founda- tion of about three feet. The arms and sails, similar in construction to the Holland mills, were twenty-six feet long. There were three sets or " run " of stones. The sails were first blown off in the famous September gale of 1821. About ten years after the sails were blown off again, after which they were not repaired. During the drafting riots" of 1863 it was a refuge for the colored people, who were threatened by the Irish. It was destroyed by fire on the night of the 30th of April, 1879.

Old Houses .- These have nearly all passed away, one by one. The only one still standing is that owned by the heirs of John C. Bergen. In Mrs. Gertrude

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

Lefferts Vanderbilt's delightful book, Social History of Flatbush, and Dr. P. L. Schenck's interesting Zabriskie Homestead, will be found reminiscences of these ancient dwellings, which our limited space will not allow us to dwell upon. The old "Robinson House," alias " Mel- rose HIall," which is soon to be demolished, deserves more than a passing notice.

Melrose Hall .- There are few towns in this State possessing more of historic interest than Flatbush ; and, certainly, no single dwelling in this lovely village has witnesscd more of tragic or romantic incident than has Melrose Hall. Its erection ante-dates, by many years, the American Revolu- tion ; it possesses a style of architec- ture quite unknown to the carly Dutch settlers ; and on a plan grander and more pretentious than any of its co- temporaries.

It is said to have been built by an Englishman by the name of Lane, in 1749. It was adorn- ed with gilded drawing-rooms and wide wainscoted- halls ; surrounded by ample grounds, tastefully laid out in flower-beds and garden-plots, all hid away behind the far-stretching lawn. Here its proprietor, with his numerous friends, led a merry life, not unfrequently awakening the still echoes of the night by their bacchanalian songs and revels.

After Lane's death the property was purchased by Col. William Axtell. Axtell was a descendant of Daniel Axtell, a Colonel in Cromwell's army, who was beheaded by order of Charles II-he having been re- fused the benefits of the act of " General pardons and obligations," by Parliament.

William Axtell was born on the Island of Jamaica. Here he owned large sugar plantations which were sold

in 1759, which is the probable date of his coming to New York. Here he lived until 1763, when he sold his house and lot in Wall street and came to Flatbush to reside. He was a member of the King's Council ; by birth and education a loyalist ; and, from instinct as well as choice, a Tory. Being a man of much influence and considerable wealth, his new home became a fav- orite rendezvous for all the Tory element in and about the metropolis. Here many a secret conclave was held, and many a plan concocted, to thwart the designs of the Rebels. Here the beauty and fashion of the day were often hospitably entertained, and the spacious ball- room resounded with the dulcet notes of the lute or viol, while flying fect kept even pace with the swift-fly- ing hours.

In 1778 Axtell was commissioned, by Sir William Howe, to raise a regiment of foot, of which he was Colonel. In 1783 the Colonel and his officers were presented by their lady friends with a handsome standard of colors. This pre- seutation took place in front of his house; his men and officers forming in a circle around the flag, which they saluted, taking a solemn oath to sup- port it forever. Afterwards, a sumptuous dinner was served in the hall and grounds, and the event closed with a brilliant ball, the like of which was seldom seen in the infant colony.

MELROSE HALL, 1883.

In 1776, a few days before the Battle of Brook- lyn, while Axtell was entertaining a party of British officers, an American gunner, stationed on the wooded heights beyond, threw a shell into the house, causing much damage, and great consternation to the inmates. After the battle of Long Island, as is well known, Flatbush remained in the hands of the British

229

OLD HOUSES-MELROSE HALL.

until the close of the war. During this period many American prisoners were paroled here ; among them several officers. The conduct of the Tories towards them was so insolent and overbearing, that one of the Americans, Captain William Marriner, after his release, resolved to be avenged. For this purpose he procured a whale-boat and a picked crew, and set out from the Jersey shore for Gravesend Bay, where he landed in the evening, and proceeded without delay or molesta- tion to Flatbush. Here he divided his men into four parties and proceeded to the residences of Major Mon- crief, Col. Sherbrook, Col. Mathews (then Mayor of New York), and Col. Axtell. At a given signal, the doors of the various houses were battered in, and Mon- crief and Sherbrook captured; but, fortunately for Mathews and Axtell, they escaped, having remained in New York that night.

Even if Colonel Axtell had been at home, his capture would have been no easy task, for the house abounds in secret closets, and out-of-the-way nooks, where one could easily hide. Indeed, much mystery surrounds these secret rooms. By some, they were supposed to have been constructed by order of Col. Axtell for such emergencies as the above. By others, they are asso- ciated with secrets of a more terrible nature, and have been peopled with ghosts and hobgoblins. One thing is certain, for no inconsiderable period of its history, Melrose was looked upon suspiciously by its neighbors as a place to be avoided after night-fall ; and children were awed into subjection and silence by stories of phantom sights and sounds, seen and heard in and about the ancient place.

In consequence of Axtell's well-known Tory procli- vities, his property was forfeited by an act of the legis- lature, and sold by a Commission, on the 21st day of October, 1784. The purchaser was Aquila Giles, an American officer of some distinction, who had often visited here in the early part of the war, but who was subsequently forbidden the place. Among the then in- mates of the house was Miss Shipton, said to have been a niece of Mrs. Axtell, to whom Col. Giles was be- trothed, and whom he afterwards married. Thus, by the fortunes of war, master and guest changed places; and Col. Giles, and his wife Eliza, were the happy possessors of Col. Axtell's estate until June 28, 1809, when they conveyed the same to Bateman Lloyd.

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The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 53

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1114

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114