USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 21
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The trustees held frequent meetings, but their minutes, which have been found, contain very little else for many years than pro- ceedings for the sale of lands and consideration of applications to purchase. It was not usual for them to enter any of their ordi- 'nances or by-laws for the government of the place and people in their minute book, so that with the disappearance of their book of ordinances all trace of the local laws and regulations adopted by them for the government of the place are also gone.
Under the charter, there were some formalities to be observed
189
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
in the enactment of their ordinances ; besides the passage of a formal resolution, a warrant or authority for that purpose was required to emanate from a justice of the peace. In order to show the proceedings deemed necessary, and the practice adopted, a statement of some of the preliminary proceedings for that purpose found in the county clerk's office will be given.
In the minutes of a meeting of the Board of Trustees, held on the 24th day of November, 1733, is entered an order appointing Christopher Tappen, John Ten Broeck, and Jonathan Davenport, a committee "to examine into the orders of the Trustees made from time to time, and make report thereof, and also what further orders are requisite and necessary to be made for the good and benefit of the town."
On the 12th day of December following, a warrant, of which the following is a copy, was issued by Johannis Jansen, one of the justices of the peace, for service on the trustees :
"Ulster County, ss., Johannis Jansen, Esq., one of the Justices of the Peace for said county, assigned and residing in the town of Kingston Greeting : Whereas Capt. Joh's L.S. Ten Broeck, Hendrick Jansen and Igonas Dumont, three of the Trustees of said town have, pursuant to the charter of said town, requested a publick summons, to assemble the Trustees of said town to make such acts and orders in writing for the more orderly government of said town ; You are therefore hereby summoned that you, the present Trustees of the Freehold- ers and Commonalty of the town of Kingston, do this present day assemble, at the County House in said town, to make such acts and orders in writing for the more orderly doing of the premises as you shall or may think convenient.
" GIVEN under my hand and seal this 12th day of Decem. in the seventh year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain France and Ireland King defender of the Faith etc Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and thirty three.
" JOHANNIS JANSEN."
The minutes do not show what report was made, or what acts and orders were adopted. There is a memorandum indorsed on the warrant, as follows : " At a meeting of the Trustees the 12th of December, 1733, the Trustees met and had the following orders published as hereunto annexed." But the orders are all missing.
Simple resolutions are, occasionally, found recorded in the minutes looking to the protection of the common property from waste and injury, also for the observance of order and quiet, and
190
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
to prevent disturbance in the streets of the village, especially on the Sabbath, of which a few samples will be given.
Although free use could be made of the commons by the com- moners for individual and family uses, they considered it waste, and would not permit individual use of any part of the wood, tim- ber, or limestone, for transportation and sale outside of the cor- poration without a special license and payment for the privilege. Hence the following orders entered in the minutes of the trustees, as passed at a meeting held by the trustees on the 17th day of February, 1719, as follows : " Ordered that there shall be no wood, brush, stone, lime, tar or charcoal transported or carried out of the corporation, that is made in the corporation, upon the forfeit- ure of five pounds for every such default, to be levied by the cor- poration court upon those that do so carry any of the aforesaid things or species."
On the 17th of February, 1721, in order to prevent strangers from coming in, and by obtaining a residence and becoming free- holders, acquire an interest in the common property, the following order was made " that no stranger shall set up his trade, or occu- pation within the Corporation unless he pay for his freedom £3."
The trustees, by the sale of corporate property, acquired con- siderable money to loan to the citizens, and also held securities for lands sold upon credit, and thus were, to a considerable amount, creditors of sundry inhabitants. What is not very common with creditors, they appear to have studied the interest of their debtors and those desiring financial help, especially in the passage of a reso- lution on the 2d day of March, 1728, reducing the rate of interest to six per cent on the bonds held by them, and further declaring that, " what money is let to the Freeholders shall pay but six per cent and give security ; and that such persons as are able to let money out themselves, shall not have it unless they pay eight per cent, and that all persons without the corporation pay eight per cent."
That resolution shows a peculiar regard of the worthy burghers for the poor. They not only reduce the rate of interest to them to six per cent, but to prevent the rich from taking advantage of the reduction by borrowing at the reduced rate, and then loaning at a higher, they require them to pay at the old rate. In the month of May, 1748, they made a further reduction of interest on . their bonds to five per cent.
On the 9th of April, 1729, an order was made by the trustees, which, if continued at the present day, and strictly enforced, with · an extension to cigars and cigarettes, would in all probability save much valuable property from ascending in smoke to the heavens. It is as follows : "Ordered that if any body shall go along the
191
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
streets, after sunset, with a lighted pipe in his mouth or hand, he shall forfeit three shillings for each offence, the one half for the informer, the other half for the Poor, and if a negro to be whipped thirteen lashes."
At same meeting they adopted an ordinance prohibiting per- sons riding through the streets faster than a moderate trot under the same penalty.
It appears that in those days not only was the whipping-post in use, but women were not exempted from the lash. By a reso- lution adopted at a meeting of the trustees, held on the 17th day of January, 1748, it was ordered that, in the event of a whip- per being needed in the case of a woman then under prosecution, Mr. Johannis Jansen should agree with one.
The trustees were, from a very early date, greatly harassed by suits brought against them to settle their outside boundary lines, and to resist encroachments by adjoining proprietors, and also to defend suits brought by the attorney-general against some of the citizens which the trustees were called upon to defend.
The suits first above referred to were not to be wondered at, owing to the loose, uncertain, and conflicting character of the de- scriptions drawn without actual survey.
The other class of suits do not appear to have been based upon the least particle of right or justice. They were apparently brought under the idea that, from the manner in which the par- ticular court * to which resort was had was constituted, and with corruption existing in high places, either a recovery would be had, right or wrong, or they would prove profitable blackmailing bonanzas.
The last-mentioned suits were brought for the recovery of quit rents reserved in patents granted before the date of the Kingston grant. But the Kingston patent included, within its description,- the territory of all those former grants without any reservation or exception whatever, except a declaration that "nothing therein contained, shall be construed to enervate hurt or destroy any the right title interest property claim and demand of any person or persons holding by virtue of any former grant." That reserves no right or interest to the grantor, it is a provision for the protec- tion of the grantee. After such absolute transfer by the crown to the trustees, for the crown to attempt to collect quit rents upon. those former grants is the same as if a lessor, at the present day, should, after making an absolute sale and conveyance of the land covered by the lease, seek to recover the subsequently accruing rent from his former lessee.
* The Court of Chancery, which had been recently established, without right or authority of law, by Governor Hunter, with himself as Chancellor.
192
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
The trustees well considered that the patent to them operated as an assignment and transfer to them of all subsequently accruing quit rents upon those prior conveyances, and they had collected the quit rents, when they became due, as their right. Consequently, they were compelled to enter the lists and indemnify and defend.
However plain the question may have appeared to them, and however just and equitable was their defence, they had to deal with the protégées of royalty sent here in the capacity of governors and attorney-generals to amass princely fortunes upon small sal- aries. The bulk of them, if they were not adepts in the science when they came, soon learned the way with willing and accommo- dating consciences to such an extent that great wonderment was excited as to how and where the public funds had been appropri- ated. These tools of royalty evidently conceived that they had discovered a convenient prey in the sturdy burghers of Kingston.
What may have occurred previously, or what entries may have been made in the book of minutes which is lost, is not known, but the first entry found, in reference to such suits, is in the record of a meeting held by the trustees on the 24th of May, 1714. A state- ment is there made of an agreement made by the trustees with John Crooke (a Kingston lawyer) to go to New York to take care of the corporation affairs concerning quit rents. And it was also stated in the minutes that Mr. Teunis Ellison was sued in chan- cery for the quit rents which the corporation had received. The trustees resolved to defend the suits from the date of their charter, and claimed " that the Trustees have a right, as grantees of the fee, to receive the quit rents which Ellison is sued for."
There are no further entries in the minutes in regard to the Ellison suits. But there are frequent entries stating the com- mencement of scores of other suits of the same character.
The trustees having failed in repeated efforts made by them to stop the multiplication of suits and have the question tested in a single case to be brought to trial, passed a resolution at a meeting held by them on the 2d of March, 1723, as follows : " Resolved that Mr Livingston draw a petition to his Excellency, in order to stop the proceedings of Mr Canada, if possible, in issuing subpænas against Freeholders of the Corporation of Kingston for their par- ticular quit rents, the corporation being already in action about the same cases."
There is nothing in the minutes in regard to the result of such · mission, but as the minutes show frequent receipts of more chan- cery subpænas in the years 1734 and 1735, during the administra- tion of Governor Cosby, it does not appear to have been successful.
In May, 1737, during the administration of Governor Clark, the chancery subpoenas for quit rents were again showered down, and
193
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
the trustees were compelled to employ counsel and assume more defences.
In April, 1741, they were favored with more refreshing showers of the same character, and of course directed their council to ap- pear and defend, at the same time requesting him to have one suit tried as a test case. From this it would seem that as yet there had been no trial, and if the former suits had not been settled, they still were all pending.
It does not appear from any entries in the records what became of any of the suits, whether they contributed anything to the gov- ernor's perquisites or not. Possibly the attorney-general may have been satisfied with the costs drawn by him on their account from the public crib, and thus let them die away, not daring to risk a trial after failing to alarm. At all events there are no further records of quit-rent suits.
In the year 1738 a question arose as to the north bounds of Kingston, where it bordered on Albany County. This, of course, involved title of the parties. within the disputed territory, who received their conveyances from the trustees. The question in- volved appeared to be this : Albany, in the original description, extended south to Sawyer's Creek ; Ulster is described as ex- tending to Albany County on the north. Sawyer's Creek empties into the Hudson, just north of the present village of Saugerties. Its rise, however, is a few miles back from the river, but several miles to the north of its mouth. It runs a southerly course, nearly parallel with the river for several miles, and then, taking a short turn, empties into the river at the place above stated. Thus, Albany extending down to Sawyer's Creek, the question was, Did it stop when it reached the headwaters, or did it extend to the mouth ? The original survey, it was claimed, adopted the head- waters (" Steene Haert Fonteyne"), and the trustees made con- veyances, and the town assessors assessed the inhabitants accord- ingly. The assessors, fearing to be involved in trouble by making such assessments in the disputed territory, asked the trustees to indemnify them, which they did annually by a formal resolution.
The question was brought at different times, through petitions and remonstrances, before the Provincial Assembly, but the matter never was definitely settled by them. It continued a controverted question of jurisdiction until the arrangement of towns and coun- ties under the State constitution. The question of title was after- ward disposed of and settled in the State Supreme Court by judg- ments in favor of the trustees in some ejectment suits involving the question.
To show a very effectual mode adopted by some of the burghers in the early days of the settlement of the country to strengthen the
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194
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
memory of their offspring, the following extract is given from the testimony of a witness perpetuated in one of those ejectment cases. The examination was taken November 27th, 1802, and is as fol- lows :
" Margaret Snyder, the 'wife of Zachariah Snyder, being duly sworn deposeth and saith, that she is the daughter of Valentine Fiero, and near sixty seven years of age, that she was born and brought up at her fathers, and after being married removed to near the ' Steene Haert,' and lived there 'till about twenty years ago. When she was ten, twelve, or thirteen years of age, her father turned the cattle (as she believes about the 25 April) in the woods near the Steene Haert Fonteyne, " where one of the cows was entangled in the morass. She went to see, and found a cow, which she called her own, just drawn out.
"Her father having cut a switch took her to the north side of the Steene Haert rock, and taking her by her hair, told her that he would give her something to remember, that that side was Albany, showing her letters and gave her a smart whipping. After which he took her to the south side of said rock, and told her that side was Esopus, and pointed at letters on that side of the rock, and giving her a second whipping, told her to remember that he had been flag bearer, and Peter York and Nicholas Branden were chain bearers on the survey, and that was the line between Albany and Esopus, and after his death, if any dispute should arise she might remember it."
In the year 1702, a patent was granted in the reign of Queen Anne to Johannis Hardenbergh and his associates for a very large tract of land which bordered on the grant made to the trustees. As the descriptions contained in the royal grants of those days were necessarily very general, and not usually accompanied by any previous survey, there was much room left for litigation be- tween adjoining owners. That was the case in regard to the boun- dary line between the Hardenbergh patentees and the trustees of Kingston. A severe litigation arose between them, and was kept up for many years before final adjustment. It was terminated by arbitration in the year 1746, and Charles Clinton was employed by the trustees to run the line as fixed by the arbitrators.
During the pendency of that litigation, and in the year 1728, an order was made by the Supreme Court directing Jacobus Van- dyck, the sheriff of Ulster County, to make a general list of the freeholders in his Bailwyck (Ulster County), so that a special jury could be struck therefrom. He made his return to the court on the 7th day of July, 1728. The following is a list of the names re-
* The Steene Haert Fonteyne (spring) is understood to be the headwaters of Sawyer's Kill.
195
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
turned by him as the freeholders in the town of Kingston at that time ; it of course falls far short of the whole number of inhab- itants. It embraces the entire town as it then existed :
The ffreeholders for the Town of Kingston, Vizt
William Schepmoes Jacob Ten Brook Esqr
James Whitaker
Coenract Elmendorp Esqr
Johannis Ten Brook
William Legg
Doct Jacobus Elmendorp
Jonas De Lange
Peter Oosterhout
Simon Van Wagenen
William Ploegh
Cryn Oosterhout
Tjerik De Witt
John Crook Junr
John Peterse Oosterhout
Walran Du Mond
Hendrik Oosterhout
Jacobus Du Bois
Gerrit Van Wagenen
John Oosterhout Junr
Arie Kuyckendall
John Sleght
Mattys Van Steenberge
Jacobus A Van Etten
Nicholas Hofman
Anthony Sleght
Hiskiagh Du Bois
Mattys Sleght
Nathaniel Devenpoort
Nicolas De Myer
Petrus Bogardus
Johannis Low
Hendrick Brinck
Samuel Nights
Maj Johannis Hardenbergh
Cornelius Langendyck
William Eltinge
Peter Tappen
Barent Burhans
William Herris
Tjerik Van kueren
Evert Wynkoop Esqr
Hendrick Pruyn
Samuel Burhans
John Persen
Major Johannis Wynkoop
Aldert Kiersteeden
Arie Newkerk
Mattys Persen
Evert Roosa
Johannis Snyder
William Doughty
Solomon Bunschooten
Johannis Wm Snyder
Phillip Viely
Hendrik H : Schoonmaker
Harmanus Hommel
Lewis Dubois Junr
Eghbert Schoonmaker
Frederik Merkel
Thomas Beekman
Edward Whittaker Esqr
William Keel Andries Hoff
Nicolas Dromboer Christyaen Myer
Andries Heermans
Peter Van Leuven
Peter Mouerse
Johannis Turck
Moses Cantyn
Jurya Overpagh
Stephen Gasharie
Mattys Du Bois
Juryan Snyder
Cornelius Van kueren
Wilhelmus Hooghtelingh
Felter Fier
Cornelius Swartt
Peter Van Acken
Peter Wynnen
Teunis adamıse Swart
Boudwyn Lacount
Lowrens Merkell Jacob Rutsen Junr
Basteyaen De Witt
Manuel Gonsalisduck Junr
Coll Wessel Ten Brook
Tobias Van Bueren
William Traphagen
Johannis V. Steenberge Abraham V. Steenberge Johannis Swartt Philip Moore
John Wels
Arie Van Vliet
John Freer
Johannis Hd Schoonmaker
Johannis Jansen John Makleyn
Jacobus De Lametre
Charles Brodhead
Doct Hans Kiersteeden
Lowrens Swart
Dedrick Soets
Cornelius Delametre
Cornelius Elmendorp
John Wolf
Johannis Delametre
Johannis Schoonmaker
Christopher Wanbomel
Coll Abraham Chambers
Gaasbeek
Hendrik Jansen John Oosterhout
Hendrick Frelingh William Smith ;
Christophell Tappen
John Ploegh
Mattys Van Keuren
Jolin Wood Senr
Hendrick Ruyter
Abraham De Lametre
John Wood Juar
Hiskiag Schoonmaker
Edward Wood
Jacob Middagh
John Legg
Coenraet Rightmyer
· Gisbert Van Denbergh Johannis Tappen Abraham Low Thomas Van Steenberge
Peter Luyks Peter Peele
Tjerik Schoonmaker
Jeronomus Klyn
Aris Van Steenberge
Lowrens Hendrik
Gysbert Peele
John Davenpoort
Manuel Gonsalisduck
Teunis Swartt
Peek De Witt
Johannis Masten Adam Swartt William Swartt
Aldert Ariese Roosa
David De Lametre
196
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
The ffreeholders of Wagaghkemek :
Harme barentse Van Emweegen Peter Gomar John Van Vliet Junr
Samuel Swartwout Barnardus Swartwout Junr Jacob Kuddebeck
The following is a " list of the military and civil officers in the county of Ulster, and also of the old officers and old men," as re- turned by the sheriff of Ulster County, in July, 1728, at the same time that he returned the list of freeholders for the struck jury in suit of Hardenbergh rs. Corporation of Kingston, for the pur- pose, probably, of showing the exempts from jury duty :
"A LEST OF THE COMMANDING OFFICERS AS WELL MILLETERY AND SIVEL.
Collo Jacob Rutsen Major Jno hardenburgh
Levt Collo Abram Gasbeek Chammers Adgedent Geysebert Van Denbergh
JUSTICES.
Collo Henry Beekman
Mr Corneles Coll
Mr Josef hasbrok
Mr George Medaegh Mr Jacobes Bruyn
Mr Lodwyck horenbeek
Mr Mattyse Janse
OLD OFESERS AND OLD MEN
Mr Geysebert Van Garden
Levt Sallomon Duboys Levt Beniamen Smedes Levt Nicolas meyer
Capt Tomes Gerten
Capt Cherels Brodhed
Mr Mattys Sleght
Capt Richert Brodhed
Mr Geysebert Crooem
Capt Conraet Elvendorp
Mr Moses Dupue
Mr Jno Coock
Mr Evert Bogardus
Mr Tuenes Osterhout
Mr Jacob De Witt
Mr Sander Roosekrans
Mr Lawies Bovie
Mr Albert Roosa"
The following is a summary statement of the census taken of Ulster County in the year 1703, which it may be proper to give in this connection :
CENSUS OF ULSTER CO. 1703.
The Severall Townes in the county
Males from
15 to 60
Males above
3
ffemales
Males
Children
ffemales
children
Males
Negroes
ffemales
Negroes
Males
Negroe
children
ffemales
Negroe
children
Total
Pals.
40
2
22
-32
25
5
2
1
1
130
Rochester. .
67
3
56
107
83
9
3
5
1
334
Marbletowne ..
55
4
37
49
61
11
5
3
2
227
Hurley .
31
31
41
42
12
7
5
2
174
Kings towne
187
14
159
207
140
46
19
17
9
804
383
23
305
436
357
83
36
31
15
1669
Cap : Dereck Schepmoies Mr Arie Gerese Mr Eghbert Schonmaker
Capt Mattys Mattyse Levt Jno heremans
Mr Jno Wynkoop Mr. Ja Artsen
Capt Joqem Schonmaker
Mr Tuenes tapen
Capt Abram hasbroiek
Capt Wessel tenbrok
Mr Cornels Swets
197
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
There was no regular ferry established across the river at Kings- ton until the year 1752, and at that time the nearest established ferry north across the Hudson was at Albany, and toward the . south at Newburgh. Jacob Kipp, who settled at Rhinebeck about 1680, owned a large tract of land there extending for a considerable distance along the river. He, after his settlement there, and until his death, was accustomed to carry passengers across the river without any permit or license. After his death his son Abraham did likewise.
Moses Cantine, who owned Columbus Point on the Kingston side of the river, from about 1740, onward, had also built a dock and furnished boats to transport travellers across the river.
On the 5th day of August in the year 1752, Governor Clinton, in accordance with the prayer of their joint petition, issued a patent to the said Abraham Kipp and Moses Cantine, granting to them, their heirs and assigns forever, " the full free sole and whole power, liberty and authority, privilege and right of setting up, establish- ing, using keeping and enjoying a public ferry to be duly kept and attended for the conveniency of passing and repassing with travelers and their horses, cattle and goods whatsoever, to and from the said landings of the said Abraham Kipp and Moses Cantine, exclusive of all others to keep and ferry within two miles above and below the said landings," with right to charge fees as therein particularly specified, except that they were not obliged to trans- port any person, cattle, or goods from the first day of November to the first day of March, after sunset, or from the first day of March to the first day of November, after eight o'clock at night, without double fees, and then only during that part of the year when boats could pass over the river without apparent danger from the ice.
The ferry then established has ever since been conducted and maintained under the old charter, with changes in the character of the boats and their propelling power in accordance with the im- provements of the times, and changes of location of termini as de- månded for the public convenience.
The first ferry-boat seen by the writer upon that ferry was a periauger, then the horse-boat was substituted, using horse-power to turn the wheels, and the next change was to the steamboat.
On the 27th of July, 1753, the trustees agreed to build a market- house thirty feet long by sixteen feet in width, and appointed Petrus Smedes to superintend its construction. On the 19th day of October, some progress having been made toward the construc- tion of the building, the trustees by resolution granted an allow- ance to Petrus Smedes of a gallon of rum for a morning dram to the workmen. Although they made this liberal allowance for an
198
HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
"eye-opener," they do not appear to have added anything for a "mid-day strengthener," but they directed a further allowance of " a reasonable accommodation of liquor to the People that shall raise the said market house," or, in other words, provided for a regular old-fashioned "raising bee." In those days the frames were made of hewn oak, not sawn timber, and of such size as not to be manageable without assistance, so the neighbors were called in to help, and, cheerfully responding, were rewarded with thanks and the flowing bowl, turning work into play.
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