USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 28
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CHAPTER XVI.
ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
T
THE year 1777 furnishes for record as important and interesting
events as have ever occurred in the colonial or subsequent his- . tory of this State, whether considered in a civil or military sense.
From a civil point of view, it witnessed the formation, perfec- tion, and putting in full and complete operation one of the best constitutions and State governments that has ever been framed.
Viewed from a military standpoint, it chronicled the defeat and capture on its soil of one of the finest armies that Great Britain ever sent to America, and thereby taught the world that English troops and their hired hosts were not invincible when brought face to face with men determined to be free, and it further assured the final triumph of American arms and the cause of liberty.
The convention charged with preparing and perfecting a consti- tution or government for the people, had, on the 1st day of August, 1776, by resolution, delegated the important task to a committee of their number, consisting of Messrs. Jay, Hobart, William Smith, Duer, Morris, R. R. Livingston, Broome, Scott, Abraham Yates, Wisner, Sr., Samuel Townsend, De Witt, and Robert Yates-con- fessedly the strong men of the convention.
The committee were also directed to prepare and report at the same time, as the foundation for such form of government, " a Bill of rights and privileges for the good people of this State."
After the English had captured New York, and acquired by their naval forces the full control of the Hudson River below the Highlands, and also of the East River, the New York Convention retired to Fishkill, and there held their sessions. Finding insuffi- cient accommodations at that place for the members of the conven- tion and those whose business required their attendance, a com- mittee was appointed to select a more convenient locality.
The committee, on the 31st day of January, 1777, reported that at Kingston fifty members could obtain good accommodations at twenty shillings a week, and a large room in the Court House would be convenient for the meetings of the convention ; that only thirty members could be accommodated at Poughkeepsie, but the Episcopal Church would furnish a convenient place for meetings.
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
The report came up for consideration at Fishkill on the 11th of February, 1777, when the following preamble and resolution were adopted :
" Whereas the many great and momentous affairs now under consideration of the Convention, have occasioned a call of the house, and require the advice and assistance of all its members, and this village being too small to afford proper accommodations for the Convention and those who have business with the public :
" Resolved therefore, that this Convention will adjourn from this place to Kingston in Ulster County, to meet on the nineteenth instant, and all the members of Convention are peremptorily re- quired to give their attendance accordingly"
It was further directed that the absent members be informed that "it is the intention of the house, as soon as they meet in Kingston, to proceed to the business of forming a plan of govern- ment."
The Committee of Safety met in Kingston on the 19th day of February, 1777.
The Provincial Convention convened in Kingston on the 6th day of March, 1777. In the proceedings of the convention the place of meeting is not designated. There can be no doubt that it was at the Court House. That was the place designated for the meetings in the report of the committee recommending removal to Kingston ; and it was certainly the place of meeting on the 18th of March, when the convention, on motion of Gouverneur Morris, adopted the following preamble and resolution : " Whereas from the past want of care in the prisoners now confined in the jail, immediately underneath the convention chamber, the same is sup- posed to have become unwholesome ; and very nauseous and dis- agreeable effluvia arises, which may endanger the health of the members of this convention therefore
" Resolved that for the preservation of their health, the mem- bers of this convention be at liberty, at their pleasure, to smoke in the convention chamber while the House is sitting and proceeding on business. On motion of Mr Jay, Resolved that Capt Platt, Mr Cuyler and Mr Duane be and are hereby appointed a com- mittee, to devise ways and means for cleaning the jail below and removing the prisoners."
On the 18th of March the committee reported ways and means for cleaning the jail, and they were agreed to.
At the same meeting resolutions were adopted appointing com- missioners in the several counties for taking into possession and exposing for sale the personal property of persons gone over to the enemy, the net proceeds to be deposited in the treasury, to be thereafter paid to the respective owners, or otherwise disposed of
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
at the discretion of the Legislature, leaving, however, to each of the families of the persons aforesaid their apparel, necessary house- hold furniture, and such provisions as will be sufficient for their subsistence for three months.
Patrick Barber, Benjamin Smedes, Jr., and Johannis Sleght were appointed commissioners for Ulster County.
On the 13th of March, 1777, Captain Platt, Major Lawrence, and Mr. Duane were appointed a committee to inquire into the cir- cumstances of the prisoners confined at Kingston, and to administer the oath of allegiance, and to discharge such as may appear to be within the intention of the former resolutions of the convention.
On the 12th day of March, 1777, the committee which had been appointed in the early part of the session to prepare and report a plan or form of government, presented their report to the conven- tion. After being read, it was, on motion of Colonel De Witt, laid on the table until the next morning, and ordered that the same be then taken under consideration.
The next day, the 18th, the convention proceeded to the con- sideration of the reported plan of government, and thenceforward continued from time to time to consider it paragraph by paragraph, and made sundry amendments thereto, until the 20th day of April, 1777, when it was read throughout, and the proposed amendments were unanimously agreed to. The question was then put upon the adoption of the constitution as amended, and it was adopted by the affirmative vote of every member present except Peter R. Liv- ingston, who requested that his dissent thereto be entered on the minutes.
This important act occurred on the Sabbath day, revolutionary times knowing no day of rest. It was then ordered that the con- stitution of this State be published at the Court House on the en- suing Tuesday morning at eleven o'clock ; and the convention further directed that the Kingston committee be furnished with a copy of the resolution, and that they notify the inhabitants thereof.
On Tuesday, the 22d day of April, 1777, the members of the convention, together with the people in the vicinity, were called together by the merry peal of the church and other bells in the village, to listen to the reading and promulgation of the constitu- tion of the State in front of the Court House.
Preparatory to such meeting, the local authorities had for the accommodation of the officers erected a platform consisting of a " few planks resting on barrels. At the appointed hour Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt, Vice-President of the Convention, and Robert Berrian, one of its secretaries, mounted the primitive ros- trum, and the secretary at once proceeded to read the document in the presence of the assembled people. Thus was New York placed
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
5:27
THE OLD COURT-HOUSE IN KINGSTON.
under a model constitutional government, and all the sacred rights of freemen guaranteed to her citizens.
The constitution thus promulgated was truly a model for com- pleteness and perfection in whatever light it may be considered, whether viewed simply as declaratory of the rights of the citizen, or as a system of government separately, or both combined. It stood the test of nearly half a century without any fundamental amendment. No subsequent constitution of the State can be said to be any improvement upon it, except in regard to such changes as became necessary by reason of the enormous increase and changes in population, wealth, and business, fostered and produced by its own wise and beneficent provisions.
Kingston has the honor of having been its birthplace, Charles De Witt, a representative from Ulster County, with being one of the members of the distinguished committee who prepared and reported the same to the convention, and Christopher Tappen, Matthew Rea, Matthew Cantine, Charles De Witt, and Arthur Parkes, dele- gates from Ulster County, with being among those who attended and participated in the revision, perfection, and final adoption of the instrument as the Constitution of the State of New York.
A committee, consisting of Messrs. R. R. Livingston, Scott,
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
Morris, Jay, and Hobart, was appointed to prepare and report a plan for organizing and establishing the government agreed to by the convention.
On the 30th of April, 1777, the committee reported a plan for organizing and establishing the government, and the convention at once entered upon its consideration. After some time spent there- on, in accordance with the suggestions of the report, they pro- ceeded first to the formation of the Committee of Safety, to consist of fifteen members, to be clothed with full and plenary powers, until the complete organization of the State government. The con- vention then proceeded to the election of the members of such com- mittee by ballot. The following named persons were elected : John Morin Scott, Robert R. Livingston, Christopher Tappen, Abraham Yates, Jr., Gouverneur Morris, Zephaniah Platt, John Jay, Charles De Witt, Robert Harper, Jacob Cuyler, Thomas Tred- well, Pierre Van Cortlandt, Matthew Cantine, John Sloss Hobart, and Jonathan G. Tompkins.
The convention then proceeded to the appointment of some judicial and other officers, as follows : Robert R. Livingston, chan- cellor ; John Jay, chief-justice ; John Morin Scott and Robert Yates, puisne judges ; but General Scott refusing to accept, John Sloss Hobart was elected in his stead, and Egbert Benson was elected attorney-general.
On the 5th and 6th of May the convention proceeded to the election of various local officers, including, among others, Egbert Dumont, sheriff ; Levi Pawling, first judge ; and Derick Wynkoop, associate judge of Ulster County. George Clinton when a young man had been appointed clerk of Ulster County by the old colonial Governor Clinton, and still continued to hold such office. He was continued in the same office by the convention.
On the Sth day of May, the convention, by resolution, directed the sheriff's of the several counties to give at least ten days' public notice of an election to be held in each county, "for Governor Lieutenant Governor and Senators, by the Freeholders thereof. qualified as is by the constitution prescribed, and for Members of Assembly by the People at large."
The convention designated the places for holding the polls in the county of Ulster, as follows : At the Court House in Kingston ; at the house of Ann Du Bois, in New Paltz ; at the house of Sarah Hill, in Hanover Precinct, and at the house of Martin Wygant, in the Precinct of New Burgh.
On the 5th of May quite an excitement was raised in the con- vention upon a question of breach of privilege. The House was informed that one of its members, Colonel De Witt, was detained in custody of a guard of militia. The doorkeeper was sent to
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
inform Mr. De Witt that his immediate attendance in the House was required. Colonel De Witt informed the House that he had that morning been taken in custody by a guard of militia, under command of Captain Gerardus Hardenbergh, as a delinquent who had not furnished a draft for the militia. Gerardus Hardenbergh was at once summoned, and upon appearing was asked by what authority he took Colonel De Witt, a member of the House, in custody. He produced a warrant directed to him and issued by Colonel Jonathan Elmendorf, and said he thought it his duty to obey all orders from his superior officers. Colonel Elmendorf was then summoned. He produced the list of delinquents in Colonel Snyder's regiment as the same was transmitted by Colonel Snyder to him, which included Charles De Witt's name. Captain Harden- bergh was called up and asked whether Colonel De Witt was in- cluded in the list of delinquents reported by him to Colonel Snyder. He answered in the negative, but said that Colonel De Witt's negro Pete was on the list. The House then requested General George Clinton to direct Colonel Johannis Snyder to attend the House without delay. Colonel Snyder not attending before the adjournment, it was ordered that the subject-matter be referred to the Committee of Safety to hear and determine thereon.
Colonel Johannis Snyder attended before the Committee of Safety on the 23d day of May, 1777, in reference to the preceding breach of privilege, and after examining witnesses and hearing the explana- tions and statements of the different parties, it was by the commit- tee " Resolved, That the said Colonel Snyder, Lieutenant-Colonel Elmendorf, and Captain Gerardus Hardenbergh are guilty of a high breach of the privileges of the convention of the State of New York-
" Resolved That the conduct aforesaid, of the said Johannis Snyder, appears to this committee to have been unwarrantable, with respect to his general, affrontive with respect to the late convention of this State, and malicious with respect to the said Charles De Witt.
" Resolved that the aforegoing state of facts, and resolutions, be laid before the council for the appointment of officers, at their first meeting."
Many of the inhabitants of those portions of the State which had been occupied by the enemy had, on account of their Whig tendencies, and support of the cause of freedom, fled from their homes and left their all behind. The convention very properly took action in their behalf, and on the Sth of May, 1777. after re- citing that, " Whereas a regard to the sacred cause in which we are . engaged, as well as common justice and humanity, dictates the pro- priety of adopting some mode of relief for such of the inhabitants of
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
the State, as have, by the hand of tyranny and injustice, been driven from their habitations, and deprived of their substance, and there- by rendered unable to support themselves," by resolution appointed two commissioners for each of the counties of Westchester, Duchess, Ulster, and Orange, to take the general superintendence and care of all such poor as aforesaid, in each of the respective counties for which they were appointed, with power, in said counties, to draw upon the State treasurer for a sum not exceeding five hundred pounds for each county. The commissioners appointed for the county of Ulster were Cornelius C. Schoonmaker and Johannis Sleght.
On the 15th of March the convention empowered the different committees within the counties of Ulster and northern parts of Orange, whenever they should deem it necessary for the advance- ment of the public service, to issue a warrant to impress such horses and wagons as they might deem necessary. They at the same time authorized and empowered the committee of Kingston to cause the two block-houses within the said town to be repaired and fitted for the accommodation of any sick soldiers of the United States who might pass that way, and transmit the account thereof to the con- vention, or some future Legislature of the State, to make provision for the payment thereof.
Experience having exhibited the necessity of some troops being subject to the orders of the Committee of Safety, it was ordered that a company be raised in the county of Ulster, to consist of one cap- tain, two lieutenants, three sergeants, three corporals, one musi- cian, and fifty privates, to be properly accoutred, and be under Continental rules and regulations. They were to perform the mili- tary service required of them by the Committee of Safety, and the committee was desired to recommend officers.
On the 11th of May the convention received a letter from Gen- eral George Clinton, dated the 9th instant at Fort Montgomery, requesting leave of the convention to resign his commission of brigadier-general of the militia of Ulster and Orange counties, for reasons assigned in the letter. On the 13th of May the convention declined to accept General Clinton's resignation, and directed the Committee of Safety to write to him assigning the reasons for their refusal, among others that the high sense the convention entertained of his abilities to serve his country at this important hour forbade their complying with his request at present.
On the 13th of May, 1777, the State Convention dissolved after the adoption of a resolution directing the Committee of Safety to assem- ble at Kingston the next day.
On the 24th of June, 1777, a party of Indian warriors, who had been on a visit to Washington's headquarters, made a brief stop at
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
Kingston on their way home, when they appeared before the Committee of Safety of the State of New York, and were addressed by the president, as follows :
" Brothers, we are but a small part of the Great Council of the State of New York. The rest of our brethren have left us here to do the public business. Our Great Council have gone home to attend their own business, and are to meet here on the first day of the next month. We are sure they would have been glad to meet their brethren the Senecas in the Grand Council.
" We are sorry to hear that you are obliged to leave this place so soon. It would have given us great pleasure to smoke the pipe of friendship with you, and to have assured you further as we now do, of the determination of our Great Council to keep the road open between your nation and us, and to keep bright the chain of peace, as it has been between your and our forefathers.
"We commend the wisdom of our brethren the Senecas in ap- pointing you to repair to our chief warrior and see the situation of our affairs. We hope you have found us strong for war, and that the enemy are so weak and so much in fear of us, that after coming out of their lines, they have been obliged to retreat precipitately to them without doing our army any mischief. You will now be able to contradict the false reports concerning the enemy's strength and our weakness, which their wicked emissaries have artfully attempted to spread through the Indian nations.
" Brothers we wish you a good journey. Assure our brothers the Senecas, and the rest of the Six Nations of our friendship, and accept this small acknowledgment of the regard we have for you."
At the election held in the State of New York in the year 1777, for the choice of the first governor, lieutenant-governor, and sena- tors, under the constitution lately adopted and promulgated, there were, besides a very few scattering votes, 3762 votes cast for gov- ernor, of which George Clinton received 1828 ; Philip Schuyler, 1199 ; John M. Scott, 368 ; John Jay, 367.
There were 3491, besides a few scattering votes, for lieutenant- governor, of which George Clinton received 1647 ; Pierre Van Cort- landt, 1098 ; A. Ten Broeck, 746.
The vote in Kingston stood : For governor, Clinton, 66 ; Scott, 33 ; Schuyler, 10. For lieutenant-governor, Van Cortlandt, 63; Clinton, 27 ; Scott, 14.
Thus it will be seen that Clinton was nearly the unanimous choice of the electors for either the one or the other of those offices. Nearly all those who preferred Schuyler, Scott, or Jay for governor selected Clinton as their choice for lieutenant-governor. That was an election truly without a parallel.
On the 9th day of July the Committee of Safety, having examined
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
the poll lists and ballots returned by the sheriff's of the respective counties of the several elections held in the said counties for gov- ernor and lieutenant-governor, and also for senators, did declare that George Clinton was duly elected governor of the State, and that he was also elected lieutenant-governor ; that in the middle district, of which Ulster County formed a part, Levi Pawling, Henry Wisner, Jesse Woodhull, Zephaniah Platt, Jonathan Landon, and Arthur Parkes, were elected senators.
The president, by direction of the committee, addressed a letter to Governor Clinton, of which the following is a copy : "Sir, I am directed, by the Council, to present you their congratulations, upon your being elected, by the free suffrage of the freeholders of the State, to the office of Governor and also of Lieutenant Governor ; at the same time, I am to desire, that you will make such arrange- ments of your affairs, as to come with all convenient speed to this place, to take the oath of the office which you shall think proper to accept, according to the ordinance of the late convention, and likewise to signify your resignation of one of them, to the end that a new election may be held."
On the 10th day of July, 1777, eighty prisoners arrived from Albany in two sloops to be confined on board the fleet prison at Kingston, and the warden requested an increase of the guard. The committee at once ordered that Major Van Zandt and Mr. Cantine, with the sheriff of Ulster, immediately proceed to the strand and give the necessary directions with respect to guard and disposition of the prisoners.
On Tuesday, the 15th, the committee ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Elmendorf, by draft out of his regiment of militia, to furnish a cap- tain and twenty men, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hoornbeek, out of his regiment of militia, a lieutenant and fifteen men, to guard the pris- oners in Kingston Jail and fleet prison, by Thursday next, the 17th, at four o'clock. And that Captains Elmendorf and Bogardus, of Colonel Snyder's regiment, by four o'clock that afternoon, furnish a guard and twenty-four men to relieve the guards at the Court House and fleet prisons, to be continued until relieved by other guards from the militia.
On the 16th of July Captain Schoonmaker was appointed to raise a company of men similar to the company he lately raised, and commanded to be under the orders of the Committee of Safety.
On the 16th of July the Committee of Safety ordered that the Legislature of the State meet at Kingston, on the 1st day of August.
On the 17th of July, 1777, owing to the hostile attitude exhib- ited by the Indians, it was ordered that two companies of Rangers be raised, to serve in the counties of Tryon, Ulster, and Albany, for
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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.
the protection of the frontier inhabitants. The officers were desig- nated as follows: Of the first company, John Harper, Captain ; Alexander Harper, First Lieutenant. Of the second company, James Clyde, Captain ; John Campbell, First Lieutenant.
On the 11th day of July General Clinton sent a communication to the Committee of Safety accepting the office of governor and re- signing that of lieutenant-governor ; also stating that as soon as con- sistent with his duty, and the safety of the State at his post (Fort Montgomery) would admit, he would repair to Kingston and take the oath of office.
On the 30th day of July, 1777, Governor Clinton appeared in the Committee of Safety and took both the oath of allegiance and the oath of office. The oaths were administered by the president in committee.
The committee then at once issued a proclamation for declaring and proclaiming the governor of the State, as follows :
" Whereas his Excellency George Clinton has been elected Gov- ernor of this State of New York, and hath this day qualified him- self for the execution of his office, by taking in this Council the oaths required by the Constitution of this State, to enable him to exercise his said office ; This Council doth, therefore hereby, in the name and by the authority of the good People of this State, proclaim and declare the said George Clinton Esq Governor Gen- eral and Commander in Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of this State, to whom the good People of this State are to pay all due obedience according to the laws and Constitution thereof-
" By order of the Council of Safety " PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT President.
" God save the People
" Ordered that John Holt immediately print 500 copies and that the proclamation be made and published, by the Sheriff of Ulster County, at or near the Court house in Kingston at six O'clock this afternoon.
" Resolved and Ordered That Captain Evert Bogardus and Cap- tain John Elmendorf do cause the companies of Militia, under their respective commands, to appear at the Court house in Kings- ton at six O'clock this afternoon properly armed and accoutered, at which time and place his Excellency George Clinton will be pro- claimed Governor of this State."
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