USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The history of the city of Albany, New York : from the discovery of the great river in 1524, by Verrazzano, to the present time > Part 30
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This paper it is said, bore the signatures of about seventy citizens. The opposition it is also said, " was raised and conducted by a few persons, very remarkable for a close and studied attention to the formalities of religion who, by their applications," had "procured the names of some of the most respectable " of the " elder citizens, to join them in a petition to the corporation." They also "it is further declared, publicly threatened to raise a party to destroy by violence the building in- tended to be occupied as a theatre, provided it was opened for that purpose."
Meanwhile the work of fitting up the hospital was progressing, but not rapidly enough to permit the com- pany to give the first performance on the night already announced for the opening of the theatre. In an ad- vertisement, in the Gazette, the managers informed the public that they found it "absolutely necessary to defer the exhibitions until Tuesday Evening," the thirteenth of December.
When, on the twelfth of December, the board of aldermen, voted on the motion "that the comedians have not the liberty to exhibit their theatrical perform- ances in the hospital," the motion was lost by a vote of nine to four.
The board then affirmed its former decision by the following resolutions :
" Resolved that in the Opinion of this Board, they have not a Legal Right to prohibit the Company of Come- dians in this City from exhibiting their Theatrical per- formances.
"Resolved that as a Formal application was made by the said Company of Comedians to this Board for leave to occupy two Rooms in the Hospital for this pur- pose, and as this application was notorious and not
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Hastily Granted, so that sufficient time was afforded the Inhabitants to Express their Sentiments, and altho' the permission was Granted in formality by a Majority of Members Composing the Corporation, they Conceive that it would be unjust at this time and forfeit their Honour to Deprive the said Company of Comedians of the use of the said Rooms, and Subject them to useless Expense."
This action of the board of aldermen was thus commented on, by a correspondent in the Gazette, a few weeks afterward : "It would be doing injustice to our Magistrates, not to mention here, that though it was not in their power to prohibit, yet they have never ex- tended their authority so far, as publicly to license the opening of the Theatre ; and if common fame can be credited, none of them have countenanced the Comedians, by attending their exhibitions -- An example worthy the imitation of all ranks.
"When we find this darling vice encouraged in the first, and patronized in the second city of the state, and rearing its ensigns in each corner thereof, is it not high time for considerate inhabitants, to step forth and op- pose the increasing evil with firmness and resolution, ere it be too late."
The comedians remained in the city until the twen- tieth of February, 1786, when they departed for Mon- treal, having given two performances each week during their stay. "In justice to the Company " says the edi- tor of the Gazette, "we cannot omit mentioning, that their conduct has been such as to meet with the appro- bation of the city in general."
In 1786, Albany was the sixth largest city in the United States. It contained five hundred and fifty houses, and it was estimated that it had three thousand
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and fifty inhabitants.1 To celebrate the centennial an- niversary of the incorporation of the city, the board of aldermen on the fifteenth of July appointed Philip van Rensselaer, Peter W. Yates, aldermen, John W. Wendell, Richard Lush, and Jillis Winne, assistant aldermen, a committee to report a suitable way to com- memorate the event. As entered in the minutes of the meeting of the common council, on the eighteenth of July, the following report was presented respecting the celebration :
"The Committee to whom was Referred the Mode of Celebrating the 22nd of July Instant, Being the Cen- tury anniversary of this City, do Report, that in their Opinion, The Common Council Convene in the forenoon of that day, at Ten O'Clock, at the City Hall, and from thence proceed in procession to the Hill westward of the City, attended by such Citizens as shall Chuse ; That during the Procession all the Bells of the several Churches in this City shall Ring, and at the arrival at the place assigned for the Purpose on the Hill, Thirteen Toasts and one for the Charter, [be offered] under the Discharge of Fourteen Cannon.
"That the Order of Procession be as follows, vizt : 1 The High Sheriff. 2 The Under Sheriffs. 3 The Con- stables with their Staffs. 4 The Mayor and Recorder. 5 The Aldermen. 6 The Common Council. 7 The Chamber- lain and Clerks. 8 The Marshal. 9 The Corporations of the several Churches. 10 The Judges of the several Courts. 11 The Justices of the Peace. 12 The Members of Legislature & Attorneys at Law. 13 The Militia Officers.
1 The number of houses in different cities at this time were thus given : Philadelphia 4600, New York 3500, Boston 2100, Baltimore 1900, Charles- ton, S. C. 1540, Albany 550, New Haven 400, Hartford 300, Wilmington 400, Annapolis 260, Fredericktown, Md. 400, Alexandria, Va. 300, Rich- mond 280, Petersburgh 290, Williamsburgh 230.
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14 The Engine & Fire Company. 15 The Citizens at Large."
Having heard the report, the common council then
"Resolved that the former Committee be a Com- mittee to prepare and superintend the said business, who are to purchase a Barrel of Good Spirits for the purpose.
"Resolved that the members of this Board have a Supper at Mr. Lewis' Tavern at 6 O'Clock in the after- noon."
The editor of the Gazette, in his account of the cele- bration, says : "The countenance of the inhabitants bespoke great satisfaction on the occasion ; and many wished that they might be blessed with the opportunity of celebrating the next Charter-Jubilee in like manner.
"In the evening, the Corporation partook of an ele- gant supper, at the City-Tavern."
In September men were employed by the city to remove the embankments of earth on the site of the fort for the purpose of widening State Street.
By an act of legislature, on the twenty-first of March, 1787, the election of aldermen, assistant aldermen and chamberlain was to be held thereafter "on the last Tuesday of September in every year."
The Lutherans, who for a number of years had been worshipping with the Episcopalians, "because the brethren of the English church [had] pulled down the edifice" built by the former, and who had paid £50 a year as their share for the support "of the common minister," held their religious meetings after the revo- lution in a dwelling-house near the site of their first church. On the 26th of August, 1784, Johann George Hillebrand, Carl Newman, and Christian Ering were elected trustees of the Lutheran church. The congrega-
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tion, having no pastor, on the seventh of September, extended a call to the Rev. Heinrich Moeller, who ac- cepted it, receiving an annual salary of fifty pounds sterling, and as much fire-wood as he needed. By agreement, he was permitted to serve at the same time the Low Dutch congregation at Loonenburgh.
The minister, elders, and deacons of the church in March, 1786, petitioned the common council to be grant- ed the liberty to collect money in the city to build a house of worship. This request being granted, they immediately began to solicit subscriptions. To construct the foundation of the building, the municipal authorities permitted the officers of the church to take from the walls of the dismantled fort at the head of State Street, one hundred loads of stone for which the city was to receive seventy dollars. Having erected the church, the officers requested the board of aldermen in February, 1787, to permit them to continue "their application for donations " to enable them to complete their work. The common council, knowing that they had "erected a con- venient church for the public worship and convinced that their resources " were inadequate to effect their purposes, "recommended them to the attention of all Christian people." The subscriptions received for the erection of the church, in 1787 amounted to £552 12s. 2d. The new building occupied the site of the first church, on the north side of the Rutten kill, on the west side of Washington (South Pearl) Street, between Beaver and Nail streets. Not long after the erection of the church edifice, the Rev. Heinrich Moeller resigned his pastorship of the congregation. In June, 1794, the Rev. Anthon Theodore Braun became its pastor. About the year 1797, a bell, weighing two-hundred and eighty- eight pounds, at one time used as an alarm-bell on a
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This representation was followed by captains of ves- sels, merchants, traders, clerks, "the corporations of the Dutch, Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches, pre- ceded by the Clergy. Sheriff and Deputies, with white wands, Constables with their stars," grand jurors, mem- bers of the corporation, judges and justices of the court of Common Pleas, the chancellor, gentlemen of the bar in gowns, followed by their students, school-masters followed by their scholars, the surveyor-general, the adjutant-general, and the officers of the militia in com- plete uniform, physicians and students, and a detachment of artillery, commanded by Captain Hale.
" The Procession moved, with the greatest regularity, through Water-Vleit-street, Market-street and State- street, to the Federal Bower ; which the van reached at half past twelve o'clock, announced by the firing of a gun.
"This edifice made an highly elegant appearance. It was erected on the most advantageous parts of the hights west of Fort-Frederic ; commanding the most extended prospect of any situation near the city ; and when the flags of the respective divisions were displayed on its battlements, that of the United States on the centre, that of the State on the right, and the Farmers' on the left, the coup d' oeil was extremely pleasing.
"The edifice was 154 feet in length and 44 in breadth, and was raised upon 4 rows of pillars, 15 feet in height, which were close wreathed with foliage, and composed eleven arches in front. From the architrave, which was clothed with verdant branches, festoons of foliage were suspended, which crossed the arches ; above the centre of which, were white oval medallions, with the name of a ratifying State on each. The centre medallion of which was inscribed New York, projected some feet
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above the rest, and with an elegantly finished pediment formed a graceful portico to the building. * * *
"When the procession had drawn up in a line, at the rear of the bower, the company marched off, in regular divisions, to the tables, which were plentifully covered with substantial American cheer ; handsomely arranged under the direction of Mr. William Van Ingen. And, though the tables which were eleven in number, placed across the colonnade, in a line with the arches, were by no means sufficient for the company, which in its num- ber far exceeded the expectations of the warmest favor- ers of the procession, yet, so lively was the pleasurable spirit of accommodation, so general the wish to diffuse satisfaction, that no inconvenience was felt or com- plained of by any."
After dinner the thirteen "toasts were drank, each honored with the discharge of eleven guns."
" A gun was then fired, as a signal for again forming the Procession, which was done with the utmost regu- larity and dispatch. The route then taken, was down State-street into Pearl-street, and through it, Columbia- street, Market-street and Court-street, into the spacious pasture south of Fort Orange ; where the whole form'd a semicircle. After eleven guns had been fired from the Fort, answered by three cheers from the whole, the respective divisions marched off, at intervals, and, as they passed the Fort, received the salute of a single gun, which they returned with three cheers. Thus the whole dispersed, by degrees in such order and quiet, that had a stranger arrived in the city before six o'clock, his observation could never have suggested to him, that there had been any public meeting, however trifling."1
In the American geography, a work by Jedidiah 1 The Albany Gazette. August 28, 1788.
26
STATE ST. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Photo Eng Con fty
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British man-of-war, was purchased for £55, and "with the blessing of God," was "put into the stippel of Ebenezer church."
After the organization of the Presbyterian church of Albany in 1760, the Rev. William Hanna accepted the pastorate of the society, which he served for two years. He was succeeded by the Rev. Andrew Bay, who had the pastoral charge of the congregation for five years. During the revolution it appears that the church was without a minister. On the twelfth of July, 1785, the Rev. John McDonald was called to serve the society, and having accepted the pastorship, was ordained and in- stalled on the eighth of November. The building of a house of worship of brick was undertaken in 1794. The new church was erected on the plat of ground on the east side of Washington (South Pearl) Street, between Beaver Street and Store Lane, (Norton Street,) and was opened for service on the twentieth of November, 1796. The dimensions of the commodious building were sixty- four by seventy-six feet.
The adoption of the constitution of the United States by the different states created two political parties, the federal and the anti-federal, the former favoring and the latter opposing its adoption. The ratification of the constitution of the United States by New York, in July, 1788, caused great joy, and the event was commemorated by the federalists with processions and barbecues.
On Monday, the twenty-eighth of July, 1788, a num- ber of the citizens of Albany having met together to consider the propriety of celebrating the ratification of the constitution for the government of the United States by the convention of the state of New York, determined to request the people of the city "to partake in a public rejoicing, and to join in a federal procession, on Friday,
.
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the 8th day of August," which day's celebration was "to be concluded with a decent American repast." The invitation was complied with, and "on the day ap- pointed, at sunrise, a gun was fired to announce the day.
"At ten o'clock, A. M., 11 guns were fired to assemble to the fields near Water-Vliet ; .
" At half after ten, one gun for forming the Pro- cession ;
"At eleven, the Procession was formed, when the whole line on the march saluted the Constitution ;
"Immediately after the salute, the Procession moved in the following order :
"The Albany Troop of Light-Horse, commanded by Captain Gansevoort, the officers and men in complete uniform.
" Music.
"The Constitution, neatly engrossed on parchment, suspended on a decorative staff, and borne by Major- General Schuyler, on horseback.
"Standard of the United States, carried by Colonel John H. Wendell.
"Eleven ancient Citizens, each representing a state that had ratified the Constitution, bearing a scroll of parchinent, with the name of the state endorsed in capitals.
"Axe-Men, ornamented with garlands of laurels.
" An elegant Plough, guided by Stephen van Rens- selaer, Esq .;
"Sowers, John Cuyler, Esq. and Capt. Jacob Lansing.
"A neat Harrow, guided by Francis Nicoll, Esq.
"Farmers, neatly dressed, with various implements of husbandry, emblematically decorated.
"The Farmers' Flag carried by Mr. Gerrit Witbeck,
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green silk, a sheaf of wheat, motto, God speed the Plough.
"Brewers, preceded by a dray, carrying a butt- Master van Rensselaer, in the character of Bacchus, astride, with a silver beaker in his hand."
These were followed by carpenters, gold and silversmiths, boat builders, tin-men and pewterers, block and pump makers, blacksmiths, clock and watch- makers, sail makers, barbers, bakers, nailers, clothers, carmen, ship-joiners and ship-wrights, riggers, inspectors of flour, millers and weavers, appropriately dressed, and either carrying the implements of their trades or having their work-shops on decorated wagons, driven by two, four, or six horses.
Then "Printers, preceded by Apprentices decorated with blue sashes, carrying volumes of Newspapers, &c.
"A white silk flag, carried by Mr. Charles R. Web- ster ; in an escutcheon, the Bible, the Constitution, Sept. 17, 1787, Ratification of the State of New York, July 26, 1788-on a wreath, a hand holding a composing-stick properly ; motto, Our Freedom is secured."
Then followed painters and glaziers, tailors, coach- makers and wheel-wrights, turners, masons and brick- layers, saddlers and harness-makers, tanners and curriers, brass founders, coopers, butchers, cord-wainers, and glass-makers.
Then "a batteau, elegantly painted and decorated, on a carriage, drawn by 2 grey horses, neatly caparisoned, loaded with goods proper for the Indian Trade ; navi- gated by a proper number of batteaumen, furnished with setting poles, paddles, &c., which were used with great skill during the procession, Mr. Gerardus Lansing, in the character of a trader, and an Indian, properly dressed and ornamented, sitting in the stern."
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Morse, printed in 1789, the city of Albany is thus described : "It contains about 600 houses built mostly by trading people on the margin of the river. The houses stand chiefly upon Pearl, Market and Water streets, and six other streets or lanes which cross them nearly at right angles. They are built in the Old Dutch Gothic style, with the gable end to the street, which custom the first settlers brought with them from Hol- land. The gable end is commonly of brick, with the heavy moulded ornament of slanting with notches, like stairs, and an iron house, for a weather-cock, on the top. There is one little appendage to their houses, which the people, blind to the inconveniences of it, still continue, and that is the water gutters or spouts which project from every house, rendering it almost dangerous to walk the streets in a rainy day.
" Their houses are seldom more than one story and a half high, and have but little convenience, and less ele- gance ; but they are kept very neat, being rubbed with a mop almost every day, and scoured every week. The same neatness, however, is not observed in the streets, which are very muddy most of the year, except those which are paved ; and these are seldom swept and very rough.
"The city of Albany contains about 4000 inhabitants, collected from almost all parts of the northern world. As great a variety of languages are spoken in Albany as in any town in the United States. Adventurers, in pursuit of wealth, are led here by the advantages of trade which this place affords. Situated on one of the finest rivers in the world, at the head of sloop navigation, surrounded with a rich and extensive back country, and the store house of the trade to and from Canada, and the Lakes, it must flourish, and the inhabitants cannot but grow rich.
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" Albany is said to be an unsocial place. This is naturally to be expected. A heterogeneous collection of people, invested with all their national prejudices, eager in the pursuit of gain, and jealous of a rivalship, cannot expect to enjoy the pleasures of social inter- course or the sweets of an intimate and refined friend- ship.
"A gentleman of observation and discernment, who resided sometime in Albany, has made the following observations, which, though of general application, I beg leave to introduce under this particular head :
"To form a just idea of the manners and customs of the inhabitants, we must confine ourselves to the Dutch, who being much the most numerous, give the tone to the manners of the place. Two things unite more particularly to render these disagreeable to foreigners ; first, a natural prejudice which we all possess in favor of our own, and against the manners of another place or nation ; secondly, their close union, like the Jews of old, prevent the innovation of foreigners, and to keep the balance of interest always in their own hands.
"It is an unhappy circumstance when an infant nation adopts the vices, luxuries and manners of an old one ; but this was in a great measure the case with the first settlers of Albany, most of whom were immediately from Amsterdam. Their diversions are walking and sitting in mead-houses, and in mixed companies they dance. They know nothing of the little plays and amusements common to small social circles. The gen- tleman who are lively and gay, play at cards, billiards, chess, &c., others go to the tavern, mechanically, at 11 o'clock-stay until dinner, and return in the evening. It is not uncommon to see forty or fifty at these places of resort, at the same time; yet they seldom drink to
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intoxication, unless in company, or on public occasions, when it is thought to be no disgrace.
"They seldom admit many spectators to their mar- riages ; but the day after, the groom prepares a cold collation, with punch, wine, &c., to partake of which, he expects all his friends will come, at 11 o'clock with- out any invitation. A dictator, with absolute power, is then appointed to preside at each table, or in each room, and it seldoms happens that any are suffered to leave the house, until the whole circle exhibits a shock- ing specimen of human depravity.
"Their funeral ceremonies are equally singular. None attend them without a previous invitation. At the appointed hour they meet at the neighboring houses or stoops, until the corpse is brought out. Ten or twelve persons are appointed to take the bier all to- gether, and are not relieved. The clerk then desires the gentlemen (for ladies never walk to the grave, nor even attend the funeral, unless a near relation) to fall into the procession. They go to the grave, and return to the house of mourning in the same order. Here the tables are handsomely set and furnished with cold and spiced wine, tobacco and pipes, and candles, paper, &c., to light them. The conversation turns upon promis- cuous subjects, however improper, and unsuitable to the solemnity of the occasion, and the house of mourn- ing is soon converted into a house of feasting.
"The best families live extremely well, enjoying all the conveniences and luxuries of life ; but the poor have scarcely the necessaries of subsistence.
"The ground covered by the city charter is of a poor soil. In the river before the city is a beautiful little island, which, were it properly cultivated would afford a faint resemblance to Paradise.
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"The well water in this city is extremely bad, scarcely drinkable by those who are not accustomed to it. Indeed all the water for cooking is brought from the river, and many families use it to drink.
"The public buildings are a Low Dutch church, one for Presbyterians, one for Germans or High Dutch, one for Episcopalians-a hospital and the City Hall."
A writer thus speaks of the city in 1789 : " We have a prospect, ere another year shall transpire, of seeing the principal streets not only comfortably, but elegant- ly paved. In addition to which, the wharves have been repaired and enlarged, and the city adorned with several new private buildings, which would not disgrace some of the principal cities in Europe, and would ornament any in America."
Seven or eight years ago, "a competent English teach- er was scarcely to be found. We now have an academy, which flourishes under the direction of Mr. Merchant, a gentleman who has always given such proofs of his abil- ities, as to render encomium entirely superfluous.
" At that period [that is seven or eight years ago] not more than seventy, at the utmost calculation, shops and stores were kept in this city. Now we behold Market and State streets crowded with stores, and rents in those streets enhanced to such a degree as to put houses out of the reach of inconsiderable traders. Nor had we manu- factories of any kind, but depended on importation en- tirely for every manufactured article. Now we see the citizens, stimulated by motives of public spirit, daily pro- moting them. Messrs. Stevenson, Douw & Ten Eyck have erected a nail manufactory, in which nails of every description are manfactured as cheap, and pronounced to be superior to any imported. 1
1 In 1787, a nail manufactory was established "in Orange street, near the High Dutch [German Reformed] Church," by Gerrit Witbeck.
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"Much praise is also due to James Caldwell, of this city, merchant, for his spirited exertions in promoting the manufacture of tobacco of every description, snuff, mustard and chocolate, for which purpose he has, at great expense, erected mills which are ranked among the first in America. 1 *
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