USA > New York > The history of the late province of New-York, from its discovery, to the appointment of Governor Colden, in 1762. Vol. I > Part 21
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" 8th. That he, the said Sir Henry Rosswell, and others, obtained a grant and confirmation thereof from the crown, under the great seal of England, dated the 4th of March, in the fourth year of king Charles the first, within which grant and confirmation the province of Massachusetts Bay is included, which grant and confirmation was adjudged void in the high court of chancery of England, in the year 1684. And the committee are of opinion, that nothing to the westward of Connecticut river could pass by that grant and confirmation ; for that his majesty could not have had an intention to grant the same, it being then possessed by the Dutch as before mentioned.
" 9th. That the committe conceive the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay can claim nothing at present, but what is granted them by their last charter in 1691 ; all their other grants and charters being either void of themselves, or declared so in the chancery of England.
" 10th. That the bounds granted by this charter are westward as far as the colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the Narraganset country : which words being in the case of a grant from the crown, the committee conceive can- not extend their bounds farther than to Connecticut colony, and therefore not to Connecticut River, and much less to the westward of it; because Connecticut itself at the time of that charter did not, in the knowledge of the crown, extend westward of that river; nor did till nine years after, when, by the royal approbation, the agreement between this province and that colony taking place, (which was not to be in force till such appro- VOL. I .- 38
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Britain, not already granted; for we are to consider New- York among her sister colonies, to borrow a law phrase, as a residuary legatee.
Hence we have, from the beginning, been exposed to con- troversies about limits. The New-Jersey claim includes
bation) the bounds of that colony were settled as is before mentioned : and the committee conceive it to be against reason to suppose that the crown intended, by the said charter, to grant any part of the province of New-York. under the then immediate government of the crown, without express mention thereof in the charter, and without notification thereof to Henry Sloughter, then governor of this province, that the crown had granted such a part of what was before within his jurisdiction by their majesties' commission aforesaid to him.
"11th. That both the patents under which the petitioners claim, the com- mittee find were granted under the great seal of this province; that of the ma- nor of Livingston in 1686, and that of Westenhook in 1735. And that the lands contained in the said grants are, the committee apprehend, within the jurisdic- tion of this province, they being both west of Connecticut river.
" 12th. That the committee are of opinion, the attempts of the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay, to make encroachments upon any lands granted by let- ters patent under the great seal of New-York, or upon any lands within the jurisdiction of this province, are disrespectful to his majesty's authority, tend to the disturbance of the subjects of this province, and may be the cause of great mischiefs and disorders.
" 13th. That the steps taken by the said inhabitants, even were the bounds of this province doubtful and unsettled, are intrusions, and disrespectful to his majesty's authority.
" And lastly. The committee are of opinion, that a copy of so much of this report as shall be approved of by your excellency and the council, be transmitted to the lieutenant-governor of the province of Massachusetts Bay, requesting that he would take effectual measures that all encroachments and disturbances, by the people of that colony, on his majesty's subjects of this province, be stayed ; and that he would lay this matter before the next general court, that they may inform your excellency by what warrant they claim or exercise any right to soil or jurisdiction westward of Connecticut river ; that the same may be considered, and such steps taken towards removing all causes of encroachments, or distur- bances, for the future, as may be agreeable to equity and justice, to the end that good understanding may be preserved, which ought to subsist between fellow subjects and neighbouring provinces.
" All which is nevertheless humbly submitted,
" by order of the committee,
"JAMES DE LANCEY, Chairman."
The government of the Massachusetts Bay never exhibited the reasons of their claim, in answer to this report, but continued their encroachments : and in the spring, 1755, surveyed and sold lands lying several miles west of the eastern extent of the manor of Livingston and the patent of Claverack.
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several hundred thousand acres, and has not a little impeded the settlement of the colony. The dispute with the Massa- chusetts Bay is still more important, and, for several years past, occasioned very considerable commotions. The New- Hampshire pretensions have, as yet, exposed us to no great trouble. But when all those claims are settled, a new con- troversy will probably commence with the proprietaries of Pennsylvania.
This province was, in 1691, divided by an act of assembly, into twelve counties, which I shall describe in their order.
THE CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW-YORK.
The city of New-York at first included only the island called by the Indians Manhatans; Manning's Island, the two Barn Islands and the three Oyster Islands were in the county ; but the limits of the city have since been augmented by charter. The island is very narrow, not a mile wide at a medium, and about fourteen miles in length. The south- west point projects into a fine spacious bay, nine miles long, and about four in breadth ; at the confluence of the waters of Hudson's river and the strait between Long-Island and the northern shore. The Narrows, at the south end of the bay, is scarce two miles wide, and opens the ocean to full view. The passage up to New-York from Sandy Hook, a point that extends farthest into the sea, is safe, and not above five and twenty miles in length. The common navi- gation is between the east and west banks, in two or three and twenty feet water. But it is said that an eighty gun ship may be brought up, through a narrow, winding, unfre- quented channel, between the north end of the east bank and Coney Island.
The city has, in reality, no natural basin or harbour. The ships lie off in the road, on the east side of the town, which is docked out, and better built than the west side, because the freshets in Hudson's river fill it in some winters with ice.
The city of New-York, as I have elsewhere had occasion
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to mention, "consists of about two thousand five hundred buildings. It is a mile in length, and not above half that in breadth. Such is its figure, its centre of business, and the situation of the houses, that the mean cartage, from one part to another, does not exceed above one quarter of a mile, than which nothing can be more advantageous to a trading city."
It is thought to be as healthy a spot as any in the world. The east and south parts, in general, are low, but the rest is situated on a dry, elevated, soil. The streets are irregu- lar, but being paved with round pebbles are clean, and lined with well built brick houses, many of which are covered with tiled roofs.
No part of America is supplied with markets abounding with greater plenty and variety. We have beef, pork, mut- ton, poultry, butter, wild fowl, venison, fish, roots, and herbs, of all kinds, in their seasons. Our oysters are a considerable article in the support of the poor. Their beds are within view of the town; a fleet of two hundred small craft are often seen there, at a time, when the weather is mild in winter ; and this single article is computed to be worth an- nually 10 or £12,000.
This city is the metropolis and grand mart of the province, and, by its commodious situation, commands also all the trade of the western part of Connecticut and that of east Jersey. "No season prevents our ships from launching out into the ocean. During the greatest severity of winter, an equal, unrestrained activity, runs through all ranks, orders, and employments."
Upon the south-west point of the city stands the fort, which is a square with four bastions. Within the walls is the house in which our governors usually reside ; and opposite to it brick barracks, built formerly for the independent companies. The governor's house is in height three stories, and fronts to the west ; having, from the second story, a fine prospect of the bay and the Jersey shore. At the south end there was formerly a chapel, but this was burnt down in the negro
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conspiracy of the spring, 1741. According to governor Burnet's observations, this fort stands in the latitude of 40° 42' north.
Below the walls of the garrison, near the water, we have lately raised a line of fortifications, which commands the entrance into the eastern road and the mouth of Hudson's river. This battery is built of stone, and the merlons con- sist of cedar joists, filled in with earth. It mounts ninety- two cannon, and these are all the works we have to defend us. About six furlongs south-east of the fort, lies Notten Island, containing about one hundred or one hundred and twenty acres, reserved by an act of assembly as a sort of demesne for the governors, upon which it is proposed to erect a strong castle, because an enemy might from thence easily bombard the city, without being annoyed either by our bat- tery or the fort. During the late war, a line of palisadoes was run from Hudson's to the East river, at the other end of the city, with block-houses at small distances. The greater part of these still remain as a monument of our folly, which cost the province about £8,000. 1
The inhabitants of New-York are a mixed people, but mostly descended from the original Dutch planters. There are still two churches in which religious worship is performed in that language. The old building is of stone and ill built, ornamented within by a small organ loft and brass branches. The new church is a high, heavy edifice, has a very exten- sive area, and was completed in 1729. It has no galleries, and yet will perhaps contain a thousand or twelve hundred auditors. The steeple of this church affords a most beautiful prospect, both of the city beneath and the surrounding country. The Dutch congregation is more numerous than any other, but as the language becomes disused, it is much diminished ; and unless they change their worship into the English tongue, must soon suffer a total dissipation. ' They have at present two ministers-the Reverend Messieurs Ritzma and De Ronde, who are both strict Calvinists. Their church was incorporated on the 11th of May, 1696,
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by the name of The Minister, Elders, and Deacons, of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New-York, and its estate, after the expiration of sundry long leases, will be worth a very great income .*
All the Low Dutch congregations, in this and the province of New Jersey, worship after the manner of the reformed churches in the United Provinces. With respect to govern- ment, they are in principle presbyterians ; but yet hold themselves in subordination to the Classis of Amsterdam, who sometimes permit and at other times refuse them the powers of ordination. Some of their ministers consider such a subjection as anti-constitutional, and hence, in several of their late annual conventions at New-York, called the Cœtus, some debates have arisen amongst them ; the majority being ' inclined to erect a Classis, or ecclesiastical judicatory, here for the government of their churches. Those of their minis- ters who are natives of Europe, are, in general, averse to the project. The expense attending the ordination of their candidates in Holland, and the reference of their disputes to the Classis of Amsterdam, is very considerable ; and with what consequences the interruption of their correspondence with the European Dutch would be attended, in case of a war, well deserves their consideration.
There are, besides the Dutch, two episcopal churches in this city, upon the plan of the established church in South Britain. Trinity church was built in 1696, and afterwards enlarged in 1737. It stands very pleasantly upon the banks of Hudson's river, and has a large cemetery on each side, inclosed in the front by a painted paled fence. Before it a long walk is railed off from the Broadway, the pleasantest street of any in the whole town. This building is about one hundred and forty-eight feet long, including the tower and chancel, and seventy-two feet in breadth. The steeple is one hundred and seventy-five feet in height, and over the door facing the river is the following inscription :-
* Their charter was confirmed by a late act of assembly ratified by his ma- jesty, which recites the VIIIth article of the surrender in 1664.
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PER ANGUSTAM.
" Hoc Trinitatis Templum fundatum est Anno Regni illustrissimi, supremi, Domini Gulielmi tertii, Dei Gratia, Anglia, Scotia, Francia et Hibernia Regis, Fidei Defenso- ris, &c. Octavo, Annoq ; Domini 1696.
" Ac voluntaria quorundam Contributione ac Donis ÆEdi- ficatum, maximè autem, dilecti Regis Chiliarchæ BENJAMINI FLETCHER, hujus Provincia strataci et Imperatoris, Munifi- centiâ animatum et auctum, cujus tempore moderaminis, hujus Civitatis incolæ, Religionem protestantem Ecclesia Anglicanæ, ut secundum Legem nunc stabilitæ profitentes, quodam Diplomate, sub Sigillo Provincia incorporati sunt, atque alias Plurimas, ex Re suâ familiari, Donationes nota- biles eidem dedit."
The church is, within, ornamented beyond any other place of public worship amongst us. The head of the chancel is adorned with an altar-piece, and opposite to it, at the other end of the building, is the organ. The tops of the pillars, which support the galleries, are decked with the gilt busts of angels winged. From the ceiling are suspended two glass branches, and on the walls hang the arms of some of its principal benefactors. The allies are paved with flat stones.
The present rector of this church is the Rev. Mr. Henry Barclay, formerly a missionary among the Mohawks, who. receives a £100 a year, levied upon all the other clergy and laity in the city, by virtue of an act of assembly procured by governor Fletcher. He is assisted by Dr. Johnson and Mr. Auchmuty.
This congregation, partly by the arrival of strangers from Europe, but principally by proselytes from the Dutch church- es, is become so numerous, that though the old building will contain two thousand hearers, yet a new one was erected in 1752. This, called St. George's chapel,* is a very neat edifice, faced with hewn stone and tiled. The steeple is
* The length, exclusive of the chancel, 92 feet, and its breadth 20 feet less,
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lofty * but irregular ; and its situation in a new, crowded, and ill-built part of the town ..
The rector, churchwardens, and vestrymen of Trinity church are incorporated by an act of assembly, which. grants the two last the advowson or right of presentation ; but enacts, that the rector shall be instituted and inducted in a manner most agreeable to the king's instructions to the governor, and the canonical right of the bishop of London. Their worship is conducted after the mode of the church of England; and, with respect to government, they are empow- ered to make rules and orders for themselves, being, if I may use the expression, an independent, ecclesiastical corporation.
The revenue of this church is restricted, by an act of assembly, to £500 per annum ; but it is possessed of a real estate, at the north end of the town, which having been lately divided into lots and let to farm, will, in a few years, produce a much greater income.
The presbyterians increasing after lord Cornbury's return to England, called Mr. Anderson, a Scotch minister, to the pastoral charge of their congregation ; and Dr. John Nicol, Patrick M'Night, Gilbert Livingston, and Thomas Smith purchased a piece of ground and founded a church, in 1719. Two years afterwards they petitioned colonel Schuyler, who had then the chief command, for a charter of incorporation to secure their estate for religious worship, upon the plan of the church in North-Britain ; but were disappointed in their expectations, through the opposition of the episcopal party. They shortly after renewed their request to governor Burnet, who referred the petition to his council. The episcopalians again violently opposed the grant, and the governor, in 1724, wrote upon the subject to the lords of trade for their direction. Counsellor West, who was then consulted, gave his opinion in these words : "Upon consideration of the several acts of uniformity, that have passed in Great Britain, I am of opinion that they do not extend to New-York, and conse-
One hundred and seventy-five feet.
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quently an act of toleration is of no use in that province ; and therefore, as there is no provincial act for uniformity, according to the church of England, I am of opinion, that, by law, such patent of incorporation may be granted, as by the petition is desired. Richard West, 20th August, 1724."
After several years solicitation for a charter in vain, and fearful that those who obstructed such a reasonable request would watch an opportunity to give them a more effectual wound ; those among the presbyterians, who were invested with the fee simple of the church and ground, "conveyed it, on the 16th of March, 1730, to the moderator of the general assembly of the church of Scotland, and the Commission thereof, the moderator of the presbytery of Edinburgh, the principal of the college of Edinburgh, the professor of divinity therein, and the procurator and agent of the church of Scotland, for the time being, and their successors in office, as a committee of the general assembly." On the 15th of August, 1732, the church of Scotland, by an instrument under the seal of the general assembly, and signed by Mr. Niel Campbell, principal of the university of Glasgow, and moderator of the general assembly and commission thereof ; Mr. James Nesbit, one of the ministers of the gospel at Edinburgh, moderator of the presbytery of Edinburgh ; Mr. William Hamilton, principal of the university of Edinburgh ; Mr. James Smith, professor of divinity therein ; and Mr. William Grant, advocate procu- rator for the church of Scotland for the time being ; pursuant to an act of the general assembly, dated the 8th of May, 1731, did declare, "That, notwithstanding the aforesaid right made to them and their successors in office, they were desirous that the aforesaid building and edifice and appurtenances thereof, be preserved for the pious and religious purposes for which the same were designed ; and that it should be free and lawful to the presbyterians then residing, or that should at any time thereafter be resident in, or near, the aforesaid city of New-York, in America, or others joining with them to convene, in the foresaid church, for the worship of God
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in all the parts thereof, and for the dispensation of all gospel ordinances ; and generally to use and occupy the said church and its appurtenances, fully and freely in all times coming, they supporting and maintaining the edifice and appurte- nances at their own charge."
Mr. Anderson was succeeded in April, 1727, by the Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Pemberton, a man of polite breeding, pure morals, and warm devotion ; under whose incessant labours the congregation greatly increased, and was enabled to erect the present edifice in 1748. It is built of stone, railed off from the street, is eighty feet long, and in breadth sixty. The steeple, raised on the south-west end, is in height one hundred and forty-five feet. In the front to the street, be- tween two long windows, is the following inscription, gilt and cut in a black slate six feet in length :-
Auspicanto Deo Hanc Ædem Cultui divino sacram in perpetuum celebrando, A. D. MDCCXIX. Primò fundatam ;
Denuo penitus reparatam et ampliorem et ornatiorem, AD. MDCCXLVIII Constructam, Neo-Eborancenses Presbyteriani In suum et suorum Usum Condentes, In hâc votivâ Tabulâ DDDQ.
Concordia, Amore Necnon Fidei Cultus et Morum Puritate Suffulta, clariùsq ; exornata, Annuente Christo, Longum perduret in Ævum.
Mr. Alexander Cumming, a young gentleman of learning and singular penetration, was chosen colleague to Mr. Pem-
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berton, in 1750; but both were dismissed, at their request, about three years afterwards ; the former, through indisposi- tion, and the latter, on account of trifling contentions kindled by the bigotry and ignorance of the lower sort of people. These debates continued until they were closed, in April, 1756, by a decision of the synod, to which almost all our presbyterian churches, in this and the southern provinces, are subject. The congregation consists at present of twelve or fourteen hundred souls, under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Mr. David Bostwick, who was lately translated from Jamaica to New-York by a synodical decree. He is a gentleman of a mild, catholic disposition ; and being a man of piety, prudence, and zeal, confines himself entirely to the proper business of his function. In the art of preaching he is one of the most distinguished clergymen in these parts. His discourses are methodical, sound, and pathetic ; in sen- timent, and in point of diction, singularly ornamented. He delivers himself without notes, and yet with great ease and fluency of expression ; and performs every part of divine worship with a striking solemnity.
The French church, by the contentions in 1724, and the disuse of the language, is now reduced to an inconsiderable handful. The building which is of stone nearly a square,* plain both within and without. It is fenced from the street, has a steeple and a bell, the latter of which was the gift of Sir Henry Asshurst of London. On the front of the church is the following inscription :-
ÆDES SACRA · GALLOR. PROT. REFORM. FVNDA. 1704. PENITVS REPAR. 1741.
The present minister, Mr. Carle, is a native of France, and succeeded Mr. Rou in 1754. He bears an irreproachable
* The area is seventy feet long, and in breadth fifty.
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character, is very intent upon his studies, preaches moderate Calvinism, and speaks with propriety, both of pronunciation and gesture.
The German Lutheran churches are two. Both their places of worship are small: one of them has a cupola and bell.
The quakers have a meeting-house, and the Moravians, a new sect amongst us, a church, consisting principally of female proselytes from other societies. Their service is in the English tongue.
The anabaptists assemble at a small meeting-house, but have as yet no regular settled congregation. The jews, who are not inconsiderable for their numbers, worship in a syna- gogue erected in a very private part of the town, plain with- out, but very neat within.
The city hall is a strong brick building, two stories in height, in the shape of an oblong, winged with one at each end, at right angles with the first. The floor below is an open walk, except two jails and the jailor's apartments. The cellar underneath is a dungeon, and the garret above a common prison. This edifice is erected in a place where four streets meet, and fronts, to the south-west, one of the most spacious streets in town. The eastern wing, in the second story, consists of the assembly chamber, a lobby, and a small room for the speaker of the house. The west wing, on the same floor, forms the council room and a library ; and in the space between the ends the supreme court is ordi- narily held.
The library consists of a thousand volumes, which were bequeathed to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, by Dr. Millington, rector of Newington. Mr. Humphrys, the society's secretary, in a letter of the 23d of September, 1728, informed governor Montgomerie, that the society intended to place these books in New-York, intending to establish a library for the use of the clergy and gentlemen of this and the neighbouring governments of Connecticut, New-Jersey, and Pennsylvania, upon giving security to re- turn them ; and desired the governor to recommend it to the
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assembly to provide a place to reposite the books, and to con- cur in an act for the preservation of them and others that might be added. Governor Montgomerie sent the letter to · the assembly, who ordered it to be laid before the city corpo- ration, and the latter, in June, 1729, agreed to provide a proper repository for the books, which were accordingly soon after sent over. The greatest part of them are upon theological subjects, and through the carelessness of the keepers many are missing.
In 1754, a set of gentlemen undertook to carry about a subscription towards raising a public library, and in a few days collected near £600, which were laid out in purchas- ing about seven hundred volumes of new, well-chosen books. Every subscriber upon payment of £5 principal, and the annual sum of ten shillings, is entitled to the use of these books. His right by the articles is assignable, and for non- compliance with them may be forfeited. The care of this library, is committed to twelve trustees, annually elected by the subscribers, on the last Tuesday of April, who are restricted from making any rules repugnant to the funda- mental subscription. This is the beginning of a library, which in process of time will probably become vastly rich and voluminous ; and it would be very proper for the com- pany to have a charter for its security and encouragement. The books are deposited in the same room with those given by the society.
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