USA > New York > Kings County > Flatbush > The social history of Flatbush : and manners and customs of the Dutch settlers in Kings county > Part 16
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The windows were never opened. The furniture, great crates of which stood in the parlors, was never un- packed. The silver service on which had been given
241
FARMS AND THEIR OWNERS.
the hospitable and stylish dinners of earlier times was consigned to a vault in the cellar. In the basement were kept great bull-dogs fed on raw meat, to guard the premises at night, for it was whispered about that they had such stores and hoard of silver.
The old lady did not live very long. She had al- ready reached great age, and from the home in which she thought to spend some happy days she was taken to the better home above.
Her son-in-law, Mr. Willink, was in the decline of life as well as herself, but strong and vigorous despite his gray hairs. He boasted that his father, a wealthy banker in Holland, had reached great age, and that he came of a long-lived race. But neither age nor death can be defied, and there are other means than the wear- ing out of this mortal frame to cut short life.
The old gentleman, as the one pleasure he allowed himself, was fond of gay horses. They ran away with him one day. The vehicle in which he rode was entirely inclosed with glass in front, as if even when out on the street he would have something between himself and the outer world. He could not control his horses under this disadvantage. He was thrown out of his carriage and picked up dead on the road just before the house of his overseer.
After this the two remaining members of the house- hold, Mrs. Willink and Miss Ludlow, secluded them- selves from society more than ever, if that were possi- ble. They went from time to time to Trinity Church, New York, where they occupied their old family pew. Miss Ludlow herself attended to the management of their large estates or gave instructions to her lawyer.
She was a tall, gaunt woman. She must have been
16
242
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
fine-looking in younger days. She would have been a stately-looking lady still, had she not rejected every- thing that was tasteful in dress, and assumed the most austere and rigidly plain style of garments.
She had almost an attorney's knowledge of the law, and a shrewd, keen business tact, that enabled her to keep as sharp a lookout over her property as if she had had a fortune to earn instead of to spend.
What they did spend indeed was very little, except in cases where unbounded generosity seemed at sudden times to burst its ordinary bounds and flood some special object. Many a time some peddler was surprised by the purchase of his entire stock; a church charity would have a gift of some thousands, or a munificent sum would be expended for some favored individual. But this overflow was like the spring torrent of some mountain stream that all the rest of the year leaves its stony bed parched and dry.
One would expect even the employment, the amuse- ments, and the recreations of two beings so unlike the world around them to be different from those of other people ; we know not under which of these heads, if under either, to class the building of a hotel at the south end of the village. They had purchased some property there ; it was unremunerative ; then they undertook the building of the Willink House upon it. They built, furnished, and gave a public recep- tion at the opening. The landlord found that in keep- ing the hotel he was constantly restricted by the old ladies.
The terms were very liberal on which he rented the house, but even on such terms the hotel could not be a success, from their constant interference.
243
FARMS AND THEIR OWNERS.
So it was locked up, and they kept the key in their pocket. Feebler and more feeble grew the elder sister, Mrs. Willink, until at last she also died, and the family vault in Trinity churchyard was opened again.
Now Miss Ludlow was left alone. One would almost irreverently like to draw aside the veil and see if there were ever tears on that stern face. Was she ever sor- rowing and mourning and crying, like weaker women ? Now that she stood alone in the world, did her heart yearn for the love which even the poor share with each other ? She gave no sign if it did.
Now she went again regularly, Sabbath after Sab- bath, to the family pew in Trinity Church. That tall woman in a poke-bonnet and waterproof cloak moved among the velvet-draped ladies of that wealthy church like a ghost of the former century. They may have mistaken her for a beggar, or perhaps the story of her eccentricity was whispered to them ; or those who were left of the old families there may have known she was one of their number, " so eccentric, you know, and so rich." What attentions she accepted she paid well for, and her liberality to the rector was unbounded. But the doors of her house were not opened ; and no one seemed to find the key of her heart any more than of her house. There may have been painful mem- ories associated with that great bleak house on the hill- top, with its windows boarded up, and the watch-dog's bark echoing through the empty rooms; for she did not remain there so constantly as before. Now she spent much time at the hotel, taking possession of a suite of handsomely furnished rooms.
She may have felt a coming shadow, and if she did not long for human sympathy, at least it seemed more
244
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
like living as other women did to have a cheerful room furnished and carpeted.
One day an employee spent the evening with her, making up accounts and handing in bills. They could not finish the work. "Come to-morrow morning," she said to him, as she closed the door upon him. "I will come early," he replied ; but Death came earlier, and was there before him.
In the morning she was found dead in her bed. As she had lived, so she had died-alone.
That was a strange funeral in Trinity Church the day she was buried : a velvet-covered coffin, beautiful music, an impressive service, but no mourners-not one even to simulate grief. It seemed a cause for tears that there were none shed. It was depressing that there was no one even to counterfeit sorrow ! Had this woman, gifted with such intellectual power, and hold- ing such wealth in her hand, no capacity to draw any heart to hers ?
The vault in Trinity churchyard was opened now for the last of the family, and the passing crowds in the street paused a moment to peer through the iron rail- ings that separate that graveyard from Broadway, as the coffin was lowered to its place among her kindred dead.
The house that had been so jealously closed was now thrown open to the inspection of the world. As if it had been a vault, the long festoons of dust-covered cobwebs depended from all the ceilings.
There were hoarded things of no possible value, with others of great cost. There were wardrobes stocked with antiquated clothing, crates of furniture which had never been unpacked, boxes of books, new baskets purchased by the dozen from traveling venders, new
245
FARMS AND THEIR OWNERS.
brooms-dozens of them-none of which had ever been used upon those dusty walls. There were bottles of wine so old that the decaying boxes fell to pieces as they were carried from the wine-room.
As they had hoarded, so it seemed almost as if Time, so long defied, was now avenging itself in the scattering.
No one had been allowed by them to enter yonder door ; now every stranger foot had the right to climb the staircase. No one should see the treasures, whether valuable or otherwise, they guarded ; now there was no secret drawer, no closet, that was not opened, for the house was now to be sold. Perhaps no gates were ever kept more sedulously locked against the public, and no lawn had ever been more strictly kept free from tres- passing feet than the beautiful lawn about this house, and never has one been more entirely free to the public than that spot is now.
The very earth that formed the sloping hill has been carted away ; the hill has been leveled, and thousands of footsteps now pour daily through what was once the locked entrance to the Willink place ; for here on this now level plain stands the depot of the Brighton Beach Railroad, and the great, white, ghastly-looking house that stands where Ocean Avenue is lost in Flatbush Avenue is the remodeled frame of the house which once stood proudly perched upon the hill, seeming to have no more sympathy than did its reserved inmates with the village at its feet ; but leveling years have done their work ; Death in his turn took the key and, turn- ing it upon them, has opened to the world the gates of what was once their guarded possessions.
We make no apology for dwelling so long on this, one of the few romantic histories of our village, for has
2.16
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
not every old town its bit of romance ? And why should not such be recorded along with other annals ?
Every word of this is veritable history, and it needs not the adornment of fiction to give it interest.
Northward from the Willink property great changes have been made in the road, and in consequence the course of the old turnpike has become entirely obliter- ated. Formerly this road curved slightly westward, and, passing through a toll-gate which stood at the city limit, it followed circuitously the line of the little bowl- shaped hill, possibly called for that reason China Hill, through the Battle Pass; on the westward side was a sandpit ; the denser shade of the valley caused this spot to be called the Valley Grove ; a secluded little inn stood at the junction of the Flatbush turnpike and a narrow, stony road leading to Gowanus, called the Port road. The Port road * turned westward and the turn- pike turned eastward, winding around between the hills.
This Valley Grove House was an old, topple-down inn, and stood in the lowest part of the road ; in a damp even- ing one seemed to feel the chill of the heavy air in turn- ing toward it on the way from Brooklyn to Flatbush.
Ascending the hill, there was a house to the right that had never been finished. It had a lonely, dreary look ; the willow that stood in the dooryard still re- mains on the same spot in the Park, and serves to mark - the locality of the house as well as to help us recall the line of the old road.
* The name "Port road " is said to be derived from an expres- sion in the old deed or agreement between Governor Lovelace and five Indian chiefs for extinguishing the Indian claim in 1670 ; it is spoken of as a boundary to a certain parcel of land to which this cleft through the hills was " the port or entrance thereof."
247
FARMS AND THEIR OWNERS.
There were some pleasant rolling hills to the left on which horses and cattle were generally grazing-those on the brow of the hill outlined against the sky, for there were no woods or shrubbery upon these pasture fields. This was the southerly boundary of the Polhe- mus farm.
The next curve in the road brought in view beautiful glimpses of the bay of New York with the wooded heights of the opposite shore. Here was a cluster of pleasant country residences. Mr. Anthony Kerr's house is still standing, also two houses built by Mr. Van Antwerp, and, still farther on, the place of Mr. Levi Hart. At the highest point were two hotels ; the most prominent was kept by Mr. Vonk, and was a great re- sort for men with racehorses and the owners of " fancy teams."
Only a few families lived here permanently, as this locality was subject to malarial fevers, although one of the highest points in the county. There were numer- ous ponds in the hollows of the hills, and from these arose miasmatic damps, poisoning the air of this beau- tiful spot, which would otherwise have been so desirable for private residences.
The view from this height was more beautiful then than that from the plaza of Prospect Park is now, for the city of Brooklyn was farther off, and was separated by intervening meadows and shrubbery; it was thus softened by distance and framed in by woods.
This old road to Brooklyn was at an early period known as "the King's Highway" from Flatbush to New York Ferry ; it is called so in an old release dated 1748, quoted by Stiles in his " History of Brooklyn." It is strange that a portion of the Gravesend road should
248
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
be, even at this present time, known still as " the King's Highway."
With the assistance of those now living whose mem- ory reaches farther than we can recall, we might con- tinue a description of this while it was yet a country road almost to Fulton Ferry. But, as we desire to con- fine ourselves to matters pertaining to Flatbush, we will not attempt to trace the changes which time has made beyond.
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CHAPTER XXI.
DOMESTIC SERVICE.
IT is not probable that slavery ever exhibited its worst features on Long Island.
A kindly feeling existed between the owner and the slave. For the protection, the simple fare, and the homespun clothing, which, in accordance with the cus- tom of the age, the master provided, the slave returned generally a cheerful obedience and a reasonable amount of labor.
We do not credit our Dutch ancestors, in this re- spect, with being more humane or wiser than the age in which they lived ; but there are certain conditions under which slavery assumes its most cruel aspect, and these conditions did not exist in Kings County.
If a slave was dissatisfied with his master, it was very common for the master to give him a paper on which his age, his price, etc., were written, and allow him to go and look for some one with whom he would prefer to live, and who would be willing to pay the price stated. When the slave found a purchaser, the master completed the arrangement by selling his dis- contented slave to the person whom, for some cause best known to himself, he preferred. It may not have been from ill-treatment or neglect that the negro de-
250
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
sired to change masters, but because of greater attrac- tions elsewhere.
Valentine, in his " History of New York," says that slaves had been held in that city from the earliest period of the Dutch settlement.
Riker, in the " Annals of Newtown," tells us that slavery "originated in the scarcity and consequent high price of white labor, and extended not only to the negro, but to the free-born Indian brought hither from the South." He also confirms the statement that they were treated with much humanity.
Judge Benson in 1816, speaking of negro slavery, says : " A milder form of it than among the Dutch of New Netherlands is scarcely to be imagined."
Furman says that they "were much attached to the families in which they were owned, and where they would remain from generation to generation."
O'Callaghan says : "Slaves [in New York] consti- tuted, as far back as 1628, a portion of the population. The introduction of this class was facilitated by the estab- lishments which the Dutch possessed in Brazil and on the coast of Guinea, as well as by the periodical capture of Spanish and Portuguese prizes, and the circumstances attendant on the early settlement of the country. The expense of obtaining labor from Europe was great, and the supply by no means equal to the demand. To add to these embarrassments, the temptations held out by the fur trade were so irresistible that the servants, or ' boere knechts,' who were brought over from Holland were soon seduced from the pursuits of agriculture. Farmers were consequently obliged to employ negroes, and slave labor thus became, by its cheapness and the necessity of the case, one of the staples of the country."
251
DOMESTIC SERVICE.
In confirmation of what we have said in regard to the condition of the slave here, compared to what it was later in other parts of the country, he adds : " The lot of the African under the Dutch was not as hopeless as his situation might lead us to expect. He was a chattel, it is true, but he could still look forward to the hour when he too might become a freeman."
Sometimes the slaves were given their choice of a home among the married children of their master. In a will in possession of the writer, dated 1759, the fol- lowing clause appears : "If any of my slaves shall after my decease have a mind [preference] to live with any of my children, then it is my will, and I do order, that the rest of my children shall consent to it, and that he, or they, shall have him or her for a reasonable price."
This is by no means a solitary instance of provision made for allowing the slave to have his choice as to his home ; it was frequently done. Although this does not seem to us with our present views of slavery to exhibit much generosity, yet it certainly did abate the evils at- tendant upon his condition, and give him the opportu- nity of choosing the home he preferred.
Stiles, in his " History of Brooklyn," says : "Slaves were as a general thing kindly treated and well cared for ; but, after all, the institution of slavery was one that commended itself to the Dutch mind rather as a necessity than as a desirable system." Speaking of a public sale of slaves in 1773, he adds : " It was even at that time considered an odious departure from the time- honored and more humane practice which then prevailed of permitting slaves who wished to be sold, or who were offered for sale, to select their own masters."
252
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
The slave spoke the language of the family. Dutch became the mother tongue of the Kings County negroes. There are at present a few of the old colored people still living who not only understand Dutch, but who speak that language to each other when they meet.
In the newspapers published previous to 1822, about the period of emancipation, in advertisements offering a slave for sale, it was customary to state as a peculiar advantage that he or she could speak English as well as Dutch.
We find in the "New York Gazette " for February 22, 1773, an advertisement for a runaway slave, which states, after giving a personal description of the man, that he " can speak both English and Dutch, but sounds mostly on the latter. He is very strong and nimble, and does not want for wit. He can play well on the violin and is fond of company."
Another advertisement, bearing date May 6, 1776, gives the following curious description of a runaway slave : " .. . he speaks good English and middling good Low Dutch ; is a pretty likely fellow, apt to drink, wears his own hair tied behind. Had on when he went away an old, blue coat, lined with woolen check, the sleeves partly torn off, a new striped flannel jacket, a streaked woolen shirt, and a pair of superfine broadcloth breech- es, mixed woolen stockings, half-worn beaver hat with a silver loop and button."
The first slaves in Kings County were sent here by Governor Stuyvesant in February, 1660. They never increased rapidly in numbers on Long Island, as they did in a more congenial southern climate, for the vari- ableness of the weather and the extreme cold by which some of our winters are marked were not favorable to
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DOMESTIC SERVICE.
them. They easily succumbed to consumption, and had very little power of resistance when attacked by disease.
The first public record of the number of slaves ap- pears in 1698.
At that time there were 296 in Kings County. They were distributed as follows : In Brooklyn 65, Bushwick 52, New Utrecht 48, Flatlands 40, Gravesend 17, Flat- bush 71.
From this it will be seen that the largest number of slaves was owned in Flatbush.
In following the census of the slave population through successive periods, as we gather it from the "Documentary History of New York State," we find the returns in Kings County to be as follows :
1698
296
1749 783
1723
444
1756
845
1731
492
1771
1,162
1737
564
The names given the slaves were a curious mingling of the nomenclature of the old Latin heroes with queer, twisted nicknames.
The men were known as Cæsar, Nero, Cato, Pom- pey, and Plato. Flora, Diana, and Juno were the god- desses whose names were most frequently assumed by the women.
With these were mingled names which might have come with them from the far-off native land of their ancestors : Mink, Syne, Bass, Jafta, Roos, Kouba, Yaft, etc.
All these appear upon the census list of 1755.
We find also such nicknames as these : Claes, Judey, Gin, Peg, York, Cuffee, France.
254
THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
The name Cuffee, which was at one time quite com- mon among the colored people, was probably Indian, for there was an Indian preacher of the Shinnecock tribe, born in 1757, whose name was Paul Cuffee. He labored among the Long Island tribes in the year 1800, and was said to be eloquent and possessed of much in- telligence.
There is a name which has been in use among the colored people of Kings County for at least one hun- dred and twenty-three years. It appears upon the cen- sus of 1755, and it is still borne by more than one per- son now living. This name is Commenie ; it is said to be an Indian name. We have never known of its being used except among the colored people.
O'Callaghan says that in 1646 the price of a negro in New York averaged between one hundred and one hun- dred and fifty dollars.
It may be curious to know what was once paid for a slave on Long Island. We give some veritable bills of sale, from which we only omit the names of the parties :
FLATBUSH Aug 16th 1763
Recvd of Mr. -- the sum of one hundred and ten pounds in full for a negro man Cæsar.
Sold him this day. Which negro I oblige myself my heirs Executors and Administrators to warrant and defend against all persons whatsoever.
As witness my hand
In a similar bill of a few years later a less sum is given :
April 23, 1773. Rec'd of Mr. -- the sum of sixty three pounds Ten Shillings in full for a negro man named Mink. Sold him this
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DOMESTIC SERVICE.
day. Which Negro I oblige myself my heirs Ex® Adms to war- rent and defend against all persons whatsoever.
As witness my hand
From several old bills still preserved we find that it was customary to have the account for the making and mending of shoes for the slaves paid yearly. One of these bills, from August 14, 1817, to June 13, 1818, amounts to £8 17s. 6d. The bill runs through a long sheet of coarse-grained, yellowish paper, peculiar to that age, as follows :
s. d.
To mend a pair of shoes for Brom 2 0
66 " Cato. 3 6
" Flora 3
0
To make a pair of shoes for Nan
5 0
" Dick 16 0
etc. etc.
The physician's bill for professional services ren- dered for the slaves is also somewhat of a curiosity, not only as being a bill of items, but as showing that the slave and the master had the same medical adviser. As is here shown, the medicine prescribed by the physician is also furnished by him :
- - - Esq. to Dr. M- Dr.
1789 £ s. d.
Aug 14th To an Emetic for Brom 9 -
Oct 6th To bleeding in the arm Dick. - 2 -
Nov 5th To an aperient for Flora's child. 2 - Nov 24th To extracting a tooth for Miss Sally -2-
Dec 3ª To extracting a tooth for Ben. 2 -
Dec 19th To an Emetic for Mrs. - 9 - 1790
Feb 1st To dressing a wound on his lip and ointment & attendance for Brom .. . - 9 -
etc. etc.
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
For sixteen visits, the dates of which are given, and for the medicines needed, the amount of the bill is £10 14s. 0d.
Among other items for the slaves is the bill of a cabinet-maker :
May 7th 1817
To making a coffin for Flora. .$2 -
In the State of New York manumission of the slaves was effected by the slow enactment of laws which gradually gave them their freedom.
In 1781 a law was passed by which freedom was given to such able-bodied men as served in certain regi- ments for three years or until regularly discharged.
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