USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > History of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the territory included within its limits to the present time > Part 9
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4 Rysingh's reply to Stuyvesant, Haz. Ann. 201 ; as extracted from Albany Records, xiii. 363-367.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1655.
Campanius says " the Dutch proceeded to destroy New Got- tenburg, laying waste all the houses and plantations without the fort, killing the cattle and plundering the inhabitants of every- thing that they could lay their hands on." A late writer1 con- cludes that " this is unquestionably erroneous," and assigns two reasons for his opinion. First, " the Dutch had no motive for such destructive cruelty, the country being now theirs by a formal surrender and they were bound by their treaty at Chris- tina," &c. Second, " that the church at Tinicum was standing twelve years afterwards, and Printz Hall at the commencement of the present century." But the writer has failed to observe, that the depredations were committed during the siege of Fort Christina, and not after its surrender and the conclusion of the treaty ; and that a fair construction of the language of Campa- nius will not warrant the inference that any building, except the fort, was actually destroyed.
The Dutch were not, however, permitted to practice these cruelties towards the Swedes with impunity. Even before the return of the fleet to New Amsterdam, to use the language of Governor Stuyvesant, "it pleased God to temper this our victory with such an unfortunate and unexpected accident, as New Netherland never witnessed, inasmuch as in less than three days, over forty of our nation were massacred by the barbarous natives ; about one hundred, mostly women and children, taken prisoners ; boweries and some plantations burnt and laid in ashes, and in and with them over 12,000 schepels of grain yet unthrashed."2 With one half of the force taken to the Delaware, the conquest of the Swedes would have been equally certain, and far more creditable to the conquerors, while the other half could have guarded their own people against such a dreadful calamity.
By the terms of capitulation3 of Fort Christina, all the Swedes and Finns who desired to remain in the country, were obliged to take an oath of allegiance to the States General of the United Netherlands-even those who intended to leave, but who were obliged to remain for a time to dispose of their lands and settle up their business, (for which one year and six weeks were allow- ed,) were not exempted from taking the oath, to be binding so long as they remained.
Thus ended Swedish sovereignty on the continent of America. Deriving its only title from the savages, which is not recognized by the law of nations, no very protracted endurance could have been anticipated for the colony as a dependency of Sweden ; but
1 Ferris' Original Settlements on the Delaware, 97.
2 N. Y. Col. Doc. i. 639.
3 For this paper, see Col. Doc. i. 607. Acrelius 415 and Haz. Ann. 187, in which work sub. an. 1655, all the important papers connected with the eapture of the Swedish forts will be found.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1655.]
its sudden downfall was manifestly the direct result of the rash, unjustifiable and unauthorized acts of Governor Rysingh, in capturing Fort Casimir.
The hardships of the Swedes, though they were not protracted under the Dutch government, did not terminate with the capture of their forts. We are informed by Acrelius, that " the flower of their troops were picked out and sent to New Amsterdam, under the pretext of their free choice, the men were forcibly carried on board the ships. The women were ill treated in their houses, the goods pillaged, and the cattle killed."1
But little has come down to us in respect to the domestic administration of affairs in the Swedish Colony. The admin.s- tration of justice was doubtless conducted by means of a military tribunal of which the Governor was the head. Printz felt himself disqualified for the performance of the duties of a judge, and in a dispatch to the Swedish West India Company, dated February 20th, 1647, he makes known his difficulty in this wise : " Again, I have several times solicited to obtain a learned and able man. 1st, To administer justice and attend to the law business, some- times very intricate cases occurring, in which it is difficult, and never ought to be for one and the same person to appear in Court as plaintiff as well as judge."2 . .. . . As the seat of govern- ment was located at Tinicum from the commencement of the Administration of Governor Printz, it may be concluded that the seat of justice was also located there.
Mrs. Papegoya the daughter of Governor Printz, it will have been seen did not return to Sweden with her husband. For many years she continued to reside at Tinicum, rather in poverty than affluence. Tinicum is no longer mentioned as a fortified place, and if the fort was not destroyed by the Dutch as mentioned by Campanius, it was suffered by them to go into decay.
The government of the Dutch on the river was established by the appointment of John Paul Jaquet as vice-director, and com- mander-in-chief, and Andreas Hudde as secretary and surveyor, and keeper of the keys of the fort, &c. The council was to consist of the vice-director, Hudde, Elmerhuysen Klien and two sergeants in purely military affairs ; in matters purely civil, or between freemen and the company's servants, two of the most expert freemen were to be substituted for the two sergeants. The in- structions given Jaquet, show a want of confidence in the Swedes. " Good notice" was to be taken of their behaviour, and in case any of them were found to be not well affected, they were re- quired to depart, " with all imaginable civility," and if possible
1 Acrelins, 417.
2 Record of Upland court, 29, (note) as copied from Swedish MSS., Archive Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1656.
to be sent to New Amsterdam; and no Swede living in the country was to remain in the fort all night. The seat of govern- ment was established at Fort Casimir-provision having been made for extending the town, which took the name of New Amstel.
" In granting lands, care was to be taken that a community of 16 or 20 persons reside together. The rent to be 12 stivers per morgen, per annum ; but permission to plant was only to be granted, on taking an oath to assist the fort, or to be transported in case they refuse the oath."1
" The free persons of the Swedish nation residing on the second corner above Fort Cassimer," solicit counsel " that they may re- main on their lands, as they have no inclination to change their abode, neither to build in the new village," claiming the promise made to them by Stuyvesant. Their petition was granted until the expiration of the year and six weeks, mentioned in the capitulation.
As evidence that the Swedish government had been kept in ignorance of the intended conquest of New Sweden by the Dutch, was the arrival on the 24th of March, 1656, of the Swedish ship Mercury, with 130 souls on board, intended as a reinforcement to the colony. They were forbidden to pass the fort, but a party of Indians joined the crew and conducted the ship up the river, the Dutch not venturing to fire a gun against them.2
The Mercury was allowed to pass the fort owing to the num- ber of Indians on board, the Dutch feeling no disposition to pro- voke their animosity,3 The passengers of the Mercury were landed contrary to the direct orders, sent at considerable trouble, from New Amsterdam, but the captain and crew of the vessel were exonerated from all censure ; the responsibility resting with the Indians and resident Swedes. Among the passengers was Mr. Papegoya the son-in-law of Governor Printz, who wrote to Governor Stuyvesant immediately upon his arrival. There were also two clergymen on board, one of whom, named Matthias, who continued to reside in the country during two years. Andres Bengston was also a passenger who was still living in this country in 1703.4
Much negotiation was occasioned in consequence of the arrival of the Mercury,5 and though the Dutch government never yielded its assent to the landing of the immigrant passengers, they all did land and probably most of them remained in the country. The vessel was allowed to proceed to New Amsterdam and dis-
1 Haz. Ann. 205-6.
2 Acrelius as taken from N. Y. Rec.
3 N. Y. Col. Doc. iii. 343.
4 Clay's Ann. 29 .- Acrelius represents Mr Bengston as a clergyman, 419.
5 Most of the papers connected with this transaction, copied from the Albany Records, will be found in Haz. Ann. 211-219.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1656.]
charge her cargo at a reduced duty, and to take in provision for her return voyage.
The conquest of New Sweden was not quietly acquiesced in by the home government. Their minister protested against the outrage, and claimed restitution,1 but this claim was disregarded ; the Dutch being well aware that nothing more serious than paper missiles could be resorted to, the Swedes at that time being en- gaged in a war with Poland. The Directors of the West India Company did not hesitate to communicate to Stuyvesant their approbation, in general, of his conduct.2
After Governor Printz left the country, his plantation at Tinicum seems to have been very much neglected, and for a time wholly abandoned. The interference of Commander Jaquet to prevent his daughter, Mrs. Papegoya from resuming the possess- ion of the property, gave this lady occasion to memorialize the Director-general. . She says, "It is, without doubt, well known to the Director-general, that our late lord governor, my highly revered lord and father, prepared a farm, partly cultivated by freemen, who are returned to Sweden, and surrendered it to him, and partly cleared by his orders, and cultivated for several years ; that this was granted by the King (Queen ?), and by the present royal majesty was confirmed, but which now since three years, being abandoned, was again covered with bushes, and the dwel- ling-house nearly destroyed by the Indians, and so I have been obliged to repair it, by three Finns, and to sow its fields, when, unexpectedly, I was forbidden by the present commander, to take possession of it again ; wherefore I am compelled to inform the Director-general of this event, with humble supplication that it may please him graciously, and from the friendship between him and my lord and father, to favor me with this possession, as I am confident his honor will do ; and solicit further that my people may remain unmolested at Printzdorp,3 and continue to cultivate its soil ; and that his Honor, &c., may be pleased to grant me, for my greater security, letters patent for that spot, and so too for Tinnakonk. I hope that my lord and father will acknowledge it as a mark of great friendship, and as far as it is in his power, be remunerated with thankfulness ; with which I recommend the Director general to the protection of God Almighty. Dated at Tinnakonk August 3, 1656. The Director General's humble servant, ARMGARD PRINTZ. "4
1 Haz. Reg. i. 36; N. Y. Col. Doc. i. 587, 515, &c .; Haz. Ann. 210. The final settlement of this controversy was not made till 1667. See Hist. New Netherland, ii. Appendix H. 2 The directors regarded the capitulation as too formal, and make that the occasion of giving Stuyvesant a lesson in diplomacy. " What is written and copied," they say " is too long preserved, and may sometime, when it is neither desired nor expected, be brought forward, whereas words not recorded, are by length of time forgotten, or may be explained, construed or exeused. Haz. Ann. 209.
3 The precise location of Printzdorp will be established hereafter.
4 Albany Rec. xi. 518 ; xiii. 154; Haz. Ann. 219.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1657.
" The suppliant is permitted, agreeably to the capitulation, to take possession of the lands of her lord and father in Printzdorp, and to use it to her best advantage," was the response of the Director-general.
The Dutch West India Company had become greatly embar- rassed by the large amount of their debts, which had been in- creased by the aid afforded by the city of Amsterdam, towards the conquest of the Swedes on the Delaware. To liquidate this debt, that part of the South river extending from the west side of Christina kill to the mouth of the bay, "and so far as the Minquas land extended" was, after much negotiation, transferred to that city, with the company's rights and privileges, and sub- ject to conditions agreed upon by the contracting parties. These conditions with a slight modification, were ratified by the States General on the 16th August, 1656-the Colony thus established taking the name of Nieuer Amstel.1
As the jurisdiction of the City's Colony, as thus established, did not extend over the district claiming our particular attention, the doings within it will only be briefly noticed. The government of the Colony was organized by the establishment of a board of commissioners to reside in the City of Amsterdam ; 40 soldiers were enlisted and placed under the command of Captain Martin Krygier, and Lieutenant Alexander D'Hinoyossa, and 150 emi- grants, freemen and boors, were forthwith dispatched, in three vessels, to settle in the new Colony. Jacob Alrichs accompanied the expedition as Director of New Amstel.2
Alrichs assumed the government of the Colony towards the close of April, 1657, when Hudde was appointed to the com- mand at Fort Christina, (the name of which was changed to Al- tona,) and also of New Gottenburg.3
Over the Swedes and Finns, who were exclusively the inhabi- tants of the river above the Colony of the City of Amsterdam, Goeran Vandyck had been appointed with the title of schout fis- scal and under him Anders Jurgen.
Goeran Vandyck, the schout, suggested to Stuyvesant the necessity of concentrating the Swedish inhabitants, and procured from him a proclamation inviting them to assemble in one settle- ment, either at Upland, Passayunk, Finland, Kingsessing or where they pleased. The invitation was not accepted." The appointment of "one Jurgin the Finn on Crooked Kill," as court messenger is mentioned.5
Andries Hudde, who held a military command under the Company, was also provisionally engaged in the New Amstel Colony, as clerk in "the dispatch of law suits and occurring
1 See, N. Y. Col. Doc. i. 619-636 ; Hist. New Netherland, ii. 327-337.
2 N. Y. Col. Doe. i. 441-446.
3 Hist. New Netherland, ii. 336.
4 Acrelius, 421.
5 Haz. Ann. 236.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1658.]
differences ;" and as he understood "somewhat of surveying" he was also employed in that capacity.1
Evert Pieterson, who held the office of schoolmaster, comforter of the sick and setter of the psalms, in the City Colony, writes to the commissioners that upon his arrival in April, he found but twenty families in New Amstel, all Swedes except five or six families. He appears to have been a man of observation, and suggests our black walnut timber for making gun-stocks ; requests that inquiries be made of the gunsmiths in respect to its value, and in what shape it should be cut. In August he had a school of twenty-five children.2 This is the first school established on the river of which we have any account.
Director Alrichs not only communicated with the Commission- ers of Amsterdam City, but also with Stuyvesant. He advises that seventy-five men be sent to Altona, thereby showing that he was under some apprehensions on account of the Swedes.3
The winter of 1657 was remarkable for its severity. "The Delaware was frozen over in one night, so that a deer could run over it, which, as the Indians relate, had not happened within the memory of man."+
In the spring of 1658, a vessel which had taken in hickory wood at Altona that was cut by Stuyvesant's orders, completed her cargo with rye straw at Tinicum.5
The affairs of the South river, in the opinion of Governor Stuyvesant and his council, "required to- be examined into," and " some regulations" also becoming necessary among the Swedes, his excellency in person, accompanied by Mr. Tonneman repaired to the river, and on the 8th of May in this year, visited Tinicum. Here they were met by the scout or sheriff Van Dyck ; Oloff Stille, Mathys Hanson, Pieter Rambo and Pieter Cock, magis- trates ; Swen Schute Captain, Andries D'Albo Lieutenant, and Jacob Swenson Ensign. After renewing their oath of allegiance to "the high and mighty lords, the States General of the United Netherlands and lords directors of the general privileged West India Company with the director general and council already appointed, or in time being," these Swedish officials presented their petition, asking, that a court messenger might be appointed for executions ; for free access to the soldiers of Altona, in case they wish their aid for the execution of resolves; that no person shall leave their limits without the knowledge of the magistrates, much less male and female servants, &c. Some subsidies were also asked for. The Director-general thought the jailor could perform the duties of court messenger, as he is now employed
1 N. Y. Col. Doc. ii. 18. 2 Ib. 17.
3 Haz. Ann. 240, as extracted from Albany Rec. xii. 437.
4 Campanius, 55.
5 Haz. Ann. 241.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1658.
by the sheriff and commissioners to make summons, arrests and executions. Free access to the soldiers was granted, if solicited by the sheriff. No person was to leave without the consent of the commissary, first obtained of the Director-general and council, and subsidies were allowed, "when they can be obtained with least incumbrance to the Swedish nation." Those who had not taken the oath of allegiance were required to do so.1
It is probable that the above named petitioners, except Van Dyck, constituted what remained of an organized government at the close of the Swedish authority on the river. The articles of capitula- tion are silent in respect to a continuance of Swedish officers in power, but it would appear that those who remained in the coun- try and took the oath of allegiance to the Dutch government, con- tinued to exercise their functions, in which they seem to have been officially recognized by the Director-general at the meeting at Tinicum. Unfortunately, no record of their official acts has been preserved.
After the Director-general returned to New Amsterdam, he reported to the Council that the Swedes, after taking the oath of allegiance, desired that in the case of a difference between the crown of Sweden and the Netherlands in Europe, that they might occupy the position of neutrals, which was agreed to. The military officers mentioned at the meeting at Tinicum were at the same time elected to their respective offices.2
But the Director in. his visit to the South river had found " many things there, not as they ought to be, chiefly smuggling and fraud on the Company's recognitions on goods imported from Holland." The city of Amsterdam being subject to the " same regulations as others," in respect to duties and tolls and all matters connected with the revenue, it became necessary for the West India Company to have an officer of their own, whose jurisdiction in respect to such matters should extend over the whole river. William Beckman, a schepen (alderman) and elder of New Amsterdam, was selected for this position, with the title of commissary and vice-director.3 Outside of the New Amstel district he was also charged with the administration of civil and criminal justice and the superintendence of military affairs. Within that district, as the officer of the city of Amsterdam, this authority was vested in Alrichs. Beekman was to occupy provisonally "the dwelling-house in Fortress Altona," but his permanent residence was to be at or near New Amstel, where he was authorized to hire convenient rooms or a dwelling for a year at the expense of the Company.4 He probably continued to re- side at Altona.
1 Haz. Ann. 243, extracted from Albany Rec. xiv. 249.
2 Haz. Ann. 244; Albany Rec. xiv. 245.
3 Acrelius, 421. 4 Ib. 421 ; Albany Rec. xiv. 314.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1659.]
The summer of 1658 was a season of great sickness and mor- tality at New Amstel and the surrounding country. In a letter from Alrichs to the commissioners of the City Colony, dated on the 10th of October of this year, he speaks of " two parcels of the best land on the river on the west bank, the first of which," he says, "is above Marietens hook, about two leagues along the river and 4 leagues into the interior ; the second on a guess, about 3 leagues along the same including Skuylkil, Passajonck, Quinsessingh, right excellent land, the grants or deeds whereof signed in original by Queen Christina, I have seen ; they remain here." He also expresses the belief that " the proprietors as they style themselves, or those who hold the ground briefs," would willingly dispose of these lands for a trifle, according to their value or worth.1
The documents connected with this period of the history of the Delaware are very voluminous, but they relate chiefly to the colony of New Amstel and its vicinity. The Swedes, who were the exclusive occupants of the river higher up, were constantly looked upon with suspicion, which was increased by their appli- cation to be considered as neutrals in case of a difference between Sweden and the Netherlands. The Holland directors of the Company regarded the application as "a bold proposal," and condemned the appointment of Swedish officers made by Stuyve- sant. The error was to be corrected by supplying their places with officers of the Dutch nation, and the first favorable oppor- tunity was to be embraced to disarm them, upon the least symptom of disaffection. Even the Swedish sheriff and commis- saries were to be supplanted by Dutchmen at the expiration of their terms, "to render their associations fruitless and to dis- cover their machinations with more easc." "Fair means" were also to be used to induce the Swedes to settle among the Dutch inhabitants.2
The prosperous commencement of the City Colony was soon followed by evils that almost threatened its dissolution. Sick- ness, a scarcity of provisions and failure of crops, followed by a severe winter, spread dismay and discontent among the people. The arrival of additional settlers not properly supplied with pro- visions greatly increased the prevailing distress. In the midst of this general gloom, news arrived that the Burgomasters of Amsterdam had changed the conditions on which the colonists had agreed to emigrate, making them less favorable to the emi- grants.3 Discontent was increased, and many of the inhabitants deserted to Maryland, carrying with them the news of the dis-
1 N. Y. Col Doc. ii. 53.
2 Haz. Ann. 252, as quoted from Albany Rec. iv. 291-292.
3 N. Y. Col. Doc. ii. 57.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1659.
tressed condition of the colony. News of a threatened invasion by the English reached the ears of the colonists, and added to the general feeling of insecurity. In the midst of this anxiety and alarm, commissioners from Maryland arrived with a letter from Governor Fendal and instructions to command the Dutch to leave, or to acknowledge themselves subjects of Lord Balti- more.1 An immediate answer was demanded, but at length Col. Utie, the head of the Maryland commission, granted a delay of three weeks in order that Alrichs and Beekman might confer with their superiors. Upon being advised of the visit of the Maryland commissioners, Governor Stuyvesant forwarded a reinforcement of sixty soldiers, with Captain Krygier and Seere- tary Van Ruyven to regulate matters on the South river. He also sent Augustine Heemans and Resolved Waldron as ambas- sadors to Maryland, with instructions to remonstrate against Col. Utie's proceedings, and to negotiate a treaty for the mutual rendition of fugitives. Upon the arrival of the ambassadors in Maryland a protracted conference ensued, in which the Dutch title to the lands on the Delaware river and bay was defended with considerable ability.2
The land from Bombay Hook to Cape Henlopen was secured by purchase from the savages, and a fort erected a Hoern kill as a further security against the English claim. It was attached to the district of New Amstel.
Alrichs had become unpopular from the exercise of a too rigid authority. The clashing of interests between the eity and the Company, taken in connection with the adverse circumstan- ces with which he was surrounded, rendered his position one of great difficulty. But death3 relieved him from his troubles towards the close of the year-his wife having departed this life at its commencement. Previous to his death, Alriehs nominated Alexander D'Hinoyossa as his successor and Gerit Van Gezel as secretary.
The Burgomasters of the City of Amsterdam, soon discovered that their colony of New Amstel would be attended with more expense and trouble than profit, and entered into negotiations with the company for a re-transfer of the same to them. Trade was the prime object of the company, and as the city colony served as a defence to the southern border of New Netherland without diminishing their commercial advantages, the negotiation, of course, was a failure.
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