The Gazette Series

o b lige d to satisfy the Indians for the land they u o n shall settle p , and they may extend or enlarge the limits of their C olonies if they settle a pro

p o rtio nate number of C olonists thereon .

XXVII . The Patroons and Colonists shall in r particula , and in the speediest manner , endea vor to ﬁnd out ways and means whereby they M may support a inister and Schoolmaster , that thus the service of God and zeal for religion

may not grow cool , and b e neglected among

them and that they shall , for the ﬁrst, procure

th e . a Comforter of sick , there

XXVIII . The C olonies that shall happen to lie on the respective rivers or islands ( that is to

say, each river or island for itself ) shall be at i n liberty to appoint a Deputy , who shall give formation to the Commander and C ouncil of that W estern quarter , of all things relating to u his Colonie , and f rther matters relating

thereto , of which Deputies there shall be one

altered , or changed , in every two years and all l Colonies shal be obliged , at least once in every

twelve months , to make exact report of their con

dition and of the lands thereabout , to the Com n mander and Council there , in order to be tra s

mitte d hither .

XXIX . The Colonists shall not be permitted c to make any woolen , linen , or cotton loth , nor ff weave any other stu s there , on pain of being

banished , and as perjurers , to be arbitrarily

punished .

XXX . The Company will use their endeavors

& to supply the Colonists with as many Blacks as

they conveniently can , on the conditions here

after to be made in such manner , however , that they shall n o t be bound to do it for a longer

time than they shall think proper .

XXXI . The C ompany promise to ﬁnish the Manha tes fort on the Island of the t , and to put

it in a posture of defence without delay . VII I .

T H E F T HE C NY SE T TLEM EN T O OLO .

In our last article on this subject, we intro d uced to our readers what may be considere d the great charter of the p olitical rights of the Colonists of Ne w Netherland an instrument e which , more than any oth r, shows the system of government under which the earliest settlers of this town and village , lived and labored . As the distingu ished historian of Ne w Nethe r & land has very truly remarked , this very impor tant document which “ transplanted to the free “ soil of America the feudal tenure and feudal

E u burdens of continental rope , is remarkable principally as a characteristic of the era in

which it was produced . It bears all the marks

of the social system which prevailed at the time ,

not only among the Dutch , but among the other “ h nations which had adopted the civil law . T e C olonies ’ were but transcripts of the ‘ lord

’ ‘ ’ ships and seigneuries so common at this p e

rio d , and which the French were establishing f contemporaneously , in their possessions north o t New Ne the rl andg where most of the feudal

’ ’ ll a h an s H s o r New N h d 120. O Ca g i tory et erlan , i , t Th e following are t he d ates o r some o f t h e earliest

i d . t . J h 1626 Patents for S eig neuries n Cana a S osep , d d es An 1626 R d u L 1633 Notre ame ges, ; iviere oup , ;

T HE

GAZE T T E SE R IE S .

E DITE D B Y

W O N . H E N R Y B . D A S

V L . I l O .

O N N T K E R S . T - WE NTY SIX Cor ms a no ,

' no s P arvu s Cm ouu rro n ONLY. T O

A M E S C . B E L L E S J , & ”

P res de n o f the V a e o f Yo nke rs N i t ill g , . Y . ,

O O R E ND LY R E GAR D AS A M E M ENT F F I ,

T his slight c ontrib ution to t he history o f th at a ncie nt

IS RE S PE C T F UL L Y IN S C RI BE D B Y

T HE D O E IT R .

’ 66 M o rri s a m a , N . Y. , 18 .

ADVE RT ISE M E NT .

T HE following pages h ave b e e n m ade u p f rom a se e o f ar c e o n t he u b ec c a e a e a e d ri s ti l s s j t, whi h h v pp r fr e e i A ZE E om tim to tim , n t he col u mns of T HE G TT , a e e k e a e u b d a Y k e r W e w ly n wsp p r p lish e t on s, st c e e u N Y u der m e d r a m an a e h st r Co nty, . . , n y ito i l g m e n t .

T he ar c e e re no t u b e d r n a ti l s w p lish , o igi lly, with a ny prete nsions of u nusu al m e rit o r im portan ce ; n o r - are th ey n o w re issu e d with a hope or e x pe c tation

e r k r e r that th y will invite c iticism or prov o e cont ov sy .

e e e wr e an d u b e d r a f o r t he T h y w r itt n p lish , o igin lly , a m use m e nt an d instru ction o f th e reade rs of T HE GA ZE TT E & fo r t he gratiﬁ cation of a fe w i n du lge nt

r d a a u be c e a e be e n re -ro f ien s, sm ll n m r of opi s h v p duced re e rm a e f r in this mo p n nt o m .

H R Y B W SO N . EN . DA

M o rri s a n i a , N . Y. . 1866 .

P A P E R S

CONCE RNING THE

T O W N A N D V I L L A G E

Y O N K E R S

H O U N Y W E S T C E S T E R C T .

N A F R A G M E T .

W B Y H E N R Y B . D A S O N .

Y O N K E R S , N .

i 8 6 6 .

Y O N K E R S .

R DUC RY INT O TO .

We propose to devote a portion of our space , f from time to time , to the publication o some materials for a history of this ancient village and of the town of which it forms a part , with a hope that some one of our townsmen , who possesses leisure and inclination to pursue the investiga o tion , may be induced to make additi ns thereto , and embody them i n a volume beﬁtting the sub j cet .

It is not our purpose , however , to write even — a skeleton H is tory of Yonk ers we aspire only to the p rivilege of throwing before our reade rs , hr i from time to time , without regard to c o no l o g o r a cal order historical arr ngement , such items concerning the civil history of this town and

v village , the li es and characters of those who a nd k have lived here . other indred subjects , as we shall consider interesting and useful to him who shall hereafter honor himself, by p reparing a full and reliable History o f this ancient seat of manorial authority in America .

3 which the aboriginal inhab itants of this town and vicinity belonged .

. Heckewelder and Mr Moulton , following other o ne earlier writers , in part of his work ap pears to have supposed that the residents of this por tion of Westchester county were Mohegans H i st o t e Sta te o New Y rk 226 — ( ory f h f o , i , ) the Ma nh hik n E it L ikani Ma a s d . e and of De Laet , ( y den 1625 Mahi canders J , , the c of oost Hart

u ted b M ult n Mahicanni o f ger, ( q o y o o , the t New Views k Bar on , ( , xxxi , xxxii) the Mahi an 1 2 t M m ir E it. 8 5 ders o Benson , ( e o , d , Hecke wel der appears to have formed his opin ion from the narrative of an aged and intelligent

Mohegan , whose grandfather had been a noted chief of that nation When I was a b oy , my grandfather used to speak much of old times how it had b een before the white people came “ r into this count y , and what changes to 3k place “ r . The since , f om time to time western b o un darv line of the Mahi canni was the river M a hi

nit c ca n u lc, which the white people now call ur North Ri ver. O towns and settlements ex tended on the east side of this river from Thup T u hanne hane or p , ( a Delaware word for cold “ tr m f s ea , rom which the whites have derived the - name Tappan ,) to the extent of tide water up ” this river here was the uppermost town .

This statement, it is said , c orresp onds with other relations , made by aged Delawares ; and o n o f a misunderstanding this simple narrative , it has b een often assumed that the inhabitants of 4 that part o f Westchester county which is embraced Y in the town of onkers and its vicinity , were

Mohegans . There is little doubt , however , that M this is an error and we consider that r . Bol “ ” ton , in his chapter on the Aborigines of this i n county , was entirely correct assigning this p ortion of the valley of the Hudson to the Man

ha tans H is t r . t . ( o y , i , ix ) The aged Delaware referred to by Hecke wel the M der , stated that southern limit of the ohe Th hane - gan ter . i to ry was up o r Tapp a n ; and

n Y. H t. Doctor Bar ton ( M S . i N. is S ociety) has concurred in that statement The Mahiccans “ ” Hu d occupied , he says , the east side of the to d wn to the son , from a site opposite Albany , o ” an s ea Tapp , ( which is some distance north

Mr. from this town . ) Moulton , also , considered that “ the ﬁerce Manhattae occupied Staten and

reha s h Manhattan Islands , and as far , p p , on t e ” east shore of the river a s Tapp an B ay . ( His t r o y , i ,

There is other testimony , however , which in our mind , is much more conclusive than that which has been before referred to . “ N De Laet, speaking of the Great orth River ” Ne w N On of the etherlands , says the east

u n the ma in la nd dwell the M anha t an s side , p o , t ,

a bad race of savages , who have always been obstinate and unfriendl y towards our country ” Nieu we l ereldt . N. Y. H . . men . V , Edit ist S o c

b e i nf e rred The same may , in a subsequent I statement, in the same volume . ( bid, 5

Van Adriaen der Donck, the ﬁrst Patroon of Yonkers—certainly no mean authority on this — t “ subject af er stating that the nations , tribes “ and languages are as diff erent in America as ” “ With the M a nha t they are in Europe , says ,

ta ns we i n lude th s e who live i n the nei hb r in , c o g o g la es a l n the N rth River d p c o g o . on Long Islan , “ inl D e ri ti o and at the Nev ers r. ( s c p on f New

. Y. H . o . 205 165 6 N. t n s . S c Ne herla d , Edit ist , ,

From these authorities , we have been led to supp o se that the inhabitants of this town and i vicinity , at the period of the ﬁrst v sit to the b whites were AN A ANS country y the , really M H TT , a M ult n 224 branch of the Munsey s , ( o o , i , , and M m not oheg ans , who were , ore directly , members

- na of the Lenno Le pi Algonquin family . ( School ’ t o the I ndia ns c raf t s His ory f , vi ,

V R T HE DISCO E Y.

The year 1609 was productive o f great events in the history of the Ne wWorld and a passing allusion to one of the principal of these events , appears to be proper in this place . H H On the fourth of April , enry udson took his departure from Amsterdam and on the sixth , T i n Vlie - o r he sailed from the exel , the boat ” l e M n b Yaght Ha v aa of forty lasts urden , 6 - fl Ha l M n o f . Shi the y boat f oo , eighty tons ( p book of the Old E a s t I ndia Comp any a t Ams ter dam . ) o ff o f Early in July , he arrived the Banks Newfoundland on the second of September he descried the Highlands of Nav esinck ; on the N sixth , he sent a boat through the arrows , into Ne Y the harbor of w ork and on the eleventh ,

Ha - n N he carried the lf M oo through the arrows, into the same nob le bay . On H the thirteenth , udson entered the great river which bears his name and after drif ting ﬂ slowly with the ood tide , four miles , he anchor ed . In the afternoon , he proceeded some eight

u miles f rther . and anchored for the night, with a high point of land in sight, bearing North by East ﬁve leagues o ff

It has been supposed by some , that the anchor - Hal -M n f age ground of the f oo , on the evening o S the thirteenth of eptember , was just above n Mr Y . onkers ; and we ﬁnd amo g them , Brod the the head , most recent historian of Colony .

His t o the State o New Y rk ( ory f f o , i , We see no reason , however , to concur in this opinion ; on the contrary , we think that if Mr . Brodhead had kept in view the whole of the ’ sentence in Hudson s narrative , of which he quoted only a portion , he would not have thus com mi tte d himself .

Hudson had sailed , as he supposed , only about e N sevent en miles above the arrows , when he “ n N b E discovered , beari g orth y ast , ﬁve leagu es

‘ o ﬁ E . N. vs , as he stated in his Journal , ( d Y. “ . 18 11 His t. So c , , a high point of land .

Mr . Brodhead supposed , as we have said , Ha -M n that the lf oo anchored , on the evening in “ Y question , just above onkers ; and he con ” ide re s d that the high point of land , in ques Verdrieti H n tion was g ook , just orth of Nyack .

H is t r 29 N . ( o y , i , , ote ) Inasmuch , however , as Ve rdrietig Hook is not North by E a s t from just ” Y b u t N b Wes t above onkers , orth y , and for the further reason that Ve rtrie tig Hook i s no t - — ’ vis ible f rom that an chora ge grou nd Gutters — Point intervening to say nothing of the distance f N we sailed rom the arrows , , on the contrary , consider that Hudson had not reached the point designated by Mr . Brodhead , on the thirteenth o f a t September ; and that he was , in f c , at that f Manha ttanv ill e time , not ar from , with either t ’ Fort Washington Point or Gut er s Point , just ’ ne e n s below S d Landing , bearing North by E ast ahead of him . Y If we are correct, therefore , onkers is no t entitled to a place in the early history of the Colony because o f a temporary stay within her H Ha -M f n . b orders , o udson and the lf oo T HE PU RC E HAS .

In our last article on this subject we very briefly alluded to the circumstances attending the first visit of Europeans to the valley of the Hudson ; and we ventured to express a doub t of the correctness of the popular theory that Henry Hudson spent a night on the waters of this town . r ab o ri During the succeeding thirty yea s , the g inal inhabitants of Yonkers appear to have enjoyed an undisturbed occupation of their possessions ; and the annalist finds nothing worthy of his notice , to add to the brief narra tive which he has already written . f 1639 In the summer o , however , the West India Company appears to have moved for the purpose o f extinguishing the Indian title to this portion of the mainland ; and , on the third of u A gust , of that year, a conveyance of the terri i n tory question , to the General Incorporated

The i n tr West India Company , was secured s u ment, in writing , by which that conveyance was made , was duly executed , and recorded B k Re r s in the colonial oo of co d GG, folio 31 fﬁ S S , now in the o ce of the ecretary of tate , at Albany ; and we are indebted to our ’ E . O Call a ha . . friend , . B g n, LL D , the learned 9

New N f r historian of etherland , o the follow ing carefully-prepared translation of that inter — esting paper now presented complete , it is believed , the ﬁrst time to the historical worl d

INDIAN DE E D FOR THE TOW N OF YONKE RS .

This day , date underwritten , before me Cornelis Ne w N van Tienhoven , S ecretary in etherland , T e u emick Re ch awac Pachamiens appeared q , g , , K k eski k proprietors of e c , who , in the presence of the underwritten witnesses , voluntarily and deliberately declare that , in and for certain par cels of goods which they acknowledge to have received to their satisfaction before the execution hereof, they have ceded , conveyed , and trans p orted as they do hereby transport , cede , and rO ri e t to convey in a true , right , and free p p y , and for the behoof of the General Incorporated W est India Company , a piece of land called Kesk eskick , situated opposite the Flatt of the Manhate the Island of , stretching in length along the Kill which runs in the rear around the Island Manhate almost east and west , beginning at the a b eginning of the b ove named Kill , to right over ﬂatl and ag ainst the high hill of the , to wit , by the Great Kill . And that with all the action , right and title thereunto to them belonging in the quality aforesaid . constituting the Directors of the Incorporated West India C ompany i n their stead in the real and actual possession thereof and giving them and their assigns full and irre t vocable power , au hority, and special commission the above described land and the dependencies u eacab l thereof to enter pon , p y to occup y and to use , as they might do with other their lawfully acquired land , without they , the grantors any longer reserving or retaining therein any the least part or control , but from henceforth for ever therefrom desisting , hereb y releas ing the 2

of the more important portion of its history

that relating to its colonization . b e Preparatory to that enquiry , however , we g o ur n to introduce to the notice of readers , O e who was deeply interested in this vicinity in the — earlier periods of its history we refer to

D R AE N VAN DE R NCK . A I DO , its ﬁrst Patroon

This gentleman , as he himself stated , was a d lineal escendant of Adriaen van Bergen , part f i i owner of the famous tur boat, n wh ch a party o f Dutch troops was clandestinely introduced , 159 9 in the year , into the castle of that city , whereby that stronghold of Spanish tyranny was ’ . ll a n I . e t. reduced ( O Oa a gh , ntrod to R mons of

N. Netherland, i . )

He B rcda was a native of , and a graduate of the University of Ley den ; and after a f 164 course of legal study , in the fall o 1, he Ne w N emigrated to etherland , b ringing with

re ei v m him , or c g soon after, a commission S -ﬁscaal o r S f o f R as chout , heri f, ensselaers

wyck , in the place of S chout Planck , and a

lease , from the Patroon , of the western half o f

Castle Island . Within a short time after his arrival at Bevers

wyck , he appears to have fallen into a serious dis ute with f p , van Curler and other o ﬁcers of the

C olony , concerning trade with the Indians ; and van der Donck determined to resign his i i -ﬁs l comm ss on as Schout caa , and return to Holland for the purpose o f ob taining author 12

ity. to establish a colony for himself, in — the vicinity of Catskill a purpose which was frustrated only by the resolute Opposition of the

n . Patroon , van Re sselaer In the preparation an d conclusion of the im p ortant Treaties with the Indian tribes , which 1645 was perfected by Director Kieft, in , van der Donck rendered essential service ; and the wampum which was presented to the savages on o that occasi n , in conﬁrmation of those Treaties , was advanced by him , in the then straightened condition of the Colony .

In consideration of these services , and in return for the advances of wampum to which we have NE PPE RHAE M referred , the tract of land called ,

Y nkers to now known as o , was granted him , during the same year ( 1645) by the Director and Council of Ne w Netherland ; and he appears to to have taken measures , very soon thereafter, establish a C olony within the Territory which

was thus granted .

The property thus granted , is described in the Patent by which the grant was subsequently ’ Call a han— . E . O conﬁrmed , and by Dr . B g from the last of which authorities the greater portion of this article has been derived as bounded “ N S a - on the orth by the w Kill , which the

Ma akassi n Indians called cc , and ran South to

e e rhaem k a - N pp , thence to the Sho ra pk o ck Kill Pa i rinimen and to p Creek , called by the Dutch ’ S Du el puyten y v , whence it stretched eas t 13

ward to the river Bronx —embracing all the o f Y territory of the present town onkers, to gether with a portion o f that of the present b town of West Farms , and , possi ly , some of tha t of the present town of Morrisania . Van der Donck appears to have cleared the title to this territory from every conceivable incumbrance , not only by the grant from the Colonial authorities ( to whom the Indian pro

rie t rs b p o had previously conveyed it , y the Deed

' which was copied into our last article o u this b subject,) but by a second conveyance y the for mer Indian proprietors , directly to himself ;

it l i n the P a tent o 8th O t ber ( Rec a f c o , and he gave to his possession the name of Colen ” ’ — D o nck s n — wn Donck C ol o y after his o name .

n - O b 1645 O the twenty second of cto er , , van der Donck was married in the Reformed Dutch Ne w M c hurch in Amsterdam , to aria , daughter of Rev . Francis Doughty of Maspeth , L . I . and 17 his very soon after, ( January , residence , on Castle Island , was destroyed by ﬁre ; after f n which , with his wi e , he e joyed the hospitalities of van Curler’ s house until what seems to have been his quarrelsome disposition led to a re - newal of their ill feeling , when , on the 19 th of 1646 February , , his magnanimous host ordered him to leave the premises , obliging him to repair to Fort Orange , where he remained through the winter . 1646 In the spring of , he removed to the Man 14 hattans ; but his subsequent residence in that place does not appear to have been much more peace fu l than that in Renssel aerswy ck had been and van der Donck evidently led a life of turmoil and dissension—whether from his own fault or from some other cause is not entirel y evident .

During the same y ear , on the death of Patroon ffi t van Rensselaer , his o cial connection wi h the col Renssel aersw ck N ony of y terminated , icolaus - S fis a l . Goor n succeeding him , as chout c a He ‘ 1649 was one of those who , in , protested against the arbitrary conduct of Director Stu y ant v e s against Melyn , the Patroon of S taten N Me n Island . As one of the ine , in the same year, he was selected to prepare a remonstrance o n the various grievances under which the Colo niste suff ered from the arbitrary measures of Di he rec tor S tuyvesant; by the latter , was arrested and thrown into prison ; and , subsequently , fii e deposed from his public o c s . f Shortly a terward , van der Donck proceeded to E urope to lay his complaints and those of the S - opposition , before the tates General , where he was confronted by Cornelis Van Tienhoven and other friends of the Director and of the C ompany .

The contest was exceedingly spirited , and con tinned through several years , but it resulted in a great improvement in the condition of the

Colonists . e Before his return to America , he , was admitt d an Advocate in the Supreme Court of Holland 15 received the honorary degree of Docto r o f Laws from the University of Leyden and prepared f o r - the press his well known volume , entitled

A D es ri ti n o New Netherla nd a the me c p o f , ( s s a

i s a t the res ent &c . p , which was published in 16 55 . He returned to Ne w Netherland in the fall of 165 3 and , two years afterward , he died , leaving Y his Colony of Donck , or onkers , to his wife , ’ H Ne al E O s . who subsequently married ugh , q , M f of aryland and to them , on the eighth o Octo 16 66 ber, , the Colony was P atented by Governor

N e . icoll , as will be seen hereafter

f In o u r last , we noticed the Li e and Services r f of Adriaen van der Donck , the ﬁ st Patroon o

Y and onkers ; , in the course of that article , we incidentally alluded to the colonization o f this township and its vicinity . While van der Donck was yet holding the S -ﬁscaal Renssel aers w k ofﬁ ce of chout of y c , in 1645 f the year , Director Kieft and the Council o Ne w Netherland granted unto him the territories f referred to in our last, including that o this o f o f and town , with a portion that West Farms 16

t M i n probably of hat of orrisania . ( P et tion of va e n Ma 2 6 d r D o ck , y , This was done principally because of services which he had rendered to the Colony in the pre p arati o n and con clusion of a Treaty with the 1645 Indians , in the spring of , and for advances of wampum which he had made for the ne cessa ry presents to conﬁrm the terms of that Treaty

( 1bid. ) and in the beginning of the following

Renssel aersw ck year while he was yet in y , van der Donck “ settled down there by erect - ing a saw mill , and beginning to establish a b o werie I , or plantation , in that place . ( bid . ) Soon after this grant was made and pro “ bably before he settled down there , van der Donck purchased from the former Indian pro rie to rs p of the territory thus granted , or those who claimed to be such , all their rights thereto , whether real or imaginary and the purchase u th s made , was witnessed by the Director and o f New N I bi Council etherland , d, unto whom the same or other assumed proprietors had already conveyed the fee of the same territory , b u 3rd 1639 y deed dated A gust , , and reproduced

I . in a former article on this subject . ( Nu mber V

HE AZE E 24th a nt . T G TT , June , e )

The territory thus twice sold by the Indians , and formally granted by the Director and Coun Ne N cil of w etherland , in each case for a legal fﬁ and su cient consideration , passed into the pos f k 1645 session o van der Donc , in and by him it 17

as nie with L N w erected into a Co l o , the title of CO O — ’ — DONOR Do nck s Colony o f which he became

the legal Patroon . T here is no evidence , as far as we have seen ,

that Donck was personally a settler in the Colony , — in its earlier days indeed , it is evident that he - retained his o fii ce of Schout fiscaal of Rensselaers k ‘ wyc until the death of the first Patroon , Kilian ’ R i n 16 46 O Ca lla han . van ensselaer , g , i his b o u we rie that he was a resident on , on Cas tle

B e vers w ck Island , near y , when , on the seven teenth 1 46 of January , 6 , his h ouse was burned ’ ( van Ca rter s Accou nt of hi s &ua rrel with va n der D n k o n o c , ) and that the twentieth of Pebru 1646 m ’ ary , , he removed fro van C urler s house ,

s . where he had found helter , to the Fort ( 1bid . ) We have not been successful in our search for copies of the original grant of the territory in

question , by Director Kieft, to van der Donck — d indeed it is sai by our learned friend , Doctor ’ Calla ha n E . O . B g , that it is not on the records ; nor have we been ab le to ﬁnd any evidence of the b f purchase of the territory , y the latter , rom the — Indians that b y which the Patroon conﬁrmed

his right thereto , and secured. peace to his C olo fact nie beyond the averment of the , in van ’ D k s - der o nc Petition , of the twenty sixth of

65 3 b e a May , 1 , which will given in nother f article , and the acknowledgment of that act,

. made by the Indians some years subsequent , a copy of which has been kindly furnished for this ’

. E . O Call a han. article , b y Dr . B g 3

In order that our readers may understand the true character of the Patroons of Ne w Nether land a nd the authori ty with which they we re

b v h “ vested , virtue of t eir c ontract , we continue

u m H lla nd D cu m nts in our col mns , fro the o o e , ’ Call a han translated by Doctor O g , the following copy of “ Freedoms and Exemptions granted by ‘ W the Board of the XIX . of the incorporated est who India Company , to all those will plant Colonies in Ne w Netherland agreed to 1 629 on the seventh of June . and subsequently ratiﬁed by the States General .

I . Such members of the said Company as may be inclined to settle a Co lonie in New Nether b e land , shall permitted to send in the ships of this Company going thither , three or four per t he sons to inspect situation of the country , fﬁ ’ provided that they , with the o cers and ship s company , swear to the articles , so far as they t an relate o them , d pay for provisions and for passage , going and coming , six stivers per diem and such as desire to eat in the cabin , twelve stivers , and to be subordinate and give assist k f ance li e others , in cases o fensive and defensive; and if any ships be taken from the enemy , they shall receive , pro rata , their proportions with ’ the ship s company , each according to his quality ; the i that is to say , colonists eat ng out of the cabin shall be rated with the sailors , and those who eat in the cabin with those of the Comp any ’ s servants who eat at tab le and receive the lowest wages . 20

u II . Tho gh , in this respect, shall be preferred such persons as have fir st appeared and desired the same from the C ompany . c c r III . All su h shall be a knowledged Pat oons Ne w N w of etherland who shall , ithin the space of four years next af ter they have given notice to any of the Chambers of the Company here , u or to the Commander or Council there , nder take to plant a Colonie there of fifty souls , upwards of fi fteen years old ; one fourth part t within one year , and wi hin three years after the sending of the first , making together four years , s the remainder, to the full number of fifty per ons , to be shipped from hence , on pain , in case of c wilful negle t , of being deprived of the privi leges obtained but it is to be observed that the Company reserve the Island of the Manha tte s to themselves .

. r IV They shall , f om the time they make known the situation of the places where they propose to settle Colonies . have the preference to all others of the absolute property of such lands as they have there chosen but in case the situation should not afterwards please them , or that they should have been mistaken as to the rem o nstrat quality of the land , they may , after ing concerning the same to the Commander and

Council there , be at liberty to choose another place .

V . The Patroons , by virtue of their p ower , a t l shall and may be permitted , such p aces as they shall settle their Colonies . to extend their u limits fo r leagues along the shore , that is , on o ne a side of a navigable river , or two le gues &on n each side of a river , and so far i to the country as the situation of the occupiers will permit provided and conditioned that the Company keep

E E qual to sixteen ng lish miles . Or h E h 1 eig t ng lis miles . 21 to themselves the lands lying and remaining between the limits of C olonies , to dispose thereof, when and at such time as they shall think pro i n al per , such manner that no person shall be lowed to come within seven or eight leagues of them without their consent , unless the situation of the land thereabout be such , that the Com mander and Council , for good reasons , should order otherwise always observing that the first occupiers are n o t to be prejudiced in the right they have ob tained , other than , unless the service of the Company should require it , for o f the building of fortifications , or something b a that sort ; the command of each y , river . or fi rst- island , of the settled Colonie , remaining , moreover , under the supreme jurisdiction o f their S High Mightinesses the tates General , and the Company but that on the next Colonies being s ettled on the same river or island , they may , in conjunction with the first, appoint one or more D ne eputies , in order to consider what may be cessary for the prosperity of the Colonies on the said river and island .

VI . They shall forever possess and enj oy all W t the lands lying i hin the aforesaid limits , to t gether wi h the fruits , rights , minerals , rivers and fountains thereof ; as also the chief com n mand and lower jurisdictions , ﬁshi g , fowling , and grinding , to the exclusion of all others , to b e holden from the Company as a perpetual i h heritance , without it ever devolving ag ain to the

Company , and in case it should devolve , to be redeemed and repossessed with twenty guilders per Colonie , to be paid to this C ompany , at the

Chamber here on to their Commander there , wi thin a year and six weeks after the same occurs , each at the Chamber where he originally sailed from ; and further , no person or persons what

Th - E sh i irty two ng li m les . 22 soever shall be privileged to ﬁsh and hun t but the

Patroons and such as they shall permit . And in case any one should in time prosper so much as f to ound one or more cities, he shall have power and authority to establish ofﬁ cers and mag istrate s h o f t ere , and to make use the title of his Colonie , according to his pleasure and to the quality of of the persons . t d VII . There shall likewise be gran e to all

Patroons who shall desire the same , venia testan di , or liberty to dispose of their aforesaid heri

t . tage , by estament h VIII . The Patroons may , if t ey think proper , make use of all lands , rivers , and woods , lying contiguous to them , for and during so long a time as this Company shall grant them to other

Patroons or private persons .

IX . Those who shall send persons over to settle Colonies , shall furnish them with proper instructions , in order that they may be ruled and governed conformably to the rule of government made , or to be made , by the Board of the N c ineteen , as well in the politi al as the judicial government ; which they shall be obliged ﬁrst to lay before the Directors of the respective

Chambers .

X . The Patroons and C olonists shall be privi l e ed f g to send their people and ef ects thither , in ships belonging to the Company , provided they and to take the oath , pay the Company for bring ing over the people as mentioned in the ﬁrst article and for freight of the goods ﬁve per cent . ready money , to be reckoned on the p rime cost of the goods here ; in which is , however , not to be included such cattle and other i mplements as are necessary for the cultivation and improvement of the lands , which the Com pany are to carry over without any reward , if there is room in their ships . But the Patroons i w shall, at the r o n expense , provide and make 23

ne places for them , together with every thing cessary for the support of the cattle .

XI . In case it should not suit the Company to i n send any ships , or there should be no room P atro o ns af te r those sailing thither, then the said , having communicated their intentions , and after having ob tained c onsent from the Company in writing , may send their own ships or vessels thither& provided , that in going or coming they go not out o f their ordinary course giving secu rity f o r to the Company the same , and taking o n t board an assistan , to be victualled by th e

Patroons , and paid his monthly wag es by the fo r f C ompany ; on pain , doing the contrary, o forfeiting all the right and property they have obtained to the Colonie .

XII . Inasmuch as it is intended to people the Manha tte s f and Island of the ﬁrst , all ruits wares that are produced on the lands situate on the h Nort River , and ly ing thereabout, shall , for the present , be brought there before being sent elsewhere & excepting such as are from their nature unnecessary there or such as cannot, without great loss to the owner thereof, be brought there in’ which case the owners thereof shall be obliged to give timely notice in writing of the difﬁ culty attending the same to the C om pany here , or to the Commander and Council there , that the same may be remedied as the necessity thereof shall be found to require . Ne XIII . All the Patroons of Colonies in w

Netherland , and of Colonies on the Island of a tes t fﬁ Manh t , shall be at liberty o sail and tra c N all along the coast, from Florida to Terra euf, provided that they do again return with all such goods as they shall get in trade to the Island of

tte s . Manha , and pay ﬁve per cent duty to the Company , in order, if possible , that after the necessary inventory o f the g oods shipped be taken , the same may be sent hither . And if it 24

u should so happen that they could not ret rn , by contrary streams or otherwise, they shall , in such n o t case , be permitted to bring such goods to any other place but to these dominions , in order that under the inspection of the Directors of the nu place where they may arrive , they may be laden , an inventory thereof made , and the afore f said duty o ﬁve per cent . paid to the the Company here, on pain , if they do contrary , f of the forfeiture of their goods so tra ﬁcked for , or the real value thereof. in XIV. In case the ships of the Patroons , going to , or coming from , or sailing on the coast N from Florida to Terra euf, and no further, without our grant , should overpower any prizes of the enemy , they shall be obliged to bring , u c the or cause to be brought, s h prize to Cham ber of the place from whence they sailed out , in order to be rewarded by i t ; the Company shall keep the one third part thereof, and the remaining two thirds shall belong to them . in consideration of the cost and risk they have been at , all according to the orders of the Company .

XV . It shall be also free for the aforesaid Patroons to traﬁi c and trade all along the coast Ne Ne therl and of w and places circumjacent, c re with such goods as are onsumed there , and v e cei in return for them , all sorts of merchan dize that may be had there , except beavers , otters , minks , and all sorts of peltry , which trade the Company reserve to themselves . But the same shall be permitted at such places where f the Company have no actories , conditioned that such traders shall be obliged to bring all the peltry they can procure to the Island of Man hattes in case it may be , at any rate , practicable , and there deliver to the D 11 ector to be by him shipped hither with the ships and goods ; or, if they should come here , without going there , then to give notice thereof to the Company , that a 25

proper account thereof may be taken , in order that they may pay to the Company one guilder for each merchantable beaver and otter skin ; a nd the property , risk , all other charges , remain ing on account of the Patroons , or owners . o i XVI . All coarse wares that the Colonists

t , t the Patroo-ns here shall consume such as pi ch , tar , . weed ashes , wood , grain , fish , salt , hearth a nd stone , such like things , shall be conveyed ’ o f in the Company s ships , at the rate eighteen guilders 20) per last ; four thou sand weig ht to be accounted a last, and the Com ’ ’ p any s ship s crew shall be obliged to wheel and bring the salt on board , whereof ten lasts make a hundred . And in case of the want of ships , or room in the ships , they may order it over at their own cost , in ships of their own , and enjoy in these dominions such liberties and benefits as 1 the Company have g anted ; but in either case , 1 they shall be obliged to pay , ove and above the t duty of five per cen , eiDghteen guilders for each hundred of salt that is carried over in ’ the Company s ships .

XVII . For all wares which are not mentioned in the foregoing article , and which are not carried by the last, there shall be paid one dol lar for each hundred pounds weight ; and for i i wines , brandies , verju ce , and v negar, there shall be paid eighteen guilders per cask .

XVIII . The Company promises the C olonists of the Patroons , that they shall be free from customs . taxes , excise , imposts , or any other co n t1 1b u ti o ns for the s pace of ten years ; and after the expiration of the said ten years, at the c highest , su h customs as the goods pay here for the present .

XIX . They will not take from the service of the Patroons any of their Colonists , either man — or woman , son or daughter , man servant or maid servant and though any of these should desire 4

shall discover any shores , bays , or other fit o r places for erecting fisheries , the making of salt ponds , they may take possession thereof, and begin to work on them as their own absolute property , to the exclusion of all others . And it is consented to that the Patroons of Colonists may send ships along the coast of Ne w Nether o u land , the cod fishery , and with the fish they ca tch to , trade to Italy , or other neutral countri es , paying in such cases to the Company a duty of six guilders 40) per last ; an d if they should come with their lading hither . they shall Ital tho u h be at liberty to proceed to y , g they shall n t u nde 1 o , pretext of this consent , or leave from 1 r o f the Company , ca y any goods there , on pain arbitrary punishment ; and it remaining in the breast of the Company to put a supercarg o on board each ship , as in the eleventh article .

XXIV . In case any of the Colonists should , dili e n e dis v e r by his industry and g c , co any mine ral s 1 e ci o u s , p stones , crystals , marbles , or such like , or any pearl ﬁshery , the same shall be and remain the p i o perty of the Patroon or Patroons of such Colonie ; giving and ordering the dis coverer such premi um as the Patroon shall b e forehand have stipulated with such Colonist b y cont1 act And the Patroons shall be exempt from the payment of duty to the Company for the tei m o f eai s eight y , and pay only for freight , to bring them over, two per cent , and after the expiration f o r of the aforesaid eig ht years , duty and freight , the one eighth part of what the same may be wor th . V he XX . T Company will take all the Colo nis ts u n , as well free as those that are in service , f der their protection , and them de end against all foreign and domestic wars and powers , with f o 1 ces 1 the they have the e , as much as lies in their p ower . W XXVI . hosoever shall settle any Colonie out o f Ma nhattes b e the limits of the Island , shall 28 obliged to satisfy the Indians for the land they shall settle upon , and they may extend or enlarge the limits of their C olonies if they settle a pro p o rtio nate number of C olonists thereon .

XXVII . The Patroons and Colonists shall in r particula , and in the speediest manner , endea vor to ﬁnd out ways and means whereby they may support a Minister and Schoolmaster , that thus the service of God and zeal for religion may not grow cool , and b e neglected among them and that they shall , for the ﬁrst, procure

th e . a Comforter of sick , there

XXVIII . The C olonies that shall happen to lie on the resp ective rivers or islands ( that is to say , each river or island for itself ) shall be at i n liberty to appoint a Deputy , who shall give formation to the Commander and C oun cil of that W estern quarter , of all things relating to his Colonie , and further matters relating thereto , of which Deputies there shall be one altered , or changed , in every two years and all

Colonies shall be obliged , at least once in every twelve months , to make exact report of their con dition and of the lands thereabout , to the Com mander and Council there , in order to be trans mitte d hither .

XXIX . The Colonists shall not be permitted to make any woolen , l inen , or cotton cloth , nor ff weave any other stu s there , on pain of being banished , and as perjurers , to be arbitrarily punished .

XXX . The Company will use their endeavors to supply the Colonists with as many Blacks as they conveniently can , on the conditions here after to be made in such manner, however , that they shall not be bound to do it for a longer time than they shall think proper .

XXXI . The C ompany promise to ﬁnish the Ma nh fort on the Island of the attes , and to put it in a pos ture of defence without delay . VII I .

T H E F T H E O ONY SET TLEM EN T O C L .

In our last article on this subject, we intro du ce d to our readers what may b e considere d the great charter of the p olitical rights of the Colonists of Ne w Netherland a n instrument which , more than any other, shows the system of government under which the earliest settlers of this town and village , lived and labored . As the distinguished historian of Ne w Nether & land has very truly remarked , this very impor tant document which “ transplanted to the free “ soil of America the feudal tenure and feudal E burdens of continental urope , is remarkabl e principally as a characteristic of the era in

which it was produced . It bears all the marks

of the social system which prevailed at the time ,

not only among the Dutch , but among the other “ nations which had adopted the civil l aw . The C olonies ’ were but transcripts of the lord ’ ships and ‘seigneuries so common at this p e

rio d , and which the French were establishing

contemp oraneously , in their possessions north of ‘ Ne w Ne the rl andn where most o f the feudal

’ ’ O all a h an s H New N h d 120. C g istory of et erlan , i , t The following are th e d ates of some of th e earliest

d . t . h 1626 Patents for S eig neuries in Cana a S J osep , d d es A 1626 R d a L 1633 Notre ame nges , ; iviere oup , ; 30

appendages of high and low jurisdiction , muta - tion fines , pre emption rights , exclusive monopo “ - u lies of mines, minerals , water co rses , hunting , “ fishing , fowling , and g rinding , which we find

enumerated in the charter to Patroons , form part o f the civil law of the country at the present

day . But however favorable the feudal tenure

may be to a young country , and to agriculturists b e of small capital , whose interest it might to

husband their scanty means , in order the quicker “ and more effectually to enable them to reclaim

their wild land , it cannot be denied that the charter before us had many faults and many “ ‘ imperfections . While it secured the right of ’ the Indian to the soil , says Moulton , and

enjoinedschools and churches , it scattered the

r r . seed of servitude , slave y , and a istocracy While it gave to freemen as much land as they

could cultivate , and exempted Colonists from

taxation for ten years , it fettered agriculture by restricting commerce and prohibiting manu ’ factures .

As we have already stated , in our sketch of

L 16 6 16 3 35 . Th an r auzon, Beauport, ese d numbers o others may be f ound (some as late as 1 788) in Bou ’ h tt s T . o Ca n . . t s F c e e A . e . e . op og f , p p ii q orty years af ter th e establish ment o f th e p i i vileg ed order o r P New N h d th e o f atroons in et erlan , proprietors Caro lina attempted to introduce a privileg ed ord er o f feudal d i n h P c d th e o f “ ” lor s t at rovin e, un er title Lang raves add C c the b e d d i h 16 000 a iques , former to en owe w t , , and th e h 4 000 c o f latter wit , a res land each . B ut this memorable monument of Locke’ s f olly perished soon h after birt . Y H t or New 38 388. is ory ork , 7, 31 .

f Va D k v his li e , Patroon n der onc isited Father 1649 f land , in , as one o the Commissioners of the Commonwealth o f New Netherland and while there he appears to have been also engaged in an enterprise for conveying emigrants to Ameri ca , probably for the settlement of his Colonie at

Y . Colon Donck , now the town of onkers

In one of these enterprises , at least , it does not appear that he was very successful although he appears to have completely fulﬁlled his en a eme nt g g with the Company , entered into , in conformity with the Articles of “ Freedoms and ” b Exemptions , already pu lished in our columns , when he received from it the grant for his 0 0 10 nie at this place and thereb y perfected his title to the fee of the property . As a curious memento of the earlier days of — if o f n the town not its—successful settleme t, as a Colonie of the Dutch we present a copy o f n his the contract to co vey emigrants to America , which the Patroon entered into with the West

India Company , at Amsterdam for which we are indebted to The New Yorlc Coloni al Docu ’ m ents . O al la han . , edited by Dr C g

DRAFT OF A CONTRACT TO CONVE Y E MIGRANTS TO

NE W NE THE RLAND .

&From th e Minutes in th e Royal Archives at the H F West I n di a ague ; ile, & T 19 th 1650 his day , the of March , , the Com mittee of the Amsterdam Chamber of the West

India Company on the one part, and Adriaen k b u enh n van der Donc , Jaco van Co w o ve and 32

ar Jan E vertsen Bout , on the other p t, have mutu ally agreed and concluded , in the presence of ’ thei r High Mightinesses Deputies o u w That the aforesaid Van der Donck , C e n u hoven and Bout will ndertake , as t-hey do here b y contract to charter a suitable fly boat of 200 la s ts and therein to go to sea before the ﬁrst of Ne N June next . and convey to w etherland the 200 1 0 number of passengers , of which 0 are to be farmers and farm servants , and the remaining 100 such as the Amsterdam Chamber is accus e c to m d to send over , conversant with agri ulture , and to furnish them with necessary supplies for the voyage on the condition that the aforesaid Committee of the C ompany shall allow the New o r Netherland contractors here to have , to draw e from the duties which , after this date , will b paid to the Company on freights for Ne w Nether o f land the sum four thousand guilders cash , to pay present expenses the subject of duty , re Ne wN dress , and etherland freedoms remaining for the more full disposition of their High Mighti nesses and the Directors of the West India Com pany . The C ommittee of the Company shall immediately make an assignment of such funds , together with seven thousand guilders additional , to be drawn in Ne w Netherl and from the peltry revenue , amounting , in all , to the sum of eleven u ilders the thousand g , further sums derived from board and passage , if any there be , remaining for the proﬁt and behoof of them the Ne w Nether land contractors , without they , or the aforesaid hundred gratuitously convey ed persons , demand n ing anything further from the Compa y, or tax i ng them not even one stiver beyond the said eleven thousand guilders . The contractors shall , co n also , bind the aforementioned two hundred v ey e d persons to remain there at least three years , unless some of them , for pregnant reasons , f m Ne w Ne th rl a may ob tain, ro the Council in e nd, 33

to permission return earlier, and not allow them to depart without ﬁrst paying do u ble the amount i n of the passage , and case it come to pass that the a-foresaid two hundred persons be not put o n ship b oard within the aforesaid time , so as to b e able to go to sea , the aforesaid Van der Donck , enh ve n B o u dt Co u w o and , shall forfeit to the

Company , from their private property , in addi tion to the restitution of the 4000 guilders re ei e c v d for present expenses , the sum of two thousand guilders at once , without the Company being further b ound for the aforesaid passage o r s board money . And the We t India Company i i 2 shall be pr v leged , whenever said 00 persons are b rought on b oard , to cause to be inspected the ship and the people , if these be qualiﬁed as Ne Ne therl an af oresaid . And the w d contractors declare that they do not inten d to deri ve any proﬁt b eyond the return of cost which must b e disbursed to obtain the passengers ; they als o b t bind themselves , the costs eing deducted , o leave any overplus there may be , to be applied next year to the l 1k c conveyance o f farmers or farm servants whereunto they each oblige them selves i n s olidum and under renunciation of divi sion , and also subject their goods to all courts and judges . Thus agreed and concluded , and i o r s gned by the Contractors, both sides, at the n o r Hague , o the day year aforesaid.

It will be rememb ered b y o u r readers that the tenor o f the Patents which were granted to the Patroons in New Netherland did n o t enab le to b them equeath those lands, without express 5

T o all who shall see these presents o r hear them

read , Greeting

BE IT N W N & T K O hat We , o n the humb le f supplication of Adriaen van der Donck o Breda, o l o nic Ne erhae m Patroon of the C pp , by him Co lendo nck New N called , situate in etherland , within the limits of the General Incorporated

West India C ompany of this country , and having carefully looked into the fifth article of the Freedoms granted by the Assembly of the n ine o f teen said Company , to all those who shall N w N plant Colonies in e etherland aforesaid , have by these our letters unto him , the Petitioner, sovereignly given , granted , allowed and con f i. erred , do g ve , grant , consent, and confer p ower to order, testate and dispose o f his aforesaid Co l e ndo nck Fief, called , either b y form of testa ment and last will, codicil before a notary and witnesses , superintendents and vassals where said property lies , or otherwise at his pleasure , for the profit of his children , if any he have , ao friends and kindred or others , strangers , cording as it shall please and seem good to him , the aforesaid , his manorial estate h to his c ildren or other persons to give , o r transp ort leave in whole or in part , there up on to assign rents hereditary , or for life , o r even to give any one the usufruct thereof, at his discretion or good pleasure . We have , more over , given , and do hereby give, the Petitioner af0 1 esaid permission , power, and leave , his tes tament and last will , that he shall thus make o r hath previously made , to alter , enlarge , diminish , and revoke , by codicil or other arrangement of last will , whenever and at all times that he shall please ; which testament, gift, and order thus made or to be made by the Petitioner , We now, for then , have confirmed and ratified , confirm and t r ratify, b y his Ou letter, and will that it b e 36

e maintained and perfected , and b valid and o f good effect forever ; and that whomsoever the aforesaid Petitioner hath given tb e said manor

or portion thereof, or assigned any rents or usu f ru ct thereon to , shall use the same according to the laws , statutes , and customs of the place in

which they are situate , in the same manner and

in all forms and ways , as if the said gifts or grants were made and executed before the Gen

eral Company or other their agents , whom it may P r ided concern . ov , that whomsoever the above

mentioned Petitioner shall give , order , or make man over the aforesaid Fief to , whether or wo

man , shall be bound , within a year and six the weeks after the death of aforesaid Petitioner , or his or her entrance into possession of the u u t above described Fief, to do homage o U s and a no on e else , and pay the rights thereunto pper i al l tain ng and belonging , without fraud , guile ,

or craft . Wherefore We do request and order those of the aforementioned General I nco rp o r ated West India Company to instruct and com mand the Governors or Commanders and Coun N cil , who now are or shall hereafter be in e w

Netherland , and moreover all others whom it i in anywise may concern , conjo ntly and each in

p articular, as it shall behoove him , that they

maintain and perfect the testament, order and

last will of the above named Petitioner, as he

shall have made or yet shall make it , and as it now by U s is ratiﬁed and conﬁrmed as afore said ; and whomsoever b e by his testament and last will hath given and granted the aforesaid

Fief, or shall have made and assigned , or yet a m y make , give , or assign any rents or usufructs

to , the same to cause and permit the quiet and peaceable use and enjoyment thereof, without causing or allowing him at any time to ex p eri m l e ttati n ence any let, hindrance , or o s o herein to

the contrary. 37

Our a Given under seal , paraph , and the sign reﬁi er H ture of our G in the ague , the six and

i o f r X c . ft two . twent eth day Ap il . VI and ﬁ y and

The ab sence of van der Donck from the Colo m nie , on the service of the Com onalty , to which

reference has been made , probably led to neg lect on the part of his agents in Ne w Nether n land and to the encroachments o his property ,

o f those who lived i n this vicinity . der k Be this as it may , van Donc considered it necessary to protect his title to certain mea

Co l e ndo n k o f dows at c , against the interference “ who his those grasping people , squatters , , in

absence from the country , had encroached on

his property and interfered with his plans and , t -s 165 3 on the wenty ixth of May , , the Patroon , i n H who was then olland , addressed the following Petition to the Directors o f the f r Company, praying o the protection referred & to .

P E TITION o r AD RIAE N VAN DE R DONCK To THE D1 HE E IND A MPANY A R RE CT ORs o n T W ST I CO , CH MBE E RDAM AT AMST .

Adriaen van der Donck , an inhab itant o f New N e re se nts etherland , respectfully f p that in

& Thi s paper is taken from th e New York Colo ni al M s c s A XI 81 and d d anu ript , (at lbany , ) , we are in ebte ’ t r E . . O Calla h an h s o r o D . B g , for t is tran lation it . 38

1645 e the year , the Director and C ouncil of N w Netherland gave and granted unto him the peti ti o ner the advantages of the Saw Kill with the s lands thereabouts , to erect aw and grist mills , plantations , boweries , and such like there , according to his means and ability . This was done principally in re gard and out of considera tion , that the petitioner in preparing and con cluding the peace between Director Kieft on the one side and the Indians on the other, had been absent from his house at his own expense over nine weeks , in the best and most necessary sea f son o the year , and had , without speaking ' eﬁ e ct boastingly, contributed as much , or more , c ual servi e therein as , or than any other person , so that at length peace was properly concluded c c t on whi h occasion , Dire tor Kief not being well W in funds, the petitioner advanced the ampum which was given as a present to conﬁrm the

Treaty which , God be praised , still continues . n The petitioner, settli g down there , in the o f 1646 beginning the year , after this grant of b u er lands , erected a saw mill , o w y , and planta n tion there , being inclined to conti ue according to his means and likewise purchased the lands , wi th the knowledge and in the presence of the New N Director and Council of etherland , from the proprietors , in as much as the Indians claimed them and said they were theirs ; but the peti ti o ne r previously ﬁnding and remonstrating that right by the S aw Kill were common valleys or ha l ands y , he was empowered by license from

Director Kieft, to purchase from the Indians the adjacent valleys of use and advantage to him .

Through which consideration the petitioner, with the knowledge and in the presence of the n Director and Cou cil , as already stated , as he had no nearer valleys to include in his purchase , s elected a place containing about 30 40 mor gens with a suitable valley thereabout, bordering 39 o n the kill in the rear of the Island o f Mah b at at P a ri nnemin S e t tan , p , called by our people p y den du vel y , the petitioner having always intended to g o himself and reside there so soon as he had t Sa w brough his affairs at the Kill in order, and l is stil now resolved , so soon as he shall have arrived in that country , to go and dwell on the same spot, or constantly to make preparations thereunto by building and cultivating there , b oth because his mind and inclination lead him to that place and principally because he is de sirons of securing said valleys, without which all the trouble , expense and great labor of himself S a w and family at the Kill and vicinity would , f o r b e want of hay , idle , unprofitable , and in vain . ih And as the p etitioner understands , and is Ne w Ne herl and formed , from t that a great many i h 165 2 grasping people , gone over the year , have endeavored to encroach on said plan in an u underhand manner, he most respectf lly requests this Board to be please d so to dispose that the petitioner may not be prevented or prejudiced b y any person in regard to the aforesaid con v enient Flatt and necessary valleys for a certain

ﬁne . peremptory time . Which doing,

We have related in other papers of this series, the story of the discovery, purchase , and origin al settlement of this town and village & it now b ecomes our unpleasant duty to record the earliest known outbreak of the Indians which end n aff ected the plantations at Co l o ck . 40

D uring the absence from New Netherland of - St Director general uyvesant , at an early hour of f S 1655 t he morning of the ﬁ teenth of eptemb er , ,

a large party of Indians . by some estimated at

e -r nin teen hundred , of whom the greate number

were armed , appeared suddenly b efore the infant

Ne v Ne Y . city of Amsterdam . & w ork & They do not appear to have intended to com

mit any outrage , as they only demanded the re “ o f N turn some Indians from the orth but , as

may b e readily supposed , the burgers were ﬁlled

wi th the greate st consternation . A consultation

was held between the Council , the magistrates , t and the principal inhabitan s of the town , on the ne and o side , the chief men among the Indians , o n the other ; and the latter agreed to withdraw ’ to Governor s Island , at sundown .

It appears , however, that the arrangement was u not f lﬁlled ; and , as the weakness of the town m beca e more and more apparent, the savages became more and more determined to avenge the grievances which they had so long endured

L n ertsen in silence . Captain Cornelis ee d and H Van o f endrick Dyck, late ﬁscal the Colony , both o f whom appear to have been personally obnoxious to the Indians, were attacked and the latter became bolder and more insolent in their demands as the evening approached . “ At length the hue and cry o f mur der rang ” through the streets of the city ; a n d the garri s o n b 0 and the urger corps m ved from the fort, k f attac ed the invaders, and with the lo ss o three 41

o f s n savages and ﬁve the a sailants , the I dians

were driven from the city, and obliged to retire

to the west side of the river . This act sealed the fate o f the b o u weries and plantations which surrounded the city and were

unprotected . In a moment a house at Hobo “ o n ken was ﬁre , and the whole of Pavonia was ” wrap t in fl ames . With the excep tion of Michel ’ J ans en s family , every man and all the cattle i o f were sla n , while the greater part the women and childr en were carried into captivity . The settlements o n Staten Island were next visited and desolated and the greatest consterna tion h prevailed throughout the Colony . T e settlers un n throughout the co try , except a few o Long “ k ” Island , ab andoned their homes , too wing, and sought safety at New Amsterdam o r other places of securi ty . i o f In thi s general alarm , the colon sts Colon donck fully participate d ; and when it shall b e remembered that among the assail ants were the f Ahas imus Aacki nkeshacke Indi ans rom , y and a an Ta pp , and that these appeared to wreck their the D ut h — vengeance only o n c , giving notice to the E ngli sh settlers in order that by preper pre the b cautions , y might not e come involved in the destruction which awaited their neighbors & it will be seen that they had good reason for se curing their safety ih ﬂight . i - We are told by the D rector general himself,

’ ’ N N h nd ii . 29 2 O Call agh an s ew et erla , 6

o f d ne — lan s, by w ones from himself a measure which was prob ably adopted as much to secure a harvest of fees as for any other and more use

f . Co l nia l D cuments i ii ul purp ose ( o o , , Van der Donck appears to have died in 1655

and his widow , Mary Doughty, had become the ’ H Ne al e N . O e to n . wife of ugh , formerly of w w , L I

It appears, also , that she claimed to be the pro — p ri e to r o f the Co l o nic of Co l endo nck prob ably u by virtue of a will , which her former h sband , f the Patroon o the Colonie , ha d been allowed

Ar I thi to make , at his own request ( ticle X of s — AZE E S . 9 s eri es G TT , ept and that , on the -ﬁrs S 16 66 twenty t of eptember, , she appeared before the Governor proved the pu rchase of

the territory , by Adriaen van der Donck from

the Indians , by the testimony of those who had

Arti cle VI o this s eri es sold it to him ( . f GAZE TT E ; July 22 and applied for the Patent h S whic was necessary , under the new overeign ,

to conﬁrm her title . n O 1666 O the eighth of ctober , , the Governor

issued a new Patent for the Colonie , in accord ’ ance with this application ; and Hugh O Neal e

and Mary , his wife , became the recognized Pro ie rs Co l o ndo nck o r was pr to of , , as it thenceforth

Ne erhaem . called, pp

R PATE NT FOR NE PPE HAE M.

N Es . RIC HARD ICOLLS , q , governor under H f Y k o f his Royal ighness, ye Duke o or , all his 44

erritor es t y in America, to all to whom this pre l in sent writi ng shal come , sendeth greet g WHEREAS there is a certain tract o f land within this government , up on the main , bounded to the northwards by a rivulet called by the Ma ak assin Indians , c ; so running southward to erhaem h the Sho rakk a Ne , kill pp from t ence to g Pa rinimen w poch , and then to p , hich is the o southernmost bounds , then to g across the country to the eastward by that which is com ’ mouly known by the name of B ro n cks s his river and land , which said tract hath heretofore been purchased of the Indian proprietors by

Adriaen van der Donck , de ceased, whose relict , ’ f Hu O Neal e Mary , the wi e of gh , one of the p a e f tente s is , and due satis action was also given n for the same , as hath by some of the said I dians been acknowledged before me & now for a fur a H ther conﬁrmation unto them , the s id u gh ’ e al e M O N and ary his wife , relict of the afore said Adriaen van der Donck , in their possession and enjoyment of the premises , YE KNOW , that by the virtue of this o ur com mission and authority given unto me by his H Y e t Royal ighness the Duke of ork , I hav hought

fit to give , ratify, confirm , and grant, and by these presents do g ive , ratify, confirm , and grant , ’ H O Ne al e M W if e unto the said ugh and ary his , their heirs and assigns , all the aforementioned Ne erhaem tract or parcel of lands called p , to gether with all woods, marshes , meadows , pas ' rivul etts i tures , waters , lakes , creeks , , fish ng, f hunting , and owling , and all other profits , com mo diti es and emoluments to the said tract o f w land belonging, ith their and every o f their u r o f app tenances, and every part and parcel f t thereo , o have and to hold the said tract o f i land and prem ses, with all and singular their ’ r the H e appu tenances, unto said ugh O N al e and a his M ry wife, their heirs and assigns, to the p ro 45

’ per use and b eho o fe of the said Hugh O Neal e and Mary his wife , their heirs and assigns for ever , he , she , or they , or any of them , rendering d and paying such acknowledgment , uties , as are or shall be constituted a nd o rday n ed b y his R H Y his i oyal ighness the Duke of ork and he rs , or such governor or governors as shall from time to time be appointed and set over them within this province . That , if at any time hereafter R H his oyal ighness , his heirs , successors , or as signes , shall think ﬁt to make use of any timber f for shipping , or for erecting or repairing o forts within this government , liberty is reserved for u t o f b such uses and purposes , to o any sort tim er upon any unplanted grounds on the said tract k wharf e s of , land , to make doc s , harbours , , houses, or any other conveniences relating there riv u unto , and also to make use of any rivers or letts and inlets o f water for the purpose afore said , as fully and free as if no such patent had been granted .

Given under my hand and seal at Fort James , Ne w York , on the island of Manhattan , the O in e o f eighth day of ctober , the eight enth year the reign of our sovereign Lord , C harles the S o f S econd , by the grace of God , England , cot D land , Fran ce , and Ireland , King , efender of the

. o f o u r Faith , &c &c , in the year Lord God ,

1 666 .

RICH ARD NICOLLS .