JOHN BOWNE’S FLUSHING: MATERIAL LIFE ON A DUTCH FRONTIER, 1645-1700 by Lauren Holly Brincat A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in American Material Culture Spring 2014 © 2014 Lauren Brincat All Rights Reserved UMI Number: 1562374 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 1562374 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 JOHN BOWNE’S FLUSHING: MATERIAL LIFE ON A DUTCH FRONTIER, 1645-1700 by Lauren Holly Brincat Approved: __________________________________________________________ Brock Jobe, MA Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ J. Ritchie Garrison, Ph.D. Director of the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture Approved: __________________________________________________________ George H. Watson, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ James G. Richards, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My infatuation for New Netherland germinated on the gallery floors of the Museum of the City of New York. I am grateful to my colleagues and friends: EY Zipris, Franny Kent, Stephanie Dueño, and Joanna Steinberg for first introducing me to John Bowne and for indulging my love for very old things. Special thanks is due to Dean Failey for his generosity, knowledge, and guidance. Conversations over lunch and kasten fueled my curiosity and provided me with much food for thought. I offer sincere thanks to numerous members of the Winterthur faculty who have aided me along the way: Ritchie Garrison for his astute observations and for suggesting I stick to my Long Island roots, Rosemary Krill for her unfaltering support, Gregory Landrey and Stephanie Auffret for hours in the collections dismantling furniture, Linda Eaton for opening my world to textiles, Wendy Cooper for helping me brainstorm ideas early on, and Leslie Grigsby for her delftware expertise. I am especially indebted to Brock Jobe for journeying with me to Flushing, literally and figuratively. His keen editing eye and inexhaustible enthusiasm and encouragement are profoundly appreciated. Meetings with Brock always managed to pull me out of the thesis blues. iii Sincere appreciation is also due to Coco Kim and Drs. Morrison and Fenella Heckscher for their generous support, and to Lauri Perkins, Emily Guthrie, Jeanne Solensky, Jim Schneck, and Susan Newton at Winterthur for facilitating my research needs and image requests. This thesis would not have been possible without them. For this project, trips were made to various institutions throughout New York City. I offer tremendous thanks to Rosemary Vietor and Anne Perl de Pal at the Bowne House for their knowledge and hospitality, and to Don Friary and Peter Kenny (Metropolitan Museum of Art) for their insights and suggestions. A huge thank you to the collections and manuscripts staff at the New-York Historical Society, Christine Ritok (Museum of the City of New York), James Moore (Queens College), Rima Ibrahim (Brooklyn Museum), and Jessa Krick (Historic Hudson Valley) for allowing me to pick their brains and dig through their collections. Further gratitude is due to Neal Hurst (Winterthur Program in American Material Culture), Lu Ann De Cunzo (University of Delaware), Katherine Hayes (University of Minnesota), Peter Follansbee (Plimoth Plantation), Ned C. Landsman (Stony Brook University), Charlie Thomforde (Pennsbury Manor), Alena Buis, and Frank Levy for graciously providing me with invaluable information, ideas, and resources that helped shape this thesis in many important ways. Finally, I am exceedingly grateful to Steve for being a tireless champion and for cheerfully trekking out to every historic site on Long Island and beyond, and for my inspiring and thoughtful friends and classmates who have been an enduring source of support and levity these past two years. iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my mom, Raz, and Ali whose boundless love and support have been essential to my success. To mom for instilling within me a passion for history and for discovering treasures in the most unexpected places. To Raz for encouraging me to pursue what I love, and for abetting a profound appreciation for furniture and craftsmanship. And to Ali for understanding me in ways no one else does, and for believing that my obsessions for colonial America and dusty old things make me really cool. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….viii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………...….…….......…….x Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..…1 A Brave and Sturdy Past……………..…………………..……….……3 Methodology and Historiography……………………..………….……8 2 SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY FLUSHING IN CONTEXT……………...….23 A Quaker Enclave………………………………………………….....27 From Vlissingen to Flushing………………….…………………...….31 3 CULTIVATING COMMERCE: INSIGHTS FROM THE INVENTORIES OF WILLIAM LAWRENCE…….…………….…………..38 The Effects and Estate of Mr. William Lawrence…………………….40 The Business of Agribusiness………………………...………………43 Merchant of Flushing………………..…………...………….………..52 4 QUAKER AND NATIVE CONSUMERS: FABRIC, FASHION, AND FIREARMS…………….…………………..…………………………..62 Fashion in Flushing………………………………..……...…………..67 William Lawrence and the Indian Trade……………………...………72 5 FURNISHING THE FRONTIER……….……….……………………….......86 Discovering Domestic Space…………………………………………87 Finding Flushing in Furniture…………………………......………….96 6 CONCLUSION………………………...……….……………………………116 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………….……………………………………..120 vi Appendix A INVENTORY OF WILLIAM LAWRENCE, 1680…………........................…130 B INVENTORY OF ELIZABETH PARTRIDGE, 1669………………….…...…150 C INVENTORY OF SIMON DE RUINE, 1678……………………..………...…153 D INVENTORY OF WILLIAM PIDGEON, 1676……………..………………...155 E INVENTORY OF RICHARD TINDALL, 1689…………….…………………157 F PERMISSION LETTERS………………………………………………………161 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 John Bowne House, Flushing, NY. May, 2013. Photo by author……....19 Figure 1.2 “The Bowne House – 1661, Bowne Street and Fox Lane, Flushing, N.Y. A Shrine to Religious Freedom,”1947. Albertype Co. Museum of the City of New York……………..……………....………20 Figure 1.3 The March of Modern Improvement – Destruction of Old Buildings in Upper New York, 1871. Charles Stanley Reinhart. Museum of the City of New York………………….………........……..21 Figure 1.4 Map of Long Island, ca. 1685. James Lloyd after Robert Ryder and Phillip Wells. New-York Historical Society………….……….….……22 Figure 2.1 “Long Illand Siruaide," ca. 1675. Robert Ryder. John Carter Brown Library at Brown University…………………………………..………37 Figure 3.1 A View Near Flushing on Long Island, 1765. Thomas Davies. Winterthur Museum…………………………………………………….57 Figure 3.2 “Agriculture,” Recueil de planches sur les sciences, les artes liberaux, et les arts mechaniques: avec leur explication, 1762-1772. Winterthur Library………………...……….....……………58 Figure 3.3 “Tonnelier,” Recueil de planches sur les sciences, les artes liberaux, etles arts mechaniques : avec leur explication, 1762-1772. Winterthur Library………………...………………….……59 Figure 3.4 View of Hell Gate – the Entrance from the Long Island Sound to New York, ca. 1807. M. Merigot. Museum of the City of New York…..60 Figure 3.5 A Plott of ye Situation of the towns & places on ye wester end of Long Island to Hemptstead Rounds, 1666.W. Hubbard. New York State Archives……………………………………...……………...……61 Figure 4.1 Patterns of eighteenth-century textiles from the Alexander Papers. New-York Historical Society…………………………………………..82 viii Figure 4.2 Mrs. Elizabeth Freake and Baby Mary, 1674. Worcester Museum of Art. ARTstor……………..………………..………………..………..83 Figure 4.3 Etow Oh Koam King of the River Nation, 1710. John Simon after John Verelst. Winterthur Museum………………………...……………84 Figure 4.4 (Detail) Property of James Lloyd near Oyster Bay, ca. 1685. James Lloyd. New-York Historical Society……...……….……..…….85 Figure 5.1 Joined form, 1650-1700. Scituate or Marshfield, Plymouth Massachusetts. Winterthur Museum…………………………………..105 Figure 5.2 Blanket chest, 1680-1700. New England. Winterthur Museum………106 Figure 5.3 Court cupboard, 1650-1700. Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts. Winterthur Museum……………………………………………….…..107 Figure 5.4 Die Mutter (The Mother), 1670. Pieter de Hooch. Berlin State Museums. ARTstor……………………………..……………………..108 Figure 5.5 Kas, 1650-1700. Queens County, Long Island. Winterthur Museum...109 Figure 5.6 Pottebank, 1725-1750. Possibly Kings County, Long Island. Historic Hudson Valley………………………………..………………110 Figure 5.7 Slip-decorated earthenware sherds excavated from the Bowne House. June 2013. Photo by the author……………………….……….111 Figure 5.8 Mug, 1680-1720. England. Winterthur Museum……………...………111 Figure 5.9 Table, 1640-1690. Probably New England or Queens County, Long Island. Winterthur Museum…………………...……..…………112 Figure 5.10 Side chair, 1665-1695. Boston, Massachusetts. Winterthur Museum………………………………………………………………113