The Historical Magazine, and Notes & Queries Concerning the Antiquities, History and Biography of America (July, 1867)
The text was read from the page scans by machine (OCR), so it has mistakes and its columns may run together. See the pages · About this title · At the Internet Archive
Page 1
THE 929 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE, Vol. Il. Srconp Serizs.] ~ , JULY, 1867. [No. 1 I.—FIRST CHRISTIAN WORSHIP IN NEW ENGLAND. By Hon. E. E. Bourng, PRESIDENT OF THE - Martner Histrortcat SocreEry. Editor of the Historical Magazine : The following communication was sent to the Congregational Quarterly soon after I was notified of, and had read, the article of Mr. Cushman. I have just had it returned to me, for the reason that it was a little too sharp. I have always supposed that one ofthe material attributes of truth was its sharpness, and that when coming in contact with error, its pungency should be felt. At any rate, the Apostle Paul had some notion of this kind, and I have not felt that I was out of the way in following him. But the Editor takes a different view of the matter; and [ have no disposition to quarrel with him for his . opinion. Liberty is the appurtenance of every man. If he thinks that error had better go unanswered than to be corrected by the sharpness of truth, he has the right to exercise his lib- erty in that direction. trust, is not of that stamp. My attention has been called to-the article in ‘the last number of the Congregational Journal entitled “THe Frrst CartstiAN WorsHIP IN “ New Eneuanp.” The same substantially (I pre- sume by the same author), was published in one of the newspapers of the State, soon after the deliv- ery of the Address referred to. «It was not then regarded as meriting notice. But this writer was followed by another, with no more discrimina- tion, in the use of the same historical facts, and by the same train of argument, reaching the similar conclusion, that the statements of the Ad- dress were not sustained by history. To both of these I replied, and I supposed conclusively, in Tue Histortcan MaGazrine. No-replication to that answer has been observed. The renewal of the subject in your widely circulated Journal seems to render necessary a repetition of what was there fully stated. I have not been aware of being under the in- fluence of any special zeal to magnify the im- portance of the Popham Colony, or of the results of its attempt at Colonization; neither is it to me a matter of special interest to establish the fact, that the First Religious Services on the shores of New England, were according to the formula and mode of the Mother Church; or were Episcopalian in their character. The large and highly respectable communion of Christians HIST. MAG., VOL. IT. 1 : The common law with publishers, I- . E. B. of that denomination has not drawn me into its fold. Yet, though claiming sympathy with Con- gregationalism, I trust I have sufficient respect for my Christian manhood, honestly to recognize ‘| historical facts, though they may, as some imag- © | ine, tend to give encouragement and strength to another Denomination. | But the truth that the first religious services here were Episcopal does not, in my view, im- part any sanction to the doctrines and modes of worship adopted by that Church. Religion, in none of its manifestations, forms, or professions, gains any prestige by its antiquity. God’s Law is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. As ~ it was in the beginning, so it is now. Human action can give no strength to it, nor detract, in any measure, from its demands. So it is in re- gard to God’s truth, which is but a synonym for his Law. Ifit is embodied in Episcopacy, es- tablished a thousand years ago, it has no stronger claim upon the reverence, sympathy, and hearty . embrace of the human family, than though it was an institution of yesterday. Congregation- alism, if in its forms and structure it conforms to the inspired word, is as worthy the accept- ance and support of every rational man, if first addressed to his intellect and conscience to-day, as if it had been a familiar institution of human society from the birth of Creation. The only question is, What is Truth in relation to the mat- ter in question? Whether it helps one denom- ination or another, is a point of no importance to the historical student. 7 Since the delivery of the Address, we have seen no reason for qualifying any of its positions ; we must therefore reaffirm them all. The title- page sets forth its object, “ Tae CHARACTER OF “THE PopHamM Cotony.”. The remainder, to use alegal term, is but inducement, and’ also incident, such as the occasion required. The statements controverted come under the last class. The inducement, as stated in the Address, is in the following words: “It is claimed for the Sa- “ gadahock Colony, that it was the first attempt “at Colonization; that it secured this territory to “ King James, and began the Settlement of New “England.” This position I was not called ; A
Page 2
ae HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, upon to argue. But without this assumption, all the rest of the Discourse would have been unim- _ portant. There was no object in the examination of the character of the Popham Colony, as its whole action was without effect. : Now,no man acquainted with the first prin- ciples of National and International Law, or Comity, can fail to see, in a moment, that all the quotations, of which your Author, in his criticism, has made such a display, have no bearing what- ever on the statements of the Address. Any ac- tion, on any Island, was entirely irrelevant; as much so as if it was situated on the coast of En- gland or France; and therefore no allusion was made to Neutral, St. George’s, or Elizabeth Isl- ands. The words “shore” or “shores,” in the Address, are everywhere used in a marine sense, in contradistinction from the Islands; and as synonymous with Main, or the Continent; and every lawyer would readily so understand it, from the necessity of the cases Suppose that De Montz did occupy Neutral Island, and continued to occupy it year after year; that his Company planted grain, built houses, erected a Fort, and also a Church for the worship of God ; and that from week to week, or from day to day, there went up from it the prayer and the song of praise and thanksgiving to the God of Nations— and the preacher cheered the hearts of his suffer- ing hearers, by those heavenly utterances with which it his province to address them ; what had all this to do with the Shore or Mainland? How did it dedicate the territory of New Eng!and to the great cause of Civilization? How did it im- part or secure any possession, or interest in it, to France? How did this public worship conse- crate Maine to the service and worship of God? Or suppose that George Popham, Gosnald, Wey- mouth, or any English navigator or voyager, on the Elizabeth Islands, George’s Islands, Boon Island, or the Isle of Shoals, had done the same things, under British authority; or suppose, as at Sabino, on either of those Islands, they had built fifty houses, a store house, a strong fortifi- cation, a pinnace, and also a chapel for the worship of God, and at the beginning proclaimed the Laws of England for the government of the people—under what law, or what theory of right, could such action have been made to attach to the main land or shores of New England? Did France ever pretend that the proceedings of De Montz on Neutral Island, or England, on the Elizabeth or George’s Islands, gave them any possession or title tothese Western shores ? Every one ought to know, and surely educated Ministers of the Gospel cannot be absolved from the requirement, that individuals or nations, when they set up aright by occupancy or pos- session, can acquire no title beyond the territory of which possession is proved. This position carries with it so much common senge, that, with- out instruction, it must necessarily suggest itself to every considerate mind. The possession of an island never draws with itthe shore; but by the Comity of Nations, the converse of the position is so far admitted, that the shore draws to it the adjacent islands. As to the religious services in the cabin of Weymouth’s vessel, necessarily at anchor in the stream, no comments can be necessary. No sane man would give them any significancy on the question of the occupation of the Territory. But it may not be amiss to add, that neither Wey- mouth, nor De Montz, nor Gosnald, nor any one before Popham, attempted to secure the main by any actual occupancy or possession; forthe very good reason that the Bed men of the Wilderness were too numerous, and of a nature too savage, to justify such a fearful hazard. What was done by George Popham was effectual ‘only be- cause it was done on the shore. De Montz gained nothing for France by his possession of Neutral Island but the island itself. So also is this poatulate indisputable in regard to England’s claim of St. George’s and the Elizabeth Islands. They became small isolated dependencies of France and England while thus in their posses- sion. The Continent was not New England till the foot of Civilization was planted upon it with the purpose of holding it for King James. When that was done, the islands near the shore became appurtenances of the territory. It is presumed that what has been said will be sufficient to satisfy the reader as to the meaning and force of the incidental remarks in the con- clusion of the Address. But the communication of Mr. Cushman can hardly commend itself to the intelligent Christian, from the misapprehen- sions of fact, and erroneous positions, which have apartin it. De Montz’s Island, as it is now called, was not a part of New England until within the present century. Although England, by the action of the Popham Colonists, and other agencies, in securing the possession of the territory, became established in the title, the isl- land was not regarded as appendant to it. It lies between Maine and New Brunswick, and was so situated as to acquire the name of Neutral Isl- and. It was first annexed to the United States in 1811, when Maine made it a part of Robbinstown. Were Newfoundland, the Isle of Sable, Ber- muda, St. Thomas, or even Canada now annexed to the Union, the position would not find very ready acceptance with the Christian world, that the first Christiau worship in any of those places was the first in the United States. But the aid which the references to Brereton and Haklyt bring tothe Author in his enterprise is of still less avail; and one cannot but wonder that he should so peril his reputation as a his-
Page 3
1867.] HISTORICAL torical student, or as an astute member of his profession, as to deduce from it his first position. Every one knows that one of the prominent ob- jects of the early voyages to the New World, was to plant among the Heathen the Christian Religion; no extracts were needed to sustain a postulate of that description. But the inference, that men are to be presumed to have done what they engaged to do, or set out to do, is surely a novelty in historical, political, or religious inves- tigations. How long would Truth, Right, and Justice maintain their hold on society, if such a principle should be recognized? If the Author’s congregation have promised to pay him an an- nual stipend for his ministrations, would it meet his views to apply the principle to his case? Suppose he was one of a jury, would his con- science be satisfied in rendering a verdict on a civil contract, that the Respondent fulfilled his agreement because he engaged to do so? Would he, in writing history, think himself jus- tified in saying, that De Montz landed on Neu- tral Island, or Gosnald on Elizabeth Islands, be- cause they embarked for that special purpose ? Or would he be willing, in his sober senses, to sit down and enter upon his Diary, that one of his parishioners had repented of his sins, and be- come a Christian, because he said he would? I sometimes think that humanity may be tending heavenward. But its present status is so far short of the realization of that high destiny, that I can give no credit to the assumption as a prin- ciple, that men will do what they agree to do. But this strange position finds more than its counterpart in what follows :—that it would be difficult to prove that there were not religious Christian services on these shores before those of the Popham Colonists. We are of the same opinion, and, at present, are not disposed to at- tempt any such Quixotism. But we cannot but admire the courage of a logician who can ad- vance such a position as evidence of the allega- tion, that such services had been performed. How much respect would one’s Theology be en- titled to, which had no better basis than his naked averment that it could not be proved that it was not true? ‘To one of the legal profession, these assumptions, as evidence of facts, would be regarded as ministerial waggery, rather than as emanationsof sober, honest thought. History is to be based on Truth; and an act known to have been done is not bereft of its precedency by the argument, that another cannot be proved not to have been done before it. Proof of a negative is not.required in Law or Morals. We might as well say that Civilization and the Christian Re- ligion were planted on these shores before dis- covered by Columbus, and that it could not be proved otherwise, as to say that the solemnities at Sabino, in 1607, were not the first, because it MAGAZINE. 8 cannot be proved that there were not like ser- vices here béfore. Any further comment on this labor of love for the Truth from Mr. Cushman cannot be neces- sary. One who would criticise either the senti- ment or the truth of the statements of an Au- thor, must first assure himself that he under-» stands him. ‘The voyages of Gosnald, De Montz, and Weymouth, are familiar to all with whom reading is a habit of life. They have been in our little Town libraries, under the title of BaLK- NAP’s American Biography, for more than half a Century, and were before the writer of the Ad- dress at the time of its preparation; and it was believed that there was. no discord in their re- spective historical averments. If Mr. Cushman did not comprehend the true import of the Ad- dress, his misapprehension is perhaps excusable from the circumstances of his life. If he had lived in a Commercial community, he would hiave learned that the Shore of a Country does not include its Islands, which are denominated such only because they are off from the shore. | HK. E. Bourng. KENNEBUNK, 1867. IL—THE MYTHS OF MANIBOZHO AND IOSKEHA.* — By D. G. Brinton, M.D. ° From the remotest wilds of the Northwest to the coast of the Atlantic, from the Southern boundaries of Carolina to the cheerless swamps of Hudson’s Bay, the Algonkins were never tired of gathering around the winter fire and repeat- ing the story of Manibozho or Michabo, the Great Hare. With like unanimity their various branches, the Powhattans, of Virginia, the Lenni Lenape, of the Delaware; the warlike hordes of New England, the Ottawas of the far North, and the Western tribes, perhaps without exception, spoke of “ this chimerical beast,” as one of the old missionaries calls it, as their common ances- tor,and the totem or clan that bore his name was looked up to with peculiar respect. In many of the tales which the whites have preserved of Michabo he seems half a wizard, halfa simpleton. He is full of pranks and wiles, but often at a loss for a meal of victuals; ever itching to try his arts magic on great beasts, and often meeting ludicrous failures therein ; envious of the powers of others, and constantly striving to outdo them in what they did best; in short, little more than a malicious buffoon, delighting ~ in practical jokes, and abusing his superhuman powers for selfish and ignohle ends. But this is * From a work in preparation on American Mythology.
Page 4
4 ' HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, a low, modern, and corrupt version of the char- acter of Michabo, bearing no more resemblance to his real and ancient one than the language and acts of our. Saviour and the Apostles ‘in the coarse Mystery Plays of the Middle Ages do to those recorded by the Evangelist. What he really was we must seek in the ac- counts of older travelers,in the invocations of the Jossakeeds or Prophets, and in the part as- signed to him in the solemn mysteries of re- ligion. In these we find him portrayed as the patron and founder of the-Meda worship, the in- ventor of picture writing, the father and guar- dian of their nation, the ruler of the winds, even the maker and preserver of the world, and crea- tor of the sun and moon. From a grain of sand brought from the bottom of the primeval ocean he fashioned the habitable land and set it float- ing on the waters. Under the name Michabo Ovisaketchak, the Great Hare who created the Earth, he was originally the highest divinity recognized by them, “ powerful and beneficent “beyond all others, maker of the heavens and “the world.” He was founder of the med- icine hunt, in which, after appropriate cere- monies and incantations, the Indian sleeps, and Michabo appears to him in a dream, and tells him where he may readily kill game. He him- self was a mighty hunter of old; one of his footsteps measured Hight leagues ; the Great Lakes were the beaver dams he built; and when the cataracts impeded his progress he tore them away with his hands. Attentively watching the spider spread its web to trap unwary flies, he devised the art of knitting nets to catch fish, and the signs and charms he tested and handed down to his descendants are vf marvelous efficacy in -the chase. Sometimes he was said to dwell in the skies with his brother the snow, or like many great spirits to have built his. wigwam in the far North on some floe of ice in the Arctic Ocean ; while the Chippewas localized his birth-place and former home to the island Michilimakinac, at the outlet of Lake Superior. But in the old- est account of the missionaries he was alleged to reside toward the Kast, and in the holy formulas of the Meda craft, when the winds are invoked to the Medicine lodge, the East is summoned in his name, the door opens in that direction, and there, at the edge of the earth, where the sun rises, on the shore of the infinite ocean that sur- rounds the land, he has his house, and sends the luminaries forth on their daily journeys.* It is passing strange that such an insignificant creature as the rabbit should have received this * For these particulars see the Rel. de la Now. France, 1667, 12; 1670, 98. Charlevoix, Journal Historique, p. 344. Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes, v., 420, sq. These are the best authorities. I may add Henry, Zravels, p. 212, sq., as another of value. apotheosis. No explanation of it in the least satisfactory has ever been offered. Some have pointed it out as a senseless, meaningless brute worship. It leads to the suspicion that there may lurk here one of those confusions of words which have so often led to confusion of ideas in theology. Manibozho, Nanibojon, Missibizi, Michabo, Messon, all variations of the same name, in different dialects, rendered according to differ- ent orthographies, scrutinize them close as we may, they all seem composed, according to well ascertained laws of Algonkin euphony, from the words corresponding to great and hare or rabbit, or the first two perhaps from spirit and hare, (michi, great, nabos, hare, manito nabos, spirit hare, Chippewa dialect), and so they have been invariably translated even by the Indians them- selves. But looking more narrowly at the second member of the word, it is clearly capable of another and very different interpretation—of an interpretation which discloses at once the origin and secret meaning of the whole story of Mich- abo, in the light of which it appears no longer the incoherent fable of savages, but a true myth, instinct with nature, pregnant with matter no wise inferior to those which fascinate in the chants of the Rig Veda, or the weird pages of the Edda. I have elsewhere emphasized with -what might have seemed superfluous force, how prom- inent in primitive Mythology is the Hast, the source of the morning, the day-spring _on high, the cardinal point which determines and con- trols all others. But I did not lay as much stress on it as others have. “The whole theog- “ony and philosophy of the ancient world,” says Max Miiller, “centered in the Dawn, the mother “of the bright gods, of the sun in his various as- “pects, of the morn, the day, the spring; herself “the brilliant image and visage of immortality.”* Now it appears on attentively examining the Al- gonkin root wad that it gives rise to words of very diverse meanings; that like many others in all languages, while presenting but one form it represents ideas of wholly unlike origin and ap- plication ; that in fact there are two distinct roots having this sound. One is the initial syllable of the word translated Hare, or Rabbit, but the other means White, and from it are derived the words for the East, the Dawn, the Light, the Day, and the Morning.t| Beyond a doubt this is the * Science of Language, Second Series, 518. + Dialectic forms in Algonkin for white are wabi, wape waubish, oppai; for morning, wapau, wapauch, opah ; tor east, wapa, waubun, waubamo; for dawn, wapa, waubun; for day wompau, oppan ; for light, oppung ; and many others. similar. In the Abnaki dialect wawbighen, it is white, is the customary idiom to express the breaking of the day (Ve- tromile, The Abnakis and their History, p. 27). The loss in composition of the vowel sound represented by the English w, and in the French writers by the figure 8, is supported by fre- quent analogy.
Page 5
1867.] HISTORICAL compound in the names Michabo and Manibozho, which therefore mean the Great Light, the Spirit of Light, of the Dawn, or the East, and, in the literal sense of the word, the Great White One, as indeed he has sometimes been called. In this sense, all the ancient and authentic Myths concerning him are plain and full of mean- ing. They divide themselves into two distinct cycles. In the one, Michabo is the Spirit of Light, who dispels the darkness ; in the other, as chief of the cardinal points, he is lord of the winds, prince of the powers of the air, whose voice is the thunder, whose weapon the light- ning, the supreme figure in the encounter of the air currents, in the unending conflict which the Dakotas described as being waged by the waters and the winds. ) In the first, he is grandson of the Moon, his father is the West Wind, and his mother, a maiden, dies in giving him birth at the moment ofconception. For the Moon is the goddess of Night, the Dawn is her daughter who brings forth the Morning and perishes herself in the act, and the West, the Spirit of Darkness as the " East isof Light, precedes and as it were begets the latter, as the’ evening’ does the morning. Straightway, however, continues the legend, the son sought the unnatural father to revenge the death of his mother, and then commenced a long and desperate struggle. “It began on the moun- “tains. The West was forced to give ground. “ Manibozho drove him across rivers and over “mountains and lakes, until at last he came “to the brink of this world. ‘Hold, cried “he, ‘my son, you know my power, and that “it is impossible to kill me’”? What is this but the diurnal combat of light and darkness carried on from what time “the “jocund morn stands tiptoe on the misty “mountain tops,” across the wide world to the sunset, the struggle that knows no end, for both the opponents are immortal? In the second, and evidently to the native mind more important cycle of legends, he was represented as one of four brothers, the North, the South, the East, and the West, all born at a birth, whose mother died in ushering them into the world! for hardly has the kindling orient served to fix the cardinal points than it is lost and dies in the advancing day. Yet it is clear that he was something more than a personification of the East or the East wind, for it is repeatedly said that it was he who assigned their duties to all the winds, to that of the Hast as well as the others. This isa blending of his two characters. Here too his life is a battle. deed, but with his brother Chokanipok, the flint stone, whom he broke in pieces and scattered over the land, changing his entrails into fruitful vines. The conflict was long and terrible. ‘The No longer with his father, in- , MAGAZINE. face of nature was Gesolated as by a tornado, and the gigantic boulders and loose rocks found on the prairies* are the missiles hurled by the mighty combatants.t Or else his foe was the glittering Prince of Serpents, whose abode was the lake; or the shining Manito, whose home was guarded by fiery serpents and a deep sea; or the great King of Fishes; all symbols of the atmospheric waters, all figurative descriptions of the wars of the elements. In these affrays the thunder and lightning are at his command, and with them he destroys his enemies. For this reason the Chippewa pictography represents him brandishing a rattlesnake, the symbol of the electric flash,t and sometimes called him the Northwest Wind, which in the region they in- habit brings the thunder-storms. As ruler of the winds he was like Quetzalcoatl, father and protector of all species of birds, their symbols.§ He was patron of hunters, for their course is guided by the cardinal points. There- fore when the medicine hunt had been successful the prescribed sign of gratitude to him was to scatter a handful of the animal’s blood toward each of these.|| As daylight brings vision, and to see is to know, it was no fable that gave him as the author of their arts, their wisdom, and their inscitutions. In effect, his story is a world-wide truth veiled under a thin garb of fancy; it is but a variation of that narrative which every race has to tell out of gratitude to that beneficent Father who everywhere had cared for his children. Mi- chabo, giver of life and light, creator and pre- server, is no apotheosis of a prudent chieftain, still less the fabrication of an idle fancy or a designing priestcraft, but in origin, deeds and name, the not unworthy personification of the purest conceptions they possessed concerning the Father of All. To him at early dawn the Indian stretched forth his hands in prayer, and to the sky or the sun as his homes he first pointed the pipe in his ceremonies, rites often misinterpreted by travelers as indicative of sun worship. As later obseryers tell us, this day the Algonkin Prophet builds the Medicine lodge to face the sunrise, and in the name of Michabo, who there has his home, summons the Spirits of the four quarters of the world and Gizhigooke, the.day maker, to come to his fire and disclose the hidden things of the distant and the future. So the earliest explorers relate that when they asked the native priest who it was they invoked, what demon or familiar, the invariable reply was, “the Kichi- * Schoolcraft, Algic Researches, i., 135-142. t Tbid., ii., 214. Indian Tribves, i., 317. t Narrative of John Tanner, 351. ' § Schooleraft, Algic Res. i., 216. | Narrative of John Tanner, 354,
Page 6
- 6 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, “ gouai, the genii of Light, those who make the day.”’* Our authorities on Iroquois traditions, though nmamerous enough, are not so satisfactory. The best, perhaps, is Father Brebeuf, a Jesuit mission- ary who resided among the Hurons, in 1626. Their culture myth, which he has recorded is strikingly similar to that of the Algonkins. Two brothers appear in it, Joskeha and Tawis- cava, names which find their meaning in the Oneida dialect as the White One and the Dark One.f They are twins born of a virgin mother, who died in giving them life. Their grand- mother was the Moon, called by the Hurons Ataeusic, a word which signifies literally, she bathes herself, and which, in the opinion of Father Bruyas, a most competent authority, is derived from the word for water. : The brothers quarreled, and finally came to blows, the former using the horns of a stag, the latter the wild rose. He of the weaker weapon was very naturally discomfited and sorely wounded. Fleeing for life, the blood gushed from him at every step, and as it fell turned into flint stones. The victor returned to his grand- mother and established his lodge in the far Kast, on the borders of the great ocean whence the sun comes. In time he became the father of mankind and special guardian of the Iroquois. The earth was at first arid and sterile, but he destroyed the gigantic frog which had swallowed all the waters, and guided the torrents into smooth streams and lakes.§ The woods he stocked with game, and having learned from the great tortoise who supports the world how to make fire, taught his children, the Indians, this indispensable art. He it was who watched and watered their crops, and indeed without his aid, says the old missionary, quite out of patience with such puerilities, “they think they could “not boil a pot.” Sometimes they spoke of him as the sun, but this only figuratively.|| * Compare the Rel. de la Now». France 1634, 14: and 1636 46, with Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes, v., 419. + The names J8skeha and TaS8iscara I venture to identify with the Oneida owisske or owiska, white, and tetiucalas (tyo- karas, tewhgarlars, Mohawk), dark, or darkness. The Brefix i to owisske is the impersonal third person singular; the suffix ha gives a future sense; so that 7¢-owisske-ha or iouskeha means “it is going to become white.” Brebeuf translates gaon, views, agaonha, il va devewdir vieux. (Rel. Now. France, 1636, p. 99). But “it.is going to become white” meant to the Troquois that the dawn was about to appear, just as waubighen, it is white, did to the Abnakis (Vetromile, w. s.), and as kaw. ma wok, it is white, does in Eskimo (Richardson, Vocab. of Labrador Eskimo). Therefore Ioskeha is clearly the imper- sonation of the light. + Bruyas, Radices Verborum Iroqueorum, 30, 31. § This offers an instance of the uniformity which obtained in the symbolism of the red race.» The Aztecs adored the goddess of water under the figure of a frog carved from an emerald; or she was in human form and held in her hand the leaf of a water lily ornamented with frogs. (Brasseur (de Bourbourg], Hist. des Nations Civilistes du Mewique et de 0 Amerique Centrale, i, 824). | Rel. de la Nouv. France, 1636, 101." 3 ts From other writers of early date we learn that the essential outlines of this myth were received by the Tuscaroras and the Mohawks, and as the proper names of the two brothers are in the Oneida dialect, we cannot err in consider- ing this the national legend of the Iroquois stock. There is strong likelihood that the Taronhiawagon, He who comes from the Sky, of the Onondagas, who was their supreme God, who spoke to them in dreams, and in whose honor the chief festival of their calendar was celebrated about the winter solstice, was in fact Toskeha under another name.* As to the legend of the Good and Bad Minds given by Cusic, the native historian of the Tuscaroras, and the latter and wholly spurious myth of Hiawatha, first made public by Mr. Clark in his History of On- ondaga (1849), and which, in the graceful poem of Longfellow, is now familiar to the world, they are but pale and incorrect reflections of the early native traditions. So strong is the resem- blance loskeha bears to Michabo, that what has. been said in explanation of the latter will be sufficient for both. Yet I do not imagine that. the one was copied or borrowed from the other. We cannot be too cautious in’ adopting such a conclusion. ‘The two nations were remote in everything but geographical position. I call to mind another similar myth. In it a mother is also said to have brought forth twins or a pair of twins, and to have paid for them with her life. Again the one is described as the bright, the other as the dark twin; again it is said that they struggled one with the other for the mas- tery. Scholars likewise have interpreted the ‘Mother to mean the Dawn, the twins either Light and Darkness, or the Four Winds. Yet. this is not Algonkin theology; nor is it at all related to that of the Iroquois. It is the story of Sarama in the Rig Veda, and was written in Sanscrit, under the shadow of the Himalayas, centuries before Homer. 3 * * * * * * ‘TIL—CAPT. HENRY SEWALL. To the Editor of the Historical Magazine: I send you for publication, if you deem them of sufficient in- terest to warrant their insertion, copies of three letters written from Ticonderoga, in the summer of 1777, by Henry Sewall, then a member of the Continental Army, to his parents. The original letters, from which I have made these copies, were found in a parcel of old letters, among a quantity of paper stock at one of the tin and hardware stores in this city; and I regret exceedingly that these were all that have been thus res- cued. How many letters and documents of as much or more value to the antiquarian and historian than these I have copied, doubtless find their way into the paper mill! . For the. facts contained in the following sketch of Capt. Sewall, I am indebted to Hon. James W. North, who has long * Rel de la Now. France, 1671, 17.
Page 7
- too. 1867.) HISTORICAL = engaged upon, and is soon to publish, a history of this city. Henry Sewall was born at “old York,’ Maine, on the twenty- fourth of October, 1752. At the age of twenty-three, he enlist- ed as a private soldier in a company which went to Cambridge in May, 1775. He was promoted through the various grades to that of Captain, which rank he sustained during the war. He was in the battle of Hubbardston, and in one of the skirmishes previous to the surrender of Burgoyne. He went with the Northern troops when ordered South, after that event, and join- ed the main army under Washington at White Marsh; winter- ed at Valley Forge in 1778; and passed the remainder of the war in New Jersey and the highlands of New York. During the last years of the war he was Aid-de-Camp to Major-General Heath of Massachusetts. He came to Fort Western and set- tled in Hallowell in 1783, engaging in trade. He was Register of Deeds of Kennebec County, for many years; Clerk of the District Court of Maine; Major-General of the Eighth Division of the Militia of Maine; and died on the fourth of September, 1845, aged ninety-three years. 8. L. BoARDMAN. mins Way 2, 16 PR! by M Barn. TyconpEROGA, 4'* June 1777 Hon”? Parents, I rect your kind favor by Col? Littlefield, since my Arrival at this place. I wrote to you from Worcester, from which time and place I shall now endeavor to give you a detail of my long & tedious March, viz‘. . We left Worcester, Sunday morning, May 4", & after surmounting much Difficulty in getting Teams to carry our Baggage—arriv’d at Had- ley (joining to Northampton) Wednesday 7 where we receiv’d Orders to march by the way of Albany.—drew 7 days Allowance, & after much Difficulty in obtaining Waggons, proceeded, through Northampton towards Albany—under the Disadvantages of as Bad a Road as’ ever na- ture Form’d, together with incessant Rains, &¢:— however—arriv’d at Albany, Wednesday 14% where was Gen! Gates & 2 Continental Reg sup- pressing the Tories, &c. After applying for Cloathing, Camp Equpage, &¢ (the former Ar- ticle to no purpose) we were order’d off by Gen! Gates, to escort 20 odd pieces of Gannon from Albany to Ticonderoga. Set off friday 16™ (to- gether with Capt. Wheelwright’s party who joyn’d us at Boston)—by Land,—made but slow Progress, as we were oblig’d to go no faster than the Cannon went by Water, & against stream were oblig’d to mount a Guard over them every night. & turn out a fatigue Party to weigh them at every Carrying place, & load on land Carriages,—& then to disload them, & embark them on board the Batteaus again, when the tide would admit of Water Carriage. This fatigue we had to do at Half moon, Still- water, Saratoga, Fort miller, Fort Edward, Fort George, & T'y Landing. Going over some Rapids above Fort Miller, we had the missfortune to drown one of the Bat- teau men,—& wound 2 others. The Case was this. viz. They let the Batteau take a shear Aveusta, Mz., June, 1867. MAGAZINE. 7 across the Stream, & it being shoal Water, one jump'd out to help her along, the tide being so rapid it sweep’d the Batteau round, carry’d one man down Stream & drown’d him, grounded the Batteau & heal’d her down so far that the Cannot roll’d to the other side & squat another man. a third lifted to that degree, to’ help the other, that tis thot he’ll not recover. I myself happen’d to come by Water from fort Miller to fort Edward, & came over the same Rapid’s, just’ before them, with little Difficulty. We got the Cannon again with some Difficulty. Neither the man that was drown’d, nor the man that lifted, belong’d to our Party. he that was jam’d with the Batteau, belong’d to Capt. Wheelwright’s party, & isin a likely way to recover.—How- ever,— When we arriv’d at Fort George, we found Capt. Donnel & the men whom he had inlisted, together with Capt. Jenkins Compy of our Reg‘ station’d there. But Major Fernald, pursuant to his ordersfrom Gen!. Gates, insisted upon all the men belongs tohis Detatchment’s going to Ticonderoga, to Escort the Cannon over the Lake. We arrived at this place Friday 30" May, where we now are & cannot get to Fort George to join our Comp’. The Regt is here, except those 2 Companies at Fort George, and 1 at Skeensbor- ough. We are station’d at present on T'y side. Gen! Poor has the Command of the whole at present. It is much pleasanter this year than last,—& the Troops are very healthy. But I can’t help mentioning the Neglect of our Great & Gen! Assembly, in the fulfilment of their Engage- ments, to us, Continental Soldiers.—At Albany, we could have had Cloathing,if we would con- sent to have it stop’d out of our Wages.—& were told by the Gen! |Gates| that there was a plenty at T'y.— —Now there isno Cloathing here, ex- cepta few Oznabrig Shirts & Breeches, & them cannot be drawn without a Stoppage from the mens Wages,—Not a pair of Shoes or Stockings on the Ground. Rum 10shillings L. M. pr Quart. | —Sugar 2/6 pr pound.—Cheese & Butter2/6 From your affectionate & dutiful Son Henry SEWALL. (es M' Henry SEWALL, York . Massachusetts Bay TrconpEROGA, Tuesday 10 June 1777 Hon? PaRENTs, Although I wrote yesterday by the Boston Post, yet I take the freedom to write again by another Opp’—which I presume you’! not take amis. I am, through Divine Goodness in tolerable Health and Strength, & the Voice of Health is heard through this Encampment.
Page 8
8 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. _ Weare employ’d in inaking a Bridge over to M‘ Independance, by sinking Peers of Wood & Stone—besides other Fatigue,—building addi- tional Redoubts &e. Capt Donnel,is here from Fort George, trying to get his Company together, either here, or at Fort George. The Reg* is scatter’d amazingly, - & can’t tell when we shall be so happy as to be together. _ Cole Francis Regiment (in which are many Eastern Officers with whom I am acquainted) is station’d in the Fort at Ty. & in our Brigade. I have some Money, which I should be glad to send home, but am loth to trust it with any one. I can’t forbear mentioning again, the Imposi- tions on our Soldiers—N otwithstanding the fair Promises of our Gen! Court, &c. I have known Rum sold for a Dollar a pint, Sugar & Cheese 1/2 a Dollar per pound &c.—& moreover, we can’t get a Shoe, Shirt, or Stocking or any Spe- cies of Cloothing, that was promiss’d to the men yearly ;—there being none in the Public Stores, xcept a few Oznabrig Shirts, & them rais’d 5 oes cent, lately, & ordered to be stop’d from the oldiers Wages,—& moreover the Paymasters have Gen! Schuyler’s positive Orders to make a monthly Stopage of 1 Dollar & 1/2 from every Capt, 1 Dollar from every Subaltern, and 4/ from every non Com‘ Officer & Soldier to pay for Camp Kettles &, which things are § ought to be allow’d them Our men enjoy Health, *thro’ mercy,—but are miserably Cloathed—oblig’d to o on Duty, & even on Scouting Parties, without hoes. ‘These things, unless speedily remedied, will I fear, produce a Mutiny in our Army, and give the Enemy cause to say, that the Americans cannot stand it long, as they can’t cloath, or equip their Men. I don’t mean to discourage the Service, by these things, but only mean to State Facts, that you at home may not think that the Soldiers don’t earn their Money, or that the Officers are making Estates, by the Service. Besides, Cloathing that was sent from Boston to Bennington, for our States Troops, was or- der’d by Gen' Gates to Albany, & there deliver’d to Southern Troops,—& we must be centented with the refuse of said Cloathing,—which will be sent here prehaps, towards Fall—And the new French Arms sent chiefly by the way of Springfield, & center to the Southward. The first division of Troops who arriv’d here. from Boston came without Blankets, & are still destitute of Blankets, & some of Arms, there be- ing neither of them Articles in the Store. Without swelling the Catalogue of our Griev- ances to any greater Bulk, I beg leave to sub- scribe myself your Affectionate Son Henry SEWALL. [July, Gen! Gates we hear is not to have the Com- mand here, as was expected,—-Gen! St Clair is to have the immediate Command of this Post, un- der the direction of Gen' Schuyler, who is to be at Albany. We have had one or two Deserters not belonging to our Regt punished here since my arrival. One sat on the Gallows with a Rope round his neck, one hour, & then rec‘ 100 lashes at the Post. All deserters are put in Irons hand & foot as soon as they are taken,—& dealt with in every Respect, very severely. | To M' Henry SewaLh York | . massachusetts Bay. TiconDEROGA, Wednesday 18" June 1777 Hon? PARENTS, Whenever an Opp’ presents, I take pleasure in transmitting the Occurrencies of this Camp. Yesterday, about 10 o’Clock, A. M. this En- campment was Alarm’ by a Party of Savages, who fir’d upon our out-Sentries, killed 2 (one of whom they Scalp’d) & carry’d off 2 Prisoners.— on their retreat from their bloody Executions, they were attacked by a small Scouting Party, commanded by a Lieut. who stood them 3 or 4 fires, when being wounded & overpower’d by Numbers, made his best Retreat to this Garrison with 3 or 4 of his men :—the rest being scattered by the Disorder of the Attack.—last night our Guard-Boat found 7 of s¢ Party on a Point 4 or 5 miles down the Lake,—one of whom was dead: —the rest cannot at present be accounted for—3 are certainly kill’d—one of whom I have seen.. —They belong’d to the N. Hampshire Forces. Maj. Gen! Schuyler arrivy d here this Day from Albany—& has the Command I must Defer sending money till a better Oppy offers This place is much pleasanter than it was last Year. We can get Greens plenty.—There are several Continental & Regimental Gardens here. —My Garden seeds, together with a number other necessary Articles I left at Fort George ; —& can’t get them here From your youthful Son Henry SEWALL. To M' Henry SEwaLu York : Massachusetts State. p" favor of the Bearer.
Page 9
a ea 1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 9 IV.—_ WORK AND MATERIALS FOR AMERI- CAN HISTORY.—ContTinvuEp. By Grorce H. Moors. 4.—NorTrEs ON THE MAINTENANCE OF THE Mrn- ISTRY AND Poor in NEw YorK—THE CoLo- NIAL Ministry Acts—THE VESTRY OF THE City or New Yorx—TxHeE MINISTER OF THE Ciry or New Yorxr—TRINITY CHURCH AND ITS FIRST RESIDENT REcTOR. But although called as a dissenter, by a dis- senting vestry in 1695, Mr. Vesey does not appear to have been settled at this time. Nearly two years elapsed before the matter was adjusted, and still a third went by before he became the actual incumbent.of the living provided for the Minister of the City of New York and assigned to the resident Rector of Trinity Church. No further action was taken by the dissenting Church Wardens and Vestrymen, who appear to have been discouraged, if not intimidated by the per- emptory action of the Governor against their sympathetic Assembly, and at the next election a new set of men appear in office, who were evidently in tbe interest of that party, if indeed they were not themselves “the Mannagers of the “ Affaires of the Church of England in the Citty “of New-York.’* It was at tnis time that the Dutch Church were favored with a liberal charter from Governor Fletcher. That Church had long desired to obtain an act of incorporation, and had moved in the matter before, without success. The original petition of the Minister, Elders and Deacons (or what remains of it) isin the Colonial MSS., xl., 121. The order in Council of 9th. January, 1696, is endorsed on the petition. The Charter is dated May 11, 1696. For his conde- scension in, this matter, Governor Fletcher ac- cepted a considerable present of plate. Col. Hist. 1V. 463. It was found expedient, if not necessary to obtain a confirmation of this Charter —which was accomplished by an act of assembly 12 December, 1753, confirmed by the King, 25 February, 1755. On the 14th January, 1696, Col. Stephen Van Cortlandt and William Pinhorne were elected Churchwardens and Capt. Ebenezer Wilson, Capt. -Lawrence Reade, Capt. William Morris, Mr. Samuel Burte, Mr. James Evetts, Mr. John Crooke, Mr. Giles Gaudineau, Mr. John Van Cortlandt, Mr. Dirck Vanderburgh and Mr..Na- thaniel Marston, Vestrymen. At the meeting of a * Humphreys states, in his History of the Venerable Society, referring to the Ministry Act of 1693, that “it was some time “before there was a Vestry composed of men of such principles, **as would choose a Church of England minister. About the “year 1697, there was such a Vestry.” Justices and Vestrymen, on the 22d January, 1696, they unanimously agreed to levy and collect a tax “for y® maintenance of a good sufficient “Protestant Minister,” in accordance with the act of 1693. As provision had already been made for raising one hundred pounds tor the main- tenance of the poor, by virtue of another act of the General Assem)bly,* no poor tax was levied by this board for the year 1696. A committee was charged with the duty of going through all the Wards uf the City and making “an Estimate “of the Estates of all and every the Inhabitants “and Residenters within the said Citty, and make “a Role thereof, and return the same tu y® Clerke “of the Vestry, on or before the second Tuesday “of February” following. They were likewise to “ Desire of the Church Wardens and Vestry- ‘men what sum of Money will be Needfull to be “Raised for y* Year ensueing for y® Purposes “aforesaid.” : The Board then adjourned until the second Tuesday in February, but they do not appear to have met until Friday, the 21st February, 1696, when “by Majority of Votes” it was agreed that “the sum of One Hundred Pounds Current “ Money of New-Yurke” should be raised for the Maintenance of the Minister for one year. The estimates of the Committee of, Assessment were brought in, examined and approved; and che Justices were ordered to issue warrants for the collection of the tax, in pursuance of which the Constables were to pruceed, complete their work and make returus on or before the 25th day of April. The following 1s a copy of the assess- ment. e By Vertue of an Act of Gen!" Assembly Entituled an Act for the Settling a Ministry & Rais- ing a Maintenance for them in the Citty of New Yorke, &*. wee have made an Assess- ment of y* Estates Real and Personal of all & Every the Freeholders Inhabitants & Residenters within the said Citty for y° Raiseing of one hundred pounds att y°, Rate of one halfe penny % pound for y® Main- teinance of a Minister for one year to Offi- ciate & have y® Care of Souls within the said Citty. Pursuant to the said <Act. Viz’t. February y* 21st, 1695 [1696]. 8490 8) 4G 50 E eg 16d: 4 B40. 06H Bes 12129 25 05 © 023 6172") SID. UF «me 5353 11 = 08 Kast Ward . South Ward Dock Ward West Ward North Ward * An Act to enable the City and County of New-York, to relieve the Poor, and defray their necessary and publick charge. Passed the 8d. of July, 1690.
Page 10
r@* Bowry Precinct 2644 05 Harlem Precinct 929 01 Witt MERRETT Rost DaRkKINS JAMES Everts SaAM"= BurTE GILES GAUDINEAU Witt Morris EBENEZER WILLSON Law® READE JOHN CROOKE -NATHANIEL MARSTON As we have said before, the Church of England was little known in the Province at this time— its adherents being very few in number, princi- 10 18 - 02 084 pally those connected with the administration of: the government. The English garrison had a Chaplain allowed upon the establishment. The old Church in the Fort continued to be used by the Dutch inhabitants for their service in the old way. After the Dutch service, the Chaplain read service according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, to the Governor and the garrison in the same place. This was all the footing that the Church of England had in the Province prior to the Act of 1693. Doc. Hist. ITI, 265. Domine Selyns, in a letter to the Classis of Amsterdam, October 28th, 1682, says “We-and the English inhabitants use the same “church. They perform their services at the “conclusion of ours, by reading the Common “Prayer. They have a clerk, but no minister, “except one who marries and baptizes in private “houses, but does not preach.” Murphy’s Me- moir of Selyns : p. 94. , In 1693, Governor Fletcher finding the Old Church (King’s Chapel) in the Fort “ready to “ fall down to the danger of many lives thought it ‘convenient to pull it down.” He had previously persuaded the Dutch Church to erect a new edifice for themselves out of the Fort, which they did in 1693. Doc. Hist. ITT. 265. Domine Selyns’ letter to the Classis, 12th October, 1692, quoted by Mr. Murphy in his memoir of Selyns, ~ p. 119, makes it 1692. “In this year of troubles, “there has been built, outside of the fort, a new “ Dutch Church, of stone, and larger than the old “one.” At the meeting of the Legislature, 12 Sept. the Governor addressed the Assembly on the subject and said “if you will give something “towards the rebuilding of it, we will all join in “soe good a worke. If his Maty were not en- “ oaged in an expensive warr, I should not doubt “to have orders to rebuild it at his own charge.” In October, 1694, the Governor, with advice of the Council, presented to the Assembly a letter froin their Majesties on the subject with a request that they would provide for rebuilding the Chapel accordingly. The House very promptly HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, furnished him with their opinion “that his Ex- “cellency send his Orders to the several Officers “in each respective County throughout the Prov- “ince, for a free Contribution,” for the object proposed. The Governor and Council responded (22 Oct.) that the message was not to, entreat the advice of the Assembly in what manner his Excellency should proceed in effecting his Majesty’s pleas- ure, but te know of the Assembly what they will contribute by establishing some fund for that purpose, “it being the opinion of the Board that “the most loyall and proper way for all their “Majesties subjects freely to contribute, is by “Act of Assembly.” The Assembly concluded to provide for raising Six Hundred Pounds, of which Fonr Hundred and Fifty were to be em- ployed for the rebuilding the Chapel. Dirck Van Burg’s petition to be paid for build- ing the Chapel, etc. 14 March, 1696, is in Doe. Hist. [11. 246. In April, 1696, the Governor again recom- mended the subject to the attention of the Assem- bly, urging provision for the completion of the work. The Assembly declined to proceed until the Accounts and Debts of the Government were laid before them, but promised “ upon the perfect “knowledge of the State of the Debts of thé “ Government, the building of the Chapel will be “also then taken into conssideration.” From the statement of the joint Committee of the Council and Representatives, it appears that the sum of £450 had been paid “To the building “the Chapel.” But the efforts to promote the interests of the Church of England and to utilize the tax pro- vided by the Ministry Act took another shape. It had already been settled that the Chaplain of the Forces was not entitled to the maintenance provided by the Act, and measures were now taken to organize a new English Church. On the 19th March, 1696, ten members of the Church of England (some of whom were at this time Vestrymen of the City of New York) petitioned the Governor and Coucil for license to purchase a small piece of land without the north gate of the City of New York, between the King’s Garden and the burying ground, on which to erect a Church for the use of the Protestants of the Church of England. Leave | was granted and on the 23d July following ~ they were further empowered to collect funds to carry on and finish the Church which they had begun to erect and build. Doc. Hist. LIT, 247-48. | These are the earliest documents of the history of Trinity Church—the first formal tokens of the existence of the congregation which was the germ of that great Corporation since known as Trinity Church. The records of the Corpora-
Page 11
1867.] tion do not preserve the proceedings of “ the “ Mannagers of the- Affairs of the Church of “England in the City of New Yorke” prior to the 28th June, 1697—so that nothing is to be learned from that source concerning their his- tory before the charter. Their petition for a grant of incorporation and the maintenance pro- vided for the Minister by the Act of 1693 is extant among the Colonial Manuscripts at Albany (Vol. xli., 64,) though badly damaged by time. It is dated May 6, 1697, and printed in Doe. Hist. III., 248. Their prayer was granted, and the Royal Charter of May 6, 1697 was duly drawn and executed under the great seal of the Province. It has been frequently reprinted, and its terms are familiar to all who have given any attention to the history of Trinity Church. The most extraordinary feature in it is the assign- ment of the benefit of the Ministry Act of 1693 to the Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church created by the Charter : “ And our Royal Pleasure is and we by these “presents do declare that the said Rector of the “said Parish Church is a good sufficient Protes- “tant Minister according to the true intent and “ meaning of the said Act’ of Assembly made in “the aforesaid fifth year of our Reigne entitled “an Act for the settling of a ministry, &., and “as such We do further of our like speciall “orace certaine Knowledge and meer motion “ vive grant Ratifye endow appropriate and con- “firm unto the said Rector of the Parish of Trin- “ity Church within our said City of New Yorke “ and his successors for ever the aforesaid yearly “ maintainance of one hundred pounds directed by “the said Act of Assembly to be yearly laid as- “sessed and paid unto the said sufficient Protes- “tant minister .for his yearly maintenance, to “have and to hold the said yearly maintenance “of one hundred pounds aforesaid unto him the “said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church “within our said City of New Yorke and his “ Snecessors to the sole and only proper use ben- “efit and behoofe of him the said Rector of the «“ Parish of Trinity Church within our said City “of New Yorkeand his Successors forever. And “ We doe by these presents strictly charge re- “quire and coped the Church Wardens and “ Vestrymen yearly constituted elected and ap- “ pointed by the aforesaid Act of Assembly made “as aforesaid that they faithfully truly and with- “ out fraud annually and once in every year for- “ever levey assess and collect the said yearly “maintenance of one hundred pounds current “money aforesaid according to the rules directions “ and clauses in the said Act of Assembly men- “tioned and under the pains and penaltyes there- “in contained and that the said Church Wardens “ mentioned in the aforesaid Act of Assembly do “annually in four quarterly payments pay the HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 1 | “ said yearly maintainance of one hundred pounds “ leveyed assessed and collected as aforesaid unto “the said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church “and to his successors for ever as of right they “ought to do without any delay, lett, hindrance “refusall disturbance or molestation whatsoever “as they and every of them will answer the con- “trary under the pains and penaltyes in the said “ Act of Assembly ordained. And We further “ declare that upon any neglect or refusall of the “ said Church Wardens and Vestryuen (appointed “ by the said Act) of their levying assessing col- “lecting and paying the said yearly mainte- “nance of one hundred pounds as aforesaid “that it shall and may be lawfull for the said “Rector or incumbent of the said Parish for “the time being to prosecute the said Church ‘ Wardens and Vestrymen in an action of debt in “any of the Courts of Record within our. said “province wherein no KEssoine, protection or “ wager of law shall be allowed anything con- “tained in the said Act to the contrary hereof “in any wayes notwithstanding.” There can be no doubt that these provisions of the instrument were illegal, and probably the charter itself was altogether void. It was an ar- bitrary exercise of an assumed prerogative, which was absolutely in defiance of the laws of England as well as the Province, and could not have been maintained for an instant in the Courts, had it been brought to the test. Sensible of its worth- lessness, those who profited by its provisions sought and obtained a legal act of incorporation, a few years afterwards, which was the true Charter of Trinity Church—the Act of Assembly of 1704. This act carries in itself the evidence that due legal incorporation had been previously wanting, aad that Trinity Church was up to that time incapable of takinga legal title. Various fictions have been invented from time to time, in connection with the suits against the Church, by both parties; but they have little or no histori- cal importance at this time. $ Lord Cornbury’s own account of the motive for the act of 1704 isexplicit enough. Writing to the Lords of Trade, June 30th, 1704, a letter to accompany the recent acts of the Assembly, which he transmitted, he says: “The reason for my ascenting to the first of | “these Acts [An Act granting sundry priviledges “and powers to the Rector and Inhabitants of “the City of New Yorke, of the Communion “ofthe Church of England as bv law estab- “lished,] is because the Rector and Vestry of “Trinity Church have a charter from Coll: “Fletcher, when he was Gov" here, and they “have been told that Charter is defective, so they “ applyed to me for one that might be more “ficient ; I told them I did not perceive that by “my Commission I have any power to grant
Page 12
12 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, “ Charters of incorporation, and that I would not “venture to do it without such a power, some “time afterwards they came to’ me again, and “ desired I would give them leave to offer a Bill “to the General Assembly to be passed into an “ Act for settling the Church, I told them I did “consent to it, because by that means the Queen ‘*would have the matter fairly before her, and I “most humbly intreat Your Lord?rs favourable “representation of that Act to Her Majesty that “it may be confirmed.” Col: Hist. IV. 1114. On the 2d November, 1696, a meeting of the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the City of New York was held, all the members being pres- ent excepting Mr. Samuel Burte. At this meet- ing they made and recorded the following im- portant proceeding : é “Wee y® Church Wardens & Vestry men “Elected by Virtue of y* said Act having read a “Certificate under the hands of the Reverend M™ “Samuel Myles, Minister of y® Church of En- “gland in Boston in New England, and M' Gyles “Dyer and M" Benjamin Mountfort, Church “Wardens of y* said Church of the Learning & “ Education, of the Pious, Sober, & Religious be- “ haviour and conversation of M' William Veazy “and of his often being a Communicant in the ‘‘ Receiving y* most holy Sacrament in the said “Church, have called the said M* William “ Veazy to officiate, and have y® care.of Souls in “this Citty of New Yorke. And y® said M' Wil- “liam Veazy being sent for, and acquainted with “the Proceedings of this board, did return them “his hearty thanks for their great favor & affec- “tions shewd unto him, & did Assure them that “he readily Accepted of their Call & would with ‘Call Convenient Expedition Repair to England, “and Apply himselte to the Bishop of London ‘‘in Order to be Ordained according to the Lit- ‘‘urgy ofy® Church of England, and would re. “turn to his Church here by the first Convenient “ Opportunity.” This is the earliest record of Mr. Vesey’s ad- hesion to the Church of England.* It is but just to infer that his course was dictated by honora- ble sentiments. There were not wanting in his lifetime those who could impugn his motives of action, and the violence of party charged him with inconsistency, a base regard for temporal interest, and want of fidelity to the principles to which he was supposed to be pledged by his birth and training among the Independents of New England: but a generous spirit cannot fail to * Domine Selyns, in a letter to the Classis, 30th September 1696, mentions two English Churches as follows: “For the “two English churches in this city which have been formed, “since our new church was built;—one of our churches being ‘in the fort and the other in the city, and both of them very “neat, curious and all of stone—there are two Episcopal Clergy- “men who by arrangement preach in our church after my “morning and evening service, and live with us in all friend- ‘ ship.” Murphy's Memoir, p. 126. 6 sympathize in his emancipation from narrow prejudices and to applaud as judicious a con- formity so amply vindicated by the success of his prolonged subsequent ministry. Three days after he had accepted this second call to the Ministry of the City of New York, on the 5th November, 1696, the Justices and Vestrymen held another meeting, at which they adopted the following important resolution : “ Whereas there is Ninety Five Pounds in the “hands of y° Church Wardens, Raised by Vir- “tue of an Act of Gen! Assembly for y® Main- “ tainance of a Ministry; and Whereas Mr". Wil- “liam Veazy lately called to y® Ministry of this “Citty is not yet Ordained According to the “ Liturgy of the Church of England, but hath “ Assured the Church Wardens and Vestrymen “that he will Repair to London with all Con- “venient Expedition, and Apply himselfe to ye “ Bishop of London for his Gidinstion, and Re- “turn hither by the first opportunity ; where- “upon itt is Considered by this Board, that such “ Parte of y® said Money that lyes in the Church “ Wardens hands, & the st M'. William Veazy “shall have Occasion for, be lent to him, for the “iDefraying his Charges in the said: Voyage for “ye Procuring of his said Ordination, & y* he “ give his bond for the same.” It is a significant fact which appears from the record that “Jacobus V. Cortlandt and “ Brandt Schuyler, Esq’s two of y* Justices De- “scent from the said Order.” The dissent how- ever of these stubborn Dutchmen was of little importance, and at a subsequent meeting on the 9th of November, 1696, at which they were not present, it was duly “Ordered, that the Justices and Vestrymen “doe direct a Warrant to the Church Wardens “for to pay to M'. William Veazy, (called to “officiate as Minister of this Citty) the sum of “ Ninety five Pounds, Currt Money of New Yorke; “itt being Money now in their hands Raised by “virtue of an Act of Gen! Assembly for y° “ Maintenance of a Minister, and itt being to be “lent to the said M". William Veazy towards “the Defraying his Expenses in his Voyage for “England for y® Procureing his Ordination ac- “cording to y® Liturgy of y® Church of England “and that he give Bond for the same.” The election of Churechwardens and Vestry- men for the year 1697 continued the power in . the hands of the Church of England party, . there being no change among the Vestrymen. Capt. Thomas Wenham and Robert Lurting were elected Churchwardens, who not Jong after were constituted and appointed by the Charter the first Churchwardens of the Corporation and Parish of Trinity Church. Seven of the ten vestrymen were also named among the first Ves- trymen of Trinity Church.
Page 13
1867.] There was no meeting of the board until the 18th of November, when after providing for a Poor tax of Two Hundred and fifty Pounds—the retords show that “The Mayor of y® Citty haveing proposed y® “ Raising of One Hundred Pounds pursuant to y° “ Act of Assembly for y° Maintenance of a Min- “<¢ster for Trinity Church, for this Citty, for this “present year. Itis y® opinion of y® Justices & © Vestrymen that they do not proceed: to. y° “levying of that summ till they hear of y° “ Ministers Induction.” We have no particulars concerning Mr. Vesey’s voyage or stay in England, excepting those of his official appointments. Merton College, Ox- ford, bestowed on him, by diploma, the honorary degree of Master of Arts, July 8th, 1697. The license of the Bishop of London to Mr. Vesey— ““Gulielmo Vesey, Clerico ad peragen- “dum Officium Parochi in Ecclesid de New York “in partibus Occidentalibus,” etc. is dated on the 2d of August, 1697. Original MS. Also N.Y. Wills: II. 100-104.. On the same day, in ac- cordance with the Act of Uniformity, he sub- scribed the acknowledgment or declaration of his conformity to the Liturgy of the Church of England, as by law established, in order to be admitted to the ministerial function in the City of New York. He was made a Deacon and Presbyter of the Church of England on the same day—August 2, 1697. The certificates of the Bishop of London are recorded in the N. Y. Witls : II. 100-104. : Returning to New York, he arrived in De- cember, 1697. The Churehwardens and Vestry- men were speedily convened, and at their meeting on Friday the 24th day of December, 1697—all the members being present, the following pro- ceedings are recorded. i Att a meeting of ye Church Citty of Wardens and Vestrymen of y° New Yorke said Citty on Fryday the 24th day of Decem". 1697. Present: Church- Wardens : THomas WENHAM, Rosert Lurie, Vestry-Men : EBENEZER WILLSON, JOHN CROOKE, WiiirAm Morris, SAMUEL BuRTE, NaTHANIEL Marston, Drreck VANDERBURGH, JAMES EveETTs, GILES GAUDINEAU. JoHN CoRTLANDT, HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 13 from London delivered to this Board two letters, from the Right Reverend father in God Henry Ld. Bishop of London w* contained as followeth (vizt): . Aug: 10th, 1697. Gentlemen, : Your choice was’ very welcome to me, and*I hope I have Answered all that you Expected from me; for I due Assure you itt has and ever shall be my Constant Care to Serve you to y® uttmost of my power, Neither shall any choice be more Acceptable to me than what you make y' selves. I thank you with all my heart. that you have Pitched upon a Person whom I take to bee soe Every way fitted for y' service. I pray God to Direct him in all the performances of his duty to y® Edification and Comfort of you all. And I pray you to be assured that Nothing shall be wanting on my parte to answer all that lies in iy power to doe for yous that itt will be therefore your fault if any parte of my Service be deficient to y® best of my Ability. <As to your Bells I will use my utmost Endeavour to procure them for you; though you cannot but know that the great Scarcity of Money here with us att Present will make itt. Impossible to Accomplish such a Worke suddenly. In the meantime I should be glad to know whether you have considered what Defect you are able to make up of yourselves, and whether there are Carpenters with you skillful enough to hang them up, I pray God to reward you for your pious care you have already taken which shall wantno Encouragement from the utmost care of Gent® : Your most assured friend and faith- full Servant. H: Lonpon. To The Vestry and Church Wardens of the Church att New Yorke. London, August 16th, 1697. Gentlemen, I-doe most heartily thank you for your choice you have made of Mr. Vesey to be your Minister; for I take him to be a man every way capacitated to doe you Service by his Min- istry, and therefore I haye most gladly Conferr’d holy orders upon him, and Now Recommend him back to your favorable Reception Praying to God that the Exercise of his function amongst you may powerfully work to the Salvation of every One of you, and of all that hear him. And I beseech you to believe that I am most sincerely purposed to omit no occasion of doing you all Mr. William Vezey being arrived here lately | the service that lyes in my way and power Nor
Page 14
14 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, can you oblige me more than laying your com-| Charge to your Excellencies Petitioners he hath mands for that purpose, upon Gentlemen Your most assured Friend and hearty Servant q H: Lonpon. To the Gentlemen of New Yorke , The Church Wardens § Vestry of the Church there established , The before Letters being read, and the great Character and Recommendation his Lordship is please to give of M™. William Vezey, the Board are of opinion that a fitter Person cannot be had to officiate, and have the care of Souls within this Citty than the said William Vezey; and therefore pursuant to the directions of an Act of Genl. Assembly of this province entituled An Act for the settling a Ministry and Raising a Maintenance for them in the Citty of New York, this Board doe unanimously Call* the said M’. William Vezey *o officiate and have the care of Souls within this City of New-Yorke & the said William Vezey personally came before this Board and informed them he was ready to exe- cute the Function he was called to when he shall be Inducted into the same. Whereupon itt is ordered that this board doe forthwith present the st William Vezey & Peti- ‘tion his Excellency for his Induction to the said Ministry accordingly. Wii: Morrts, DrrecK VANDERBURGH, SamM!t Burtt, JOHAN: CORTLANDT, JN, CROOKE. Too. WENHAM, Rost. Lurrine, EBENEZER WILLSON, JAMES Evers, GILES GAUDINEAU, NatrHuu: Marston, To ‘his Excellency BENJAMIN FLETCHER, Capt. Gen" & Governour.in Chiefe of his Maj‘y’s Province of New Yorke, &c The humble Petition of y* Church- Wardens and Vestry Men of y° Citty of New Yorke Most humbly Sheweth : That by an Act of Gen" Assembly of this Province, entituled an Act for ye settling a Mit- istry and Raising. a Maintainance for them in the Citty of New Yorke &: Itt is Directed that there shall be Called, Inducted and KEstab- lished a Good Sufficient Protestant Minister to Officiate and have y® Care of Souls within the said Citty, & whereas M* William Vezey was for- merly by us called to the said Benefice but could not be Inducted thereto for want of being or- dained in Priest’s Orders, which after a trouble- some Voyage by. him made to England, & great * It will be observed that this was the third time Mr. Vezey was actually called under the Act of 1693, by the City Vestry. Obtained ; and is now returned hither, who wee have again called to y° said Ministry, and most humbly pray your Excellency will be mbst favourably Pleased with all Convenient Expedi- tion to induct him to y® same, in Order he may Exercise his function accordingly. WiiuraAmM Morris, THomas WENHAM, JoHN CORTLANDT, Rost. Lurtrne, Drreck VANDERBURGH, EBENEZER WILLSON, SAMUEL BurTE, JAMES EVETTS, GILES GAUDINEAU, JOHN CROOKE, NATHANIEL MARSTON. Fletcher was not slow to move on his part, and on the next day (Christmas) 25 December, 1697, Mr. Vesey was duly inducted into his par- ish of Trinity Church. The documents are re- corded in V. Y. Wills, No. 5, pp. 262-3. We print them in the order observed by the clerk. It is said that the ceremony of induction was performed in the Dutch Church in Garden street, a fact to which these documents bear testimony in the names of two of the Dutch clergy as sub- scribing witnesses. Benjaminus Fletcher Provinciae Novi Eboraci in America Strategus et Imperator ac Ejusdem Vice Thalassiarcha & universis & Singulis Rectoribus Vicarijs Capellarijs Curatis Clericis & ministris quibuscunque in et per totam pdict ' Provinciam ubilibet constitutis ac etiam Thomae Wenham & Roberto Lurting Templi .Trinitatis in Civitate Novi Eboraci pro hoe tempore Aedilibus Salutem Cum dilectum in Christo Gulielmum Vesey Clericum ad rec- toriam sive Eccam proalem Novi Eboraci in America Templi Trinitatis in dict provincia jam vacantem praesentatum rectorem ejusdem rectoriae sive .ccae Proalis in et de eAdem Institui Vobis conjunctim & divisim committo & firmiter injungendo mando quatenus eundem Gulielmum Vesey Clericum seu pro- curatorem suum legitimum ejus nomine &— in realem actualem & corporalem possessionem ipsius rectoriae sive Eccae Proalis Novi Ebor pdict jurumque & pertinentium suor universor conferatis inducatis inducive faciatis & defen- datis inductum et quid in praemissis feceritis me aut alium quendam judicem in hoc parte competentem quemcunque debito (cum ad id con- grue fueritis requisiti) certificatis seu — cer- tificet illo vestrum qui praesen hoc meum man- datum fuerit — Dat sub sigillo prae- rogativo dict Provinciae 25°. Die Decembris Anno Domini 1697°. David Jamison Jt D: Secry, 25° Decembris 1697° Virtute infra scripti mandatiin praesentia rever- endi Domini Henrici Selyns Eccae Belgicae
Page 15
1867.) HISTORICAL in Civitate Novi Eboraci ministri & reverendi Domini Johis Peter Nucella Verbi Dei min- istri infra nominati Thomas Wenham & Rob- ertus Lurting Trinitatis Templi infra dict Aidiles contulerunt & induxerunt infra dictum reveren- dum Gulielmum Vesey Clericum in Templum Trinitatis infranominatum more & consuetudine solitis et in omnia juria & pertinentia ejusdem 25° Decembris Anno Domini 1697° in Cujus rei testimonium praesentibus sigriavimus die & anno supra dictis Henricus Selyns minister Neo Eboracensis Belgicus Joannes Petrus Nu- cella Thomas Wenham Robert Lurting. The new edifice for Trinity Church, to the erection of which both the French and Dutch churches contributed, (Col. Hist. IV. 463,) had been “built and covered” before the grant of the charter, but it was not completed and ready for occupation until the spring of 1698. It was first opened for public worship on Sunday, the 13 day of March, 1698. After the reading of the morning and evening service, Mr. Vesey de- clared before his congregation, his unfeigned as- sent, and consent, to all, and everything con- tained in and prescribed in and by the book, en- titled the Book of Common Prayer. He also read the certificate of the Bishop of London of his declaration of Conformity. Certificate of Gov. Fletcher, 25 March, 1698. WN. ¥. Willis: II. 100-104. The youthful Rector’s entry. upon these im- portant duties was also signalized by his mar- riage about thistime. ‘“ A Lycense of marriage ‘was granted unto Mr. William Vesey, of the “one party, and Mrs. Mary Reade, of the other “ party, the first of March, 1697/8.” Wills, No. 5, 274. It is not difficult to credit the tradition, which declares that this wealthy widow, with her connections, had taken a deep interest in the concerns of Trinity Church; and on the day it was first opened for public worship, that she appeared in it as a bride. V.THE THREE CASTLES OF THE MO- HAWK INDIANS. By J. R. Stmoms, Auruor of The History of Schoharie County, ETC. FRrEND Dawson: I propose, with your approbation, to say some- thing about the settlements of the Indians once in possession of the beautiful valley of the Mo- hawk, more especially of those known in history as * Castles.’ The term Castle evidently came into use with the advent of very early European adventurers to this country; but when the term, which wa ssynonymous in common parlance with MAGAZINE. 15 that of Fort, was first applied to an American In- dian village, or by whom, may never be known; though we think it highly probable it came from some sprig of royalty, or a former resi- dent of some French or English Castle. Whe name attached to the principal town of a Na- tion, in which was located some central place for defence ; where representatives of the differ- ent Tribes making up the Nation assembled for consultation and concert of action, on warlike and other important occasions. Those Castles were comparatively frail, and untenable against fire-arms, until the whites, as allies, aided in their construction with the European axe and saw, Sledge and drill. All the Srx Nations, constituting the great In- dian Confederacy of New York, in the latter part of its history, (for it consisted of only five for a great length of time,) it is believed had their Castles; as the Oneida Castle, the Onondaga Castle, etc. THe Mosnawk Nation, the most Eastern one of the Grand Confederacy, dwelt principally in the Mohawk valley. Many fam- ilies of them lived isolated, as suited their stoic and solitary habits, in localities favorable for hunting re | fishing ; while others were congre- gated in villages of greater or less importance. One of those villages was located in the present town of Florida, on the Eastern bank of the Scho- harie, at its confluence with the Mohawk. ‘This became known as the Lower Mohawk Castle. It seems a pity that there has not been more pains taken to preserve local Indian names, and especially those of the several places at which their Castles were situated. We have not only robbed a once noble and happy race of the hu- man family oftheir honest patrimony—theirs by birtbright and theirs by long possession—but we have cheated posterity out of many, very many, of the euphonic and singularly significant names of their watercourses, mountains, valleys, — and natural curiosities, Once sacred to them; and which should now be cherished among our household gods. But such, alas! is the destiny of human events when the strong overpower the weak. By what name the settlement under con- sideration was known before the first white man entered it, cannot positively be determined; yet I believe it to have been Tr-oN-ON-DE-RO-GA.* * This is the manner in which this word is spelled in the Colonial History of New York, v., 960; and the same orthog- raphy is adopted by Mr. Munsell, in his History of Albany, i., 355, where he speaks of the effort made by the Indians, through Sir William Johnson, in 1773, to recover from the Common Council of Albany a thousand acres of the Tionon- deroga Patent of lands, which the Indians claimed they never had had a just consideration for, when conveyed by Governor Dongan, in a charter, to the city of Albany,in July, 1686. A design of the locality of this Patent, made 1712, is given in the Documentary History of New York, iii., 902, at which place the name is spelled TIENONDEROGA. James Macauley, who, in 1829, published a History of New
Page 16
16 Many streams in New York are called Creeks, that would have been called Rivers had they but had a New England paternity; and of the number is the Schoharie, which is as large again as are mafiy rivers in the Enxstern States, being more than One hundred and fifty feet wide at its mouth. It is not only the largest tributary to the Mo- hawk, but it is also its greatest competitor in the distance it courses. It is usually called a Creek at its outlet to distinguish it from the Mohawk ; and probably always will be. About two miles up the Schoharie from the Mohawk, the Eastern shore terminates with a bold bluff to the stream, which originated the significant Indian name Ca-daugh-ri-ta, meaning the Steep Bank, or Perpendicular Wall. The ab- original name still attaches to this locality. The Schoharie Tribe of Indians belonged to the Mohawk Nation, the last occupied of whose Cas- tles was in the present town of Fulton, Schoharie county. For a long period of time, intercourse was constantly kept up between the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys by two different routes—one from Tiononderoga, whence a foot-path led up the Schoharie above Cadaughrita, and thence, taking a South-westerly course, passed through the present towns of Glen and Charleston, and again entering the Schoharie valley in its sinu- ous course near Sloansville; the other, from the Central Mohawk, or Lower Canajoharie, Castle, situated twenty miles up the Mohawk from Ti- ononderoga Castle (to be noticed hereafter), went by a South-easterly course through the towns of Canajoharie, Root, and Charleston, uniting with the first near Sloansville. The former path led directly past two Indian landmarks worthy of especial notice. About two miles up the Schoharie from Cadaughrita, once stood a majestic white Oak tree, upon the trunk of which was painted a canoe filled with warriors, on which account it was called THE Warrior Tree. The painting was no doubt done by an Indian artist. It stood not far from where the path left the neighborhood of the Creek for a more Westerly course through the then dense forest: but whether at first painted York, in three: volumes, wrote this word I-cAN-pE-RA-GO, but upon what authority is unknown. I had several interviews with Mr. Macauley, at his resipence in Frankfort, N. Y., in 1845, and a few succeeding years. At one of our meetings [ inquired if he could give me the signifi- cation of the Indian word, cited above. He replied that he could not, but that he had learned, I think from an educated Indian, the meaning of several aboriginal names, after the pub- lication of his work, one of which he remembered to have been Me delaecmeiy: which signified coming or going round the all, Oswegatchie is a local name in the Easterly part of the town of Palatine, not far from where the brave Colonel Brown fell, in October, 1780. The curve in the hill made by the bend in theMohawk, where the former approaches it so abruptly at the Nose, gives the key to the name. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, as a guide upon the war-path, or to commemo- rate some event, tradition does not tell us, For several generations the figures were repainted and kept vivid, down to the time of the Revolu- tion, when the Indians left for Canada. A Patent for twenty-five thousand, four hun- dred acres of land granted in 1735, to William Corry and others, commenced its boundaries at this tree. It is also mentioned in a conveyance from Goldsbrow Banyar and Richard Shucks- burgh to Francis Salts, and by Salts to Cornelius Putman in 1768. The tree is thus spoken of in one of the land tithes referred to: “A large “ White Oak tree, marked with three notches on . “four sides, standing on the South side of the old “foot path or Indian trail from Fort Hunter to “ Schoharie, and on which tree was formerly “painted a Canoe with Warriors in it, about . “which tree were several other trees standing “marked as witnesses.” , The cuttings upon | those trees were no doubt all done by surveyors. A friend who was born near this tree, and who once owned lands of which this tree was a cor- ner bound, writes us that between forty and fifty years ago the tree had all disappeared except a few roots. Over twenty years ago I conversed with an old gentleman who remembered when a boy to have seen this patriarchal tree stand- ing: and traces of the canoe were still visible upon it. The other Indian monument was a large Mounp or Srongs, standing near Sloansville, which was reared long before the white settlers came into its neighborhood. A title to the lands upon which it was situated was called the Stone Heap Patent. Tradition says that at this place two hunters of the Mohawk Nation had a quarrel; that one killed the other; and that the friends of the murdered man, to commemorate the event, erected a pile of stones upon his grave. A custom of the Nation required every warrior, afterwards passing it, to place an additional stone upon the heap, until in the lapse of generations it became one of very imposing dimensions. Not many years ago the land upon which it stool was owned by a man who cared little for the re man’s altars; and he converted this long accu- mulating record of homicide into a stone wall or line fence. Such were the altars required to be erected at an early period in the history of human events among God’s chosen people. (See Hxodus, xx. 25. It is believed that the Indian trails from Tion- onderoga and Canajoharie to Schoharie came to- gether near the celebrated Stone Heap. The route pursued by Sir John Johnson and his army, in going from the Schoharie settlements to the Mohawk valley, in October, 1780, led. past both of those Indian monuments.
Page 17
1867.] For the greater security of the natives at Ti- ononderoga, or the Lower Mohawk Castle, and: to foster and encourage white settlements in the neighborhood, a stronger defence than that of the Indians, was erected, of hewn timber, at a little distance from theirs, by Capt. John Scott, an En- glish officer, about the year 1710, and called Fort Hunter, in honor of Robert Hunter, then Gov- ernor of the Colony ; and, very soon after, under the patronage of Queen Anne, a small church was erected of stone near the Fort, to convert the children of the forest to the Episcopal faith. A stone parsonage built at that early day is still standing, perhaps one third of a mile to the East- ward of the Creek, near which stream stood the little Indian. Church, called from the time of its erection until it was demolished, nearly a century later, QUEEN ANNE’S CHAPEL. This, it is believed, was the first church edifice erected in the Colony for the especial benefit of the Indians. Colden says it was endowed, by the munificence of Queen Anne,“ with furniture and “a valuable set of plate for the communion ta- “ble”? Who knows whether this suit of service is still in existence ? This mission was for along period under the management of an Episcopal Society in the Mother Country, for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which Society sup- ported a missionary among the Mohawk Indians, who resided at this place. It would be inter- esting if we could name the different ministers at this station, and give the result of their la- bors.* The pulpit was provided with a sounding- board—a circular ceiling suspended a few feet over the head of the speaker in nearly every primitive house of worship in the land, intended to catch and send down upon the audience more effectively the voice of the speaker. Asin many early churches, the audience of the Chapel were seated upon movable benches. Ata later period in its history, two pews were finished opposite to the pulpit for the especial use of the families of Sir Wm. Johnson and the minister, the floor of which was somewhat ele- vated. Johnson’s pew was furnished with a wooden canopy, and both were probably thus finished at his private expense. ‘The chapel was provided with a nice little bell, no doubt the first one ever heard in the colony west of Schenec- tada, and which is now in use in the Academy in Johnstown. Those unlettered sons of the forest were no doubt improved in their English education and manners; but how much they were spiritually * In an early number of THe HistortcoAL MAGAZINE, we shall endeavor to gratify our friend and correspondent, by giving not only the list which he has spoken of but some other particulars concerning this mission, which have evidently es- caped his notice.—H. B. D. HIST. MAG., VOL. II. 3 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 17 benefited by those missionary labors, eternity can only determine. There can be little doubt, how- ever, that the novelty of the church worship and the dulcet tones of its bell—for the Indian was ever in ecstasy at the sound of a bell—filled the little Chapel on every favorable occasion for worship, not a few often attending who dwelt at the Upper Castles, twenty and thirty miles distant. The Chapel was torn down about the year 1820, to give place to the Hrie Canal, then being constructed, and the question is often asked— “ Why was not this edifice spared, as a little di- “vergence would have saved it?” When the Canal was built, it was looked upon by timid men as a visionary project, and by a class of op- posing politicians as a vast undertaking, calcu- lated forever to impoverish the State. And al- though it was begun at the close of a three years war with England, still its friends were confident that it would not only place the State in an enviable position, but would in the end defray the expense of its construction. But rigid economy in every manner possible was adopted to lessen the cost; and to this system of economy it took for a key to the loss of the Chapel. Here was a bridge across the Schoharie, one of the first of any note constructed in the Mo- hawk valley ; which stream was to be used as a canal feeder, with necessary guard-locks upon each shore to lock boats through, to protect its banks in a freshet ; and to save the expense of building a bridge at the time, as I infer, the bed of the Canal was located sufficiently near the Creek bridge, to make. that for years subserve Canal purposes, which was done by changing the . towing path from the North to the South shore, across it. ‘To gain this desirable result the In- dian Chapel was demolished. To use the Creek as a feeder, a dam was constructed across it a few rods below the Canal; and onenlarging it nearly twenty-five years ago, it was carried over the stream in an aqueduct, several rods below the dam. Thus the reader will perceive that the necessity for destroying the Chapel was at the time a justifiable one. In these days of reckless and profligate expenditure, when millions are considered of less importance than thousands were then, it seems necessary to make this ex- planation to antiquaries. For more than twenty years, and until the Canal had realized the ex- pectations of its friends, the old bridge was in use; but soon after its necessity was obviated, a Spring freshet swept it away, and it has never been rebuilt. While it was in use, however, passenger packets were running; and during high water many a thrilling incident occurred, several canal boats having parted their tow- lines, and in some instances boats were swept
Page 18
18 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July? over the dam into the Mohawk. Some of those accidents were attended with loss of property and loss of life. From the time Fort Hunter was erected down to the Revolution, the place was known among the natives as the Lowrr CAsrTLE, and among the whites, who began about that time to settle upon both sides of the river, as Fort Hunter. For a Century before it became known, except as Tiononderoga or the Lower Mohawk Castle, this was a place of no little importance in the primi- tive history of the Colony. Here, at times, must have been assembled, in numbers, painted and feathered, the athletic Chiefs not only of the Mo- hawk Nation, but representatives of the entire Confederacy ; and here must have been planned some of their most important enterprises. And after the whites settled at Schenectada, which place was for a long time upon the outskirts of Civilization, they cultivated the friendship of the Mohawks, secured their trade, and came to consider them as a barrier between themselves and their Canadian foes, which they proved to be, except when the place was so completely sur- prised in February, 1689. Asa military post, Fort Hunter was rejuve- nated by Mars, early in the War for Independence. The timber of the old fort having become de- cayed, it was demolished, and the Chapel in- closed as a substitute in strong palisades, with block-house corners; mounting cannon; and was very properly suffered to retain its original English name, which still attaches to its little hamlet and Post-office. Public whipping and confinement in stocks, an English mode of punishment for petty crimes, was in vogue in the States, some thirty or forty years after the Revolution; and not far from the Chapel, at Fort Hunter, says tradition, stood a Whipping-post and Stocks. In the palmy days of the Mohawk Nation, Fort ‘Hunter was a place of much importance. Speaking of Indian customs, says Colden, “ An “ officer of the Regular troops told me” [probably Captain Scott] “that while he was Commandant “of Fort Hunter, the Mohawks on one oceasion”’ [that of a war dance] “ told him, that they (the “ Indians) expected the usual military honors as “they passed the Garrison. The men presented “their pieces as the Indians passed, and the “drum beat a march; and with less respect, the “ officer said, they would have been dissatisfied. “he Indians passed in single row, one after “ another, with great gravity and profound si- “lence; and every one of them, as he passed the “officer, took his gun from his shoulder, and “fired into the ground near the officer’s feet. They “marched in this manner three or four miles “from their Castle. The women, on these oc- “casions, follow them with their old clothes ; “and they send back by them their finery in “ which they marched from the Castle.” Spafford, in his Gazeteer, speaking of the In- dian Mission at Fort Hunter, after expressing his doubts about their being benefited by “ theologi- “cal mysteries,” says: “ There are yet extant “most marvelous accounts of the reception of the “ Gospel, and of the wonderful success of the first “ Missionaries in converting the Mohawk In- “dians to Christianity, in the days of Queen “ Anne! We have their Country, and the bells “and churches, and the Chwrch has the mission- “ary farm.” After Sir William Johnson became the Brit- ish Agent for the Indian Confederacy, and estab- lished his residence at Mount or Fort Johnson, on the opposite side of the river, and only two or three miles distant from Fort Hunter, as we may suppose, he was not only often there; but he manifested so real and so abiding an interest in the welfare of the natives, and especially at this Castle, that they placed implicit confidence in his integrity, and looked to him as children to a parent to right their public wrongs, and settle many of their private difficulties, which his re- markably playful and equitable temperament enabled him, satisfactorily, to do for nearly a quarter of a Century. In his correspondence, to distinguish this from the others, he often called it the Mohawk Castle. But time has wrought its wonderful changes here as elsewhere. The Agent and all his confiding forest children now sleep with their fathers, and the pleasant places of earth that have known them will know them no more forever. The last war-dance of the manly and vigorous Mohawk has long since transpired; and the echoes of his last warwhoop and terrific yell have forever died away among the hills that hem in Tiononderoga. R. S. Fort Prarn, N. Y., May 20, 1867. VI.—A CHINESE HISTORY OF AMERICA. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, 26th June, 1867. Henry B. Dawson, Esq’, Morrisania, New York. DEAR SiR: In the absence of the Secretary of State I have to acknowl- edge the receipt of your letter of the 22"¢ instant, inquiring as to the genuineness of a statement in regard to a translation of a Historical sketch of the United States by Seu-Ki- Yu, a Chinese writer, and in reply toinform you that such a translation was communicated to this Department from the Legation of the United States in China. I inclose a correct copy thereof and a copy of a dispatch which was addressed to M* Burlingame on . the subject, to which is prefixed an explanatory statement. Very truly yours, F, W. SEWARD, Assistant Secretary.
Page 19
1867.] [INCLOSURES. | 1.—EXPLANATORY STATEMENT. It appears that Seu-Ki-Yu was, from 1844 to 1850, Governor of Fuh-Kien. During that time he wrote and published, in the Chinese language, a work on Universal Geography, giving an -account of the establishment of America by Washington. For this publication, so favorable to the Western Powers, some of which were then in collision with China, and so favorable es- pecially to the United States, Seu-Ki-Yu was dismissed from office by the Emperor Hien-Fung, on his accession to the throne -of China in 1850. His work and his sacrifices for the truth of history were made known to the Government at Washington by the late Chargé of the United States at Pekin, Mr. Williams. Through the ef- forts of the legation, the Imperial Government reversed its sentence of proscription against Seu-Ki-Yu, and recalled him into its employment as a member of the Foreign Office of the ‘Government. The Secretary of State presented him with a portrait of Wash- ington. 2.—LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO MR. BURLINGAME, U. 8. MINISTER TO CHINA, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, January 21, 1867. Sire: Mr. 8. Welles Williams, in a dispatch, No. 16, and in -an unofficial letter of the 22d of February last, invited my at- tention to the fact that his Excellency Seu-Ki-Yu, a distin- guished Chinese statesman, then recently appointed to the For- eign Office, had in various ways manifested a liberal and friendly appreciation of the importance of amicable relations between the United States and other Western Powers and China, and that he had written an eulogy upon the life and character of George Washington, which reflects great credit upon the author, When these facts became known to me they atforded me the liveliest satisfaction, and I thought it might be agreeable to his Excellency to possess a faithful portrait of the subject of his eulogy. I have accordingly caused an exact copy* to be made by one of our most skillful artists of the original likeness, painted by Gilbert Stuart from life. This copy, suita- bly framed, will be forwarded to your address by the first con- venient opportunity, for presentation by you in such a man- her aS May seem most appropriate, to his Excellency, Seu-Ki- Yu, as a mark of the high appreciation entertained of the wis- dom and.virtue which have justly entitled him to the exalted station which he has attained. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Wm. H. S—ewarp. ANSON BURLINGAME, Esq’. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.+ By Seu-Ki-Yu, Governor or Fun-Kren. Translated from the original Chinese, at the United States Legation at Pekin, and communicated to THE HistortcaL MAGAZINE by the Department of State of the United States. America is a vast country. Owing to its mer- chant ships carrying a variegated flag, it is usu- ally known at Canton as the Hwa-ki-kwoh, or Flowery Flag Nation.t It is bounded on the north by the English territory, and on the south by Mexico and Texas; its eastern border lies along the Great Western ocean, while its west- ern is on the vast ocean, a distance of about ten an The copy was made by Henry C. Pratt, Esq’, of Boston ass. + It is also called Collected Nations of America, United League Nations, Confederated Countries of America, and United all States, (¢. e., these different Chinese names have been used.) ¢ This flag is an oblong banner, with red and white stripes alternating ; in the right-hand corner is asmall square of a black color, wherein are drawn many white spots arranged in a form resembling the Constellation of the Dipper. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 19 thousand Ji,* lying between them. From north to south the distance is between five thousand and six thousand /i in the widest parts, and from three thousand to four thousand in the narrow- est. The Apalachian range winds along its east- ern coast, and the great Rocky Mountains enclose its western borders, between which lies a vast level region many thousands of miles in extent. The Mississippi is the chief of its rivers. Its sources are very remote, and after running more than a myriad &% in serpentine course, it joins the Missouri river, and the great united river flows on south tothe sea. The other celebrated rivers are the Columbia, Mobile, Apalachicola, and Delaware. Great lakes lie on the northern border towards the west. They are divided from each other by four streams, and are called Iroquois, or St. Clair, Huron, Superior, and Mich- igan. ‘To the east lie two others, Erie and Onta- rio, which are joined to each other. These to- gether form the boundary between the United States and the British possessions. It was the English people who first discovered and took North America, and drove outthe abo- rigines. The fertile and eligible lands were set- tled by emigrants moved over there from the three (British) islands, who thus occupied them. ‘These emigrants hastened over with a force like that of the torrent running down the gully. Poor people from France, Holland, Denmark and Sweden also sailed over to join them, and as they all daily opened up new clearings, the country continually grew rich in its cultivated lands. High English officers held it for their sovereign, and as cities and towns sprung up all along the coasts, their revenues were collected for his ben- efit. Commerce constantly increased in extent and amount, so that thus the inhabitants rapidly became rich and powerful. During the’ reign of Kemburg (A. D. 1736- 1796) the English and French were at war for several years, during which the former exacted the duties throughout all their possessions, in- creasing the taxes more than previously. By the old tariff, for instance, the duty on tea was levied when it was sold; but the English now required that another tax should be paid by the buyer. ‘he people of America would not stand this, and in the year 1776 their gentry and leading men assembled together in order to consult with the (English) Governor how to arrange this matter; but he drove them from his pres-— ence, dispersed the assembly, and demanded that the tax be collected all the more strictly. The people thereupon rose in their wrath, threw all the tea in the ships into the sea, and then * This is a vague expression for a vast distance; three 4 are usually reckoned to equal an English mile.—Zrans/ator’s Note.
Page 20
20 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July,. consulted together how they could raise troops to expel the British. There was at this time a man named Wash- ington, a native of another colony, born in 1732, who had lost his father at the age of ten, but had been admirably trained by his mother. While a boy he showed a great spirit and apti- tude for literary and martial pursuits, and his love for brave and adventurous deeds exceeded those of ordinary men. He had held a military commission under the English, and during the war with France, when the French leagued with the Indians, and made an irruption into the southern provinces, he led on a body of troops and drove them back; but the English general would not report this expeditious operation, so that his worthy deeds were not recorded (for his promotion). | The people of the land now wished to have him to be their leader, but he went home on plea of sickness and ‘shut himself up. When they had actually raised the standard of rebellion, however, they compelled him to become their general. Though neither troops nor depots, neither arms nor ammunition, stores nor furage, existed at this time, Washington so inspirited everybody by his own patriotism, and urged them on by his own energy, that the proper boards and depart- ments were soon arranged, and he was thereby enabled to (bring up his forces) invest the cap- ital. The British general had intrenched some ‘marines outside the city, when a storm suddenly dispersed his ships. Washington improved the conjuncture by vigorously attacking the city, and succeeded in taking it. The English then gathered a great army, and renewed the engagement. He lost the battle completely, and his men were so disheartened and terrified that they began to disperse. But his great heart maintained its composure, and he so rallied and reassured his army that they renewed the contest, and victory finally turned in their favor. Thus the bloody strife went on for eight years. Sometimes victorious and some- times vanquished, Washington’s determination and energy never quailed, while the English general began to grow old. The King of France also sent a general across the sea to strengthen the tottering States. He joined his forces with those of Washington, and gave battle to the British army. The rulers of Spain and Holland likewise hampered their military operations, and advised them to con- clude a peace. The English at last could no longer act freely, and ended the strife in the year 1783, by making a treaty with Washington. According to the stipulations, the boundary line was so drawn that they had the desolate and cold region on the north, while the fertile and genial southern portions were confirmed to him. Washington, having thus established the States, gave up his military command for the purpose of returning to his farm, but the people would not permit him thus to retire, and obliged him to become their ruler. He, however, pro- posed a plan to them as follows: “ Itis very self- “ish for him who gets the power in the State to “ hand it down to his posterity. In filling the “post of the shepherd of the people, it will be “ most suitable to select a virtuous man.” Kach of the old colonies was thereupon formed into a separate State, having its own Governor to direct its affairs, with a Lieutenant Governor to assist him,* each of whom held office for four years.t At the general meeting of the people of his State, if they regarded him as worthy, he is. permitted to hold his post during another term of four years,t but if not, then the Lieutenant Governor takes his place. If, however, the lat- ter does not obtain the approbation of the people,. another man is chosen to the dignity when his time has expired. When the head men of the villages and towns are proposed for office, their names and surnames are written on tickets and thrown into a box. When everybody has done so the box is opened, and it is then known who is elected by his having the most votes, and he takes the office. Whether he has been an official or is a commoner, no examination is required as. to his qualifications ; and when an officer vacates. his place he becomes in all respects one of the common people again. From among all the Governors of the separate States one supreme Governor (or President) is chosen, to whom belongs the right to make treaties and carry on war, and whose orders each State is bound to obey. The manner of his elec-. tion is the same as that for a Governor of a State. He holds his office four years, or, if re-elected,. for eight. Since the days of Washington (who died in 1799) the country has existed sixty years ; there have been nine Presidents, and the present. incumbent (Tyler) was elected from Virginia. When Washington made peace with the Brit- ish he dismissed all the troops, and directed the attention of the country entirely to agriculture and commerce. He also issued a mandate say- ing: “If hereafter a President should covetously “plot how he can seize the forts or lands of “ another kingdom, or harass and extort the peo- “ple’s wealth, or raise troops to gratify his per- “sonal quarrels, let all the people put him to “death.” He accordingly retained only twenty * Sometimes the Lieutenant Governor is a single officer; in other cases several persons.aid the Governor. + They are also niabaped! biennially and sometimes annually. t oer he has held the office for eight years he cannot be re-elected,
Page 21
1867.] national war vessels, and limited the army to 10,000 men. The area of the country is very great, and every one exerts himself to increase its fertility and riches. ‘The several States have all one ob- ject, and act together in entire harmony; the other nations of the world have therefore main- tained amicable relations with the United States, and have never presumed to despise or encroach on them. During the sixty years that have elapsed since peace with England there has been no internal war, and their trade has increased so that the number of American merchantmen re- sorting to Canton yearly is second only to those of Great Britain. It appears from the above that Washington was a very remarkable man. In devising plans he was more daring than Chin Shing or Hain Kwang. In winning a country he was braver than ‘T'son T'san or Sin Pi. Wielding his four- foot falchion, he enlarged the frontier myriads of miles, and yet he refused to usurp regal dig- nity, or even to transmit it to posterity ; but, on the contrary, first proposed the plan of elect- ing men to office. Where in the world can be found a mode more equitable? Itis the same idea infact, that has been handed down to us oh Chinese) from three reigns of San, Shun and u. In ruling the State he honored and fostered good usages, and did not exalt military merit, a principle totally unlike what is found in other kingdoms. I have seen his portrait. His mien and countenance are grand and impressive in the highest degree. Oh, who is there that does not call him a hero ?* VIlL—*“WOMAN’S RIGHTS” CHUSETTS.+ To the Editors of the Commercial Advertiser : It is a great mistake to suppose that this phase of modern progress is of very recent origin in America, or that the “fears of the wise” con- cerning the emancipation of women are new in- ventions. Who can forget the perils which the infant Colony of Massachusetts so narrowly es- caped by suppressing the exercises of “ that mas- “ terpiece of woman’s wit,” Mistress Anne Hutch- IN MASSA- * Ching Shing and Hang Kwang were two patriotic generals, who endeavored to overthrow the Tsin dynasty, (B. C. 208,) and restore the feudal system, and establish their own prince in his stead. Tsan Tsan and Sin Pi were rival chieftains, (A. D, 220,) the first of whom destroyed the great Han dynasty, and the second, after surviving all his own efforts to uphold it, founded a small State himself in the west of China. The four- foot falchion is an allusion to the celebrated sword of Sin Pan, the founder of the Han dynasty, (B. C. 202,) with which he _ Clove in twain a huge serpent that crossed his path. The three monarchs, Yan, Shun and Yu, were among the earliest Chinese rulers, (B. C. 2357-2205,) and were chosen to fill the throne on account of their virtues. t From the Commercial Advertiser, June 11, 1867. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 21 inson? And what student of our history can fail to remember the stern decision by which the first General Synod in America—the Assembly of all the Churches, called with the consent of the Magistrates, and confident in the power of the sword which they carried to enforce its decrees— condemned the public exercising of women’s gifts (as was then the custom in Boston, though in a private house) as “disorderly and without “rule?” At that time, no less than fifty or sixty persons were in the habit of attending constantly every week, upon this one woman, who, in a pro- phetical way, would take upon her to resolve questions of doctrine and expound Seripture. Her melancholy fate was doubtless a stringent example and warning to the ambitious women of that day and generation, and not without its ef- fects upon those who came after. At any rate, we find no development in that direction for a long time afterward. And when the great revo- lution in opinions came, which shook the ancient foundations of slavery in Massachusetts, and the great doctrine of the rights of man came to be preached there, a faint trace of women’s rights is to be found, though its expression was very sum- marily treated. Still, we believe it gives to Mas- sachusetts the honor of the first recorded attempt to vindicate woman’s right to vote. Why the ac- credited champions of the historic fame of the old Bay State have not claimed it long ago, is a question which we leave them to answer. The evidence is far more direct and conclusive than that which they used to think sufficient to prove their early devotion to the doctrines of abolition; and it gives us great pleasure to be able to state, as we do upon sufficient authority, that in the Convention which framed the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1780, it was formally proposed on two separate occasions, to strike out the word “male” in the clauses determining the quali- fications of the Electors. It is true that the pro- position to “ expunge”? was voted down—but if anything better can be shown fdr any other State we should like to see it. New Jersey has made some claim, but we have seen no evidence to show that the framers of her first Constitution ¢éntended to give the elective franchise to women ; and it is a curious circum- stance, that although under the provisions of that instrument a woman possessing the other quali- fications might exercise the right of suffrage, and some subsequent legislation in that State con- tinued to recognize it; it was summarily cut off, in 1820, by an Act of the Legislature, which re- ealed that provision of the Constitution; and in 1844, the Convention which framed the new Constitution took good care to keep it out, in spite of Petition and Remonstrance. “Speakings of guns, &c.,”” we may as well add here the notice of another unsuccessful proposi-
Page 22
22 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. tion in the Massachusetts Convention of 1780. | disposition of that Journal as may be thought. One of the “ literary and classical”? members ac- tually proposed to expunge the word “ Massa- “ chusetts,” and to substitute the word “ Oceana ” in itsstead. Harrington’s Oceana was in those days regarded as one of the boasts of English literature, and had been pronounced by Hume to be “ the only valuable model of a Common- “ wealth that has yet been offered to the public.’ Whether the dilettanti of the Convention were seduced in their sacrilegious folly by Hume’s opinion, does not appear; but “ Massachusetts” was triumphantly retained in John Adams’s model, which the majority thought good enough for them; and the word “Oceana” was voted down as promptly as “ womanhood suffrage,” or an equally heretical proposition submitted a few days later, to strike out the words “wise and “ pious” before “ Ancestors,” in that part of the Constitution which commemorates the merits of the founders of Harvard College. We trust that we shall not be accused of pro- faning the sacred temple of the history of Massa- chusetts, in “publishing the above before sub- “ mitting it to some of our friends in Boston.” G. H. M. VIIL—SELECTIONS FROM PORTFOLIOS IN VARIOUS LIBRARIES.—ContTInveED. 51.—Tur Hartrorp CONVENTION.* 1.—Hon. Harrison Gray Otis to Hon. Samuel Ward. Boston, October 26, 1818. DEAR SIR: | It has occurred to me that justice to the States, represented in the late Hartford Conven- tion seems to require that the private journal of their proceedings, should be deposited in some place to which access may be had by any per- son disposed to give them publicity. You need not be informed of the disposition of a numerous class to impute to that Convention, projects which would not bear the light, and to produce if possible a general opinion that the things which are seen afford no clue to the unholy mysteries of our Conclave. While as individu- als we regard these efforts with unconcern, we ought not perhaps to be indifferent to the effects of an erroneous public opinion on this subject, upon the present age and upon posterity, if the mere unvarnished Journal is sufficient for its cor- rection. Mr. Cabot, M' Prescott and other members in this vicinity concur in these sentiments, and if you should be content that we may make such a * From the Ward Papers, through H. T. Drowne, Esq., of New York. best for the object here expressed, I request of you the favour to signify your acquiescence by a line to Mr. Cabot with all convenient dispatch. Respectfully H. G. Orts. Free H. G. Orts. Hon: SAMUEL WARD, [ Addressed] u.—Mr. Ivers to Mr. Ward. PROVIDENCE, Novem: 24 1818. DEAR Sir, The enclosed letter for your Hon‘ Father, I was requested to forward by a private convey- ance, if one offered, otherwise by mail—will you have the goodness to cause it to be delivered, as soon as convenient. Iam with great regard Your obedient friend To: P. IvEs.* 11.—Mr. Ward to Hon. George Cabot.+ 7% Nov 1818. [Dear Srr:] I received on the 5 Inst. a letter from the Hon. H. G. Otis, which informs me it is your opinion and that of the other Gentlemen in the vicinity of Boston who were members of the Hartford Convention that the private Journal of their proceedings should be deposited in some place to which access may be had by any per- son disposed to give them publicity.—I have the honor to inform you that this proposal entirely meets my approbation. 52.—JEFFERSON Davis To R. BARNWELL RugETT, JR.t WarrEN County, Missi., Nov. 10, 1860. Hon. R. B. Ruert, Jr., Dear Sir :—I had the honor to receive, last night, yours of the 27th ulto., and hasten to re- ply to the inquiries propounded. Reports of the election leave little doubt that the event you an- ticipated has occurred, that electors have been chosen securing the election of Lincoln, and I will answer on that supposition. My home is so a that I have had no in- tercourse with those who might have aided me in forming an opinion as to the effect produced on the mind of our people by the result of the * Mr. Ives was a partner of the old House of Messrs. Brown & Ives, of Providence, R. I.; and his Letter was evidently ad- dressed to one of the Sons of Col. Samuel Ward, of New York.—H. T. D. t The following is a copy of the Letter written to Hon. George Cabot (as desired) by Samuel Ward, from the original draft.—H. T. D. ¢ From the original in the office of The Hvening Press, Hart-- ord, Connecticut.
Page 23
1867. ] recent election, and the impressions which I communicate are founded upon antecedent ex- pressions. 1. I doubt not that the Gov’r of Missi. has convoked the Legislature to assemble within the present month, to decide*upon the course which the State should adopt in the present emergency. Whether the Legislature will direct the call of a convention, of the State, or appoint delegates to a convention of such Southern States as may be willing to consult together for the adoption of a Southern plan of action, is doubtful. 2. Ifa convention, of the State, were assem- bled, the proposition to secede from the Union, independently of support from neighboring States, would probably fail. 3. If South Carolina should first secede, and she alone should take such action, the position of Missi. would not probably be changed by that fact. A powerful obstacle to the separate ac- tion of Missi. is the want of a port; from which follows the consequence that her trade being still conducted through the ports of the Union, her revenue would be diverted from her own sup- port to that of a foreign government; and being geographically unconnected with South Carolina, an alliance with her would not vary that state of case. [séc.] 4. The propriety of separate secession by So. Ca. depends so much upon collateral questions that I find it difficult torespond to your Last en- quiry, for the want of knowledge which would enable me to estimate the value of the elements involved in the issue, though exterior to your state. Georgia is necessary to connect you with Alabama and thus to make effectual the co per- ation of Missi. If Georgia would be lost by im- mediate action, but could be gained by delay, it seems clear to me that you should wait. If the secession of So. Ca. should be followed by an at- tempt to coerce her back into the Union, that act of usurpation, folly and wickedness would enlist every true Southern man for her defence. If it were attempted to blockade her ports and destroy her trade, a like result would be produced, and the commercial world would probably be ad- ded to her allies. It is therefore probable that neither of those measures would be adopted by any administration, but that federal ships would be sent to collect the duties on imports outside of the bar; that the commercial nations would feel little interest in that; and the Southern States would have little power to counteract it. The planting states have a common interest of such magnitude, that their union, sooner or later, for the protection of that interest is certain: United they will have ample power for their own protection, and their exports will make for them allies of all commercial and manufacturing pow- ers. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 23 The new states have a heterogeneous popula- tion, and will be slower and less unanimous than those in which there is less of the northern ele- ment in the body politic, but interest controls the policy of states, and finally all the planting communities must reach the same conclusion. My opinion is, therefore, as it has been, in favor of seeking to bring those states into codperation before asking for a popular decision upon a new policy and relation to the nations of the earth. If So. Ca. should resolve to secede before that co- operation can be obtained, to go out leaving Georgia and Alabama and Louisiana in the Union, and without any reason to suppose they will fol- low her ; there appears to me to be no advantage in waiting until the govt. has passed into hostile hands and men have become familiarized to that injurious and offensive perversion of the general government from the ends for which it was es- tablished. I have written with the freedom and carelessness of private correspondence, and re- gret that I could not give more precise informa- tion. Very respectfully, Yrs, ete., JEFFN Davis. 53.—Joun Apams To Mrs. AprgarL ADAMS.* Paris, 4 Decem® 1782. My DEAREST FRIEND— Your proposal of coming to Europe has long & tenderly affected me. The dangers & incon- veniences are such & an European life would so disagreeable to you, that I have Suffered a great deal of anxiety in reflecting upon it. But upon the whole I think it will be most for the happiness of my family, & most for the honor of my Country that I should come home. I have therefore written this day to Congress a resigna- tion of all my Employments, and as soon as I shall receive their acceptance of it, I will embark for America, which will be in the Spring or be- ginning of Summer—f Our Son{ is now on his journey from Peters- burg thro’ Sweden, Denmark & Germany, and, if it please God he come safe, he shall come with me & I pray we may all meet once more, You & I, never to Separate again— I am most tenderly Yrs. . JoHn ADAMS. Mrs. Apiegatn ADAMS. * From the original in the collection of Francis 8. Hoffman, Esqr., of New York. + Mr. Adams arrived in Boston June 17, 1786, after an ab- sence of nine years. ¢ John Quincy Adams. ~
Page 24
24 54.—GEN. WADE Hampton, oF S. C., to R. G. Harper, Esq.* ANNAPOLIS, Knatina’s, Sunday Even’g, © 27 Feby 1803. Srr,—The object of this letter is not to bring into view, the treatment I have lately experienced from you, nor the causes which I may think ought to have forbid it—It is merely intended to enquire of you, the footing upon which I stand, with respect to my demands against you. ‘These consist of a balance on the original debt to J. B. Bond, and of different sums lent you. I have no evidence for the latter, but your recollection, nor any security, but your honor. ‘They all origin- ated in a confidence, that whenever you might have it in your power, you would not fail to be just towards a man, who had no motive for these advances, but a disposition to render you a kind- ness. How far the expectation has been fulfilled, your own feelings, and not my opinion, shall de- termine. But the moment has now arrived, when it ought not to be thought unreasonable in me, to ask how the account stands?—Upon giving me the acknowledgment I ask, should you wish to review the transaction upon which you have thought proper to institute your suit, the papers are all in my possession, and shall be submitted to that inspection, to which they have ever been open. I will add to them every explanation, and information, itis in my power to give. After w= should you be of opinion the ‘suit ought to go on, I will join you in placing it, in any liber- al shape, to avoid unnecessary trouble, & insure a Prompt decision. : I am Sir, Yr hble Serv* W. Hampron. R. G. Harper, Esq. , IX.—THE BATTLE OF RAMSOUR’S MILL. By Prorgssor EK. F. Rocxwk tu. A person would form a very imperfect idea of the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill without a knowl- edge of the times and circumstances connected with it. Of these I will give as correct an account as I can. Rowan County took an active part in the Revo- lution, but it will be remembered that large districts of what was then Rowan were not so friendly to the cause of Liberty as might have been desired. We know but little about that part of it now called Davidson County, except Pe asians the collection of Mr. C. C. Helmick, Washington, HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, the lower portion called “The Flat Swamp ;” which was the place of Colonel Bryant’s retreat when driven out of the Fork of the Yadkin, as will be more fully noticed in the proper place. This latter, for a considerable distance up tho river, was originally settled by a mixed popula- tion from every direction, having no general trait of National character ;—there were about as many Tories as Whigs among them; and a third party that, through cowardice, stood neutral. Fol- lowing Hunting Creek up to the Brushy Moun- tains, you would have found the inhabitants . nearly all Tories throughout the mountains to the Catawba River. For the first few years of the war, they took no active part in it; but some of them caused considerable annoyance to the Whigs by their robberies, especially by horse-stealing. Having committed depredations in this way, they would fly to the mountains, and were there concealed; but the Whigs of the Fork, assisted by their friends South of the South-Yadkin, and furnished with a sufficient force for protection, would pursue the rogues, often recover their property, and punish the offenders by Lynch law. But as the seat of war seemed to be changing from North. to South, the Tories became more active. In the beginning of the year 1780, they began to collect in- companies, but the Whigs would always scatter them before they joined large bodies. In May, 1780, when Charleston surrendered to the British army, and Lord Corn- wallis was full of hope that he would redeem his pledge made to his friends before he left England, (which was that if they would give him four regiments of Regulars, he would march triumphant from one end of the Continent to the other,) and he had marched up as far as Cam- den, many of the South Carolinians joining his standard, and the news had spread through all the upper country; then all the Tories were in motion. The encampment near Lincolnton was founded the latter part of that Spring, or the beginning of the Summer; for when taken in June, it was found to be anold camp. ‘Their ob- ject was to be ready to join Cornwallis on his march; and a considerable body of men soon col- lected. The Tories were in motion in every direction. The Whigs, using all the means in their power to keep them down, succeeded in dis- tressing them before they collected in large num- bers; and the Whigs often ventured out in one direction in the evening, and before day the next morning would be called upon to go in another. But they were always ready and willing to go, never lying down at night without placing their arms so that they could lay their hands on them at any moment. Colonel Bryant, a citizen of the Fork of the Yadkin, a man of some talents, had considerable
Page 25
-1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 25 influence with the Tories of his vicinity ; and he was not idle, but was afraid to come out publicly. He, however, caused it to be reported that the war ‘would soon end; and that all the land be- longing to the Rebels would be confiscated, and the King’s friends would be the owners. This drew off many of the neutral party: horse-stealing increased: horses were in greater demand; but, as the Brushy Mountains were not a safe retreat, they fled to Lincolnton, and there found a market for their horses and pro- tection for their persons; as was evident from the fact that several horses, stolen in the Fork of the Yadkin, were recovered at the battle of Ramsour’s Mill. Lynch-law was often enforced, and offenders joined the camp in Lincoln, tili a formidable body in all had been collected. This caused no little uneasiness to the Whigs, who resolved to attack them, and break up their en- campment. ‘This was in the latter part of June, 1780, and it appears to have been a crisis in the Revolution. If the men, for this purpose, were to be taken from the Fork and vivinity, as many from there were out on other expeditions, Bryant was to be dreaded behind them. They scarcely knew how to raise a suflicient force, but they determined upon it. About this time, news was received that Gen- eral Gates was on his way with a Northern army to assist them: this greatly encouraged’ them to persevere; for by breaking up that encampment, they would prevent it from causing any em- barrassment to General Gates or giving any assistance to Cornwallis. They, therefore, collected all the men they could in Rowan, and perhaps some from Meck- | lenburg. All were under the command of Gen- eral Rutherford. Having crossed the Catawba, they were joined by Captains Bowman and Dob- son from Burke; and General Rutherford now finding himself at the head of a considerable body of men, moved towards the enemy’s camp; about three hundred mounted infantry, many of them officers, formed the advance guard, while the in- fantry followed on under the officer in command. The advance party, after a march of fifteen miles, having reached the enemy’s camp, recon- noitred it without being discovered. Some dif- ference of opinion now arose as to the best course to be pursued. Colonel Locke, and perhaps some others, thought that they had better wait till the infantry arrived ; Captains Falls and Armstrong, Colonel Brevard, and perhaps some others, among them Major James Rutherford, thought that they ought to avail themselves of the advan- tage of attacking by surpriss. After some dis- cussion the latter opinion prevailed. ‘The first step was to send an express to General Ruther- ford ,to hasten on with the infantry, for they in- tended an immediate attack. The Spartan number, three hundred,* with something of the Spartan spirit, now divided into two equal bodies; the first was to advance and fire, then retreat, and form in the rear of the second, in the mean time to load as they re- tired ; the second division was to advance and fire, retreat and in like manner, form in the rear, and load; thus to draw the enemy on, till Ruther- ford came up with the main body of the army. This was the plan of attack, with the clear’ understanding that each was to watch the other’s motions, and act in concert. The arrangement being thus made and understood, the attack was made about sun-rise, while the Tories were en- gaged in prepering their breakfast; and so complete was the surprise that they found them- selves falling by the balls of their enemies almost as 8oon as they discovered them. The first division, after firing, retreated, open- ing to the right and left from the centre, for the second to advance, fire, and retreat in the same way. ‘The enemy, notwithstanding their sur- prise, attempted to form a line; but a Whig of more courage than prudence, rode up, seized their colors and rode off with them unhurt amidst a shower of balls. Having now no ral- lying point, their consternation increased ; and the quick succession of destructive fires, kept up by the assailants, rendered their confusion com- plete. The Whigs not only stood their ground, but advanced, after a few rounds, upon the en- emy’s camp; and in a short time obtained a complete victory, taking possession of the camp before General Rutherford arrived with the main body ofthe army. The general engagement lasted only about fifteen minutes. The place had the appearance of a camp long occupied: they were well supplied with provisions, arms, &c.; and at the lowest account were about one thou-— sand two hundred strong, some say one thousand seven hundred, while the Whigs in action were three hundred in number. The loss of the lat- ter was mostly in officers, who distinguished themselves in so signal a manner, that they were selected by their enemies, who had some expert riflemen. Captain Dobson and Captain Bowman, of Burke, were both killed. Capt. Falls from the lower, and Capt. John Sloan from the upper, end of Iredell, and Capt. Wm. Knox from the Eastern part of it, fell that day ; also Capt. Armstrong from the region of Third Creek in Rowan. Capt. Hugh Tor- rence and Capt. Smith, of Mecklenburg, Capt. David Caldwell, and Capt. John Reed were un- hurt. Capt. James Houston was wounded : Willian Wilson had a horse shot under him and was wounded the second fire: several in- ferior officers were killed. Thirteen men from * One account says 450.
Page 26
26 . HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, the vicinity of Statesville, lay dead there after | the battle ; and many more died of their wounds the next day. Joseph Wasson, from Snow Creek, received five balls, one of which he car- ried forty years to a day, when it came out of it- self; being unable to stand, he lay upon his side and loaded and fired his musket several times. The loss of the Tories was great in men, and _ all their camp equipments. A number of horses were taken, some of which had been stolen in the Forks of the Yadkin. And to return to the region, the people there were much distressed at this time: for Colonel Bryant, thinking this a favorable time while so many men were absent, to assemble his friends, who were ready to march at_ an hour’s notice, gave the word and formed his cawp a few miles from Riddle’s ferry, on the Big Yadkin. He soon found himself at the head of a large _body of Tories that flocked to his standard from Had direction, particularly his friends in the ork. What increased still more the distress of the Whigs in that region wasa false report from the army in Lincoln, that it had been totally defeated; that Captain Armstrong way killed, and his whole company either slain or made prisoners. This news soon reached Bryant’s camp, and encouraged the Tories, some of whom threatened to rob and kill every rebel in or near the Forks, in three days. But the Whigs at home, not willing to believe such reports con- cerning their army, sent messengers from several neighborhoods to learn the truth; and by them intelligence of Bryant’s movements reached -Rutherford’s army, and all the men from that quarter were dismissed to return and defend their families and property. They left the camp the morning after the bat- tle, and those on horseback reached home that night. The next morning was the time ap- pointed by Captains Caldwell, Nicholas, and Sam’ Reed, to meet at some place in the Fork to oppose Bryant. Those who had returned from Lincoln after a short rest, went to meet their friends; and a camp was formed two or three miles’ East of Anderson’s Bridge on Hunt- ing Creek. known ever since by the name of Liberty Hill: it was five or six miles from Bry- ant’s camp. When this encampment commenced they were not one hundred in number: but men continued to collect during the day, and in the evening they were joined by a company of Light Horse, from the Mountains, commanded by Cap- tain Doak. At night they numbered between two hundred and three hundred, and had taken about twenty prisoners on their way to join Bryant’s camp. They were in constant expectation that he would attack them, and made every effort to give him a warm reception, and convince him how much it would cost him to gratify his friends in their thirst for plunder. In the mean time he received a true account of the fate of his friends in Lincoln, and seeing the army as- sembling at Liberty Hill, he became alarmed ; and, while the Whigs were preparing to receive him, to their great surprise, he broke up his camp and fled across the Yadkin ;—finding the people of the “ Flat Swamp” more friendly to his cause than the Scotch Irish, the other side of the river. These latter, mingled with a few Marylanders, as brave as themselves, strove to seé who’ would perform the noblest deeds for their country. Unlike other ambition, this strengthened the bonds of friendship between them. Thus was the power of the Tories broken in Lincoln and in the Forks of the Yadkin. Bry- ant, after spending a short time in the Flat Swamp, retired to the Eastern part of the State; and Captain Samuel Reed’s company, with a few others, as an army of observation, was suf- ficient to keep order in the Forks. The Tories in Lincoln, having been so roughly handled at the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, what of them escaped, retired to the Western part of the country, and remained there till Ferguson ar- rived to their assistance, whose fate is well known. It will be seen from the above that the Whigs of Rowan and Mecklenburg were greatly re- lieved from the embarrassment of the Tories, and now had an opportunity to aid their friends in other parts of the country; this they did promptly. They were in service on the Pedee, at Wilming- ton, at King’s Mountain, at the Cowpens, at Guilford Court House, and many other places of minor importance. We might say that the Battle at Ramsour’s Mill was the first of a series of misfortunes to the British arms in Upper Carolina. Gates’s de- feat was the only action of importance in their favor. The Ramsour battle was about the twentieth of June; that at King’s Mountain in October; at the Cowpens in January; at Guilford Court House in March; all more or less favorable to the cause of the Americans. We will mention one or two traditionary anec- dotes connected with the battle of which we have an account above.—Capt. Reed was ordered to take his men and flank the Tories: in doing so he had to cross a bottom and a branch, and pass through some underbrush. As he emerg- ed in view of the enemy, a man rushed out to- wards him, and got behind a tree, watching an opportunity to shoot him. But being a good marksman Reed kept his eye on the tree, and seeing the shoulder of the Tory not entirely cov-
Page 27
~ 1867.] ered by it, he took a rifle from one of his men, and shot him through the part exposed. After the close of the battle he went among the wounded, and finding one shot through the shoulder, on inquiry as to the way he received his wound, he found him to be the man he had shot, and dressed the wound for him. In one case a Whig and a Tory were each be- hind a tree watching to shoot each other, when the Whig employed this stratagem to get his enemy to fire. He put his hat on the end of his ramrod and projected it beyond the tree. The Tory supposing that a head was there as well as. a hat, fired a ball through it; when the Whig taking the advantage of him put a ball through his body before he could reload. The Tories were headed by Col. John Moore, Maj. Welsh, and Captains Keener, Williams, and Warlick; the latter and a Whig by the name of Winston, were neighbors, and rivals at shoot- ing matches: both good marksmen. They met, and one said to the other, “ The time has come,” alluding to some understanding they had before between them. Their guns were unloaded, and each took a tree for shelter. The Whig suc- ceeded in loading first and looked around his tree just as the Tory shut his pan. Knowing that his opponent would look around his tree before pointing his gun, the Whig aimed his; and the moment the other put his head behind his tree, shot a ball through it. Traces of the battle may be seen now at the battle ground, about three-quarters of a mile from the Town of Lincolnton, on a ridge, sit- uated between Clark’s Creek and one of its trib- utaries ; some of the graves are yet visible; and the pine trees still standing there, it is said, bear the marks of the musket balls. In their confusion and retreat some of the Tories, attempting to escape across the mill dam by a narrow bridge, pushed each other off and were drowned: some, too, rushed into the pond and were mired in the mud and never escaped. The Whigs did not pursue them for fear the smallness of their numbers would be discov- ered. In all, the battle lasted about two hours, and was brought to a close by a flag of truce, sent out by a Tory of the name of Blackburn. There was no General officer in command at this battle: Col. Francis Locke was present but did not take the command for fear of being tried by Court-martial for exceeding his orders. The above is for the most part in the words of the different narrators, from whom the tra- ditions have been taken down. Davipson CoLuEGE, N. C. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. ,. 27 X.—OLD NEW YORK REVIVED.—Conrtin- UED. 20.—“ Harem, Firry or Srxry Years Aco.” Editor of The Historical Magazine : Sixty years ago, I wasonly a boy; yet I think I can comply with your request to tell you something of “HariEM, As IT WAS FIrTy OR “ Srxty Years Ago,” with some degree of accu- racy. I will try todo so, with the understand- ing that if my friend and neighbor, Riker, shall hereafter find me in error, he and you will at- tribute it less to a desire on my part to misrep- resent, than to a failure of my memory—for, to be candid, I am not what I once was. Entering Harlem by what was knownas “ THE “Outp Hartem Roan,” after passing through what has always been famous as McGowan’s Pass—now on the line of One hundred and sey- enth-street, midway between the Fifth and Sixth avenues—when just beyond what is now One hundred and eighth-street, on the flat land, one branch of the road diverged to the Westward, while the other turned, almost due East, toward the River. I remember there was a smal] house, with a kitchen in the rear, forming an L, on the proper- ty of Lawrence Benson, on the right side of the road, just below the forks, but I do not remember who occupied it; and I remember, also, that a single brook was crossed by the Westernmost branch, just above the forks to which I have re- ferred. The first of these two branches is what you, thirty years ago, when you went to the Manhat- tanville school and caught gold-fish in the pond by David Mollenaer’s, was wont to call “ Har- “rEM Lane ”—we called it, “ Sixty vears ago,” “Tae OLtp Roap To KINGSBRIDGE :’—the last was “ THe Otp Roap tro HarieEM,” along which you will now, “in faith,” travel by my side. As I said, this “Old Road ” left the line of the road leading through the Pass, just above what is now One hundred and eighth-street; and run- ning to the Eastward, on the line of what is now One hundred and ninth-street, when immediately West from the Fifth-avenue, it crossed a pretty wide stream, probably that noted Marirsig Da- vit’s Vuiy, of which you have told me. Immedi- ately after crossing that stream, the road turned to the left; and in nearly astraight course it ran thence, about Northeasterly, to Harlem, crossing the present Fourth-avenue just above what is now One hundred and fifteenth-street, and strik- ing the village on what is now One hundred and twentieth-street, not far Westward from the Third-avenue. I remember that on the right hand, below the forks of the two roads, was the estate of Lawrence Benson—a fine property of Sixty-four acres; on
Page 28
28 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, the left hand, above and below the forks, were a! street, a short distance Westward from the hundred acres belonging to Valentine Nutter; immediately in front of the forks, was a parcel of nearly Seventeen acres, bounded on the West by the Kingsbridge Road, ou the Hast by the brook, and belonging to James Beekman; be- ond the brook, on the road to Harlem, on the eft of the road, were lands of the heirs of Henry Rankin, of John Combs, and, extending quite to the village, of Sampson A. Benson; while on the right of the road, extending all the way to Harlem, was the extensive unimproved property of the heirs of Peter Benson. Just at the entrance to the village, above the line of the roperty of these heirs, near what is now One babs he and sixteenth-street, on the traveler’s right hand, was a small lot, running back to what was known as “THE MippLe Roan,” and containing a dwelling and several other build- ings; and still further, on thesame side of “ THE “Oxip Roan,” was a triangular lot, owned by Luke Kipp. At this spot “ THe OLp Hartem Roan,” along which I have led you, approached very nearly to another road, which, running diagonally and in a straight line across the present street-blocks, from the Mill-pond—near what is now the junc- tion of Fourth-avenue and One hundred and sev- enth-street—to what is now One hundred and twentieth-street, not far Westward from the Third-avenue, was known as “'l'HE MIpDLE “ Roan,” or “THE OLD Bripek Roan.” It did not intersect the latter, however, although there was a communication between the two, at this place ;* but after it had made a detour to the West, (between the vacant property of Sampson A. Benson, already referred to, on the left, and the house-lots, on the right, of John O. Zuell, Joseph Mott, and Mr. Waldron,) it returned, and taking nearly a Northeasterly course, it ran in a straight line to the river, between what is now One hun- dred and twenty-fifth and One hundred and twenty-sixth-streets, a short distance Eastward from the First-avenue—crossing in its course “THE MrppLE Roap,” already referred to. AsI have said, “THe Otp Hartem Roap” intersected “THe MippitEe Roap” on the line of what is now One hundred and twentieth- street, not far to the Westward of Third-avenue ; and here may be said to have been the heart of the ancient village of Hartem. ‘To the left, running North-westerly, or diagonally across the pn blocks, at about a right angle from the ine of “ Tum O_p Roan,” was another road run- ning over toward Kingsbridge, and joining “ Tur “ Oup KinespripGe Roan,” or “ HARLEM LANE,” at what is now One hundred and thirty-first- * This communication was between the lots of Luke Kipp and John O. Zuell, which were thus made equivalent to corner lots. Kighth-avenue. Still further to the Eastward was “ THE Mrp- “DLE Roap,’ running up to Coles’ Bridge, which is now at the head of the Third-avenue ; and in front, exteuding to the river, as I have al- ready stated, was “'lHmE Otp Hartem Roap,” along which I have brought you. From this central spot, let me recall my recol- lections, a moment, as we face the Hast. river, looking down “'T'am& Otp Roan,” toward the Manor of Morrisania, in Westchester County. Immediately behind us, in “ THE OLp Roan,” stood the Engine-house; and on the left, at the lower angle of the Kingsbridge road and “ THE ‘¢ MIDDLE Roan,” facing the East, was a large house with a kitchen in the rear. It stood on the Sampson A. Benson property; while at the line of that property, beyond the house, was another, with the gable to the street. Still fur- ther Westward, also on the Southerly side of the Kingsbridge road, extending a long distance back, was the Benjamin Vreedenberg property, on which stood an old house, with its gable to- ward the road and its long piazza on the Eastern front ; and farther yet, on the same side of the road, stretching over the flats toward Manhat- tanville, and including “Snake Hitu”’—now Mount Morris—and the hill through which is cut the Fourth-avenue, was another portion of the Sampson A. Benson property. On the Easterly side of this Kingsbridge road, at its junction with “Tur OLp” and “Tae MrppL_E Roaps,” was the fine property of the Reformed Dutch Church, then occupied by John Randel, Jr., the distin- guished Civil Engineer, and others; adjoining which, on the Easterly side of the Kingsbridge road, was the property of John Adriance—Five acres in extent—and beyond the last, extending, to the Eastward, as far as the River, were Thirty- eight acres, belonging to the heirs of John Sick. les. “THe MrppiE Roan,” below the point where I now stand, had run successively between proper- ties, on the West, of the heirs of Peter Benson, a person whose name I do not now remember, Luke | Kigp, John O. Zuell, Joseph Mott, and Mr. Wal- dron, and on the East, of Benjamin P. Benson, Richard Riker, John J. Jackson, Joseph Mott, a man named Pyne, Luke Kipp, J. Hopper, H. Brady, and another whose name I do not remember. Above the place where I stand, it was cut through the Church lot, on which, on its Westerly side, was Mr. Randel, already referred to, and on its easterly, were Messrs. Brady, Bogardus, and Conklin. Beyond the Church lot, on the West- erly side of the road, were properties of John Adriance (a small corner of the large property which fronted on the Kingsbridge road), William Kenyon (on which were a house and barn), Coen-
Page 29
1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 29 radt Roberts (a lot of an acre, on which stood a house and other buildings), John R. Raube, (an- other lot of an acre, on which were a house and several other buildings), the heirs of John Sick- les ig large property of Thirty-eight acres, al- ready mentioned, which fronted also on the Kings- bridge Road), and, on the river, a marshy spot, of Two acres and three-quarters, belonging to John B. Coles. On the Easterly side of the road, be- youd the Church lot, were atriangular lot, occu- pied by some one whose name is not recollected, and lots occupied by C. Mudge, Mr. Garvey, Mr. Raub, the Estate of John Sickles (before referred to), Isaac Adriance (a plot of Three acres and a third, extending Eastward to the river), and John B. Coles (a portion cf the low ground, on the a which reference has been made). At theextremity of this “ MrppLz Roap” was CoLEs’ BripGe, what you have crossed in your youth and known as “THe HARLEM Brive.” “THe Otp Haruem Roap,” over which we entered the village, and on which we are yet supposed to be standing, extended to the Harlem- River, as I have already stated, between the points where its waters washed what are now One hun- dred and twenty-fifth and One hundred and twen- ty-sixth-streets (just East from the line of the First-avenue) ; and, at its foot, in the olden time, it was said, was a ferry to Morrisania, on the opposite side of the river. On the upper side of this road, at the period of which I write, at the intersection of “Tam Mrp- “pie Roan,” as I have mentioned, was the Dutch Chureh lot, on which, just below the line of the Third-avenue, stood the Parsonage and the Church school. Adjoining the Church lot, on the same side of the road, was a lot belonging to John S. Adri- ance, containing Three and a quarter acres; and below the latter were Five square parcels belong- ing respectively to the heirs of John P. Waldron ens Three acres and a half), William rady (containing Four acres), Eliphalet Wil- liams (containing Three acres), and Benjamin S. Judah—the latter on the bank of the river, and containing an acre and two-thirds, and a pier extending some distance, over the shallow water, into the river. In the rear of the last mentioned lot, also on the bank of the river, was the Village burying-ground; and extending up from the river, on the rear of the burying-ground and the lots belonging to Messrs. Williams, Brady, and Waldron—a long, narrow, Seven-acre-lot, with a large pond on its Western end, and containing a large square house and other buildings, the whole approached through a lane which ran up from “THE OLD Roap,” between the lot of Mr. Williams and the burying-ground and lot of Mr. Judah—was the home of Nathaniel G. Ingra- ham, the same in which my neighbor and friend, Judge Daniel P. Ingraham, the son of the former, still lives. On the lower side of “Tum OLD Roan,” adjoin- ing, on the South, the property of John F. Jack- son, and extending in the rears of the small lots, on the Easterly side of “THe Mrppue Roan,” of Messrs. Mott, Pyne, Luke Kipp, J. Hopper, and H. Brady, already referred to; and of similar small lots, on the Southerly side of “THE OLD Roan,” occupied by Messrs. Bross* and Vermilyea, were nearly Forty-six acres belonging to the heirs of John P. Waldron. This property fronted on “Ie OLD Roan,” below the intersection of that and “ THe Mrppue Roap ;” and it ran, Eastward, nearly to the river, a lot belonging to James Roosevelt only lying between it and the water. Adjoining the property of the heirs of John P. Waldron, last referred to, were several small parcels—the first, a long, narrow lot, belonging: to Philip Milledollar, who, also, owned Thirty- two acres, in the rear, which extended to the river ; the second (containing about an acre and a half), belonging to the heirs of John Sickles ; and the third (also containing about an acre and a half), belonging to the heirs of John P. Wal- dron. Adjoining the last named lot was a farm lane, leading to large-sized parcels, in the rear, of John G. Bogert, Philip Milledollar, and the heirs of Jacob Bradford; and next to this lane, on the road, was a fine, square lot of nearly Three acres, belonging to Thomas Dunning. On the Kast of the latter was another road, extending a short distance to the Southward, and terminating at the land of James Bogert—a large rear lot, traversed by a brook and a range of marshy ground, fronting on the river, and extending to the Southward as far as the lands of Milledollar, Bogert, and Bradford, already referred to. On “THE Oup Roan,” separated from Thomas Dun- ning’s lot by the short road last mentioned, was the Reformed Dutch Church of the village—a small wooden structure, with a modest steeple facing to the West, and with its side to “ THe OLD “Roap”—and in the front of this Church, be- tween it and the large lot of James Bogert, just described, and separated from it by a roadway, was a lot owned by Benjamin Bailey. Another roadway separated the Church lot from the last of the range of lots on the South side of “THE “Onp Roap”—that on the bank of the river— “which belonged to Benjamin Bailey ; and here, having traversed the entire village, my duty may be said to have ended. [ need not tell you, what you know so well, that the river front, along the entire range of lands, from those of Lawrence Benson, above Coles’s Bridge, including those of John B. Coles, * You must remember this Mr. Bross, as he kept a store in aapeeeenrals, while you were a boy and lived there.—J. R.. R.
Page 30
30 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, Isaac Adriance, the heirs of John Sickles, Na- thaniel G. Ingraham, the village Grave-yard, Benjamin 8S. Judah, Benjamin Bailey, James Bogert, the heirs of Jacob Bradford, Philip Mil- ledollar, and James Roosevelt, was, at the time of which I write, quite marshy ; and some por- tions are in their original state, to this day. I am not sure that I can say anything more which will interest your readers at this time ; when I shall again feel like writing, I will try and give you a description of the fortifications on Harlem heights, as they were when I was a half century younger than I am now. Your friend, J. R., Ir. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER, June, 1867. XIL—RECORDS OF THE CITY OF NEW AM- ; STERDAM.—ContTINvugED. IN COMMON COUNCIL. ResoWwed, That permission is hereby given to Henry B. Dawson, Editor of Tne HistortcaAL MAGAZINE, to make copies of and to publish in that work, from time to time, such por- tions of the ancient Records of this Corporation and such of its papers on file as, in his opinion, shall serve to illustrate the early history of this State and City, and the character and habits of the inhabitants, provided the same shall be done un- der the direction and supervision of the Clerk of the Common Council; and that the said Records shall not be removed from the Clerk’s Office. Adopted by the Board of Aldermen, December 6, 1866. Adopted by the Board of Councilmen, December 10, 1866. Approved by His Honor the Mayor, December 13, 1866. D. T. VALENTINE, Clerk of the Common Council. [Original, not paged; Translation, 122-126.] On Monday, the 24th February, 1653, at the City Hall, Present, A. Van Hattem, Martin Cri- gier, Burgomasters, Paulus Leendertse, Wilhelm: Beeckman, Allard Anthony, M. Van Gheel, Pieter Wolfertsen, Schepens; and C. Van Tienhoven, Schout. JAN BARENTZE,* Carpenter, Plaintiff, os. Is- BRANT DirrcksE GoETHART,} Defendant. The Plaintiff demands the payment of G. 117.3. for wages earned. The Defendant .acknowledges the debt to be honest and engages within a month from this date to pay the same, wherewith both parties are satisfied. * JAN BARENTSEN, a house-carpenter. He married Meyntie Willems, and died at this place prior to July, 1661, at which date his widow had returned to Amsterdam.—H. B. D. + Vide i., 362, ante. CarsTEN CLASEN,* Plaintiff, os. IsprantT DrrcKsE GOETHART, Defendant. The Plaintiffin default. PreTER LuycKEseEN,{ Plaintiff os. Isprant DircksE GortHARrt, Defendant. The Plaintiff demands payment of Twenty Beavers, according to an obligation and the ver- dict of Their Mightinesses the Director General, dated the second of September, 1652. The Burgomasters and Schepens refer the matter to the judgment of the Director and Councillors before mentioned. Henprick Eaepertsen,§ Plaintiff, os. Hen- DRICK GERRITSEN,|| Defendant. [123] The Defendant in default a second time. 7 Dirck TruNIsEN,** Plaintiff, os. Prerer Kock,tt Defendent. The Defendant in default. By the Burgomasters and Schepens, authority is hereby given tc THomas Haut} and Eeserr W ouTERSENSS to arbitrate the difference and dis- pute betwixt Abram Planck and Dirck Teuni- sen, the Norwegian, respecting the produce of the land and the lime, as far as possible, or, in case of failure to do so,to report their views in writing to the Court.|||| * Vide i., 862, ante. + This is evidently the action which was referred to in the Minutes of the Board, on the seventeenth of February, (i. 362).—H. B. D. }{ Pierer LuyoxKassen, Captain of the ship Abraham’s Sac- rijice, and subsequently of the Sint Jacob.—H. B. D. § Vide i., 862, ante. | Vide i., 360, ante. { Vide i., 362, ante. ** Vide i., 359, ante. tt Pirrer LAURENSEN Kook, occupied the premises on the corner of Broadway and Battery Place, extending to the bank of the river. He was a Small Burgher of the date of 1657; married Annetje Dircks, on the thirteenth of June, 1657; had one child, Gallas, who was baptized on the twenty-first of Sep- tember, 1659; and died soon after—his widow being referred to, under date of April, 1661.—H. B. D. t{ Tuomas HAL, resided on a hill near the Vly (Peari- street) the present line of Beekman-street. He was an Englishman by birth; and was one of a party. who attempted to seize the Dutch settlements on the Delaware, in 1635; ran away from that service; took refuge with the Dutch ; and, having been kindly treated, he settled as a farm servant in the employ of Jacob Van Curler, in New Amsterdam. He was engaged in raising and trading in Tobacco, near Turtle-bay, as early as 1639; purchased his homestead in 1654; and was classed as Farmer, although he was also engaged in Trade. He was one of the Eight Men, in 1643-4; one of the Nine Men, in 1647; and a Firewarden of the town, in 1648. He was an active politician; opposed to the Director-general ; and pos- sessed considerable influence, He married Anna Mitfort, widow of William Quick, on the seventeenth of November, 1741; and died, without children, in 1670.—H. B. D. §§ EGBEerT WOUTERSEN was an early settler in the Colony, and owned the property at the corner of what are now New and Beaver streets. He was a Small Burgher of the date of 1657; was married to the widow Engeltje Jans Van Beestede, on the first of Sep- tember, 1641; and died about 1680,—H. B. D. ||| For particulars conceyning this action see Register of Bur- gomasters and Schepens, i., 362,ante, and the Notes thereon.— H. B, D. ee ee ee
Page 31
1867. ] HISTORICAL PretER Kock, Plaintiff, 1. ANNETIE CRom- MELIN VAN Vorst,* Defendent. In matter of matrimony, Jacob Stoffelse,t the Father-in-law of the Defendant, appeared before the Court, and certain writings were presented by the parties and duly examined; and the par- ties having been admonished, it is the opinion of the Burgomasters and Schepens that the parties should be at peace. A copy of the points shall be given to them; and it is unanimously ordered that the Father- in-law of the Defendant shall appear at the next Court-day ; and that, at that time, both the par- ties shall bring in whatever they may have fur- ther to present. GuysBERT VANDER Doncxk,{ Plaintiff, vs. WiLLemM JansEen,§ Defendant. Defendant in default. [124] Tomas Spyszr,|| Plaintiff, vs. Marvin JANSEN, Defendant. Defendant in default. SyBbout Crasen, Plaintiff, vs. HeRMAN 'SMEB- MAN, Defendant. , ‘he Plaintiff appeared before the Court, and offered, agreeably to the Order of the Court at the last Court-day, to make oath on his own be- half concerning the subject of his complaint; but, in consequence of the absence of Albert Jan- sen,** who assisted him in doing the work, the Trial is postponed until the next Court-day, when both parties nust appear and each for himself substantiate his claim by his oath, in order that they may thus obtain what are their rights.tt} * ANNETJE CROMMELIN VAN Vorst was the daughter of Cornelis Van Vorst and Vroutje Ides, his wife, the latter of whom, on the death of her husband, was married to Jacob Stof- felsen, of whom see the next Note.—H. B. D. + JacoB STOFFELSEN was an early settler in the Colony, having been one of the Company’s Commissaries of Stores as early as 1633. From 1633 until 1639, he was an Overseer of Laborers—in the latter year he was styled “ Overseer of Negroes ”;—in 1641, one of the Twelve Men; in 1644-5, one of the Eight Men; and in the latter year, one of the Colonial Council. He lived at Ahasimus; and was married to Vroutje Ides, the widow of Cornelis Van Vorst, whose children seem to have caused their Father-in-law a great deal of trouble.—H. B. D ~ Concerning this person, | have no information whatever. § WittiAM Jansen, the ferryman between Bergen and Manhattan, was married to-Leentje Martens, on the eighteenth of December, 1654, There were two persons bearing this name—William, Jansen vant Ieverlant and William Jansen van Rotterdam—but we mee by Agr of knowing to which of these this record refers, | Tuomas SproeR was a resident and magistrate of Graves- end, L. I1—H. B. D. | MARTIN JANSEN was a resident and magistrate of Amers- fort (Flatlands), L. I—H. B. D. ** ALBERT JANSEN, a Carpenter by trade, lived on the West < Smith ( William) street, North from Garden (Zechange ace). He was a Small Burgher of the date of 1657. He married his second wife, Elecke Noven, in September, 1652; and died about 1660.—H. B.D. tt This action was commenced on the opening of the College of Burgomasters and Schepens, [February 10, 1653] MAGAZINE. 31 JACOBUS SCHELLINGER,* Plaintiff, os. Wu- LEM KourTAEL,} Defendant. The Plaintiff demands payment of G. 106.15.12, for goods delivered, for which the Defendant had promised to deliver Tobacco. The Defendant acknowledges the debt to be honest. The Burgomasters end Schepens condemn the Defendant to pay the demand within Six weeks from this date. CasPER STEEINMETS,{ Plaintiff, os. JuprrH VERLETHS,§ Defendant. : The Plaintiff demands the immediate payment of a balance of G. 71. 4. 8, for wages on account of services ren[125|dered by his wife to the De- fendant. The Defendant brings in an account of Gs. 75. borrowed by the Plaintiff’s wife and of Gs. 15. in Seawant; and he claims that she has also re- ceived, agreeably to his statement, goods to the amount of Gs. 128. 1. 8, so that the Plaintiff is indebted to the Defendant, Gs. 30. The Burgomasters and Schepens decide that the parties shall furnish, each to the other, copies of their respective accounts; and that Casper Steeinmets and his wife shall personally appear at the next Court-day. JERONYM. Nipvuuant,|| Plaintiff, os. Cuazs TERHAER,{ Defendant. The Plaintiff in default. HENDRICK D’ Sweet,** Plaintiff, vs. Cuazs TERHAER, Defendant. ‘he Plaintiff demands the payment of Gs. 70. 10, for Wood for Staves, delivered for the De- fendant, on the Strand. and continued at the succeeding Session, when it was ad- journed until this day in order that the Plaintiff might verify his claim, (i., 359, ante.)—H. B. D. * JAOOB SCHELLINGER was probably a son-in-law of Cornelis Melyns, of Staten Island, having married Cornelia Melyns, on the seventh of April, 1653, and been much concerned in the af- fairs on Staten Island, Beyond the facts referred to, we know nothing of him.—H. D + I have failed in my efforts to learn anything whatever of this man.—H. B. D. } CaspER STEYNMITS was one of the earliest magistrates of Bergen, N. J., of which settlement he was a resident. He was a Small Burgher of New Amsterdam, of the date ot 1657; and married for his second wife, Jannekin Gerrits, on the last day of March, 1652, by whom he had Johannes, Gerrit, Annetje, Christoffel, Caspar, and Ursalina. He was quite an influential man among the early settlers of Bergen.—H. B. D. § Madame JupITH VERLETT was a sister of Captain Nicholas Verlett, who was brother-in-law of Director-general Peter Stuy- vesant. She was the wife of Nicholas Bayard, who was the son of Stuyvesant’s sister.—H. B. D. | We have found nothing whatever concerning this person.— H. B. D. @ NicoLtaEs TERHAERS was evidently a Cooper, and he seems, also, to have been a Tavern-keeper; but little is known of him besides the fact that he was forbidden to sell liquor be- cause of certain irregularities.—H. B. D. #8 “ FT ENDRIOK D’ SWEET’ Henry the Swede-beyond the fact that he was.a resident of Flushing, L. L., we know nothing con- cerning this man.—H. B. D. ?
Page 32
32 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, The Defendant denies that he has ever seen or received the beforementioned Wood. The Plaintiff is ordered to substantiate his De- claration. HENDRICK GERRITSEN,* Plaintiff, vs. AUKEN JANSEN,} Defendant. Both parties in default. [126] Jan Gerrirsen,t Plaintiff, vs. Hen- DRICK GERRITSEN, Defendant. The Defendant in default. Wittem ALBertsen,§ Plaintiff, os. CLans TERHAER, Defendant. The Plaintiff declares that he had counted and paid out to the Defendant, Gs. 105. 16, for which he has received, in Casks, Gs. 75. according to his account ; and that there remains due to him a balance of Gs. 30. 16, the payment of which he demands. The Defendant’s account having been exam- ined, it is found to agree within Gs. 1.17 of the monies received ; but he claims, by his account, that he has delivered Gs. 90, in Casks. Wherefore, the Burgomasters and Schepens appoint and authorize Jan Jansen and Thomas Frerick,|| both Coopers, to appraise the work done by the Defendant, according to current prices, and to get the parties to settle this dispute, or, in case of failure, to present, in writing, a Report of their opinion in the mat- ter. [ Original, not paged; Translation, 127-134.] On Monday, the 3d March, 1653, at the City Hall, Present, Arent Van Hattem, Martin Crigier, Burgo-. masters; Paulus L. van der Grist, Allard An- thony, Willem Beeckman, M. van Gheel, and Pieter Wolfertsen, Schepens, with C. Van Tien- hoven, Schout. ; The Noble Schout, Cornelis Van Tienhoven, handed in to the College, the following written answers to their propositions.{] “In the matter of the prop- “osition of the Noble Burgo- “masters and Schepens of the “City of New Amsterdam. * Vide i., 360, ante. + Vide i., 359, ante. t Vide i., 360, ante. § WittemM ALBERTSEN, “the Boor,” is referred to in Cowneél gt v., 58-60; but we have no further account of him.—~ | NR || We have no particulars concerning either of these persons, beyond the fact that Jansen was referred to,in the Records, from time to time, for several years previous to this date.—H. B { The “propositions” referred to are those embraced in the Address presented by the College of Burgomasters and Schep- ens to the Director-general and Council, on the eighteenth and twenty-sixth of February, (ZS. Register of College,i., 115- 117; Historical Magazine, i., 361, 362.)—H. B. D. “The Director-general and the Councillors of “New Netherland give their consent that, as op- “ portunity offers, a Weighing-house and a Weigh- “ scale shall be made and constructed ;* and that “when the Weighing-house shall be ready, they “shall prepare and enact Ordinances directing “the Weights and Measures to be deposited “there, after which time all the Weights and ‘Measures in this Province shall be made to “conform to the Weights and Measures of Am- “sterdam, in conformity with the Orders and “ Resolutions relating thereto, which have been “heretofore Published and Proclaimed, copies of “all which shall be delivered to the Burgo- “masters and Schepens, to the end that the “ Schout shall [| ] all the Weights and “ Measures in conformity therewith [123] and “mark them, according to the standard that shall “be fixed by the Burgomasters and Schepens. “ With regard to their propositions concerning “ Orphan-masters, however much the Director- “ general and the Councillors approve the care- “fulness of the Burgomasters and Schepens, it “must be remembered that other appendages, for “ which the compassion and the early beginnings “of this new-rising City have afforded but little “ opportunity, are required for this, before such “an Orphan’s Hall, after the form of that in Old “ Amsterdam, can be planned and accomplished. “In the meantime, this measure is not necessary “for ensuring obedience to the command of God “ concerning the widows and fatherless, since it is “ already required by the Director-general and the “Qouncillors, that the Deacons, as the Guardians “ of Orphans, shall have the care of Orphans and “ Widows and may apply to the Burgomasters “and Schepens, and, if necessary, through them, “to the Director-general and Councillors; over “these, and over such as shall become Widows “and Orphans, and over their estates, particular “ Curators may be appointed, in which cases the “ Burgomasters and Schepens, or, if necessary, “ the Director-general and Councillors shall make “such Orders and appoint such Curators as the “necessity of the occasion may require, which “Curators shall be responsible to the Burgo- “masters and Schepens; and that in case the “ Burgomasters and Schepens shall discover that. ‘ [129]. becoming attention has not been paid to “the property and estate of the Widows and “ Orphans, they shall have the power of appoint- “ing Curators in the case and of calling the de- “ Jinquents to account. “ Done in Session, at New Amsterdam, on the * On the tenth of August, 1654, the Director-general and Council adopted an Ordinance for the regulation of the Weigh- house ; and on the twenty-seventh of April, 1656, another Ordi- nance was issued by the sa authority, requiring all articles of more than Twenty-five pounds weight, to be weighed there. —H. B. D.
Page 33
1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 33 “26th of February, Anno, 1653, in New Neth- ‘“ erland. “ Signed by order, “ P, STUYVESANT ” MARTIN JANSEN, Plaintiff, vs. Tomas SpysEr, Defendant. The Plaintiff absent, but he is excused on ac- count of the bad weather. THoMAS SpysEr being called to account for his absence at the Jast meeting says that he was not duly cited; and he was excused.* Prerer Kock, Plaintiff, os. ANNETTE VAN Vorst, Defendant. The Defendant absent; and, on account of the bad weather, is excused.} WILLEM ALBERTSEN, Plaintiff, vs. Cuazs TERHAER, Defendant. The Plaintiff demands payment of what is his due, according to account and the verdict of the Arbitration submitted to the. Burgomasters and Schepens. The accounts of the parties having been exam- ined by the Court, it is found that there remains due to the [130] Plaintiff, Thirty Guilders and Thirteen Stuyvers. Wherefore, by the Burgo- masters and Schepens, the Defendant is con- demned, within Six weeks from the date hereof, to pay the said Gs. 30. 13, which, according to the verdict of the arbitrators, is due to the Plain- tiff, either in work or in money.t | HENDRICK D’SwEkEtT, Plaintiff, vs. Clans TerR- HAER, Defendant. : The Plaintiff absent, but excused on account of bad weather. GERONYM NIEULANT, Plaintiff, os. CLans TER- HAER, Defendant. The Plaintiff, like the last, excusable for his absence.|| Trunts Krupy,{§ Plaintiff, os. ANpRres Kuy- PER,** Defendant. Both parties absent. * The Minutes of “the last meeting” (page 31, ante) indi- cate that Jansen was Defendant, and absent, and Spicer, Plain- tif’, and present—the reverse of this entry. We give both as we find them; and leave it for others to determine which is correct and which erroneous.—H. B. D. + Vide page 30, ante. t Vide page 32, ante. § Vide page 31, ante. | Vide page 31, ante. { TEuNISs Krupy—probably intended for Teunis Kray, who is said to have been a tavern-keeper living on der Heere Graft | Broad-street] between what are nowStone and Bridge-streets, He was, also, it is said, a Measurer of Apples and Onions; and his wife was Superintendent of the Market. (VALENTINE’s History, 112, 1138.) ** ANDRAES KuypEr—Andries Pietersen, the Cooper—be- yond the facts that he was married to Lambertje Morges, on the twenty-fifth of August, 1652; and ineFebruary, 1653, his son, Pieter, was christened in the old Dutch Church, we know noth- ing of him.—H. B. D. HIST. MAG. VOL. II. 3 JAN GERRITSEN SmrT,* Plaintiff, os. KRiarEr Inscos,} Defendant. The Defendant absent. JAN GERRITSEN MeErsoener,t Plaintiff, os. HENDRICK GERRITSEN, Defendant. The Defendant absent for the third time.¢ The Plaintiff demands judgement against the Defendant for wages due to him, to wit: For work done to the axle-tree of a mill, Sixteen Guilders, [131] of which Ten Guilders have been paid in the making of One suit and One pair of Leather Breeches. He has also earned Nineteen Guilders, in the raising the house of the Defend- ant. . . The Burgomasters and Schepens condemn the Defendant, in consequence of his contumacy, to pay to the Plaintiff, within Four weeks from the date hereof, the sum of Twenty-five Guilders as demanded in the foregoing specification. GysBERT VANDER Donck, Plaintiff, vs. Wit- LEM JANSEN, Defendant. The Plaintiff requests that the Defendant may be ordered to enter upon and fulfil his work, ac- cording to Contract. The Defendant excepts and requests a copy of the Contract. The Burgomasters and Schepens decide that the Defendant shall have the privilege of a copy of the Contract; and they order him to appear on the next Court-day, to give in his answer, or, in default thereof, he shall be compelled to enter upon his work.|| SysBout CLasen and ALBERT JANSEN appeared before the Court conformably to its Order of the date of the twenty-fourth of February; and each for himself, in the presence of the Court, solemnly testified that he had never been paid, nor ever had received any payment of, his demand against Harman Smeeman, as the heir of Volkert Ever- sen; and that it still remains due to him by right. [132] In this matter, Harman Smeeman is con- demned to pay the said demand in current funds, such as at that time was valid.4 * JAN GERRITSEN Smit—Jan Gerritsen, the blacksmith—of whom we have found no particulars.—H. B. D. + Kricrer Inscos. No particulars have been ascertained con- cerning this person.—H. B. D. ¢ JAN GERRITSEN METSOENER—Jan Gerritsen, the mason— Since the writing of the Note under the Minutes of the Session of the sixth of February, we have ascertained, in addition to what was then stated, that Jan was, by trade, a Mason; that he was admitted to the Small Burghership on the fourteenth of April, 1657; and that, like many others of his business, he bought and sold property to a considerable extent.—H. B. D. § This action was instituted at the first Session of the Court, and evidently recorded erroneously, (i. 360,) although Hendrick was said to have been in Default. At the third Session he was again absent (page 31, ante); and again, to-day, as above stated, It is interesting, because it shows tbe rules governing the Practice in this early Court.—H. B. D. || Vide page 31, ante. { Vide page 31, ante.
Page 34
34 GuULIAEN D’ Wys, Plaintiff, os. Joost GopERIS, Defendant. The Plaintiff states that he is aggrieved by the complaint made against him by the Defendant, on the last Court-day ; and requests that the De- fendant shall be obliged to find security for the costs and damages already had, and yet to be made; and that in case he shall fail to prove the charge, that he shall make reparation. The Defendant replies that his witnesses have not yet given in their testimony; and that the Plaintiff's request cannot be entertained. Joost GopEris, Plaintiff, 13. GyspmRT VAN- DER Donck, Defendant. | The Plaintiff prays that the Defendant shall be compelled to make good his declaration by Oath. The Defendant having been further heard on the points of interrogation, resolves to confirm his declaration by oath. Joost Goperis, Plaintiff, os. Jan Viner, De- fendant. The Plaintiff requests, as before, that the De- fendant shall make his declaration under oath. ~The Defendant refuses to make oath. [133] Joost Goverts, Plaintiff, os. HarmManus HartooaH, Defendant. The Defendant says that concerning such a trifling matter, he does not consider himself obligated to make oath; and, furthermore, he declares that Buys has made application to God- eris for Lettre Represailies. Joost Goperis, Plaintiff, os. Antony Van HaRrDENBERGH, Defendant. The Plaintiff prays that the Defendant shall be held to confirm what. he has declared, under Oath. | The Defendant having been heard, declares furthermore that Buys has made application to Goderis for a Lettre Represailles; and that he can make no oath concerning his declaration. PIETER WERKHOVEN having been heard on the points of interrogation, before the Commission of the seventeenth of February, in the Court, an- swers on the First point of interrogation, he has heard no such thing: on the SECOND point, as before: onthe Turrp point, as before: on the FourtTH point, as before: on the Firrn point, as before: on the SrxTH point, that he saw Bedloe run after Goderis ; but he did not see the stabbing or wounding, which he declines to testify to, un- der oath. [134] The points of interrogation on which the Burgomasters and Schepens, on the requisition of Joost Goderis, have ordered categorical answers to be given, to wit, with “Yes” or “No,” by' HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, Gysbert Vander Donck, Jan Vinge, Antony Hardenbergh, and Harmanus Hartoogh, on the morning of the fourth day of March, at Nine o’clock, at which time the aforesaid persons shall be held to testify under oath, after the man- ner of the Court. The First Point. Whether on the twenty-ninth of January, on Oyster-island, they didnot hear Buys and Bedloe calling after Goderis : “ You cuckhold and hom- “beest, Allard Anthony has covered your wife.” The Second Point. Whether Buys and Wys did not ask Goderis for a Lettre Represailles, to sleep with his wife, “for,” said they, “ Allard Anthony is in the “habit of doing it.” Done in Session aforesaid, at the City Hall, this 8d March, 1653. The before-mentioned persons, taking into con- deration the above, propose that the costs for lost time and for other things, already made by this dispute and those which they may yet sustain, should be made good to them; and they demand sufficient security therefor ; whereupon the Bur- gomasters and Schepens announce that they will , look more closely into the matter.* XII.—FLOTSAM. [These scraps have been hey up in various places, and brought to this place, “as they are,” without any voucher for their correctness and with no other object than to secure for them the attention of our readers. We invite discussion concerning each of them; and if any of them are incorrect or doubtful, we invite corrections.—Eb. Hist. Maa. ] An Otp Axn.—A few days since, Nathan Salisbury, Esq., living in East Scott, Courtland County, found a very peculiar axe. ‘The circum- stances are as follows: At an early day, when Mr. Salisbury, in company with others, was chopping and clearing the forest of his newly- acquirea farm, they came upon a very large hemlock standing near the stream. After cut- ting the tree down, Mr. Salisbury discovered that what appeared to be the heart of the tree was really a separate tree from the one just fallen. On examination, this tree within a tree was found to have been girdled at some previous time, leaving a small portion uncut, so that the sap had continued to traverse the trunk until its growth had completely overgrown the girdling, * This series of actions, in which a party of the young row- dies of New Amsterdam and a poor man named Joost Goderis were parties, had engaged the attention of the Court from its first Session, until now; and it is refreshing to read of the dig- nity which the Court maintained inits dealings with the young rascals, whose connections were “the first famililies” in the Colony and gave countenance to their insolence.—H. B. D.
Page 35
1867.] and another tree formed, growing to enormous dimensions. A few days since, near the trunk of that tree, about twelve inches below the surface, was found this peculiar axe. It is about Ten inches in length by Three and one-fourth inches on the cut or edge. It is made of iron. Now, what is re- markable about this axe and tree is this—that the girdling or packing of the inner tree cor- responds precisely with the axe found, and counting the concentric rings of the growth of the outer tree, is found the remarkable fact that the inner tree was girdled about One hundred years before the landing of the Pilgrims. Who was in that locality using an axe 'lhree hundred and fifty-seven years ago ?— Boston Transcript. Snow IN Boston THE Past Season.—Zo the Editor of the Transcript :—I transmit to you my accustomed meteorological statement, which, al- though a little late this season, may not be unin- teresting to many of your readers. It gives the number of snow storms that have occurred and the quantity of snow that has fallen in Boston during the past season; and it is believed to be as accurate an account as could have been kept. The first snow storm was on the 23d day of November, 1866, at which period sufiicient snow fell to make the ground white; and the succeed- ing ones were as follows: November 25, ground white; December 16, 3 inches; 17th, 4 inch ; 20th, 4 inch ; 27th, 1 inch; and 31st, 3} inches; Jan- uary 1, 1867, 2 inches; 6th, 4 inches; 13th, ground white; 17th, 21 inches (toughest snow- storm experienced in Boston for many years); 21st, 6 inches; and 26th, } inch; February 4, ground white ; 20th, 14 inches ; alist, 4} inches ; and 23d,3 inch; March 3d and 4th, 5 inches; 7th, 4 inches; lUth, ground white; 12th, little snow; 16th and 17th, 12 inches; April 24, little snow. ‘l'otal number storms, 25. Depth of snow, d feet 91 inches. My figures, for the past Twenty-four years, are as follows: Years Number Storms. Depth of Snow. 1843-44 At 7 feet 744 inches, Is44t5 36 3 3 1845-46 27 8 7 154647 82 2 8 1847-48 27 2 1 1848-49 27 38 1 1849-50 83 as BY 1850-51 28 3 1 1851-52 38 6 8ig 1852-53 20 38 2° 1853-54 24 7 1% 1854-55 35 3 TK 1855-56 28 4 5 1856-57 82 6 2 1857-58 14 ae 1858-59 23 4 ly 1859-60 24 8 2% 1860-61 34 6 6% 1861-62 35 5 1% HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 35° Years, Number Storms. Depth of Snow. 1862-63 25 4 1% 1863-64 26 2 5 1864-65 32 8 8% 1865-66 23 3 % 1866-67 25 5 9% The whole number of snow storms in Boston for the past I'wenty-four years is Six hundred and ninety-two; depth of snow during the same period, One hundred feet, seven and three-eighths inches. The average number of snow storms during the above period (‘Twenty-four years) was a frac- tion less than Twenty-nine; and the average depths of snow is about Four feet and one-half inch. C. J. B. M. Boston, June 19, 1867. THE CAPTURE OF THE “ CHESAPEAKE.” —To the Editor of the Tribune:—I notice in Frank Moore’s Rebellion Record (in a number lately issued), a report of the capture of the Chesapeake from the Southerners, who rose on the crew and took the steamer into Nova Scotia, by Capt. Nickels, which is entirely at variance with the reports of the same affair as given by the Navy Depart- ment. Would it not be well to call the attention of the country to the point that the facts pre- sented by Capt. Nickels are studiously suppressed in the Governmental accounts of the affair, and to suggest to Government the propriety of giving authentic history, or none at all. Yours, truly, K. B., Jr. St. Dents Horst, June 17, 1867. Lorp Byron’s Toms.—A correspondent writes in corroboration of Mr. Doran’s description of Hucknall Torkard Church, which contains the dilapidated tomb of Lord Byron, his mother, and daughter. The writer says that when the eccle- siastical dignitaries at Westminster refused sep- ulchre to Lord Byron in the ancient Abbey, and the poet’s remains were removed to their present resting-place, Sir John Bowring gave an album to be kept as a record of the distinguished visitors to the Church of Hucknall Torkard. “Tt was there for many years in the keeping of “the sexton, and had become valuable from the “many interesting autographs which it con- “tained, when the Sexton died, and a dispute “ arose between his heir, the rector, and the church- “ wardens, as to the possession of the book. Ul- “timately it was’ understood that it had been “ decided that the rector was the legal custos, the “churchwardens being its owners.” Subse- quently, however, the album disappeared alto- gether, though it does not appear how. Our correspondent adds: “It was said to have been “sold clandestinely and conveyed to the United “ States.” Perhaps the present possessor of the
Page 36
- 36 album is not acquainted with its history; or, knowing it, would not set its value asa heirloom against the justice of restoring the album to its rightful place. For this reason we have given publicity to our correspondent’s communication. —Pali Mall Gazette. | A Survivor or THE ReEvo.turion.—There lives in Noble County, Ohio, a survivor of the Revolution Army, John Gray. He was born at Fairfax Court House, Virginia, on the sixth of January, 1764, and is, consequently, in his One hundred and fourth year. His father fell at Yorktown, and the son, then quite a youth, im- mediately stepped into the ranks to take the — made vacant by the death of his father. ecently, on being asked why he enlisted so young, he replied, while the Revolution fire flashed in his eye: “ How could I help it? Was “T not in the same county with Washington ?” After serving with great gallantry to the close of the struggle for our independence, he was mustered out at Richmond, Virginia. He then returned to field labor, and the support of his widowed mother. Mr. Gray has been married twice in Virginia and once in Ohio. One after another his family have passed to the tomb, and now, in his’ One hundred and fourth year, poor, aged, and infirm, he lives the last lone monument of the grandest generation the world has ever seen. For Seventy-eight years he has been a faithful member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Gray is very poor. Owing. to the neglect which so characterized the official records of the Revolu- tionary Army, no record of Mr. Gray’s military srrvices could be found. At length, however, Judge Bingham, of Ohio, having visited the old hero at his humble home, began to urge his case upon the attention of Congress, and during the last session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, a pen- ‘sion of Five hundred dollars was granted tq the last survivor of the Revolution. Hien Prices In Otp TrmMEs AND SUPPLIES FoR THE MrinistEers.—Rev. Solomon Lombard was the first settled minister of Gorham, Me. His annual salary was £53 6s 8d. He was or- dained on the twenty-sixth of December, 1750. One hundred and twenty dollars were raised to defray the “expenses” of the ordination. ‘The _ following, from the records of the town, is the list of “supplies” for that occasion: 1 Barwel-o8 Baers isis ssa ded ss ae £14 Ts 6d 8. Bushels of apples .. cesses. sees oe 8 0 Or Baer pth Ot Geaer Soca. sess evel gree asks 9 PRR 2 : Gellons'of DFR yi 8 eee Dar 5 0 0 y the Bottle of vinegar .ii;3,) his dg aks areeind 08 18 2. QOSCOBSR. DEE 40. obo iiep megs agen dre ies 0,0 6 54% Pounds of pork, per Ib ........05 0008 0 0 5 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, CNGION: Cire sap: Me ae'b a veds denesiewaees Ounce Of NUTMOERE...2. 0.6. cece ceases OW IGE h ets UN cee 5 side he AW beat Pounds of sugar...... OOOO. ahr ed na tach Songs eek Chir Oe Gallons of rum ... ....... Bushels of cranberries................ BONE OE Na yey sian 0440s tin nies ext Pound of ginger Gallons of molasses, per gal......... Ounces of pepper.........cceecceiees ps seeeee bo Ree bh Re OOH So eee ee eee em eee eee eee anococcosccoe —Boston Transcript. Tae Worcester Licur Inrantry.— Mr. Charles Tappan, of Brookline, writes the follow- ing reminiscences to the editor of the Worcester Py : I see that Gov. Lincoln claims to be the “ sole “survivor of the original associates” of the Worcester Light Infantry. I cannot allow that to pass without comment, for among my most vivid and most pleasant recollections is the first meeting of the young men of Worcester, to form an Independent Infantry Company, Sixty-five years ago. Little did I then think that our first ensign, just returned home from college, would ever become the commander-in-chief of the mili- tia of Massachusetts. Well do I remember his fine appearance. He should have been our cap- tain; and his youth only induced us to prefer Capt. Thaxter,who had not much of the military in him, The Worcester Light Infantry was rather democratic than otherwise, and in order to in- duce “ Federalists ” to join the company, it was necessary to make Enoch Flagg Lieutenant. With our new uniforms and red horse hair stream- ing in the wind from our helmets, we quite took the shine out of Capt. Slater’s Artillery, the only company in Worcester to do escort duty ‘“ Inde- “pendent Day,” before ours was formed. I can now see the valiant Captain with his rusty men and rusty guns, and his cue reaching to his gait- ers. I can also.see Captain Perry of the “ militia,” with his sword hanging behind him, and his men, ‘some in rags and some in tags,” and some in shirt sleeves. But Worcester was a small place then and small things made people stare. I wish I had known there was to be a “ festi- “val,” for had I known it, no small matter would have prevented my appearing amongst the grand- children of the brave men who marched to Pax- ton and back again in the rain. Connecticut Rerics.—At a recent meeting of the Colony Historical Society, at New Haven, Thomas kt. Trowbridge presented to the society a musket, powder-horn and pouch, which had seen service in the old French war of 1765, and which was used by his grandfather, Rutherford Trow- bridge, in resisting the British attack on New Haven. Henry Hotchkiss also presented a mus-
Page 37
1867.] ket, which, with Twenty-four rounds of cartridge and the Hessian who carried them, was captured on that occasion by his grandfather, Jonah Hotchkiss, who was armed with only an empty musket. Mr. Hotchkiss also presented an iron mask—an instrument of torture used in the pun- ishment of slaves.— Transcript. PROVINCIAL REcorps or New HAMPsHIRu.— Agreeably to a joint resolution of the Legisla- ture, passed last June, Rev. Dr. Bouton, of Con- cord, was commissioned by the late Governor and Council, to edit and publish such of the early Provincial records and papers of New Hamp- shire as should be deemed expedient. The Commissioner began his labors on the first of September last. We are informed that the first volume, containing the earliest Province pa- pers, is now nearly ready for the press. Dr. Bouton estimates that the whole work will com- prise about Seven volumes of Six hundred octavo pages each. He does not expect to be able to is- sue more than One volume a year, and to accom- plish that, he suggests that the aid of a copyist will be required. The materials for the work are found in the office of the Secretary of State, in the library of the New Hampshire Historical Society, among the Colonial records of Massachusetts, and the early records of Dover, Portsmouth, hampton and Exeter. When completed it must be of great value to the State. THE DeatH oF GENERAL A. P. Hriu.—The special correspondent of the New York Times, who has been visiting the works around Peters- burg, Virginia, gives the following account of the death of General A. P. Hill, in a letter dated the twenty-sixth of May: “In connection with the defence of Fort Gregg, “ T must also mention a fact which I learn from ‘¢ General Mahone, in regard to the death of the “ distinguished Confederate corps commander, A. “P. Hill. General Lee’s headquarters were but “a short distance in the rear of Gregg, in a house “ on the Boydton plankroad, between the fort and “the town. At the time Fort Gregg was carried, ‘‘Generals Hill and Mahone were in conversa- “tion with Lee at his headquarters. As the firing “ grew nearer and nearer, Lee, intently listening “to the sounds, suddenly turned to Hill and said : «“< How is this, General? Your troops are giv- “¢ing way. Upon this, General Hill mounted “ his horse, dashed to the front, but while gallop- «ing down the road he suddenly came upon two “menin blue uniforms. ‘Throw down your arms!’ “shouted the General. But the men quickly “ sprang behind a tree, and, levelling their pieces, “fired. Hill fell from his horse dead.” HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 37 Wasuineton’s CHatr.—At the dedication of the Washington Hall, Philadelphia, on the first of October, 1816, an address was delivered by John B. Wallace, Esq., who received the keys. of the building. After the address, Richard Dale, Esq., President of the Society, arose from his seat (the same which General Washington occupied when President of the Convention whose deliberatious resulted in the Federal Constitu- tion), and, advancing to the front of the stage, . solemnly dedicated the hall to the purposes for which it was erected. What became of this chair which Washington occupied whilst Presi- ident of the Convention, is not known.—Sunday Dispatch. INDEPENDENCE Hatu.—Philadelphians are generally under the impression that all the por- traits that adorn the walls of Independence Hall are the property of the city. This is anerror, as some of them belong to other parties. Thelarge full length portrait of William Penn, painted by Inman, is the prop erty of the “ Society for Com- “ memorating the Landing of William Penn.”— Ibid. Aw Oup Si1en.—About Sixty years ago there was a tavern kept by one Hanna, on South street, opposite the old theatre, Philadelphia, which had for its signboard a picture representing the “ Constitutional Convention of 1787,” with por- traits of the members of that body. This sign was painted by Matthew Pratt, father of the late Henry Pratt. Underneath the picture were these words: “These Thirty-eight great men have “signed the powerful deed, that better times to “ws will very soon succeed.” It is said that this sign, which was taken down in 1814, is yet in existence.—Jbid. ! Gen. Ilenry Dopasr, first Governor of the Territory of Wisconsin, and afterwards for many yeas a member of the U. 8. Senate, died in Bur- ington, on the nineteenth of June, aged eighty- five years. He was one of the pioneersin West- ern Civilization. Accompanied by Daniel Boone, he was often in conflict with the savages. The celebrated chief Black Hawk became his pris- oner. In 1834, he was successfully employed by General Jackson to make peace with the red men of the frontier, and in the ensuing year com- manded an important expedition to the Rocky Mountains. For these services he received from Congress a sword, and the thanks of the nation. Tae History or WesTcHESTER County.—W. Bolton, Esq., Principal of the Ladies’ Seminary in this village, is now preparing for the press a *
Page 38
38 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, new edition of his very interesting secular his- tory of Westchester County. The old one being exhausted, he proposes, after a thorough sifting of his materials, to furnish the public with a full and complete history of the Empire County of the Empire State, embracing every town, and containing a full detail of all topics of local and general interest, together with complete pedigrees of all the families identified with the County. We understand there is to be no curtailment of the old edition of 1848, but, on the contrary, a large edition of new and valuable matter. EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY BELOW THE GREAT FALuis oF THE Poromac.—The Washing- ton Evening Union of the eighth of July hasa lengthy communication from Thomas C. Raffin- son, Fellow of the Royal Society of North Antiq., Copenhagen, giving a description of a discovery made by him recently of a Runic inscription on a rock near Georgetown, which, translated, reads as follows: “ Here rests Syasy, or Suasu, the fair haired, a “ person from the east of Iceland, the widow of 6 Kjoldr, and sister of Thorgr, children of the “same father, twenty-five years of age. May “ God make glad her soul. 1051.” Upon digging in the earth at the foot of the rock a few human teeth and a bone, which crum- bled upon being exposed to the air, two Roman coins, and three bronze trinkets, were found. * Above the Runic inscription the name of “ W. “ Langley, 1758,” is carved. Mr. Raffinson con- siders the discovery of these things as unquestion- able proof of the visits of the Icelandic voyagers to this continent, but it is still more remarkable, as confirming a statement made in an ancient manuscript which was dug out of the ruins of the ancient college at Skalholt, in Iceland, in which it is affirmed that, under the command of Herbar- dur, his countrymen sailed in a Southernly direc- tion from Vineland, (or Martha’s Vineyard,) where they wintered, and thence up a sea and various rivers, the ascent in one of which was stopped by a succession of falls, to which, from their shape and foamy appearance, they gave the name of Hvidsderk, or white shirt; and the MS. further states that in this neighborhood the illegitimate daughter of Snorri was killed by a small spear (or arrow) and buried near the spot where she fell. It was the reading of this narrative which led Mr. Raffinson to explore the country around these falls, and his labors have been abundantly re- warded—if he has not been hoaxed.—Richmond Hauaminer. XITI.—NOTES. ExTRACT FROM A. LETTER oF E.G. GENET TO THE Epritors or The Albany Argus, DATED Aveust 3p, 1823.* The sense being thus altered would read so “that it was a story fabricated to answer politi- “cal purposes hostile &c.” In reality, Gentlemen, it was so and it origin- ated in this way.—I had sent all the French Naval Forces & Fleet to New York, amounting to more than 10,000 men—The Republicans had a meeting in the Park to make arrangements for my reception—the federalists and all the En- glish interest opposed it—King ascended the Hustings and said that he arrived from Phila- delphia with John Jay and would prove that I was in variance with the President and had threatened to appeal to the people He was laughed at by the multitude and in the evening he put in the paper a certificate signed by him & John Jay affirming the existence of the threat- ened appeal—On my arrival the Committee who had come to address me mentioned with ridicule that certificate to me I read it took the pen and sent to all the papers a military denial of the lie —The certificate men did not like this mode of settling the matter which that step seemed to require and published that they had got their information from Col Hamilton—Hamilton hear- ing of it published that he had got it from Genl Knox—Knox said he had it from Govr Mifflin— Mifflin said he had it from Mr. Dallas—and Dal- las settled the point as I have mentioned it—I have his affidavit and all the showings, and it is at astonishing that the story of the appeal should be reported as true by Marshal & other writers— “n-G G” PUBLICATIONS DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. Just published and to be sold by Powars and Willis, in Queen Street, Toe Fatt or Britisx TYRANNY, or AMERICAN LIBERTY TRIUMPHANT, THe Frrst Campaten. <A Tragi-Comedy in Five Acts, containing twenty-six scenes, among which are the following, viz: A pleasing scene between Roger and Dick, two shepherds near Lexington. Clarissa &. A very moving scene on the death of Dr. Warren, &c. in a chamber near Bos- ton the morning after the battle at Bunker’s Hill. A humourous scene between the Boatswain and a Sailor on board a man of war, near Norfolk in Virginia. * From the original draft, in the possession of his son, G, Genet, Esq., of New York. 1 GO,
Page 39
1867.] Two very laughable scenes between the Boat- swain, two Sailors and the Cook, exhibiting spe- cimens of seafaring oratory and peculiar elo- quence of those sons of Neptune, touching Tories, Convicts and black regulars; and between Lord Kidnapper and the Boatswain. A very black scene between Lord Kidnapper and Major Cudgjo. A religious scene between Lord Kidnapper, Chaplain and the Captain. A scene, the Lord Mayor, &c, going to St. James’s with the Address. A droll scene, a council of war in Boston, be- tween Lord Boston, Admiral Tombstone, Elbow Room, Mr. Caper, General Clinton and Earl Piercy. A diverting scene between a Whig and a Tory A spirited scene between General Prescot and Colonel Allen. A shocking scene, a dungeon, between Colonel Allen and an officer of the guard. Two affecting scenes in Boston after the flight of the Regulars from Lexington, between Lord Boston, messenger and officers of the guard. A patriotic scene in the camp at Cambridge - between the Generals Washington, Lee and Put- nam, &e, &e. With a dedication, preface, address of the God- dess of Liberty to the Congress, dramatis per- sone, prologue, epilogue and a song in praise of King Tammany, the American Saint. A truly dramatic performance interspersed with wit, humour, burlesque and serious matter which cannot fail of affording abundant entertainment to readers of ever} description— The whole comprised in seventy one pages oc- tayo, and a good type. Allowance to those who buy a number.—. E. Chronicle, Boston, Sept. 12, 1776. At the Post Office may be had, Common SENSE with the whole Appendix: the address to the Quakers: also the large additions, and a dialogue between the ghost of Beuaia! Montgomery, just arrived from the Elysian Fields and an American delegate in a wood near Philadelphia: on the grand. subject of American Independency.—like- wise a quantity of quills.—Independant Chronicle, Boston, October 17, 1776. SOCIETE DES BIBLIOPHILES DE GUYENNE.— A new society under the above name has recently been established in Bordeaux for the reprint or publication of a small number of copies, of works either scarce or unpublished and relating to the history of this Province or to the authors who belong to it. * * * * * * * HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 39 The first volume which is to be published (we are informed it is nearly ready) is the new edi- tion of a book which is extremely interesting for the history of America (now the object of so much uneasiness). It is La Reprise dela Floride by Capt. Dominique de Courgues. This curious narrative was several times re- printed : Virgin de la Popeliniére inserted various extracts from it in the Livre II of his work enti- tled: Les Trois Mondes (Paris 1582, 4to); Basanier published in 1586, L’histotre notable de la Floride, which was reprinted in 1835 in the Reoue Retro- spective in 1841. Mr. Ternaux Compans intro- duced it in his Collections ef Voyages, relutions et memotres pour servir a Vhistotre de la decouverte de’? 1 Amerique—in 1853 the text published by Basanier was reproduced in one of the volumes of the Bibliotheque Elzevirienne, edited by the bookseller Janet. Let us mention also the English translation published at London by Rich? Hakluyt in 1587 (4to, 64 leaves), a Latin version illustrated with forty-two engravings is included in the celebrated collections issued by the Brothers de Bry at Frankfort and so well known of all the Biblio- philes under the title of Grand et petits voyages. But all these editions, all these translations were tinted with a radical blemish; the text re- produced from defective MSS. without criticism was imperfect. The new Editor, M. Tamizy de Larroque, has collated the edition of Basanier with a MSS. preserved in the Castle of Vayres (an estate belonging to the family de Courgues) and Four other MSS. in the Paris Imperial Library ; the two best were precisely left aside by previous publishers, who have paid no attention to one bearing No. 6124 and had, it appears, not known the existence of the other No. 2145.—BErRJEAU’s Book Worm. February, 1867. Ear.y Serriers oF Marne.—The following extracts from ForsteEr’s Life of Sir John Hliot, London, 1864, will interest the antiquaries and genealogists of Maine. | : Captain Richard BonyTHON was, with Lewis, one of the patentees of Saco, 1630. Abraham JENNENS of Plymouth was early in- terested at Pemaquid—see THoRNTON’s Ancient Pemaquid, Maine Historical Collections—and here we have him in a new and very interesting light: indeed the whole narrative discloses a wholly new and valuable illustration of the po- litical affiliations and sympathies of Old and New England and that each party had its haddtat here more distinctly than at home— | It seems that Gorges was, at first, right, and that only in his later life did he prove recreant to the cause—
Page 40
Ay HISTORICAL “ Ao 1625. The Lord Chamberlain, Pembroke, “was made to convey assurance to Pennington, “and also to Sir Fernando Gorges and the other “masters of the merchantmen, that peace was “really to be made with the Protestants and that “war would be declared against Spain and Mi- “lan; wherefore they all were peremptorily, “and without reply, to obey the directions given “them. At the same time Buckingham wrote to “ tell Nicholas that he was to wait in the Koads, “ for that the ships would be delivered up ; and by “a letter of the same date he told Pennington “that there was then on its way to him an ex- “ press warrant from the King who was ‘ extreme- “¢ly offended’ with him, and whose orders, if he “now desired to make his peace, he must not fail “punctually toobey. Finally, the Royal War- “rant followed, formally requiring Pennington to “put his ship, the Vanguard, and all the other “ seven ships, with their equipage, artillery and “ ammunition, into the service of his dear brother “the Most Christian King; and, and in case of “ backwardness or refusal on the part of the crews, “ commanding him and others to use all means “nossible to compel obedience, even unto the “ sinking of the ships. ‘See yon fail not,’ are the “ closing words of the decisive document, ‘as you “¢will answer to the contrarie at the uttermost peril.’ | “ Little more remains to be told. For the third “time Pennington took his Vanguard into the “French harbour; and with him went this time, “ with a desperate reluctance, the seven merchant “Ships. One of the latter, notwithstanding, com- “manded by Sir Fernando Gorges, who became “ thereafter a marked object for Baggs treacher- “ ous hostility, broke through, and returned upon “learning that the promised assurance of peace ‘‘with the Protestants was false, and that the des- “tination of the fleet was no other than Rochelle. “On the other hand, Pennington, for himself and “the rest, doggedly obeyed the letter of the “King’s Warrant, and delivered up the ships, and “their stores, without their crews. Declaring “for the last time that he would rather be hanged “in England for disobedience than fight himself, “or see his seamen fight, against their brother “ Protestants of France, he quietly looked on “ while the crews of all the ships deserted; left “every ship including his own to be manned by “Frenchmen; and came back to set himself “right with his countrymen.”—i. 328, 329. “Of course there is a stab behind the back for “some one in this letter also. It concludes: “¢ John Bonithon at Falmouth is still busy, I pray. “¢discountenance his proceedings and let the “¢country perceave that neither his Lieutenant or “ ¢the castell have ought to do with the Duke’s « ¢ Admiralty. I must abruptly conclude and «“ ¢say you have long been my friend I must there- MAGAZINE. [July, “¢hbe your servant, James Baca. Saltrum, my “house, this 22d Sept. 1626’ ” The “ Lieutenant” and “ Castle ” is an allusion to Sir Fernando Gorges, already mentioned (ante, i. 329,) and to be hereafter referred to.—ii. 26. “Bagg had reported Elliott as 2 recusant as “early as the middle of October 1626, yet not un- “til the beginning of June in the following year “was he finally deposited in the Gate-house. On “the 23d of May the Duke’s man exultingly in- “ formed the Duke that Elliott was at length gone “ with Coryton to London ‘now or never to re- “¢ceave his reward;’* and on the 27" of the fol- “lowing month, Buckingham, leaving his most “active enemy so lodged in a London prison, “sailed for Rochelle.” “While yet Buckingham paused before his “oreat venture, and Bagg had to wait another “month before reporting that his principal oppo- “nent was ‘laid by the heels,” there was other “things beside his fortune that this ‘ envie’ “orudged Eliot for his own. His movements “were watched, his footsteps were dogged every- “where ; and upon arrival of Lord Warwick in “ Plymouth, where Eliot then was, repeated re- “ports of espial as to both were made to the “ Duke and his Secretary. Truly there was little “to tell. Eliot’s friendship with Warwick was “as notorious and and little dignified as the “ Duke’s own intimacy with Warwick’s brother “ Lord Holland. But those were days when men “could not meet as friends, if hostile to Bucking- “ham, without being suspected as conspirators; “and Warwick’s patriotic purpose of serving “against Spain, which the Government had not “ dared to resist, had yet in no respect abated the “ animosity provoked by his refusal of the loan. “ Here was Bagg’s welcome to an Earl who had “come from Plymouth in command of an expidi- “ tion for the service of his country and was about | ‘“‘to sail with it as its Admiral. “ His Lordship’s resting place,” [at Plymouth] “he informs his most gracious Lord, ‘is at the “house of -one Jennens, Eliot’s friend; and his “¢Jopp’s invited famyliars, as soone as ever he put “¢foote ashore, was that pattren of ingratitude “¢ Elliot and malitious Corryton ; w*" two are as- “¢ sociated with a man noe less true to his friend, «“¢Sir Fernando Gorges. All which seems to be “reputed to be his lordship’s bosome friendes ; * “MS.S.P.0. Bace tro Buoxrnenam, from Plymouth. “Tn the same letter he puffs off what he has been doing for the “Duke ‘by myself and without ye help of Sr John Drake: let “*him receave ye reward of his owne: myne deserves nothinge “* from your grace, for to you I am indebted by lieffe and what “¢*T am.’ There is also an allusion explaining one cause of the “delay in bringing Eliot before the Council table. ‘I doubt “‘not but the commission for Elliot is amended.’ He further “cratifies his mean nature by assuring his Excellence ‘that “*Bliot, Coryton and Sir Fernando Gorges were the only men “*that gave service and visite to ye E, of Warwicke who little “* loves your grace. ”—ii, 68.
Page 41
1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 41 ‘““¢and the true reporters of his lordship’s little “¢affeccon to his magisties service, and greater to “¢yvour graces enemies.’ Expressing then his “much disquiet at the doings interposed to the “ the report of the Cornish Commissioners for the “loan, he declares his belief that ‘it will now be “¢ shortlie sent, and then I hope his majesty will “? in waiting on his Grace’s “arrival at Portsmouth. On the 25" his Grace “arrived; and, when three days had _ passed, “ Bagg’s worthy and beloved friend at the Ad- “ miralty was made acquainted with what chiefly * had been the subject of the conference.””—ii. 65 -67. XIV.—QUERIES. [Our readers are particularly invited to avail themselves of the advantages afforded by this Department of the Magazine, for A solution of any doubtful, historical question.—Ep, Hist. Maa. War IN Dis@uisk, oR THE FRAUDS OF THE NxEuTRAL Friacs.—I am in possession of a. re- print, published by Riley, N. Y. (1806), of the above work. The American Preface attached to it advertises that a formal answer to th®8 book will be issued :—I desire to know whether any such answer was published ; and if so, when and by whom ? PHILO. New York Crry. I pticuller to your grace thus much. GoUVERNEUR MorrIs AND His WoopEN Lue. —A reader of the HrstortcAL MAGAZINE wishes to be informed, through what circumstances or affliction, or by what accident, Gouverneur Morris lost his leg. New York. Joun Lanepon.—The following advertisement appeared in a New England newspaper in the year 1776. Was the auctioneer a relative of John Langdon of New Hampshire ? “To THe Pusuic in General; and all. his good “ friends in special JOHN LANGDON in FLEET “ Street, offers his service in the capacity of an “ Auctioneer. Puffing is not his Talent; but he “begs leave to say this much: As he is determ- “ined to exert himself and use his utmost En- “ deavours to give Satisfaction to his employers: “so he humbly hopes that in point of Fidelity, “ Assiduity, and Dexterity; they will find him to “come not short of the FIRST THREE. ‘““N. B. Moderate Commissions will content “him: and all Favours will be gratefully ac- “ knowledged.” “The Hirst Three” probably refers to the mighty men of King David. D. PHILADELPHIA. THe TRAITOROUS CORRESPONDENCE OF Hurtcu- INSON AND OL tver.—Is it positively known from whom Franklin got the private letters of Governor Thomas Hutchinson and Lieutenant- governor Oliver, showing a traitorous corre- spondence with Thomas Whately, the Private Sec- retary to Grenville, and which caused such excite- ment in England, and the bitter abuse of Franklin by Wedderburn? Sparks shows that Dr. Hosack was wrong in his Biographical Memoir of Dr. Williamson, in assuming that the latter secured and carried them to Dr. Franklin. Nor did the duel between William Whately, the brother to Thomas, with John Temple, who is rumoured to have abstracted them, prove any thing. Temple always denied the charge. Franklin never told, although he declared: “I, alone, am the person “who obtained and transmitted to Boston the “letters in question.” EDWARDUS. AvutHor oF A Porm 1n 1774.—In the Massa- chusetts Spy of September 22, 1774, is an able poem entitled, “ An Exzay on THE TimEs,” of which the following is a portion: “ While peers enraptured hail the unmanly wrong “ See Ribaldry, vile prostitute of shame, “ Stretch the bribed hand and prompt the venal tongue, “To blast the laurels of a Franklin’s fame, “ But will the Sage—whose philosophic Soul “ Controlled the lightning in its fierce career, “ Heard unappalled the aerial thunders roll, “ And taught the bolts of vengeance where to steer,”
Page 42
42 Can any of your readers inform me who was the author of this poem ? Logan. New York. Dr. Benzamin Rusu.—The controversy re- specting General Joseph Reed having drawn Dr. Rush’s name into the question, I would beg leave to ask what authority exists for the charge fre- quently made that Dr. Rush was the author of the anonymous letter against General Washing- ton which was sent to Patrick Henry. C. H. J.. PHILADELPHIA. Frrst-BorN IN New-NETHERLAND.—Who were the first children, of either sex, born from Christian Parents, within the present bounds of the State of New York; where were they born; and when ? * Dick. Bronxvitie, N. Y. MertHopist Hymn-soox.—Can any of your “early American Methodist” readers inform me, through your columns, when the first edition of the hymn-book prepared by Coke and Asbury was published; what was its exact title—includ- ing publisher’s name and address—and where a copy may be seen? A CLASS-LEADER. Irpaca, N. Y. InpIAN INTELLIGENCE.—I desire to know of an instance where a full-blooded Indian has shown any remarkable talent in any art or science ;—even shown excellence as an imitator, or calculator. ScHOOLMASTER. ConNNEMARA StTocxrnes.—Tom Moore men- tions that when he was introduced to President Jefferson by Mr. Merry, the British Minister, he, as Mr. Merry had been, was struck with the homely costume of the President, especially with his Connemara Stockings. Allow me, Mr. Editor, to ask your Irish readers, what are Connemara Stockings? Iknow what Brian O’Linn’s breeches were composed of, but I am supremely ignorant anent CONNEMARA STOCKINGS. I. New York Crry. Wixi1aAmM Hurcutnson.—The distinguished ed- itor of the Bay Colony Records, Dr. N. B. Shurt- leff, in an article on “ The Old Corner Bookstore,” which was published in Zhe Sunday Times of this city, of the 14th inst., while speaking of the husband of the celebrated Anne Hutchinson, says he was “subsequently the Governor of Rhode “Tsland,” and that he was “banished from the “Massachusetts colony, on account of the pe- “culiar theological views of his remarkable HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, “wife.” I have entertained a different view con- cerning each of these subjects, but the Doctor’s standing as an antiquary unsettles those opinions. Will THe Hisrortcan Maaazrne please inform me what the facts were, in these cases ? Boston, July 15, 1867. Str Francrs BERNARD, GOVERNOR OF MaAssa- CHUSETTS.—On the first agitation, which culmin- ated in our Independence, Sir Francis Bernard was Governor of the Province of Massachusetts ; and I require proof of his alleged insolence and insufferable arrogance: for he was not only charged with these by the colonists, but also with systematically misrepresenting them to the Goy- ernment at home. In fact, he was held in aver- sion by almost all. And it is true that when he was recalled, he was subject to very rude treat- . ment from some of the leading men in England, who were opposed to severe or hostile proceed- ings against the Colonies. Thus he was driven out of the Smyrna Coffee House, in London, by General Ogelthorpe, who told him that he wasa dirty, factious scoundrel, and smelled cursed strong of the hangman, and had better leave the room as unworthy to mix with gentlemen, but he would give him the satisfaction of following him to the door had he any thing to reply. Now, I am not so well versed in the history of our Revolution as I ought to be, but I chal- lenge your Massachusetts readers to produce any thing but what would prove Sir Francis Bernard an indefatigable, faithful and just officer of the Crown. Let those readers consider what were his duties in connection with what was going on around him, and then answer my challenge by producing “ chapter and verse” against him. CAROLOS. New York Crry. | XV.—REPLIES. Popuam’s “memory is truly consecrated by “one of the most magnificent monuments ever “erected!” HEpwarp KE. Bournr. (ZH. I, New Series, i, 234, 302.) Whether the monument was desecrated (profaned) or consecrated (hal- lowed) by association with so vile a memory, admits of as little dispute, as does the ri- diculous use of the word “consecrated ” by the Popham orator. The literal meaning of the word is to make, or cause to be, holy, or sacred; and so it is written on grave stones, “Sacred,” or dedicated “ to the memory of,” not that the “ mem- “ory” of the dead is “ consecrated” thereby, for there is nothing ‘more proverbially false than Epitaphs, of which Popham’s is a notable in- stance, with the additional misfortune of being
Page 43
1867.] ~ made a cause of laughter by his unhappy Eulo- gist. Cumberland’s citations from Horace and Cicero are against him, so far as they are in point—The marble, not the memory, is conse- crated. The marble does not consecrate, but ¢s “consecrated ” or dedicated. He says the “original of our English word” [consecrate] “sometimes has the sense of perpet- “uation by giving the immortality of honor!” Here is an addition to philological learning. Will “ CUMBERLAND” give us the “ original” of “ con- “secrate,” and show how his definition or “ sense’ is derived ? By the way, Kennebec Colony was not the “initial enterprise” under the Corporation of 1606, for the other penal Colony, Virginia, had the wretched priority; it was not the first En- glish Colony in New England, for Gosnold’s had a priority of five years. The “ great principles” connected with it were only to solve the question whether or not “ mynes” were there, and if dis- covered, whether or not they could be profitably worked by the “enforced” labor of criminals, and thus incidentally ridding England of its so- cial “scum.” The idea of a penal colony suc- ceeded in Virginia, but not in the North. Boston. ?SEDIR DIUQ. Prison-sHips, (H. M., x., 223.)—Our corre- spondent Wate Boer asks if ships were ever employed by the Americans as prisons; and as no answer has been given, I beg to say that the Senate of New York, on Tuesday, the thirteenth of September, 1777, voted “ That his Excellency “the Governor be informed, that the Time of “Service of Captain Schoonmaker’s Company, “ who were engaged to guard the State Prisoners “confined in the Gaol at Kingston, AND ON BOARD “~HE FLeet Prison, will expire this Day; and “that his Excellency be requested immediately “to provide for the Continuance of a Guard for “the purpose aforesaid, in such way as he shall “think proper; and that this Senate will concur “with the Honorable House of Assembly, in “making the necessary Provision for defraying “the Expence thereof.” Journal of the Senate, Edit., 1777, 19. H. B. D MorrisantA, N. Y. THe Frrst Bounp Book PRINTED BETWEEN Seneca LAKE AND THE Pacrric OcEAN, (ZZ. M., New Series, i., 194.)\—My venerable friend, Henry O’Rielly, Esq., claims this title for Po- litical Hssays —12° Canandaigua 1812. But is not the press established by the Hon. and Rev. Gabriel Richard, at Detroit, entitled to the palm ? If being so much further West should decide the HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 43 question between two books of the same date, Detroit can claim the honor for this volume, and I do not know but that she can go still further back. Kpitres | et | Evangiles | pour | tous les Di- manches et Fetes de | L’Année. | Nouvelle Edi- tion. | Imprimée sur celle de Québec 1802 ap- prouvée | par Mgr. P. Denaut Eveque dela Méme | Ville. | Detroit. | Imprimé par T. Mettez. | 1812 Epistles | and | Gospels | for | all Sundays and Holidays | throughout the Year. | New KEdi- tion | Printed from the 6 Edition of Dublin 1794 | & first published by the English College at | Rhemes 1582. | Detroit. | Printed by T. Met- tez. | 1812. | 12° 396 pp. As this has. escaped Biblical Bibliographers, quorum pars fui, it may be well to make a note of it. J.G.S8. New Yorx City. THe Ovp Buit’s-Heap Tavern, (HZ. M., x., 320.)--Our correspondent CLEAVER enquired when this celebrated tavern was torn down and what is the present number of its site; and as no answer has yet appeared I beg to remark that when the Bowery theater was destroyed by fire, the third time, on Sunday morning, the eighteenth of Feb- ruary, 1838, this ancient building, then known as THe THEATER Haut and kept as a porter-house by Bradford Jones, with an oyster-cellar under it, kept by Levi T. Dame, and known as No. 50 Bowery, was gutted and portions of the walls overthrown. It was subsequently repaired and re-occupied as a porter-house, a portion of the walls of the old house serving in the new structure ; and it is now known as the Atlantic Garden, No. 50 Bowery. Hn. B. Harem, May 18, 1867. H. B. Dawson, Esq., Dear Srr: At your request I correct the slight error in the note upon Doctor JOHANNES La Montaeneg, (H. M,, 1., 36.) His first wife was RACHEL DE ForgEstT, and his second AGNIETJE (Agnes) Ten WaAERT, widow of ARENT CorssEN Stam. “ By the latter he had “no children” who survived infancy. Montagne bore a prominent part in the first settlement of Harlem and will be the subject of special notice in connection with the history of this place. Therefore excuse my present brevity and believe me, Yours truly, Jas. RIKER.
Page 44
44 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, SLAVES IN THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMy.—The following extract from the Journals of the Senate of New York, (Edit. 1777, pp. 77, 78,) Wednesday, the eleventh of March, 1778, will illustrate the subject enquired about by our correspondent Wate Boet, (Z. M., I. x., 223.) “ A Petition of David Belknap, was read, set- “ ting forth, among other Things, ‘ That in the last “<Levy of Militia to go to Fort Montgomery, ‘‘¢ before it was taken, the Petitioner was drafted “¢to go: That the Petitioner sent his Slave in “his Stead, who faithfully performed his Duty, *“¢until the Day on which the Fort was taken, “¢ when the Petitioner went in order to relieve him: “¢That the Petitioner made Application to the “¢ Commanding Officer of the Regiment to which “his Slave belonged, to discharge him, as the “<¢ Petitioner came to relieve him: which was “¢refused, as being contrary to General Orders “¢for any Man to leave the Fort: That the Peti- “<tioner exerted himself to save the Fort until “¢Kvening, when the Petitioner made his Escape; “¢but his Slave was made Prisoner, and is since “¢dead; and praying a Restitution adequate to “¢the Value of his Servant lost, as aforesaid’ “ Ordered, That the Petition lie on the Table for “the perusal of the members.” H. B. D. ee BrogrRarpHicAL Memorrs (H. M, i. 302.) Your correspondent BratTLeBoro is informed that the author of this work, about whom he inquired, was JoHn Corry. There were Fifty or more editions of the work of which the first was printed in 1800. 84 NASSAU STREET, New York. J. SABIN. XVI.—BOOKS. 1.—ReEcENT PUBLICATIONS. 1.—The Works of Anne Bradstreet in Prose and Verse. Edited by John Harvard Ellis Charlestown Abram E Cutter 1867 Octavo, pp. Ixxvi., 434. Price $10.00 Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, the earliest writer of poetry among the females in America, was the daughter of Governor Dudley, of Massachusetts, and wife of Governor Simon Bradstreet, of the same Colony. She was born in 1612-13; mar- ried at the age of Sixteen ; emigrated to America in the spring of 1630; and died in August, 1672, leaving behind her a good name, both as a neigh- bor and a Christian. She amused herself, during moments of leisure, by the exercise of her parts as a writer of both Prose and Verse; and in the early period in which she lived, in a community which was widely separated from the world of literature, the daughter of one Governor and the wife of another—both of Massachusetts, and within the Boston “ Ring,” of that date—there need be no sur- prise that she was considered by those of New England, the world over, as “the Tenth Muse “lately sprung up in America,” and her works as “compiled with great variety of VVit and “ Learning, full of delight.” A collection of these Pieces, in 16mo, was published in London, in 1650; and a second Edition of the same, revised in such a manner as to suit the change in English politics produced by the Restoration of the Stuarts, also in 16mo, was published in Boston, in 1678. The third Edition, in Octavo, was printed, also in Boston, in 1758 ; and now, more than a Century later, in the Royal Octavo before us, the fourth appears in all the elegance of the finest modern typography. In this Edition, the Second Edition has been strictly followed even to the spelling, punctua- tion, and typographical mistakes ; and the paging is also preserved in Brackets, in the margin. Carefully prepared foot-notes mark the varia- tions between the Two Editions; large additions have been made from a manuscript volume, now published for the first time; an elaborate Intro- duction increases the interest of the collection ; and a very minute Index—that great friend of a busy man—closes the volume. Of the Works of Mrs. Bradstreet, when brought to the test of a high standard of merit, very little can be said that is favorable. The greater portion of them is only a transposition into dog- gerel Verse of what Sir Walter Raleigh had previously written in better Prose; or what, in vastly better taste, the authoress had probably read, also in good Prose, in Plutarch’s Lives, or Usher’s Annals, or the Breeches Bible. Yet, when all the circumstances under which they were written shall be considered, they will be valued for their quaintness of expression and as a specimen of the first fruits of American literature. It is seldom that a writer enjoys the favor of such an Editor as Mrs. Bradstreet has secured in Mr. Ellis; and it is still more rare to find one who discharges his duties with so much intelli- gence, industry, and great good judgment. As a specimen of typography it is truly beau- tiful; and the wood-cut frontispiece, by Marsh, is a perfect gem. Mr. Cutter has earned the thanks of students as well as collecters by the issue of this volume ; and we earnestly hope that his enterprise will be liberally rewarded. The Edition numbered Two hundred and fifty copies, all of the same size. 2.—The Old Indian Chronicle; being a collection of exceed- ing rare Tracts, written and published in the time of King Philip’s War. by persons residing in the Country. To which are now added an Introduction and Notes, by Samuel G. Drake. Boston: Samuel A. Drake, 1867. Small quarto, pp. xii., 333.
Page 45
1867.] The veteran, SAmMuEL G. DRAKE, more than Thirty years ago, published a small “ eighteen- “mo,” containing 7'wo tracts, but there was then no taste for such works and, therefore, “no De- “mand for them. The entire Edition, therefore, “lay some Three years on hand, excepting what “were gratuitously distributed ;” and when, sub- sequently, Three other ‘Tracts were thrown into his hands he printed them uniformly with the others and, having added other material, he gave to the whole the title of The Indian Chronicle, which it has since borne. He has, since 1836, added still more tracts to the Five; and now, in the closing years of his well-spent but unrewarded life, he finishes the work which he began nearly Forty years ago, by sending to the press the volume before us—may we all, as we shall approach the end of our labors, be permitted to gather and put into book- form, as well and as satisfactorily as Mr, Drake has done, the results of labors which the present generation has not appreciated and which the next will receive only as a trust for those which shall follow it. The volume before us contains Twelve pages of preliminary matter and One hundred and eighteen of Introduction ; and these are followed by exact re-prints of Seven of the early Tracts referred to. The Introduction referred to traces the. origin of these Puritanic Wars against the Indians to other causes than a hankering for Territory ; and the arrogance and avarice of the Puritan Fathers are assigned as the primary causes of what, subsequently, was so disastrous—he has also frankly admitted, what has long since been shown by Mr. Moore to have been true, that a thirst for man-stealing on the part of the Whites had a great deal to do with the matter. Con- siderable attention is also paid by him to the possible origin of the Indians—evidently losing sight of the fact that they were men, possessing the feelings of men, und having, like the Puri- tans and Pilgrims themselves, their origin in old grandmother Eve; and the progress and effect of the noble struggle of those Indians for the sup- port of their “nationality ””—“ for the life of their “ Nation”—is told with great precision. The Present State of New-Hngland, published in 1675, A Continuation of the State of New- Eingiand, published in 1676, A New and Further Narrative of the State of New-England and A True Account of the most Considerable Occur- rences that have happened in the Warre, (the latter, probably, by the Apostle, Eliot,) both published in the same year, Zhe Warr in New-Hngland vistbly ended, (probably by Richard. Hutchinson,) published in 1677, News from New England, and A Farther Brief and True Narration of the late Wars riser in New-England, both published in HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 45 1676, follow, with an ample supply of Illustrative Notes and the always necessary appendage of a good Index. As these Tracts are original, contemporary authorities on the subject of which they treat, and have been re-produced with all the careful, pains-taking industry and skill of one of the most accomplished scholars in New-England, they ought to be welcomed, even in this degenerate age, by every one who is not already demoralized by the “ yellow-covered literature” which is over- flowing the land and destroying the virtues of the People: whether they shall meet so much suc- cess or not, our venerable friend has our earnest congratulations that another addition has thus been made to that monument by which, for a longer period than by brass or marble, his mem- ory shall be kept fresh among those who shall come after us. ‘The volume is one of those dainty affairs, on laid, tinted paper, which collectors contend for ; and although the printer has left no record of his name or locality, we strongly suspect that Joel Munsell of Albany is entitled to the credit of having printed it. At any rate, until one more entitled to the honor shall claim it, let Joel have it. 8.—A Golden Wedding and the Dinsmore Genealogy, from about 1620 to 1865. Augusta, [JZe.]: 1867. Octavo, pp. 24. In the days of the Pilgrim Fathers there seems to have lived in Scotland, “a wealthy farmer” named DinsMor#, one of whose sons, in a pet, is said to have lett his home and settled in Ireland. A son of the latter emigrated to America and settled in Maine—one of those reprobates, it may be, of whom Mr. Poole has said so much.—'This Dinsmore suffered the penalty endured by other pioneers, and finally removed to Londonderry, in New Hampshire; but those of whom we write were not of him. About 1745, another Irish-Scotchman, a nephew of the former and bearing the same name, also settled in Londonderry ; and from him, through awn intervening generation, sprang Mr. ARTHUR DinsMoRE, ot Anson, Maine, whose Golden W ed- ding is recorded in this tract. ‘he latter was married to Parry HoueHrTon, on the tenth of September, 1815; has had Kleven children, ‘l'wenty-tive grand-children, and four great-grand-children; and still lives, we believe, to enjoy the reward of a well-spent life. The Genealogy is by no means complete— indeed, it should be called a Genealogy of ‘wo of the Seven children of the second emigrant, with- out alluding to the first, instead of a Uinsmore Genealogy from 1620 to 186d. Although this tract was printed for private circulation, only, no regard has been had, in its
Page 46
46 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, preparation, to the beauties of modern typogra- phy: and it will not, therefore, stand the test to which such works are generally subjected. 4.—History of the City of New York. By Mary L. Booth. Illustrated. In Two volumes. New York: W. R. C. Clark. 1867. Octavo, pp. 892. Miss Booth’s History of New York has been so long before the public that we need say nothing of its general merits nor of the usefulness to which it is so well adapted. In the edition before us the patient and indus- trious authoress has cancelled the latter portion of the previously issued volume and added more than a hundred pages of new matter, the latter relating to the events of the past Ten or Twelve years, in which New York has been so conspicu- ous. It is thus, undeniably, the most complete, as it was before the best, general history for po- pular use of the great city of New York. It will not be expected that such a work will be without fault; but we know that such faults are not the result of any want of diligence nor of any intention to mislead. We wish we could say as much for every other, so called, History. We beg to invite the attention of the Authoress to the following, which she may consider of suffi- cient importance to be corrected in a new edition : Der Smit’s Vly was the name given to other portions of the present line of Pearl-street than the site of the Fly-market, to which she has confined it, (p. 74;) the first horse-mill seems to have been elsewhere than on South William-street and the first wind-mill elsewhere than on State- street, (p. 95;) it is very doubtful if Martin Crygier’s tavern was opposite the Bowling-green, (p. 96 ;)—it is quite certain that the old “ Kin@’s “Arms Tavern” was not, as she supposes, ( pp. 96, 327, 414;) the Fort was demolished in the summer of 1/90, not in 1787—at any rate, the stone was not until then dug out of the ruins, (p. 99;) the view of New Amsterdam, on page 174, is of about the date 1650, not of 1674; the small size of the house-lots could not have justified the remark, on page 178, that, under the Dutch, “every house was surrounded by a garden,” and, besides, every view of New Amsterdam contra- dicts the statement; der Waal was not built to protect the town “from the washing of the tides,” as Miss Booth supposes, (p. 189,) but to shelter it from savage enemies—the protection from the tides to which she refers was der Scheyinge; der Strant was not bounded by our State-street, as Miss Booth supposes, (p.321,) but by what are now our Whitehall, Pearl and Broad streets and the Kast-river as it then was; ‘‘ the Methodist denomi- “ nation,’ referred to on page 399, was just as much so, and no more, than are the Ritualists of to-day and were the Puseyites of a few years ago—all alike being only parties WITHIN the s- tablished Church; the Declaration of Independ- ence did not, as Miss Booth supposes, (p. 492,) “transform” New York, into any other body whatever, since her delegates did not assent to that Declaration, and her connection with the Crown was severed only when, on the ninth of July, her Provincial Uongress at White Plains, directly resolved to do so; Colonel Roger Morris did not live at Morrisania, as stated on page 506, but on Manhattan island; “impregnable” is a very strong word to apply to the hills of North Castle, in Westchester County, (pp. 506, 507 5) the narrative of the sufferings on the Jersey, (pp. 532, 540,) is somewhat too highly colored, if the Report of the Committee of Officers was worth anything ; itis not very certain that ‘the mass of “the people,” as we understand the phrase, had any such sympathy with James Duane as is inti- mated on page 5/4, “the New Jail” and “the “old Provost”? were different names for the same building, not for two distinct buildings, as is inti- mated on page 580 ; “each State” was not “ con- “stituted an independent Sovereignty By the “Articles of Confederation,’ as is said on page 586: they were necessarily such “ Sovereignties,” in common with every “State” in Christendom, in every age of the World; and they were so from the moment of the adoption of the Resolu- tion of Independence, in 1776. If Miss Booth had read the original authorities for herself, instead of at second-hand, she would have spared her readers the infliction of pages 586 and 587, concerning the state of the country, under the Confederation ; and we think she will find some other origin for the project for a Convention, than James Madison, if she will read the Journals of the Legislature of New York. We fancy, also, that “ Washington’s life in New York” can hardly be said to have been “ simple and unostentatious,” as it is described on page 596; and that Genet was superseded but not recalled, as is said on page 608; etc. Weare not disposed to find fault with the worthy Authoress for these errors, if errors they are: we are very much more disposed to wonder that she has done so well, in so difficult an undertaking ; and to thunk her for her perse- verance in what, we fear, will never afford a just compensation for her time and labor. 5.—Address delivered Wednesday, 28th November, 1866, in Feller’s Hall, Madalin, township of Red Hook, Duchess County, N. Y. by Brevet Maj.-Gen. J. Watts dePeyster (S. N. Y.) upon the occasion of the inauguration of a monwment erected by “this immediate neighborhood, (Tivoli-Mada- “lin,) to her defenders who lost their lives in suppressing “the Slaveholders’ Rebellion and in sustaining the Govern- “ ment of the People, for the People, by the People.” New York: 1867. ‘Two hundred copies printed as Manuscript for “Private Distribution, by order of ‘the Soldiers’ Monument “ Association,” Octavo. pp. 180, lx., XX. We have been favored with a copy of this very
Page 47
rare pamphlet, by our friend, the Orator of the Day; and we have glanced over its pages with considerable interest and some amusement. Its Title, copied above, tells of the occasion which led to the Address and of the Autior of the Address; and as it was a “neighborhood” affair, participated in by the “neighbors” gen- erally, to commemorate the public services and fidelity wnto death of some of the sons, and broth- ers, and husbands, and fathers, of others who then lived in that “neighborhood,’—* her Defenders “WHO LOST THEIR LIVES,” are the words of the inscription on the monument—we felt curious to see how the subject was handled and amused at the result. Opening with an allusion to his personal inter- est in the neighborhood, the Orator followed his subject by glancing at the zeal with which the Town of Red-hook had sustained the Federal authorities during the War; and by citing, in grim burlesque, Beranger’s lines on what was oetically assumed to be the Supremacy of Amer- ican Law and on the very much diluted Sanctity of “ Man and his Rights,” in our happy land. He told of the process, during Sixty-three years, by which “ the infernal agencies” have been at work, in our Christian country, “to enlarge the Slave- “power and to produce Secession ;” of the igno- rance of those to whom he spoke, who seem never to have read the papers and were therefore “without the remotest idea” of this tremendous and long-lived undertaking; and of their igno- rance, also, of the “degradation” entailed by Sla- very, notwithstanding the Orator himself was quite a good-sized boy when Slavery was abol- ished on the spot where he stood, and the effects of that defunct institution were sufficiently evident in their ignorance of current events during the preceding Sixty-three years, with which, a moment before, he had twitted his hearers. John Brown was also glanced at, and his of- fence apologized for and considered as “ judicial “murder,” as if the Law should not be as ga- credly observed in Virginia as in New York; the colors of the Republic were shot at with Hileven distinct volleys of verse and as many more of rhetoric prose—fortunately, without hitting them ;—and the insurrection was accompanied in its progress, by the Orator, mounted on a very high pair of stilts. Very properly, on the fourteenth page, the Orator descended to terra firma, and recited, as was his duty, the profusion of strong arms which Red-hook sent to the field, in the earliest days of the struggle; but, on the seventeenth page, he wandered again from Red-hook to Big Bethel; and raked over the ruins of Fort Fisher in search of a “ glory” which not even he has yet discovered. He talked profusely, also, of “ principles”—polit- ical “ principles”’—as tested by arms and “ found 7] | HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. AT “wanting ;” as if such “ principles” were gov- erned by the same laws which give value to, or condemn, a breech-loader or a monitor: he told of the substitution of the Flag of the United States, on the Capitol at Richmond, for the State Flag of Virginia, as an evidence that the “ States” no longer possess any “ Rights” which the United States are bound to recognize: and he echoed the description everywhere given to “the Gov- “ernment,” by the friends of authority—and never so often as by the Loyalists during the War of the American Revolution; of “the best ‘“ Government on earth,’ which the thoughtless and the ignorant, forgetting that of which they care the least, are so fond of prating. ‘The Orator next examined the conduct of the War generally ; and here, in his minute criticism of men and movements, without recourse to clap- trap and closing his eyes on Buncombe, he did well—indeed, in such an undertaking, when sepa- rated from those who are partizans and tied down to the naked, unquestionable Truth, he has very few equals. In closing, the Monument and those whom it commemorated were briefly referred to; during the progress of which Mineteen separate and distinct handfuls of verses were thrown, unmer- cifully, at the deceased—enough, certainly, to have smothered them if they had not been dead already. As a whole, this Address displays an untiring meee and a wide range of knowledge, in mili- tary affairs, in its Author; but it also displays among his faults, both prejudice and forgetful- ness. There is, for instance, an undue, if not an indelicate, excess of panegyric on members of his own family, not one of whom, if we under- stand it correctly, came within the legitimate range of his subject; and to the memory of not one of them, legitimately, as a “ Defender” of ‘this immediate neighborhood,” was the monu- ment erected. There is, also, an uncalled-for, if not indelicate, train of accusations against one of the great political parties of the Country and a similarly uncalled-for, if not indelicate, laudation of the other—uncalled for, because “ this neigh- “ borhood,” as a neighborhood, regardless of party, had sent out the men to the War, erected the monument to the memory of those of them who had “ lost their lives” in the service, and assem- bled for the purpose of dedicating that structure ; and indelicate, because in the beginning of the Address, the Town had been described by himself as largely Democratic in its political sympathies —if we do not mistake, also, his own father is of that particular political faith. We are perfectly aware of the fashion of the day, among those who regard a Party success as more important than a support of the majesty of the Truth; yet we are acquainted with no one
Page 48
48 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, who can better afford to be perfectly honest’ on political subjects, than the Author of this Address. if the unwavering Loyalty to “the best of Gov- “ernments,” for which his family has ever been so honorably distinguished, had not furnished a sufficient reason for the faithful execution of such an undertaking as this, the Patriotism of the staunch old Democratic Republican family of Livingston, to which he is allied, could have done so; and he, therefore, better than most men, could have risen among his neighbors and told them, usefully, what he intimates they do not know, of the conflict between the Two antago- nistic but not Partizan elements, which has been unceasingly waged for the mastery, during very many more than ‘“ Sixty-three years,’ and, not- withstanding the recent Insurrection and its sup- pression, is still undetermined. He has preferred, however, to become a Partizan rather than to remain a Patriot; and because the Truth of History was respected by him, less than were the demands of his Party, we condemn him. There is a “Supplement” to this Address, in which we find Chapter I. of a “contemplated ” History of the Campaigns of the great American War; sketches of several of the Officers and men who went from Red-hook to the field; a Chapter on “The Battle of Gettysburg ;” a history of the CLlth. Regiment of New York Volunteers; a Chapter on “Negro ‘Troops ;” the “ Annual “Reports of the Ulster Guard, X Xth. N. Y. S. M.” for 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1866; and “ Reports of Killed and Wounded in action,” of the same Regiment, for 1862, 1863, and 1864; and a second Supplementary sheet of 'I'wenty pages contains Chapter Il. of the proposed His- tory of the Campaigns of the great American War, before referred to. As a specimen of typography, it is beneath contempt when its character as a “ private-print”’ is considered. ‘There is no title-page, except on the cover; the type is battered and wretchedly composed; the pages without shape, where shape is recognized, and regardless of register; and the whole appearance indicates a very rural, news- paper-ofiice origin. As we said, the edition numbered Two hundred copies ; and they were circulated privately. 6.—A Commentary of the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doc- trinal, and Homiletical, with special reference to Ministers and Students. By John Peter Lange, D.D. Translated from the German, and Edited, with Additions, original and selected, by Philip Schaff, D.D., and others. Vol. LX. of the New Testa- ment: containing the Epistles general of James, Peter, John, aud Jude. New York: Charles Scribner & Co., 1867. Octavo, pp. x, 148, 96, 53, 201, 34. Price $5.00. - This is the fourth issue of this elaborate Com- mentary on the Scriptures; and we have been ‘surprised at the vast accumulation of learning which has been concentrated in it. In whatever aspect the Seven Books to which it relates shall be viewed, the volume before us must be considered a perfect mine of information for the philologist, the pastor, and the private Christian ; and to those it will prove invaluable. 7.—France and England in North America. <A. series of historical narratives. By Francis Parkman. Part Second. The Jesuits in North America in the seventeenth century. By Francis Parkman. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867. Octavo, pp. 463. Were this not given as the Second Part of France and England in North America, which is the general title of a Series of Historical Narratives, we might criticise the Title as too broad, the Jesuit claiming to have labored in parts of North America to which this volume does not allude. The Zwo titles, therefore, are to be taken together; and the brilliant writer takes here as his theme, those Jesuit Missionaries who took so conspicuous a part in the early French Colonization of Canada. “ Few passages of his- “tory are more striking,” as he justly remarks, “ than those which record the efforts of the earlier “French Jesuits to convert the Indians. Full as “they are of dramatic and philosophic interest, “bearing strongly on the political destinies of “ America, and closely involved with the History “of its native population, it is wonderful that “they have been left so long in obscurity. While “the infant Colonies of England still clung feebl “to the shores of the Atlantic, events deeply omi- “nous to their future were in progress, unknown “to them, in the very heart of the Continent.” The Author then, in an accurate and graphic sketch, lays before the reader the field on which these French Evangelical laborers hastened to labor—the different Tribes, their manners and their superstitions, are drawn with skill and truthfulness. He then gives the History of the earlier efforts among the Algonquins; but he chiefly turns his admirable powers of description to the Huron Mission, which he traces to its close, bringing before us the chief actors, BREBEUF, GaR- NIER, JoGUES, LALEMANT, BurEnUX, CHAUMONOT, and others, drawn with a vivid coloring and por- traiture that shows a deep study of their individual characters. In his Narrative he treats, as an epi- sode, of the rise of the Convents of Canada, and gives as happy sketches of Madame pr LA PELTRIE, Mlle. Mancz, and Margaret Boureeoyrs. ‘The story is not one to be condensed or sketched here. Mr. Bancroft gave it briefly in his Third volume; here the romantic subject is given with the full- ness it merits. Differing in faith with those of whom he treats, assuming that New England was settled as a home of Religious Freedom, he sees in the failure of the Jesuit efforts to convert the red men, and the destruction of the Neophytes by Pagan bands
Page 49
1867.] set on by Europeans, Providence working for the great end of human Liberty; but it seems to us that the little knot of self-constituted Church members, who deemed themselves empowered to manufacture Creed and Church and State, were more deadly foes to human Freedom than an soldier or priest of France, in the Northern wilds. Except in this philosophical view, we commend the volume as one of great and permanent value. In an historical point of view it is a work of pa- tient, sincere research, of unbiassed judgment, outspoken alike in praise and censure; while as a literary work it is one of the happiest contribu-. tions for which our language is indebted to this distinguished writer. The subject, full of ro- mance in itself, has called out in an especial man- ner his peculiar powers ; and his work is one of the few we possess on our own Annals, in which Grace, Eloquence and Pathos are wedded to strict historical accuracy and deep research. The history of our own country needs to be read with that of the French Colonies that grew up beside it, that we may trace how gradually one in- fluenced the other, and that we may regard with a more favorable eye one in which a religious feel- ing prevailed as intense as that of New England, but more universal in its grasp, and unstained by the fanatic cruelties against misbelievers and sup- posed witches, which dim the lustre of arly Massachusetts. 8.—Pleasantries about Courts and Lawyers of the State of New York. By Charles Edwards. New York: Richardson & Company, 1867. Octavo, pp. 528, There are few, among the members of the Bar, inNew York, who do not personally know the Author of this volume; and to all he is known as an accomplished gentleman, a well read and highly influential lawyer, and an Author of no mean repute. The volume before us, as we happen to know, is the result of labor devoted to it during mo- ments usually allotted to recreation, or stolen for it, in passing, amidst the pressing cares and tur- moil of one of the busiest of busy professional lives; yet it has been prepared with as much care as it would have been it it had formed part of a plea, and its different Chapters have been arranged as systematically as a Bill in Equity. As its title indicates, this volume relates only to the Pleasantries of the Bar—of its Asperities, the learned Author will probably tell us, here- after ;—and of these Pleasantries, the Bar of New York have supplied all that were required to fill its pages. Not far from Two hundred gentlemen are named in the table of Contents, as either the Authors of these Pleasantries or the Authorities for their publication; and every por- tion of the profession and every branch of the prac- tice seem to have been remembered, in theselection. HIST. MAG. VOL. II. + HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 49 Typographically, the volume is a very neat one; and it is illustrated with a very excellent portrait, on steel, of the Author. 9.—A Cyclopedia of Freemasonry ; embracing the whole of Bro. George Oliver’s Dictionary of Symbolic Masonry. To- gether with a Comprehensive Supplement; containing Defini- tions of the Technical Terms used by the Fraternity. Edited by Robert Macoy. New York: Masonic Publishing and Man- ufacturing Company, 1867. Octavo, pp. viii., 556. We know nothing of Free Masonry, but we cannot help but perceive that the original of this work is only a collection of brief Essays or In- junctions, each of which is as worthy of respect from those who are not, as those who are, Free- masons. Our friend, Macoy, however, has added a Supplement. to Mr. Oliver’s Dictionary, extend- ing to Two hundred and sixty-six pages, in which there is a vast fund of information, arranged al- phabetically, and ranging over every portion of the unenclosed field of Free Masonry. It is, therefore, a useful book to every one who desires to know of what he reads about the Order of Freemasons, and whose curiosity has never led him to ask admission into a Lodge. The volume before us is a very neatly printed book; and we have no doubt it will be very widely welcomed, by those who do keep a secret as well as by those who do not. 10.—Bench and Bar: a complete digest of the Wit, Humor, Asperities, and Amenities of the Law. By J. L. Bigelow. New York: Harper & Bros., 1867. Small octavo, pp. 364. Price $2.50, This title certainly covers a great deal of ground ; and, if true, it most certainly undeceives. us concerning Four very important subjects con- nected with the Bar of America. If this volume contains, as the title says, “a. “ CoMPLETE Digest of the Wit, Humor, Asperi- “ties, and Amenities of the Law”—English as well as American—the Lawyers in both Coun- tries must have been just the dullest and most. curiously formed of all God’s creatures. How little Wrv, for instance, they must have- displayed if one-quarter of such a volume as this. contains “a complete Digest” of it! How dull they must have been, if their Humor, “ complete,” can be rolled up with three other of their leading qualities, and the whole find ample room in Three hundred and fifty pages!! How polite, too, they must have been when auu their “ ASPERITIES,” and how infamously Discourteous, when aLu their “ AMENITIES,” can thus, like “ Orange-county “milk,” be so perfectly condensed and so easily sent to market. We suppose, however, that the author has ac- cidentally overlooked some specimens of these qualities, as developed at the Bar—not enough, it may be, however, to make them anything but
Page 50
50 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, exceptions to the general rule—and, as an in- stance of this, we beg to call his attention to the omitted Wit of Mr. D. B. Eaton, who proposes to allow every Plantation negro in the South to vote on every question, because he zs a Man and a Republican, and to forbid every white man, ‘resident in the city of New York but owning no real estate, from voting, because, in the absence of a brown-stone front, he is probably a Demo- erat and certainly, as Mr. Eaton understands it, not a Man. He has omitted, also, the Humor of Joseph Holt and Edwin M. Stanton, who seem to have silently suppressed the written recom- mendation of irs. Surratt for mercy, which was ‘drawn up and signed by Five of the leading mem- ‘bers of the Court which had, just previously, con- demned her to death; while the Amenities of John Jay and James A. Hamilton, distinguished ‘members of the Bar, in their intercourse with the Editor of 7he Federalist, we notice, have also been ah strangely overlooked. e are sorry to say, if this book is as true as we suppose it to be, we think the Bar is not one- half as Witty, nor Savage with a contrary wit- ness, nor Polite to an opposing Counsel, as we -had given it credit for; and we are also sorry that with the exception of Mr. O’Conor, its mem- -bers are very much more homely in appearance than we supposed. There are Zwo portraits of Chief-justice Chase, besides One each of Sir Thomas More, John Jay, John Marshall, Daniel Webster, Aaron Burr, -John C. Calhoun, Charles O’Conor, and Benja- min F. Butler. | 11.— Thackeray's Lectures. The Four Georges. Complete in one volume. New York: Harper .& Brothers, {867. Octavo, pp. 449. Price $1.25, The English Humorists. Thackeray and his writings are so well known ito our readers that it is almost a waste of labor and space to do more than announce a new Edi- ‘tion, with a description of its appearance, and its Publisher’s price; yet we feel unwilling to lay ‘down what appears to be the initial volume of a new collection of the Works of the great humor- ist with such a bald introduction. Indeed, insen- sibly, we have been led through The Four Geor- ges, with which we were before familiar, with the same delight that we experienced when we first read it; while the Lecture on Swift, with its illustrative foot-notes, kept us, last night, much longer from our bed than usual. As we said, this seems to be the initial volume of a new Edition of Thackeray’s Works ; and it is neatly printed on good paper, and is well calcu- lated for a wide circulation. 12.— Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis, the great Union Guide of East Tennessee for a period of ner four years during the great Southern Rebellion. Written by himself. Contain- ing a short Biography of the Author. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1867. Duodecimo, pp. 480. Price $2.50. This volume, we believe, is not “in the Trade,” but is.entirely what is known as “a Subscription “ Book ” and purchased only from the Publishers and their Agents. It purports to be what it undoubtedly is, an autobiographical sketch of the Life and Adven- tures of Daniel Ellis; and it is filled with a re- lation of the “ thrilling adventures,” as a Guide, of its reputed Author. The scene of these adventures was, generally, the mountain ranges of Hastern Tennessee, although the writer takes notice of events elsewhere; and, whether or not it shall stand the test of the his- toric crucible, it will afford pleasure to those who delight in listening to the recital of dashing ad- ventures and hair-breadth escapes, told in an easy, flowing style, with copious illustrations and com- parisons from the histories of Greece, and Rome, and France, and here and there a pictorial effort. Without passing judgment on the fidelity of the narrative, of which, apart from what we find in this volume, we “have not sufficient informa- “tion to form a belief” of any kind, we are free to say that the candor of the Author, in his frank disavowal of a long line of distinguished ances- try and of any superior advantages in early life, augur well for his own truthfulness, without, however, guaranteeing that of the actual writer of the narrative, who seems to have been inclined to color the story with some pretty warm tints— warmer, indeed, in some instances, than the Au- thor himself seems to have sanctioned. By a strange oversight, also, there is neither an Index, nor 'able of Contents, nor descriptive heading to a Chapter, nor descriptive head tine to a page, throughout the book; and the reader is necessarily compelled to wade through it, with serious loss of time and patience, when he desires to turn to any specified subject. With this ex- ception, the Publishers have done their work ad- mirably. The type is clear and good: the paper is good; the printing is well done ; it is bound in a style appropriate to the mode of publication employed ; and the cuts are better than usual in such works. 13.—The Great Rebellion: its Secret History, Rise, Prog- ress, and Disastrous Failure. By John Minor Botts, of Vir- gue The Political Life of the Author Vindicated. New ork: Harper & Bros., 1866. Duodecimo, pp. 402. Whatever may be the contents of this volume, or whatever their value, we regard it as one of the most important to a student of American History that the recent Civil War has produced. Its Author, in the olden time, was a Whig, a “Henry Clay Whig;” yet he was among the first to avail himself of the market opened by John Tyler, and to expose therein to the a a
Page 51
1867.] highest bidders, alternately, the “easy virtue” of which he was the ever willing vendue-master. During the recent Civil War, he always cared more for himself than for the country ; and to-day, aspiring to be Governor of Virginia, he coquets, alternately, as was his wont in his earlier days, with the ultra-Radicals and the ultra-Secession- ists—caring not how it shall be done nor b whose aid, so long as he, rather than Mr. Hunni- } 8 aces cut or afreedman, shall be successful in the race for authority and place. A narrative by such a man, concerning what passed under his own eyes, must necessarily be useful rather than ornamental—just as the evi- dence of the biggest rascal of the party, when admitted as State’s evidence, is sometimes very useful notwithstanding itis very disgusting ;—and as such we welcome it as a most valuable acquisi- tion to the Literature of American Politics. 14.—On the Border. By Edmund Kirke. Boston; Lee & Shepard, 1867. Duodecimo, pp. 338. In this volume, the Author tells us he has thrown together, in story, “ the acknowledged facts ” con- cerning Garfield’s campaign in Kastern Kentucky, with such accompaniments of romantic embel- lishment as were needed for his purpose. The leading events of that stirring period, the Author has endeavored to relate with accuracy ; and whenever known and living men haye been introduced, he has written what he calls “ authen- “tic History.” Whether regarded as mere Ro- mance or as an Offshoot of the Historical Literature. of the recent War, therefore, it will interest many and find many readers; although it cannot be regarded as, nor will it ever occupy the place of, what its Author might have made, an impor- aa Historical sketch ot the Army of the Cumber- and. Itis very neatly printed ; and will be welcomed by those who made the acquaintance of Mr. Kirke, “among the pines.” 15.—Miss Ravenel’s Conwersion from Secession to Loyalty. By J. W. De Forest. Large Duodecimo, pp. 521. Price $2.00. This is a remarkably well told story of a Vir- ginian and his daughter, exiles because of the fidelity of the father to the Union, and temporary residents of a town in New England. ‘The daughter, who is the heroine of the story, is of Secession proclivities ; but she becomes acquainted, while in exile, with both a young lawyer and a Colonel of Massachusetts Volunteers. These fall in love with the daughter, and she with the Colo- nel only, whom she marries; and, after the death of the latter, the lawyer also secures his prize. All this is told with all the exaggeration which belongs to romance; but the work is nevertheless HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 51 well written, and some of the battle-scenes are particularly noteworthy. The volume is handsomely printed ; and very ~ neatly bound. 16.— War of the Rebellion ; or, Scylla and Charybdis. Cor - sisting of observations upon the causes, course, and conse- quences of the Late Civil War in the United States. By H. 8. Foote. New York: Harper & Bros. 1866, Large Duodecimo, We have been very agreeably disappointed, in some respects, with the contents of this volume. _Its Author, if we do not mistake, is the noto- rious ex-Senator from Mississippi, who, once on a time, while in Congress, proposed to hang our old friend, John P. Hale, and thereby earned the name of “ Hangman Foote.” We expected very little, therefore, but we have received more than we bargained for; and we have found, instead of a volume filled with an inflated, good-for-nothing rigmarole, a very well written history of the immediate causes of the recent War. In his political sympathies, Mr. Foote was a supporter of what was once known as “Squatter “sovereignty,” rather than a believer in what we know as “State sovereignty :” he was, therefore, more a friend of Daniel S. Dickinson and Lewis Cass than of John ©. Calhoun; and if he ever recognized the existence of a “reserved right” in any of the States of the Union, it was so feeble a recognition that he always insisted that the will of the first squatters on a Western prairie was always superior in authority to the Constitutional law-makers of the Territory. The volume before us is a well-written and exceedingly useful addition to the Literature of the great Insurrection; and as the Author pro- fesses to describe principally what passed under his own immediate observation, it may be regarded, historically, for nearly every purpose, as.an origi nal authority. 17.—The Works of the Right Honorable Edmund Burke. Revised Edition. Vol. XII. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867. Octavo, pp. iv., 482. We have so often described this series of beauti- ful volumes that we have little more to say than that the one before us concludes the celebrated Reply of Burke, in the case of the impeachment of Warren Hastings, and closes the work. It is furnished with a General Table of Contents of the entire Work, and a General Index, both of which are of the greatest importance to the general reader. There is very little doubt that, from a merely literary point of view, this is decidedly the best of the many editions of Edmund Burke’s Works; while as a specimen of typographical neatness it is, also, unsurpassed by any. It is from the Uni-
Page 52
V2? §2 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, versity Press, at Cambridge; and it will not suffer by a comparison with similar trade volumes from the London or Edinburgh Press. We trust the enterprise of the excellent Pub- lishers, who have thus done so much for Ameri- can scholars, has been appreciated and properly remunerated, in order that they may be encour- aged to continue the good work which they have thus usefully commenced. “E: 18—Modern Inquiries: Classical, Professional, and Miscel- laneous. By Jacob Bigelow, M.D. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867. Small octavo, pp. xii., 879. The contents of this volume, the Author tells us, are mostly reprints of sundry occasional pro- ductions, written or spoken, in various forms and at different times, as recreations and in the midst of a busy professional life, during the past Fifty years. As the title says, they are of various subjects; and they will find readers of varied tastes. The articles on Education are excellent in every respect—indeed, we wish the Doctor’s sterling ood sense concerning the general study of the ead languages in our Schools and Colleges could be read and practiced by every pedagogue in the country. That on Count Rumford is a just tribute to the memory of a man of whom New England, in a strange fit of modesty, did not consider her- self worthy. The plea for the rural graveyard against the charnel-houses of the city is beyond praise. That on Homoeopathy was written in 1854, since which time the world has moved. — ‘The work is from the press of John Wilson & Co., of Cambridge, and is very neatly printed. 19.— College Life: its theory and practice. By Stephen Olin, D.D., LL.D. New York: Harper and Bros., 1867, Duodecimo, pp. 239. Price $1.50. This volume contains a series of Lectures, and one of Baccalaureate Discourses, addressed by the learned President of the Wesleyan University to the young men under his charge, during the latter years of his life—the Lectures were his ~.. last literary labors, and their delivery. his final ~ public utterance. Few men have attained, more justly, so high a position among the learned and good men of his day as Stephen Olin; and his last words, ad- dressed to young men, are worthy a place in every young man’s book-shelf. The little volume before us, therefore, should be heartily welcomed by every parent; and every young man should study it and honor its precepts. . It is very handsomely printed, on good a ; and its binding is in the peculiarly neat style of modern plainness. | e 20.—The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. By Charles Dickens. With eight illustrations. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. 16mo, pp. xii, 497. Price $1.50. - If any of our readers have not heard of the terrific warfare concerning the publication in America of the writings of Mr. Dickens, which is now convulsing “the literary world,” we are very much mistaken; and we shall not attempt to tell the story. We allude to it, however, for the purpose of accounting for the issue of such a volume as this, in a time of high prices, for a dollar and a half. It is the first of a series of Twelve or Fourteen volumes, to be issued simultaneously in London and Boston, under the direction of the Author, and bearing his own name—“THE CHARLES “ DickENS Epition.” It is, therefore, a pattern of economical neatness— without unnecessary display ; it is well printed, from very clear and handsome type, on fair paper; illustrated with eight of the original illustrations; and neatly and durably bound. The whole (except the too closely- trimmed edges) exhibiting a pattern of neatness and cheapness which will commend it to general favor. 21—A Romance of the Republic. By L. Maria Child. Bos- ton: Ticknor & Fields, 1867, 16mo, pp. iv., 442. Price, $2.00. In this volume Mrs. Child has presented Slavery as seen in its influence on the domestic relations ; and notwithstanding the plot is somewhat com- plicated, it is well sustained and elaborately filled in, even in its minor details. It is beautifully printed ; and will be heartily welcomed, we have no doubt, by a wide circle of readers. 22.— Historical Sketch of the Old Siath Regiment Massa- chusetts Volunteers, during three Campaigns in 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864. Containing the history of the several Compa- nies previous to 1861, and the name and military record of each man connected with the regiment during the War. By John W. Hanson, Chaplain. Llustrated by Photographs. boston: Lee & Shepard, 1866. Small octavo, pp. 352. This very elaborate title leaves us little to do, except to say thai the “Old Sixth” is that Regi- ment on which the mob in Baltimore fired, while on its way to Washington, in April, 1861; and that this volume contains a sketch of its services during Three separate enlistments during the Four years of the War. It is well written; very beautifully printed; and essential in every collection concerning the Military operations of the Country, as History. It is, indeed, one of the most perfect works of its class which we have ever met.
Page 53
1867. | 23.—The Last Ninety Days of the War in North Carolina. By Cornelia Phillips Spencer. Second Thousand. New York: Watchman Publishing Co., 1867. Duodecimo, pp. 287. This little volume contains a series of papers which appeared, originally, in The Watchman, and attracted some attention then. They are descriptive of the closing scenes of the recent Civil War in North Carolina; and we have seldom read a work which seemed to bear with it so many proofs of its own general correctness. We heartily commend it to the attention of the student of American History and to the collector of works relating to the War. It is printed on miserably poor paper, else it had been a tolerably neat affair. 24.—Reminiscences of Charleston. By J. N. Cardozo. Charleston: Joseph Walker, 1866. Duodecimo, pp. 144. A neat little affair, making no pretence to typo- graphical beauty, yet possessing very great in- terest as a contribution to the Military History of the United States. As such we commend it to our readers. | 25.— The Irish Ninth in bivouac and battle; or Virginia and Maryland Campaigns. By M. H. Macnamara. Boston: Lee & Shepard, 1867. 16mo, pp. 306. The “Trish Ninth,” Massachusetts Volunteers, entered the service in May, 1861; served before Yorktown and Richmond; fought at Hanover Court-house, Mechanicsville, Gaines’ Mill and the Chickahominy, on Malvern Hill (where it’s Colonel was killed), at Antietam, South Monntain, and Boteler’s Mills, before Fredericksburg, at Chan- cellorsville, Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, the Wilderness, Laurel Hill and Spottsylvania, on the Po and the North Anna, at Bethesda Church, Shady Oak, and Cold Harbor; and was mustered out in June, 1864. The narrative is written for popular use rather than as a formal History; yet it will be found very useful to those who shall desire to look into that portion of the Military History of the United States. It is very neatly printed; and is illustrated with several fairly-executed wood-cuts. 26.—A Criticism of Mr. Wm. B. Reed’s Aspersions on the churacter of Dr. Benjamin Rush, with an incidental consid- eration of General Joseph Reed’s character. By a Member of the Philadelphia Bar. Phila.: Collins, 1867. Octavo, pp. 61. Mr. J. G. Johnson, a member of the Philadel- phia Bar, read law in the office of one of the members of Doctor Rush’s family, and evidently considered that, in the supposed absence of any other person to defend that gentleman’s char- acter, the duty to do so devolved upon him. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 53 He is undoubtedly a Lawyer rather than a Student of History ; and he appears in this pam- phlet, nominally as amicus curie, but really for the Plaintiff, in what he styles the case of Com- monwealth vs. Reed, rather than an authorized public prosecutor. | Whatever may have been the purpose of Mr. Johnson, he has presented nothing new, either in evidence or argument, in this vexed question: and we feel called upon only to say that it is nothing more than a special plea, by a Philadel- phia lawyer, on a subject which needed no such plea and in behalf of a public man, long since dead, whom such an advocate could not save from the fate, in history, which justly belongs to him. Joseph Reed was undoubtedly a man of ability and personal integrity: that he was a politician and fallible, no one will deny. In a rigid search for foibles or even for what, unexplained, may pass for more serious defects of character, a more — righteous man than he might suffer; but it will require a more profound student than the Author of this tract, in the light of the present day and in the face of existing and accessible evidence, to convict him of what, years ago and unexplained, seemed very much like positive guilt. Doctor Rush, like Joseph Reed, was a public man and a partizan in local politics: and he, too, was probably not without sin. A rigid search might expose his memory to what, unexplained, © might seem like very serious charges : were we to try very hard it is not unlikely that we could frame an indictment against him, and make out a case, which even Mr. Johnson would hesitate to encounter. But, in the light of yet unpublished papers and of other reliable testimony, who shall say that Doctor Rush’s weaknesses may not be made less objectionable, or that what now seems very much like a serious defection from the cause of America, cannot be so illustrated that its more obnoxious features shall be removed ? We are not averse, however, to the introduc- tion of new light on any question of history: we only desire that the special plea of an uninformed advocate, for or against any historical subject, shall have only the negative weight to which it is necessarily entitled. 27.—Joseph Reed : a historical essay. By George Bancroft. New York: W. J. Widdleton, 1867. Octavo, pp. 64. Mr. Bancroft having seen, as he supposed and said, . “ clory’s holy flowers “ Round common brows profanely twined,” he set bravely to work to regulate matters after a fashion of his own: the difficulty was, however, that his ideas on the subject did not always har-
Page 54
D4 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. monize with those of his neighbors and, it may be, not always with propriety and justice. Of his dealings with Joseph Reed, the reading public has heard a great deal; and _ he, himself, seems to have recognized in the grandson of that gentleman, a foeman worthy of his steel. With his dealings with General Sullivan, our readers are not unacquainted ; and they have seen, in the well-written defence of him by Mr. Amory, how little there was, in justice and truth, for a founda- tion for such an attack. So, too, in the cases of Generals Schuyler and Greene, whose laurels he would have us believe are only artificial, there have been responses which have enforced them- selves on our attention, and convicted the Histo- rian of Libel. In the handsomely-printed pamphlet which is before us, Mr. Bancroft has responded to the telling Vindication of President Reed, by Mr. Wm. B. Reed, to which we have heretofore re- ferred ; but it is not such a response as one who assumes to be a first-class historian should have made, even on the eve of a welcome exile, in the Diplomatic service of the country. For instance: the slur on President Reed, often repeated, that he “ was never chosen Presi- “dent by the direct vote of the People’—as if that affected his Presidency any more than a similar non-election affects the Presidency of An- drew Johnson, who is Mr. Bancroft’s patron—is unworthy of the veriest pettifogger. So, too, his declaration of his own good qualities—“it is “my nature,” he says, “ to dwell upon that which “is generous and great, and to turn away from “that which is paltry and mean’”’—would have been vastly more effective had it been true; es- pecially since there is no one who is acquainted with him, especially among those who are stu- dents or writers of History, who does not know that his declaration is exactly the opposite of the Truth. His occupation of a place beside “an “author of a history of the republic,” uninvited and unwelcome, page 5, shows, also, the shifts to which he resorts, for the accomplishment of his purposes, since the notorious John C. Hamilton, to whom he referred, bad as he is, considers himself and is considered by others, as a@ writer of history, fully the peer of Mr. Bancroft in ability and quite his superior in professional honor—indeed, if report speaks truly, the former does not consider the gentility of the latter equal to his own; and no one ever pretended that he, like Mr. Bancroft, appropriated to his own use, without due acknowledgment, whatever beyond his own material he.employed in his volumes. We will not occupy our space, however, with an extended notice of this work, because that duty will soon be discharged by a more compe- tent hand, and we have no desire to anticipate his labors. {July, 28.— Suggestions respecting the revision of the Constitution of New York, by David Dudley Field. May,1867. New York: Octavo, pp. We have received from the learned Author a copy of this Tract, which was printed by him for private circulation, in order that his peculiar ideas on some subjects of Governmental science might be properly brought before the public. The first part of this work is on the “ Founda- “tion of Government,” the second on the “ Frame “ of Government,” the third on “ Instructions and “ Limitations,” the fourth on “ Repeal of former “ Constitutions ;” and these are subdivided into a hundred and eleven Sections, generally without a note of explanation, and in every case, save one, without reference to any precedent. In the first of these, “property ” is strangely considered a “natural right,” and therefore in- alienable; the People of the State of New York, which is the Commonwealth, is also strangely considered as “ subordinate to the United States,” notwithstanding it is one of the constituent mem- bers of those United States; and the word “People” is strangely used in the sense of the subjects of the State rather than as the State itself. ‘There is said to be a Sovereignty resting in “the People of this State,’ which is the State itself, and a similar Sovereignty resting in the United States, which are only a Confederacy of independent States, as if there can be two Origi- nal, Supreme powers at the same time over the same persons; and as if any mere Government, WITHIN A Democratic RepusLic, can be a SOVEREIGN in any event. There are said to be Two co-existing Allegiances, also,—that to the State and that to the Federal Government—as if there can be any such Allegiance, In A DeEmMo- crATIC REPuBLic, to any mere Government, which, in that case, as the Constitution of Massachusetts has it, is merely an Agent of “the People,’ who alone form the Sovereign power ; and, in addition, as if the Allegiance which is due to any Sovereign power can be justly degraded by being confounded with the Obedience which is equally due to both the Government of the State and the Government of the United States, each within its own legitimate sphere of action, “The People of the United “States”? is also spoken of, and its “ consent” is alluded to, as if there ever had been or is now a single, aggregate body bearing this title, which has ever “consented”? to any proposition, or ever possessed legal cognizance of any subject, or ever elected a single person to any office whatever. The Sovereignty is said to exist in “them,” by which latter word the aggregate body of the Commonwealth is frequently de- scribed ; which leaves the impression that, as Mr. Field understands it, Squatter sovereignty rather than the Sovereignty of the “ Major will’? of the People, is the Supreme Law. The Sovereignty
Page 55
1867.] of “ the People,” which is the Sovereignty of the Commonwealth, is said to be confined in its action to the making of a Constitution, and even in that it is said to be limited to the action of “ the whole “ People;” as if “the People,’ whose power is Sovereign within its own Territory, can not legally and legitimately determine, if it shall see fit, to act as other Commonwealths have sometimes acted, directly and without the intervention of either a Legislative, a Judicial, or an Executive agency. “A Constitution” is said to be “the “ Supreme Law, for all times and circumstances, “in War as in Peace;” as if there were no virtue in Bayonets and no disposition in those who hold them to use them at will; and as-if the failure, to secure the requisite Constitutional majority for the measure, at the last Election, will render the action of the existing Convention any the less respectable, or the Constitution which it shall recommend any the less binding. “The State”. is said to be “ perpetual ;” as if 1t may not, under any circumstances, be divided or dissolved, as Virginia has been divided and dissolved, if reports speak truly; and “all persons” who are natives and residents of its Territory, “and all citizens “of the United States resident in this State,’— black and white, old and young, male and female —are said to “constitute ‘the People of the “¢State, ” in whom are vested all the Rights and \uthority previously referred to; and “every “such person” is declared to be “a citizen and “member of the State;” as ifthe People” can justly or legally have Negro or female suffrage thrust upon it, indirectly and contrary to its will, by any such masked enactment as this. The entire spirit of this “ Parr” of Mr. Field’s pamphlet is Revolutionary, without showing suf- ficient courage to be so, openly and squarely. It is, also, confused in its indiscriminate use of technical terms, such as “ State” and “ People,’ (which latter terms, for this purpose, are syno- nyms,) in more than one sense, in the same sen- tence. Part IT., on the “ Frame of Government,” pro- poses Eight Senatorial Districts with Thirty-two Senators, each elected for Four years, and a House in which shall sit as many members as there are constituencies throughout the whole State, of Twenty-five hundred members. There are some very excellent provisions to prevent hasty legislation, and the passage of “ omnibus “ bills,” and the violations of Chartered rights; and in various other respects, the Legislative Department is carefully and judiciously limited in its authority—without, however, guarding from its invasion the ancient Corporations whose Char- ters are their property, and whose Political Rights are properly and legally beyond the control of the State. It also authorizes the election of a Negro or a woman for Governor or Lieutenant- HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 5d governor; and it very properly restores to the Gubernatorial office the responsibility which for- merly attached to it, in the Executive Department. No provision is made for the appointment or election of the Judiciary ; although it squints at a restoration of the old corruption at Albany. Part III., on “ Instructions and Limitations,” compels the Legislature, at the first session, to pass various specified Statutes, among them “ the “ Civil and Penal Codes heretofore reported by “the Commissioners of the Code,’ which, with all due deference, is not particularly courteous to those, even a majority of the State, who may differ from Mr. Field and his associate Com- missioners, concerning any provision of either of those Codes, as “ heretofore reported” by them. It also authorizes the State Government to enter on the franchises of any Corporation heretofore created by the State and vests it with authority, in law, to dissolve the Corporation and scatter its property—sometimes, it may be, for the benefit of non-interested parties, who would like thus to participate in the profits of a franchise to which some other persons’ labor and investments have given all their value and importance; and some- times, asin the case of Trinity church and the King’s farm, for the benefit of a parcel of men, claiming to be equitable owners, which is wholly without legal or moral right in the premises. The usual clap-trap about liberty of the press, and of speech, and of conscience, is repeated, without, however, imposing upon any one the duty of extending to every citizen, with all the material force of the State, that protection in the enjoyment of those rights, which it is incumbent on the State to give to every one, within its Territory, from whom it exacts obedience. So, also, the empty declama- tion concerning habeas corpus, and trial by jury, and freedom in person and property, in the entire absence of any provision for securing the citizen’s protection therein, is mere Buncombe, without vitality. The provision for securing private prop- erty from undue invasion, conflicts with Section 59, which authorizes such invasion; and the pro- vision compelling Quakers indirectly to hire a substitute, to do for them what they consider to be a sin and unfit to be done by themselves, is an insult to that respectable community, to which it should not be thus exposed. The provision against retrospective laws is defective, inasmuch as the every-day practice of a “ ratification” or “confirmation,” by Statute, of what was before illegal, is not forbidden. The destruction of the Bank system of the State seems also to be un- called for. The system of Finance seems to be very well guarded; but the property of the State in the Canals and Salt Springs, is perpetuated, very much, in many instances, to the disad- vantage of the State. The provisions concerning Legislative and Executive corruption (§ 96) afford \
Page 56
56 a very good scare-crow for the country-people ; the knowing ones, however, will very soon drive a horse and wagon through them. The provision of § 102 which renders the members of the Loyal League and the Tammany Society ineligible to an elective office is a good one; but why it should not also exelude them from all appointed offices, is past our understanding; nor can we under- stand the advantages which are afforded by a Council of Revision, or, what is known in Ver- mont as a Board of Censors. Throughout this proposed Plan there is an evi- dent want of harmony, which can be accounted for only from the effect of Mr. Field’s former associations, as a leading Democratic politician, coming in conflict with his present associations as a leading antagonist of his former friends. Samuel J. Tilden, and John Van Buren, and Benjamin F. Butler, and Michael Hoffman, and Silas Wright, and Martin Van Buren, twenty years ago, were those with whom Mr. Field did battle against the disciples of John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, and Rufus King, and other original advocates of “a strong Government” ; to-day, Mr. Field,if we do not mistake, is battling against those with whom he formerly associated. The effect of this change is seen in the attempt to engraft both systems on the same Constitu- tional stock. We shall see how much success will attend the effort. 29.— Biographical Sketches of the Members of the Class of 1816, Yule College. New Haven: 1867. Octavo, pp. TT. We are indebted to our friend, Professor Wil- liam C. Fowler, for a copy of this volume, which hhas been recently privately printed, for the sur- viving members of the Class. It is mainly from the hand of the Professor, as the Class historian, and contains brief sketches of the lives of the different members of the Class, among them, those of the Rev. Isaac Bird, the Missionary in Syria; Rev. E. Chapman, Missionary among the Osages; Lieutenant-governor Booth, of Connecticut ; Judges Dart, of Ohio, Pardee, of Connecticut, Taylor, of New York, Gould, of Geor- gia, and Winchester, of Mississippi; W. H. Foote, the historian of the Presbyterians in North Caro- lina; W. C, Fowler, LL.D., the historian of Durham, Conn.; President Fox, of Jefferson Col- lege, Miss. ; Principal Garfield, of the Albany Fe- male Seminary ; George Hill, the poet; Professor McClellan, of Philadelphia; Charles Olcott, the inventor of iron ships; Presidents Smith and Pierce, of Kenyon and Western Reserve Colleges ; 9.; Rev. Asa Thompson, Missionary to the Sand- wich Islands; and Mr. Whittlesey, Representative in Congress from Ohio ; with a brief supplement- ary sketch of the Class itself. It is useful for reference; and to those who ‘are interested in Yale, it is very interesting. HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, 80.— Prominent, Strong, and Beautiful Thingsin Our Zion. The Historical Sermon before the Presbytery of Ontario, at its semi-centennial celebration, in Mount-Morris, N. Y., March 12, Fy By Rey. Jos. R. Page. Rochester, N. Y.: 1867. Octavo, pp- . It is very seldom that a tract, printed for gen- eral circulation, presents so inviting an exterior and so neatly printed a text as this; and we open it with great satisfaction. This Presbytery was organized in Livonia, in March, 1817; and the speaker gives a minute description of its rise and progress during the first half-century of its existence. In doing so, how- ever, he has given, also, a very interesting sketch of the condition of that central and western region, at the early date referred to; and he has glanced, also, at the progress of other denomina- tions of Christians than his own, in the same neighborhood. It is, in short, a most important contribution to the local history of Western New York, in all that relates to its Churches and their members; and as such we commend it to the notice of our readers and collectors generally. 31.—The Early History of St. Paul. Being a short sketch prepared for Bailey’s St. Paul Directory, Edition of 1867, from material collected for a more extensive work on the subject to be issued in afew months. By J. Fletcher Williams. St. Paul, Minnesota: 1867, Octavo, pp. 12. The city of St. Paul, containing Sixteen thou- sand inhabitants, is only Thirty years of age, if we go back to its first settler: the first white native was born on the twelfth of November, 1841; and still lives there, a young man of Twenty-six. The neat little privately-printed tract which is before us is the work of the respected Secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society and narrates the leading incidents of “the early history” of the place; and, without unnecessary words, lets us into the secret of how, in the mighty West, cities spring up in a day and within a year control the destiny of the Country. We commend it to the attention of those who collect local histories, as worthy of their notice. 32.—Raymond’s Heroine. A novel. New York: Harper & Bros., 1867. Octavo, pp. 150. Price 50 cents. 83.—Mr. Wynyard’s Ward. <A novel, By Holme Lee. pole Harper & Bros., 1867. Octavo, pp. 106. Price 50 These volumes form Nos. 292 and 293 of the extended series of Select Novels, which Harper & Brothers, during several years past, have issued to the public, in uniform style, and at very low prices. They are re-prints of foreign works which have met the approval of the best literary au- thorities in Europe; and are especially useful for those who are traveling or absent from home.
Page 57
7] HISTORICAL 34— Deus Homo—God Man. By Theophilus Parsons. Chi- cago. E. B. Myers & Chandler, 1867. Crown 8vo, pp. 455. This volume, from the press of John Wilson & Son, Cambridge, is executed in a style worthy of its distinguished Author, and of the exalted sub- ject of which it treats. Perhaps no book has appeared from the schol- ars of the New Church that has promised more light to the inquirer, or bestowed more satisfac- tion upon the reader. The fame of its Author has been long established. He is the well-known author of at least Ten volumes of treatises upon various branches of Law, which by common con- sent stand at the head of legal text-books. He has, Three times, appeared as the Author of a volume of Essays upon the Doctrines and Phil- osophy of Swedenborg. The volume before us, we presume, he regards ‘as the crowning labor of his life; and it must be admitted that it is no ignoble Crown. ; He treats of the Gospels; of the Birth and . Nature of our Lord; of his sojourn in Egypt, and of his temptations; of Freedom; of Prayer ; of the Spiritual World; of the Miracles; of the Parables ; of Baptism; the Lord’s Supper; the Apostles ; of the Sadducees and Pharisees ; and of the closing scenes in the Life of our Lord. We have no space, nor is it within the scope of the purposes of this Journal, to go into an exami- nation of the subjects the Author has discussed. It must suffice to say that those subjects are treated from the stand-point of the New Church. Swedenborg is everywhere recognized an absolute authority. No symptoms of disloyalty, doubt, or distrust, are discernible; nor is there any attempt to improve upon the text of his Author. A confidence that whatever is taught by Sweden- borg must be seen to be true by all who give earnest heed to it, pervades every page of the volume. Nowhere in the whole work is there a single expression of personal laudation of the man through whom this new dispensation is brought down to earth. His teachings, as they appeal to the reason, engross the whole attention of the Author. Nothing is submitted upon bare au- thority; no appeal is made to the emotional nature ; nor yet can the Author be said unduly to tax the credulity of his readers. What the reason does not receive at once, the reason is at liberty to postpone, to hold in abeyance, until it shall have attained that altitude at which truth is apparent. There is also a marked absence of that sort of reasoning which is ordinarily used to confirm a dogma. The Author confines himself in the main to simple statements, and generally to such state- ments as are easily apprehended, and as easily affirmed or denied, by the ordinary exercise of the understanding. MAGAZINE. 57 It is obvious that the practice of confirming theories by the process of what is called Logic or reasoning, is an acknowledgment of the weak- ness of the understanding. That Two and Two make Four isa truth seen at once, and is never made a maiter of argument. If it were not seen, it would be confirmed by some process of ratio- cination. Fvery truth, however lofty or obscure, is as true as this mathematical axiom; and, if the understanding were not enfeebled and ob- scured, would as little require to be confirmed by argument. This appeal to the understanding, the follow- ers of Swedenborg seem to regard as a dis- tinguishing characteristic of his Philosophy. Not even those things which the seer has reported from the spirit world, rest, in their estimation, entirely upon his veracity; but they claim to be able to establish them by direct appeals to rea- son and consciousness. Yet, if it were necessary, they seem not unwilling to rest the truth of all those wonderful disclosures, which have so long staggered the credulity of the world, solely upon the veracity of Swedenborg. It is impossible, so runs the argument, that in the immense mass of his post-illuminated writings, he should not have hit upon some, nay many, truths. Ifhe has stated any falsehoods, those falsehoods would not be in harmony, but in an- tagonism, with his truths. But the world is chal- lenged to point out a single discrepancy, a single instance of any want of the most complete and perfect harmony, in any of his ponderous vol- umes. | It must be confessed that a system of any con- siderable magnitude, especially one embracing all things in Heaven and Earth, as Swedenborg’s system clearly does, which should, on examina- tion, be found to be a perfect unit—each and every part in perfect accordance and harmony -with every other—such a system could not be other than true. There could indeed be but one such system. That the Author of such a system should inten- tionally utter fulse statements, as to the source from whence he derived his knowledge, would seem to be contradicted by the truth of the doc- trine he develops. | That he should have made such false statements under some mental delusion, would seem to be contradicted by the method and unity of the sys- tem he has promulged. The enforcement of a system of Doctrine and Philosophy by a constant appeal to reason, is not the usual method of over- coming that incredulity which suggests insanity as the origin of the system. | If his statements are such as that no method of a priori reasoning could have brought them to light; if they rest upon asserted facts as their basis ; if when these facts are once known, they
Page 58
58 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. may he confirmed by the reasoning faculties, then something other than unaided thought must have been their source. 7 Swedenborg asserts that this source is the An- gelic Wisdom with which he was in communi¢a- tion. Ifthe truth of this statement were to turn up- on a question of verucity, his followers would point to every syllable he has written as containing ir- refragable proof of the most conspicuous integri- _ ty. If, on the other hand, it be made to turn upon a question of probability, then the burden of sug- gesting some other source from which it may have originated, clearly devolves upon those who reject his teachings. The world will watch, with ever increasing in- terest, what the future may develop upon this great subject, but it is too late for sane men to pass it by with a sneer. 85.— Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Directors, the Librarian, and the Treasurer, presented at the Annual Meeting of the Long Island Historical Society, May, 186T. Brooklyn, L. I.: Printed for the Society, 1867. Octavo, pp. 88. Among the various Historical Societies of the country, few have been more active and none more successful than that in the neighboring city of Brooklyn, of which this tract gives the Fourth Annual Report. It numbers nearly Eleven hundred members; has a well stocked Reading-room, a library of Fourteen thousand volumes and Sixteen thousand pamphlets, permanent Funds, invested in Stocks, of more than Sixty-one thousand dollars, and a well-filled Cabinet; and it is fast becoming One of the most useful, and influential, and amply-pro- vided societies in the country. In the pamphlet before us, the doings of the Society and its accumulations during the past year, are communicated to its members and to the world; and its honored President and his fellow- laborers may well feel proud of it. 36.— The Firelands Pioneer: published by the Fire Lands Historical Society, Norwalk, Ohio. Sandusky, Ohio: 1867. Octavo, pp. 120. This is designated as Volume VIII. of this useful work; but, like all which have preceded it, it has no title-page for binding. In this respect it imitates the Annnals of Iowa, from which it would seem that the West is opposed to title- pages. As we want to bind ovr copy, we wish they would review their action; and do as others do in similar cases. 87.—Letter to Rev. Howard Crosby, D. D., on his denial of teetotalism as a Bible Rule. By John Marsh, D. D. New York: Charles Scribner & Co., 1867. Octavo, pp. 20. An exceedingly well written reply to Dr. Cros- [July by’s introduction to Mr. Thomason’s volume on Teetotalism referred to in our June number. We are inclined to think that Dr. Marsh has made out a pretty clear case. 88.—The Magazines. The Quarterly Journal of Pyscho- logical Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence. Edited by Professor William A. Hammond. Vol. I., No. I., has been pub- ished by A. Simpson & Co., New York. It treats of a branch of Science which is very little understood, even in the profession; and in the hands of so able an Editor as Doctor Ham- mond, it must of necessity, become very useful. 89. — Washington Irving, Sunny Side, Irving's Grave, The Old Mill, Bridge over the Pocanteco, The Dutch Church, Some time since, some gentlemen residing at Tarrytown took measures to construct a me- morial of Washington Irving, in the form of a durable church edifice ; and a desirable site was obtained for that purpose, plans were drawn by competent architects, contracts were made, and the work commenced. With an industry which is seldom seen, the promoters of the design, both Rector and Laymen, labored in season and out of season, by letter and circular, by advertisement and personal effort, to secure the means for car- rying on their work ; and a note which we have received from the Senior Warden tells us that only within Ten thousand dollars are now re quired to render the new building fit for occu- pancy before Christmas, free from debt. Among the modes adopted by this young and enterprising church, for the purpose of raising the means to erect their building, is the issue of large photographs of Mr. Irving, and the scenes, near Tarrytown, which he has so graphically de- scribed—scenes which are endeared to so many, both residents and strangers, throughout the country, the Republic, and the world. These, by Rockwood & Co., of New York, are of a size suitable for framing, handsomely mounted on Bristol board, and sold at One dollar and a half each, the profits being appropriated for the pur- pose of this Memorial; and they have been re- cefved by the public with great favor. The copies which are before us, in some instances, are imper- fect, reflecting very little credit on the self-respect of the artist; but we can readily understand the reason of the popularity of the series when we notice what must be the general good character of the pictures when perfect. We trust the promoters of this Memorial will pardon us, but we must take the liberty to say that a picture of the old church from below the bridge, in which it would be seen as Mr. Irving described it—“on a knoll surrounded by locust “trees and lofty elms ”—with the bridge and the
Page 59
1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 59 stream in the foreground, would be a very wel- come addition to this series; while the ancient manor-house, the upper seat of the Phillipses, would also add still more to its interest. We do not know how far this enterprise is sus- tained by Mr. Irving’s family, if it is so sustained at all; but we are gratified to learn that a spon- taneous and hearty welcome has been extended throughout the country to perpetuate, in this form, the well-earned fame of one of the most graceful of writers and one of the best of men. Those only can understand Mr. Irving’s strength who knew him personally ; and none ever knew him and en- joyed his friendship, without loving him. The Rector of the new St. Mark’s at Tarry-. town, Rey. Edmund Guilbert, will supply copies of these pictures to those who shall desire them. 2.—MISCELLANY. WrsTHAMPTON REuntion.—The public exer- cises of the Westhampton (Mass.) Reunion, cele- brated on the fifth of September, 1866, have been recorded and published in a neat pamphlet. They consist of an address of welcome by R. W. Clapp; exceedingly interesting historical ad- dresses by C. Parkman Judd and Otis Clapp; a poem by Professor M. Montague, and the table speeches at the dinner given upon the occasion. Taxine Care or Booxs.—Regarding the var- nishing of old volumes, I think that little can be effected by such composition to preserve leathers; in some cases varnish applied to new bindings may tend somewhat to repel the action of the atmosphere and deleterious gases, but is also likely to harden the leather at the joints, the parts where the greatest action takes place in opening a book. There is no doubt that old bindings, if in sound condition, may be furbished up (as bookbinders say) by the application of shell varnish; though the thing most wanting to render the leather supple is an oil or fatty matter to replace the unction dried out of the skin by the action of time. A composition to render old hides soft and pliable, without staining or injuring, wou be a desideratum. Much harm is done to leather for want of ven- tilation; books require use and air as may be seen by the condition of the bindings in many large libraries where there are no readers, or where there are readers and but little air. The library of the Athenzeum was affected so seriously some years since from this latter cause (gas and heat), that the backs of calf bindings fell away, and the leather crumpled upon touching. 3 The library ought to have the same attention as the green-house; light, air, and equal moist- ure ought to be imparted to the leaves in either case. Light without injury to color, moisture without mildew, and air without soot, are as necessary to the librarian’s as to the gardener’s charge.— Notes and Queries. Tue Frrst Boox.—The Literary Gazette states that the first book printed in the New World was in the city of Mexico. It was printed in the Spanish language, in the year 1044, and was entitled Doctrina Christiana por eo los Indos. The first publication ‘made in English, in Amer- ica, was the Freeman’s Oath, an Almanac for 1639, nearly a hundred years after the work published in Mexico. ; Trexas.—W. Richardson & Co., of Galveston, have published a thick volume, with paper covers, entitled The Texas Almanac for 1867, with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, §c., relating to Texas. It contains a colored map of the State, as well as a great variety of information respecting its resources, business, government and lands. There is a description given of each county in the State; and the lists of its political and legal officers will be found useful to business men. ANOTHER History oF THE War.—Broughton & Wyman, New York, announce for early pub- lication The History of the Great Republic, from the Discovery of America to the present time, tts Colonization, Independence, Development, Eman- cipation, and future Mission, considered from a Christian Stand-point. Its Author is Jesse T. Peck, D.D., and those who have seen the man- uscript speak favorably of the literary character of the work, which is at the same time in popular style. The book will contain Twenty-seven steel portraits. Weitt Done.—The Boston Transcript an- nounces that Mr. William F. Poole has in prep- aration a new edition of his Index to Periodical Literature, in which the references will be brought down to the present time. ; We congratulate “ P.” on the good result which seems to have attended the efforts of his friends in their attempts to sever his connection with the Transcript, as the head of its Dirty Depart- ment. We fancied, a few months since, when he was forced to swallow his own falsehoods about Mr. Brodhead, that the dose would be too strong for his weak nerves, and compel him to seek a more wholesome diet. Our suspicion has been confirmed ; and we wish him all the success that he merits.
Page 60
60 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. (July, An evening paper publishes the following, based upon an article which we wrote and pub- lished, lastweek, as a compliment, not undeserved, as we honestly thought, by Two of our oldest literary friends : “THe TruTH oF Hisrory.—But, by a piece of “rare good luck which has seldom fallen to the “lot of a literary adventurer, he (Willis) fell at “ once into the companionship of Gen. Morris, “joined the Mirror, and the result was the most “ brilliant success in literary publishing that the “world has seen. But the General abandoned “the Mirror, and it failed, falling into a hopeless “state of marasmus and torpor. “<The above paragraph is taken from an arti- “¢ cle, which was evidently got up asa _ puff ad- “<vertisement of a certain weekly newspaper. “¢ As it not only outrages propriety but violates “¢ the truth of history, we feel compelled to say, “<that the old New York Mirror, published by ~«¢Morris & Willis, instead of making “a bril- “¢éliant success,” achieved a most disastrous “<< failure, heavy losses to printers, carriers, pa- “<¢ ner-makers, landlords, and money lenders in- “‘numerable. Since “the General abandoned “és the Mirror,” the present proprietor, instead “<¢ of failing to pay his employees, has paid some “<¢ten thousand dollars of the old concern’s debts ; “¢and the Mirror “still lives,” without the aid “< of paid puffery or self-laudation, ” | All we think it necessary to say in reference to the above, which we would not have replied to at all if it had not been copied by the Hzpress, is to make the following statement, which every one can verify as a simple piece of literary his- tory. Asfor the Hvening Mirror and its proprie- tor, neither one nor the other was in our thoughts when we wrote the paragraph which he has taken the liberty of appropriating to himself. The New York Mirror was under the editorial direction of Morris & Willis for many years. When it ceased to exist they were not the pub- lishers. It was a brilliant and beautiful periodi- cal, and embraced among its contributors Bryant, Leggett, Halleck, Pinckney, Paulding, Fay, Sher- idan Knowles, Tyrone Power, Jacob Harvey, Fanny Kemble, Inman, Sands, Brooks, Dunlap, Pintard, Sprague, Irving, Cooper, Verplanck, William Cox, Dr. Francis, Epes Sadgint, Charles F. Hoffman, Wetmore, Simms, Gould, Sanford, and a host of other well-known and popular writers. Its circulation was about Twelve thou- sand copies, and its subscription price was Four, and afterwards, Fivedollars a-year. J¢ had no connection whatever with any paper. After the ublication of the Mirror ceased, Morris & illis established the New Mirror, a weekly pe- riodical in the octavo form, embellished with en- gravings. It was, like its predecessor, pre-emi- nently successful, and had a circulation of many thousand copies ; but,in consequence of its being in pamphlet form, the Postmaster-General refused to carry it through the mails at newspaper post- age; and it was (with a circulation of Twelve thousand) discontinued solely on that account, af- ter the publication of Three volumes. The New Mirror was also a separate and Independent es- tablishment, and had nothing to do with any other paper, past, present, or to come. The Hvening Mirror was commenced by Mor- ris, Willis & Fuller. After the two former gen- tlemen withdrew, Mr. Fuller assumed all the financial liabilities of the concern, and has been the sole editor and proprietor ever since.—An old copy of The Sunday Courier. Prisons.—The Commissioners of the Prison Association of New York, Rev. Dr. E. C. Wines and Theodore W. Dwight, LL.D., have just pub- lished an able and full Report on the Prisons and Reformatories of the United States and Canadas. It is an octavo, of Five hundred and forty-seven pages, and contains a larger amount of valuable information on the subject than has previously been collected in this country. XVII.—CURRENT EVENTS. Marine’ HistoricaL Society. — The annual meeting of this Society was held in its rooms in Bowdoin College, Brunswick, on the eighth of August. There was a good attendance of the members. The reports of the Treasurer and Librarian presented their departments as in a good condition; the latter noticing the acces- sions to the collection of books to be Two hundred and thirty-four volumes, and Two hundred and thirty-two pamphlets, during the past year. The matter, most interesting to historical stu- dents, was presented in the Report of the Stand- ing Committee, relative to the publication of the Documentary History of the State; to solicit whose aid for this purpose, a Committee was appointed at the Special Meeting, held at Au- gusta, last February (Hist. Mag,, x., 303). In reference to the action of the Committee before the Legislature, and the course afterwards adopt- ed by the Society, the report speaks as follows: “ By the earnest advocacy of this measure be- “fore the proper Committee of that body, on the “part of the Chairman of our Committee, the “ Hon. Mr. Bradbury, with the aid of the Hon. “Mr. Poor, the mover of the Resolution, the “ Legislature, by Resolves, appropriated, under “certain conditions, a sum not exceeding Zwo “ Thousand Dollars, in aid of an Annual volume “of not less than Five hundred pages, at a stipu-
Page 61
1867.] HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. 61 “lated price, to be published for this purpose by “ the Society. “The Standing Committee, thereupon, in behalf “ of the Society, accepted the trust thus confided “to their agency. In pursuance of the duties “thereof, the Secretary was authorized to collect “materials for this purpose, or to indicate the “places where they may be found. “In further pursuance of the same object, the “ Rey. Leonard Woods, D.D., one of their num- “ber, being then about to make a voyage to “ Kurope, was appointed to be the Agent of the “ Society, in procuring such documents as may “be connected with the purpose of the State in “ making this appropriation. ‘This gentleman is “now in London, and is there engaged in making “investigations among the treasures of ancient “time, preserved in the English archives. He “ will also turn his attention, in a similar way, to “the archives of Spain, France and Holland; in “which repositories, it is believed, will be found “important documents to illustrate the earliest “ history of our State, as well as the events oc- “ curring in its progress. “The generosity of the State in making this “ grant cannot be too much commended.” In connection with this Report, the Resolves of the Legislature, and the several votes of the Standing Committee to regulate their procedures, were presented and read; as also was a letter from Dr. Woods, detailing his course in the pro- curement of the expected papers. ‘The Society, by vote, expressed the pleasure and satisfaction with which they had listened to his account of his efforts in this undertaking, and authorized the Standing Committee to carry into effect the re- commendations which he had proposed. A vote of thanks was given io 'rEpERIC Krp- DER, Esq., of Boston, for his valuable contribution to the history of the Eastern part of Maine dur- ing the War of the Revolution, in the publica- tion, with notes, of the Journal of Cole! John Allan. The officers were chosen as follows: The Hon. K. E. Bourng, Kennebunk, President; the Hon. J. W. Brapsury, Augusta, Vice-President ; the Rey. 8. F. Dyxn, Bath, Corresponding Secretary ; the Rev. E. BaLuarp, D. D., Brunswick, Record- ing Secretary ; A. C. Ropstns, Esq., Brunswick, Treasurer; the Rev. A. S. Packxarp, D.D.,- Brunswick, Librarian and Cabinet Keeper. The Standing Committee consists of Messrs. Woops, PackaRD, WHEELER, Barrows. and GILMAN, with the President and Recording Secretary ; and the Publishing Committee, of Messrs. Wri1Is, Woops, J. B. S—watt, WHEELER, PACKARD, BauuLaRpD and Poor. Resident and Correspond- ing Members, Eleven of each class, were elected. A vote was passed commending the N. Y. His- TORICAL MAGAZINE to a wider circulation in the State, thus “bearing testimony to the zeal and “ability of its present Editor, in collecting and “preserving the materials for history, and the “frankness with which historical questions are “discussed and considered in its pages”. The Report of the Committee to represent the Society at the commemorative services of the founding of the Popham Colony, was made by the Chairman, the Hon. C. J. Gillman; and a Committee was appointed consisting of Messrs. Poor, Brown, T. A. D. FessenpEN, BRADBURY, and RK. K. Szwaut, to attend the celebration to occur on the twenty-ninth of August. Measures were taken to place a suitable monu- ment to designate the burial place of the ancient “Mr. Thomas Purchase” the first settler at “ Pe- “ jepscot” (in his patent called “ Bishopscotte,” now Brunswick) in 1628, on the borders of Merry- mating Bay; and also to preserve the Black-Hawk Fort, the only remaining structure pertaining to Fort Halifax, built in 1754, and situated at the con- fluence of the Sebasticook and Kenebeck rivers. In another page will be found the Latin inscrip- tion that celebrated the completion of that im- portant, and, for those days, strong fortification. This Annual Meeting has been one of the most interesting and usefnl in its series. The fact that the Society is now in the way of publishing the papers, such as Charters, Grants, Letters, and Historic Documents of various kinds, shows its earnestness and utility. ‘The field here is large, and needs more explorers than it has found, though it has had faithful laborers ; and now re- joices in one, a veteran in the service, whose care has watched over the issues of the collections of the Society, and whose pen has illustrated the History of our chief city, and the lives of the departed members of the profession of the Civil Law; as well as many other matters, belonging to the design with which this institution was cre- ated. Boston Numismatic SocieTty.—The monthly meeting was held on the afternoon of Thursday, the eleventh of July. The report of the previous meeting was read and accepted. The Secretary distributed among the members present, copies of the “Circular Letter’’ of the Director of the U. S. Mint. It has been prepared after consultation with the numismatic societies and collectors of this country, and contains the rules which are to govern the emission of proof coins and medals from the Mint. ‘The President called the attention of members to the fact that one of their number, Edward A. Crowninshield of Boston, died on the third of July; he was twenty-six years old, and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1861. Mr. Wiggin exhibited an impression in tin of the large medal issued by the American Numis-
Page 62
62 matic and Archeological Society, in memory of Abraham Lincoln ; it bears his head, with the in- scription “Salvator Patrie” ; on the reverse is an inscription in a wreath of laurel. With it were specimens in Three metals of ‘I'wo sizes of smaller medals, reduced from the large one by Hill’s en- graving machine ; an extract was read from a let- ter describing the process and its results. ‘These medals belong to James Parker of Springfield, a resident member. Mr. Wiggin also showed the gold piece of Twenty pesos or dollars, struck for Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, in 1866, and be- longing to U. P. Nichols of Springfield. The Secretary exhibited a silver shell of Wash. ington, with his head on a pedestal, supported by figures of an Indian and Minerva, and the inscrip- tion, “Gen. Geo. Washington, Presi. of the Unit. “Sta.” He also showed a specimen in silver of a medal described in the July number of the Ameri- can Journal of Numismatics, under the subject of “Dordrecht Dollars.” It is of size 31 1-2, and has on one side a milk-maid seated by a cow be- fore a fence; near are another cow, sheep and trees, with the inscription, “ Avidi Spes Kida Co- “dont” ; on the reverse is a ship of war under sail, and around are Four shields, on the largest of which are the arms of West Frisia; the inscrip- tion is “ Nauta Aiquora Verrit Turbida, 1622.” It was struck to commemorate the escape of Dor- drecht from a surprise by the Spaniards, through the presence of mind of some milk-maids. The Society adjourned to the first Thursday of October. Tue AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION.—-A quarterly meeting was held at Boston, on the nineteenth inst., the President, Edward Jarvis, M.D., in the chair : Hon. Amasa Walker, LL.D., of North Brook- field, Mass., read a paper on the question, Will a contraction of the Currency tncrease the burdens of Taxation? He showed that this would not be the case with any class of the community ; that the farmer, the manufacturer, the laborer, the capitalist, and the merchant, would be benefited rather than injured by contraction. Thanks were voted to Dr. Walker for the paper, and he was requested to publish the same. ‘he President made some remarks upon the growth of cities in population at the expense of the country, which has been frequently noticed among various nations. ; Ebenezer Alden, M.D., of Randolph, Mass., fol- lowed with remarks upon the greater length of life among physicians in the country as compared with those in cities, and illustrated his position by examples. A Hisrorrcat Commissrton.—The Common HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July Council of the City of New York recently adopted the following Resolutions; and, on the twenty- first of May, the Mayor approved them. ‘The great importance of the duties assigned to this Commission will be apparent to all our readers; especially in view of the Legislative action concerning the real estate and franchises of this ancient Corporation ; and, as was said by one of our contemporaries, “the result of this “ inquiry will be invaluable as # matter of public “record, if nothing more.” “ Wuereas, Under its ancient Charters, and by “subsequent purchase and gift, the Mayor, Alder- “men and Commonalty of the City of New York ‘have, from time to time, become the legal pos- “sessor of certain rights, franchises and proper- “ties; and “ WueErEAS, Certain of those rights, franchises “and properties, at various times, have been “ encroached upon or seized for the public use, “by the People of the State of New York, with- “ out the compensation therefor which has been “guaranteed by the Constitution of the State “and that for the United States; and “ WHEREAS, Propositions have been entertained “by the Legislature of the State of New York “for a still more extended seizure for the public “use, without compensation therefor, of portions “of the real estate and of various rights and “franchises belonging to the said Mayor, Alder- “men and Commonalty, which have been guar- “anteed by the ancient Charters and confirmed “from time to time by the Constitution of the “ State ; and «“ Wuereas, It is desirable that the said Mayor, « Aldermen and Commonalty shall be made ac- “ quainted, from the records and documents which “have descended to them, with the character and “extent of their said vested rights, franchises, “and properties, no matter from what source “they shall have been derived, in order that “ judicious measures may be taken for their pro- “ tection from illegal seizure and invasion ; there- “ fore " RESOLVED, That the Counsel to the Corpor- “ation and the Clerk of the Common Council be “and they are hereby instructed, and Dr. E. B. “O’CaLLAGHAN, J. Romeyn Bropueap, LL.D., “ GzorGcE Henry Moors, Esq., Henry B. Daw- “son, Esq., and Joun Pavuuprna, Esq., be and “they are hereby severally requested to ascer- “tain and report to his Honor the Mayor the “ character and extent of the various rights, fran- “ ghises and properties of which the Corporation “of the City of New York has been and is now “legally the proprietor, whether the same shall “have been derived from the ancient Charters, or “either of them, or from subsequent purchase or “ gift; when, and in what manner,jand by what “authority, in law, if at all, any or either of
Page 63
1867. HISTORICAL “ such rights, franchises and properties, have been “invaded or seized; to what extent, if at all, “they or any of them have been threatened; “and what effect, if any, such seizure or threat- “ened seizure or invasion will have on the con- ‘tracts which the city has entered into with its “ creditors or bondholders. “ RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Common “Council be and he is hereby instructed to give “to the gentlemen referred to in the preceding “resolution full access to the records and files “ which are in his office, and to furnish for their “use copies of such of those records and papers, “and of such other papers and documents as “shall be necessary for the purpose of this in- “ quiry.” % “ DuTcH” oR SOMETHING LEss.—Our readers are probably aware of the proposition which was accepted by the General Synod of the Re- formed Dutch Church, at the recent session, to drop the old word “ Durcr” trom the title of the denomination ; and the contest that has arisen on the subject. The Consistory of the Collegiate churches in the City of New York has passed the following resolution in reference to the subject: “WHEREAS, The General Synod in June last “recommended to the Classes an amendment to “the Constitution changing the name of our ms hs es) to the Reformed Church in America; 6“ an “ WHEREAS, The same Synod declared ‘ that it “¢is entirely proper for every Consistory to ex- “press to its Classis its views in regard to the “<¢proposed change; therefore * RESOLVED, That this Consistory hereby ex- “ presses its opinion that this change is uncalled “for, unwise, and very dangerous to the peace, “ prosperity, and even the existence of the Church, “especially if it be carried out in the time and *‘ manner proposed.’ CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARIES. —The present edifice of the Reformed Dutch Church of Clave- rack, was erected in the year 1767. The centen- nial anniversary of that event is to be celebrated with appropriate services on the twenty-eighth of August. A great gathering of the tribes, and an occasion of unusual interest, is expected. The First Reformed Dutch Church of New Brunswick, N. J., will complete the One hundred and fiftieth year of its history this fall, and is to celebrate the occasion on Tuesday, the first of October. In the morning a historical discourse will be delivered by the pastor, Rey. Richard H. Steele, D.D. The devotional exercises will be conducted by former ministers of the church. The afternoon will be devoted to public exercises MAGAZINE. 63 appropriate to the occasion. In the evening an address will be delivered by the senior ex-pastor, Rev. Isaac Ferris, D.D., of New York city. THe Turuiitis.—At a meeting of the Com- mittee of Arrangements, representing the de- scednants of John Tuthill, one of the original Colony that settled at Southold, Long Island, in the year 1640, held in said Town, the twenty- seventh of May, 1867, the following preamble and resolution were adopted: Whereas, The descendants of John Tuthill, man of whom reside in the town of Southold, Suffol County, and other parts of Long Island, and others residing in various States of the Union, feeling a deep interest in perpetuating his memory, deem it of importance to make them- selves known and acquainted with each other, and to strengthen the family ties; therefore, Resolved, That a general gathering of said descendants, and of those who claim any rela- tionship to the said John Tuthill, be held in the grove of Thomas 8. Lester, in the village of Southold, Suffolk County, Long Island, on the twenty-eighth day of August, 1867, at which all the descendants are cordially invited and respect- fully requested to be present, and to bring with them any and all documents of historical interest to the family. Addresses from some of the members of the family may be expected on the occasion. Scraps.—The ground has been broken for a monument to Pennsylvanians who fell in Mexico. It will be of white marble, Seventy feet high, erected at Harrisburg. —Hon. Henry Stevens, a distinguished citizen of Vermont, aged Seventy-five, died at his resi- dence in Barnet recently. Mr. Stevens was formerly the President of the Vermont Historical Society. —Prof. Chas. Anthon, LL.D., for many years head of the classical department in Columbia College, died in this city in his Seventieth year. He was the author of Fifty volumes on classical subjects, all of which exhibit great learning and research. . —An old “pine tree shilling” of Massachusetts coinage, of the very old and rare date, 1652, was picked up a day or two ago by Orrin Loomis, of West Springfield, an old man of Seventy-five, while walking in his own fields. The letters upon the coin, the figure of the_old tree, date and all, have been distinctly preserved. —Brave Corporal John Lorence—he whom General Burnside called the hero of Roanoke— says the Providence Journal, was in front of the Post Office, last evening, trying to earn a livelihood
Page 64
64 HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. [July, 1867.] of a lot of land adjoining its present estate at the for himself and family by dispensing cigars and patriotic airs on a hand-organ. John was a member of Company K, 9th New Jersey Volun- teers, and was in the front at the landing on Roanoke Island. Jn the engagement a round shot took off both his legs, but he kept up a good heart, and was able in the hospital, when he heard that victory and the Island were ours, to arouse up and call for three cheers for the Union and General Burnside.— Boston Transcript, July 31. The Transcript does not tell us why “ General “Burnside ”’ who was thus honored, does not now find something better for this noble fellow to do for a living, than to peddle cigars and grind hideous noises from a hand-organ, since both have returned to the same little city, and one has become a Governor while the other, his near neighbor, is only a friendless cripple. Is it because the Governor of Rhode Island has no patronage, or Rhode Island no gratitude, for her live heroes who are poor, or Lorence no “ in- “fluence?” Let History tell how ungrateful one Republic is and how little one General cares for a hero who remembered him, even in his struggle with death.— Ep. Hist. Maa. —Stonewall Jackson’s war horse “ Superior,’ which was a gift to the General in 1862, from the citizens of Augusta county, Va., has been sold to a citizen of Macon, by the widow of our lamented hero,.whose indigent circumstances necessitated her to part withthe animal. It was originally designed to have sent it to Baltimore for sale, but a purchaser was found in Macon, who was liberal enough to pay a generous price for him. —The University of Toronto has erected a memorial window to the students of the college who fell in the battle with the Fenians at Lime Ridge. —It has been suggested that a subscription be opened for a fund to paint the Old South Church. Feeble religious societies must be sustained by the Christian public. —The Hessians were amongst those who least regretted the union with Prussia. They were willing to lose their autonomy if they only lost their Elector at the same time. They are now doubtful whether the rule of the half-maniac des- pee was not as good as that of Prussia. The old andgraves, by lending troops to Britain during the American war, and by hereditary parsimony, amassed large sums in the Electoral treasury. The Prussians are now masters of the .situation and the funds. ‘The removal of the coin to the Prussian treasury is bitterly complained of by the Hessians. —The Worcester Spy says that Hon. Stephen Salisbury has added to his recent public gifts a donation to the American Antiquarian Society, corner of Maine and Highland streets, together with Eight thousand dollars in money, to be in- vested as a fund for the extension of the library building at some future time. —At a sale of the effects of the Farmers and Merchants’ Saving Institution, of Lynchburg, Wednesday, One hundred and eighty thousand dollars, in Confederate eight and six per cent. bonds, and Thirteen thousand five hundred dol- lars, in Confederate notes, brought, altogether, the sum of Twenty dollarsin greenbacks. Thirty thousand dollars, Confederate registered bonds, One dollar and seventy-five cents.—Richmond Examiner, July 27. —Mrs. Amanda M. Dade, widow of Major Francis Langhorne Dade, a Virginian by birth, who was massacred, with his whole command— One hundred and seventeen men—by Seminole In- dians in December, 1835, has just died in Florida. —In a lead mine at Memphis, Tenn., last Thursday, some specimens of red sandstone were broken open, and one was found to contain a pe- trified human hand, in a perfect state of preser- vation. In other cases parts of animals were found, and one black snake some Five feet long was found, of the consistency and weight of the stone. —In February, 1866, a joint resolution was passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, au- thorizing the procurement of a historical painting, commemorative of the battle of Gettysburg, to be placed in the Capitol at Harrisburg. The com- mittee to whom the matter was given in charge have selected Mr. Peter F. Rothermel, of Phila- delphia, as the artist to execute the work. It is expected that Three years will be required in the completion of the picture, as it will be Thirty-five feet in length by Fifteen feet in height. —A portion ofthe Eustis estate at Roxbury, Mass., laid out by Gov. Eustis before the Revo- lution, and during that contest a favorite resort for the American generals, has just been sold at auction, and realized Seventeen thousand dollars. The venerable mansion built by Gov. Shirley in the middle of the last century, of materials brought from England, was knocked down at Four hundred and ten dollars. — The fine statue of Hon. Thomas H. Benton, which has been on storage in St. Louis for several months, is at last to be erected in some suitable place. The statue is life size, and was made by Miss Harriet Hosmer,some years ago.—-Zranscript. — Mr. Larkin G. Mead, Jr., the American sculptor, has just completed the model of “ Col- umbus before Queen Isabella,” ordered some time since by Mr. Lockwood, of New York. This is Mr. Mead’s most important work, and its merits are sufficient to satisfy the artist’s most enthu- siastic friends.—Jbid.