CHAPTER 11.
TOMYS SWARTWOUT, SCHEPEN OF MIDWOUT.
1607-1662.
THE baptismal registers of the Reformed
Church {doopregistcrs dcr Gercformecrde-kcrk), in nine volumes,
preserved in the Old Archive of Groningen, contain the names of the
persons baptized by its ministers, and those of the sponsors, and the
dates of the administration of the sacrament, from the year 1640 to
August, 181 1. The barm and marriage-registers (proclamatic en
trouivregisters’), in thirty-five volumes, date from the year 1595 to
that of 1 81 2. Information relating to people residing in Groningen
prior to the close of the sixteenth century is now only obtainable
from a few rare histories and ancient manuscripts, and the early
records of the city. As has been remarked, two of the precious
parchments treasured in the Old Archive are the original record in
Latin of the awards made in 1338 by the Arbitration Commission of
which Otto Swartewold was a member, and the certificate given in 1459
by the burgomaster and council of Groningen, in which Willem
Zwartcwolt is titled the warden of a city-tower. Earlier than the
elates with which the records of baptisms and proclamations of
marriage-banns in Groningen begin there are no existing sources there
of genealogical information.
The impossibility of accurately tracing
to an earlier period the lineage of the representatives of the
Swartwout family, living in Groningen at the beginning of the
seventeenth century, necessitates the recognition of Rolef 1
Swartwolt as the progenitor historically of the persons differently
named Swartwout, Swarthout, Swartout, and Swartwood, who were
numbered among the settlers of New Netherland and those who by
residence and by birth became subsequently inhabitants of the United
States of America. Rolef Swartwolt and his wife Catryna, with their
children, were on September 21, 16 16, residing in Groningen, on the
Straight Passage {Jiet RccJitc JatJi), now identified by the
sculptured face ofa bearded man, embellishing the front wall ofa
brick house stand1English,
Ralph;written anciently in Dutch, Rolf;
in the fifteenth century, Relof;inthe seven;
teenth century, Rolef, RoleJJ\ Rochf
RoelcJJ and later Rolf and Roelof.
29
30
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
ing” on the cast side of the
street, and an inscription engraved below the effigy:
•ickkickiXOCH.int (Istillpeep into it).1 As elicited from different
records, Rolef Swartwolt had four sons severally named Wybrandt,
Tomys, Herman, and Aldert ; Tomys having been born in
SITE OF THE RESIDENCE OF ROLEF
SWARTWOLT. (‘1he house is outlined south of the x on Lamhuiugeitraat,
having three window-marks in a row visible on the rear wall.)
1607, and Herman (or Hermanns) in 1608.
In 1616, their father was the owner of one-half of a house standing
on the east side of the Rechte Jath, in which he was then living, and
of one-fourth of a dwelling, on the west side and at the north end of
Lamhuingcstraat, now Aa-kcrkstraat.
By conveying, by a deed of partition,
on June 4, 1617, his right, title, and interest in the building and
lot on the east side of the Rechte Jath, to the
1 The house stands on the southeast
corner of the Omit’ Kijk en V Jatstraat (Old Peep into the Passage
Street) and the l.oopauiediep (the Running-deep canal). The
bas-relief “is said to commemorate a siege 1)) the Bishop of
Minister and the electoral troops of Cologne, in 1672, when the
besiegers were compelled to retreat, as they were unable to prevent
supplies being brought into the town by the Rciiidii’fy. The
inscription impoits that as long as the harbor is free from enemies
no real danger from besiegers need be apprehended.” Baedeker’s
Handbook of Belgium and Holland. 1894, p. 364.
31
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
owners of the three-fourths of the
dwelling, at the north end of Ltxmhuiugcstraat, and by paying one
hundred and eighteen dalers, three Brabant stivers, and six and a
quarter plackcu, he obtained entire possession of the house
AA-KERK, GRONINGEN, 1896.
on Lamkuiiioestraat, of which he had
been one-fourth an owner ; the property being then valued at one
thousand and ninety four dalers, sixteen Brabant stivers, and one
plack}
Standing as the building was at the
junction of Lamhuingcstraat and the
1 \ ridc ‘ Dutch text and translation
of the partition deed in the Appendix. Document Xo. 4.
32
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
Cromme Jatk (Crooked Passage) — the
first-named running-from—the point of intersection southwestwardly
and the second northwestwardly permitted the occupants of the house
easy access to the main thoroughfares crossing the central part of
the city. Looking down the short stretch of Lamhuingcstraat to its
termination at Bruggestraaf, they saw the lofty tower of Aa kcrk in
hisfh relief above the tiled roofs of the contiguous houses.
When the quaintly-proportioned
two-story brick dwelling was demolished in 1884, an iron plate was
removed from the back masonry of the fireplace of the lower front
room bearing the figures 1446, which were accepted as denoting the
year of the erection of the building. The site of it, next north of
the Sedentary-Poor Hospital (Arme-huiszittcn-gasthuis)> founded in
1634, is now occupied by a two-story building, on the lower floor of
which is a grocery.
There are no other particulars extant
concerning Rolef and Catryna Swartwolt excepting the meagre
information that she died some time prior to his decease in 1634.
They both were probably well-advanced in years when they died, for
three of their sons —Wybrandt, Tomys, and Hennan — were married
and engaged in business in the city of Amsterdam, distant one hundred
and thirty English miles, by railroad, from Groningen.
At that time the beginnings of the
history of New Netherland, in North America, were frequent topics of
conversation at most of the marts and ports of Holland. Twenty years
prior to the residence of the three sons of Rolef Swartwolt in the
city of Amsterdam, or more definitely, on Saturday, March 25, 1609
(old style), Henry Hudson, the English navigator, had sailed from the
harbor of Amsterdam, in the ship the Half-Moon (de Halve Maaii), in
the interest of the Dutch East-India Company, to seek in the Arctic
Ocean, toward Novaya Zemlya, a navigable route to Eastern Asia.
Meeting in his course thither an impassable barrier of ice, he
proposed to his officers and crew to make a voyage to New France, in
North America, between Florida and Labrador, and to explore the river
now bearing his name, delineated on maps made in the previous
century, as had been suggested to him by Captain John Smith of the
Virginia colony, who had sent him certain maps of that part of New
France in the belief that the indomitable mariner could find a
waterway extending westward from that river through which he might
sail to the Indian Ocean.
The project was favored, and he sailed
to New France and explored the Great {Grand) River to its navigable
height, northward as far as the mouths of the Mohawk, without finding
any stream or inlet sufficiently deep by which he could pass westward
from it in the Half-Moon. He sailed homeward in the month of October,
having his ship freighted with beaver and otter skins and a
Sp3p_-“e5=”3->•rP?gt””T-“
The engraving embellishes an elaborate
cartographic representation of the place, made that year, which bears
the followingLatin title:
Hanc Tabulam Floretissimae Urbis sum ma
diligentia et arte pinxit atque acre expressit, Balthazar Horentius
Batavus sumptibub.
Philippi Molevlieti Zclandi apud quern
prostant exemplaria. Amstelredami CI3LHXXV. Cum privilegio sexennium.
Balthazar
Ilouzzoon n. Berkenrode.
34
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
quantity of tobacco, for which he had
exchanged beads, knives, hatchets, and
other things of littlevalue, with the
Indians, with whom he had friendly intercourse
while his ship lay at anchor at
different places in the Great River.1
The hicrh commercial value of the furs
brought in the little vessel to Amsterdam
influenced a number of merchants to
send several ships to trade for
peltry to the Great River, on which the
Hollanders had bestowed the name of
Mauritius, in honor of Prince Maurice
of Nassau. 2
By a plea of having discovered “certain
new lands situate in America,”
“
lying between the fortieth and
forty-fifth parallels of north latitude,” called by them New
Netherland {Nieu Nedcrlandt), and delineated on a map, a copy of
which is preserved in the General Library of the State of New York,
at Albany, these adventurers obtained a special license from the
Lords States-General of the Netherlands to trade in New Netherland
during a period of
“
three years, beginning on the first day
ofJanuary, 1615, or earlier.”
The commercial advantages of opening a
number of distant fields of traffic, particularly in North and South
America, having been perceived by certain Holland merchants, they
obtained, on June 3, 1621, a charter incorporating the Dutch
West-India Company, by which they secured the exclusive jurisdiction
of New Netherland, and the privilege of
solely enjoying all rights of trading with the natives and future
settlers of that country. To them was also granted the liberty of
supporting and paying bodies of troops to be provided by the Lords
States-General of Holland to garrison the forts and protect the
property of the company.
The administration of the affairs of
this guild of wealthy Dutch merchants was intrusted to five chambers
of managers, represented by a college of nineteen directors, of which
number, eight were from the Amsterdam Chamber, four from the Zeeland,
two from the Maas, two from the North Holland, two from the
Friesland, and one from the government of the United Netherlands.
The successive steps taken by the Dutch
West-India Company to advance its interests in New Netherland were,
between the years 1622 and 1633, substantially set forth in a series
of annually printed compilations, entitled: Historical account of all
memorable events here and there in Europe {Historisch
1The Discoveries of America to the Year
1525. By Arthur James Weise. 1884, pp. 318, 319.
-‘ Belgische ofte Nedcrlantschc
Oorlogen ende Gheschicdenissen beginnende van’tjacr 1598 tot 161 1
mede varvatende einghe haer der gebucrcnhandelinghe. Bcschrcvcn door
Emanucl van Meteren. By hem voor de leste oversie vcrbetcrt edc
vcrmcerdcrt na die Copie. Gcdruckt op Schotlant buytcn Danswyck, by
Hermes van Loven, voor den Autheur. Anno 161 1, fol. 346.
Beschiyvmghe van der Saymoyeden
l.uidtinTartarien. Nieulijcks onder ‘t ghebiedt der Moscoviten
gebracht. \Vt de Russchc tale ovcrghest, Anno 1609. Met een verhael
van dc opsoeckingh ende ontdeckinge van de nieuwe deurgang oftc
straet in’t Noordwesten na de Rycken van China ende Cathay. Ende ccn
Memorial gepresenteert aan den Coningh van spaengien, bclanghende de
ontdeckinge ende gheleghen 1.heyt van’t Land ghenaemt Australis
Incognita. T”Amsterdam by Hessel Gcrritsz, Boeckvercooper, opt
Water, in de Pascaert. Anno 16 12.
35
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
verha el alder ghcdcnckivcerdichstc
gcschiedcnisse die hicr en daer in Europe), by Doctor Nicolaes a
Wassenaer ; the first volume of which was published at Amsterdam, in
1622. The well-informed writer of this rare and valuable work,
“
describing that part of New France, in
North America, called Virginia,”
says : “Itwas first peopled by the
French,” and that “the Lords States-General, observing the
large number of their [Holland] people as well as their desire to
plant other lands, allowed the West-India Company to settle that same
country. Many from the United Provinces did formerly and do still
trade there ; yea, for the greater security of the traders, a castle,
Fort Nassau, had been built on an island [now within the corporate
limits of the city of Albany |,
in forty-two degrees, on the north
[west ?] side of the River Montague, now [in 1624] called Mauritius.
But as the natives there were somewhat discontented and not easily
managed, the projectors abandoned it, intending now [February, 1624 |
to plant a colony among the Maikans [Mohegans], a nation lying
twenty-five [Dutch] miles on both sides of the river upwards.
“This river, or the bay, lies in
forty degrees, running well in, being as broad or as wide as the
Thames, and navigable fifty [Dutch] miles 1
** * *
up. “This country, now called New
Netherland, is usually reached in seven or
*** *
eight weeks from here. The trade of the
natives consists mostly
****
in peltries. In exchange for peltries,
they receive beads, with which they decorate their persons, knives,
adzes, axes, case-knives, kettles,
****
and all sorts of iron-ware which they
require for housekeeping.
“
Among these almost barbarous people,
there are few or none cross-eyed, blind, crippled, lame,
hunch-backed, or limping. All are well-shaped people, strong in
constitution of body, well-proportioned, without blemish.” ”
The circumspect author, under date of”February, 1624,”
further observes:
To plant a colony near these natives, a
ship is fitted out by order of the West-India Company, freighted with
families.” The vessel did not depart from the port of Amsterdam
until March, that year, in order not to arrive at the Mauritius River
before it was clear of ice
“
and navigable. Wassenaer, under the
date of April, 1624,” remarks:
“
The West-India Company, being chartered
to navigate these rivers [the Mauritius, and the South or Delaware],
did not neglect so to do, but made ready in the spring a vessel of
one hundred and thirty lasts [about two hundred and fifty English
tons], called the Nicu Nedcrlandt, of which Cornelis Jacobsz May, of
Hoorn, was captain, with thirty families, mostly Walloons,-to plant a
colony there.
1A Dutch mile is about equal to three
English miles. -‘French refugees.
36
T\\\i SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
“They sailed in the beginning of
March, and, directing their course by the Canary Islands, steered
toward the Wild Coast [of Africa], and gained the west [trade ] wind,
which luckily [bore | them into the river, first named River
of the Mountains, now the River
Mauritius, lying in forty and one-half degrees.
“
He [the captain of the ship ] found a
Frenchman lying in the mouth of the river who would erect there the
arms of the King of France, but the Hollanders would not permit him,
opposing it by order of the Lords States-General and the directors of
the West-India Company. In order not to be frustrated therein, they
caused a yacht of two guns to be manned, and with the help of those
on board the yacht, the Mackerel, that had lain above, convoyed the
Frenchman out of the river, who would have done the same thing in the
South River, but by hindrance of the guards there it was prevented.
“
This being accomplished, the ship
ascended forty-four [Dutch| miles near the Maykens |Mohegans]. Having
cast up and completed, on the island by them called Castle Island, a
fort with four points, they named it Orange. Immediately thereafter
they put the spade into the ground and began to till it, and before
the yacht, the Mackerel, sailed away, the corn was nearly as high as
a man.”
Writing under the date of “December,
1624,” he speaks of the profitable returns derived by the
West-India Company from the trade in furs at Fort Oranee :
“t>
As regards the prosperity of New
Netherland, we learn by the arrival of the ship of which Jan May of
Hoorn was captain, that everything there was in good condition. The
colony began to advance bravely and continues in friendship with the
natives. The fur, or other trade, remains in the West-India Company,
others being forbidden to trade there. Rich beaver, otter, marten,
and fox skins are found there. This cargo consists of five hundred
otter and fifteen hundred beaver skins, and a few other things, which
were in four parcels, [that were sold, on December 20, 1624, at
Amsterdam] for twenty-eight thousand, some hundred guilders.” !
“
The eligibility of the Island
Manhates,” accessible to sailing vessels in winter as in summer,
and a suitable place for the residence of the director-general in
charge of the property of the West-India Company, led to the purchase
of it, in 1626, from the Indians inhabiting it. The report of the
transaction transmitted in the fall of that year to the Amsterdam
directors is
1 Historisch \cihael alder
ghedenckwcerdichstc gcschicdcnissc, die hicr en daer inEurope, als in
Duijtsch-lnnt, Vrancknjck, Enghelant,
Spaengicn, Hungarijcn, Polcn, Scvcn-bcrghen, Wallachicn,
Molda\ien, Turckijen, on Xeder-lant,
van de beginne dcs ‘jaers 162 i:to den Herfs toe, voor gevallen
sijn door Doct.* Claes Wassenaer. 1622.
T’ Amstrelreclam. ‘/ seste dccl of 7 vervolgh van het Historisch
‘Verhacl. h *h Win* Ot tobri dcs jaers
1623 tot April dcs jaers 1624, voorgevallcn sijn. fols. 144, 146.
*’
Tsevende dccl Win Aprildescs jaers
1624, tot Octobrcnc voor^cvallen sijn. fol. 11. Tachete
dccl. folb. 84, 85.
THE
SWARTWOUT
CHRONICLES.
37
“
strikingly laconic :
Our people
have
bought
the
Island Manhates from the
wildmen forthe value of 60guilders
[$24.00];itis 11,000 morgcn A [22,000 acres] large.” 2 Pieter
Minuit, the third director-general to be intrusted with the manage”
ment of the company’s affairs in New
Netherland, arrived at the Island Manhates,” on May 4, 1626.
Shortly afterward the construction of a rude fortification of earth
and logs was begun on the south end of the island. A number of French
and Dutch colonists, who had been brought there from Holland by the
West-India Company, built for themselves during the summer and fall
about thirty bark dwellings contiguous to the site of the
fortifications. The seat of this second colony obtained that year the
name of New Amsterdam.
Describing the beginnings of this
colony, Wassenaer, writing under the date of “November, 1626,”
says: “The colony was planted at this time on the Manhates,
where a fort was staked out by Master Krijn Frederijke, an engineer.
It willbe of large dimensions. The ship which has returned home this
month brings samples of all the different kinds of produce there. The
cargo consists of seven thousand two hundred and forty-six beaver,
six hundred and seventy-five otter, forty-eight mink, and
thirty-eight wild-cat skins, and various other sorts ; |besides]
several pieces of oak and hickory timber.
“
The counting-house there is kept in a
stone building, thatched with reed ; the other houses are ofbark of
trees. Each has his own house. The director and the store-keeper
(coopmaii) live together. There are thirty ordinary houses on the
east side of the river, which runs nearly north and south.
“The Honorable Pieter Minuit is
director there at present; Jan Lempo, sheriff; Sebastien Jansz Crol,
and Jan Huyck, [are] visitors of the sick, who while awaiting a
clergyman, read to the congregation there on Sundays Scripture
lessons with explanatory notes. Francois, the mill-wright, is busy
building a horse-mill, over which willbe made a room sufficiently
spacious to accommodate a large congregation, and then a tower willbe
erected in which
*** *
the “bells brought from Porto Rico
willbe huno-.
Ithappened this year that the Mayleans
[Mohegans], being at war with the Maquacs [Mohawks], requested to be
assisted by the commander of Fort Orange and six others. Commander
Krieckebeck went up with them a [Dutch] mile from the fort, and met
the Maquacs, who peppered them so bravely with a discharge of arrows
that they were forced to fly, leaving many
****
slain, among whom were the commander
and three of his men. “There being no commander [at that post],
Pieter Barentsen assumed
1Morgoi, about two acres ofland. -‘
Holland documents, vol. i., p. 155.
38
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
the command of Fort Orange by order of
Director Minuit. There was eight families there, and ten or twelve
seamen in the company’s service. The fort was to remain garrisoned by
sixteen men without women, and the families were to leave there this
year in order to strengthen with people the colony near the Manhates
[Indians], who were becoming more and more accustomed
to the strangers.”
;->
“”
Under the date of October, 1628,”
Wassenaer further remarks : There are now no families at Fort Orange,
situated higher up the river among the Maykans. They are all brought
down. They keep as traders there five or six and twenty persons.
Sebastien Jansz Crol is under-di rector there. He has remained there
since the year 1626, when the others came down.”
Concerning 1 the growth of New
Amsterdam, Wassenaer observes : “In the year 1628 there already
resided on the island of the Manhates two hundred and seventy souls,
men, women, and children.” !
In order that the colonists might enjoy
the preaching and religious instruction of a minister of the Reformed
Church, the West-India Company induced the Classis of Amsterdam to
send the Reverend Jonas Michaelius to New Netherland. Arriving at New
Amsterdam, in April, 1628, he began organizing the first church
established within the limits of the province.
In a communication, dated at New
Amsterdam, on August 11, 1628, and addressed to the Reverend Adrianus
Smoutius, dwelling on the Heerengracht (Lords’ Canal), in Amsterdam,
not far from the house of the West-India Company, he details with
evident gratification the success of his initial efforts to better
the spiritual condition of the people of the small settlement :
“
We have first established the form of a
church {gemcente) ; and, as Brother Bastiaen Crol very seldom comes
down from Fort Orange, because the directorship of that fort and the
trade there is committed to him, it has
****
been thought best to choose two elders
for my assistance. One of those whom we have now chosen is the
Honorable Director himself, and the other is the store-keeper of the
company, Jan Huyghen, his brother-in-law, persons of very good
character as far as Ihave been able to learn, both having been
formerly in office in the church, the one as deacon, and the other as
elder in the Dutch and French churches, respectively, at Wesel.
“
We have had at the first administration
of the Lord’s Supper full fiftycommunicants -not without great joy
and comfort for so many—Walloons and
* ***
Dutch. The Walloons and French have no
service on Sundays otherwise than in the Dutch language, of which
they understand very little.
” ‘
1Thuacljde dee/ of ‘T vervolgh van hct
Historiscli verluxel. fol. 38 ; TsestJiiende dec/, fol. 13; ‘7 <n
hteende dec!, fol. 94.
39
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
Some of the Walloons are qr-oincr back
to Fatherland, cither because their years here are expired, or
because some are not very serviceable to the company. Some of them
live far away, and could not come on account of the heavy rains and
storms, so that it was neither advisable nor was it possible to
appoint any special service for so small a number with so much
uncertainty. Nevertheless, the Lord’s Supper was administered to them
in the French language and according to the French mode, with a
preceding discourse, which Ihad before me in writing, as Icould not
trust myself extemporane****
ously.
“
The trade in furs is dull on account of
a new war of the Maechibaeys |Mohawks] against the Mohicans
[Mohegans] at the upper end of this river. There have occurred cruel
murders on both sides. The Mohicans have fled and their lands are
unoccupied, and they are very fertile and pleasant. It grieves us
that there are no people and that there is no intention on the part
of the Lords-Managers [ofthe West-India Company | to occupy them.
“
They fell much wood here to carry to
the Fatherland, but the vessels are too few to take much of it. They
are making a windmill to saw the wood, and we have also a grist-mill.
They bake brick here, but of a poor quality.
There is good material for burning
lime, oyster-shells in large quantities.
The burning of potash has not succeeded
; the master and his laborers are
greatly discouraged. We are now busy in
building a fort of good quarry****
stone,” which is found not far
from here in abundance.
Ihad promised [to write] to the
Venerable Brothers, Rudolphus Petri, Joannes Sijlvius, and Dominie
Cloppenburg, who with your Honor were charged with the
[ecclesiastical]
superintendance of these regions, but as this would
take long, and the time is short, and my occupations at the present
time many, willyou, Right Reverend, be pleased to give my friendly
and kind regards to their reverences, and to excuse me, on condition
that Iremain their debtor to fulfillmy promise, God willing, by the
next voyage.” 1
Not long after the beginning of the
pastorate of the Rev. Everardus Bogardus, at New Amsterdam, in 1633,
a plain wooden church was built, on the north side of Pearl Street,
midway between Broadway and Whitehall Street. In 1642, the building
having become dilapidated and unsafe, a stone edifice, seventy-two
feet long, fifty wide, and sixteen high, was erected inside the fort.
The site of the new church, selected by Director-General William
Kieft, dissatisfied the greater part of the congregation,
particularly when it was discovered that the building intercepted the
wind when blowing from the southeast, thereby stopping the revolution
of the four-armed windwheel
1Documents relating to the colonial
history ofthe state ofNew York, vol.ii,pp.763-770.
Amsterdam’s oldk.st estate, and
distinct enlargements, hv is. tirion. 1760.
(The seven kinds of points and lines
mentioned in the inscription are not shown on this copy of the
original diagram.)
41
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
operating the public grist-mill
standing at the northwest side of the fort, and alarming the
inhabitants lest the quantity of flour needed by them should not be
ground.
The cultivation of tobacco by the
colonists of New Netherland was beinm as soon as their tilled fields
provided them with food-products sufficient for themselves and
cattle. It is said that, as early as the year 1616, when the English
colony on the James River comprised three hundred and fifty-onesouls,
a law was enacted to prevent the settlers there from neglecting the
cultivation of food crops in order to
engage in that of tobacco. As the indigenous plant grew vigorously in
the rich soil of the cleared-forest land of New Netherland, the
colonists soon discovered that it would be profitable for them to
cultivate it for shipment and sale in Holland, where it then
commanded high prices. In 1629, the West-India Company, in a memorial
enumerating its financial benefits to Holland, called attention to
the fact that
“
its ships had brought there a
considerable quantity of tobacco, which is now an important article
of commerce.”
The engagement in 1629 of Wybrandt,
Tomys, and Herman Swartwout as a firm in the wholesale business of
buying and selling tobacco in the city of Amsterdam evidently gave
the three brothers no little prominence among its merchants, insomuch
as the importation of tobacco into Holland was stillin its incipiency
at that time. It may also be inferred that their transactions
associated them with traders going to and returning from New
Netherland. which country had been known by that geographical title
fifteen years prior to their residence in Amsterdam.
The site of the city of Amsterdam at
the conjunction of the Amstel River, and an estuary of the Southern
Sea (Zuiderzee), called the Ij,1 was originally the site of a castle,
built in 1204, by Gysbrecht 11., Lord of Amstel, near which he
constructed a dam that in time obtained the name of Amsterdam. Two
centuries later a flourishing city was attracting there merchants and
ships from other marts and ports. In 1490 Maximilian 1., Emperor of
German}’, conferred the right upon the city of using the imperial
crown of that country as the crest of its armorial insignia. In the
seventeenth century Amsterdam was recognized as the greatest
commercial city in Europe.
The peculiar horseshoe-like curvature
of the broad canals, bending southward from the Ij, margined by
streets and spanned by bridges, conduces greatly to the
picturesqueness of the city. These and other intersecting canals, or
grachten as they are styled in Dutch, now divide the city, it is
said, into ninety islands connected by nearly three hundred bridges.
As described
1 Pronounced as I.
Nlr.W OK Till. NOT 111 SIDF. OK I!IK.
OLD CHLRCK, AMVIT.RDAM,I765.
43
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
by Baedeker: “The depth of water
in the gnuhtcn is about three or three and a half feet, below which
is a layer of mud of equal thickness. To prevent malarial exhalations
the water in them is constantly renewed by an arm of the North Sea
Canal while the mud is removed by dredgers. The chief concentric
canals within the city are the Priiiscugracht, Keizersgraclii and
/lecrcugrackt (forty-nine yards wide), flanked with avenues of elms.
The finest buildings, including-many in the peculiar Dutch-brick
style of the seventeenth
* ** *
century, are on the Keizersgracht and
Hccroigvacht.
“
The houses are all constructed on
foundations of piles, a fact which gave rise to the jest of Erasmus
of Rotterdam, that he knew a city whose inhabitants dwelt on the tops
of trees like rooks. The upper stratum of the natural soil is loam
and loose sand, upon which no permanent building can be erected
unless a solid substratum be first formed by driving piles (from
fourteen to sixty feet in length) into the firmer sand beneath. The
operations of the builder below the surface of the ground are
frequently as costly as those above it.” The Merchants’ Exchange
(Koopwansbcurs), on the north side of the square, known as the Dam,
may be instanced as substantiating these assertions, for it rests on
a foundation of three thousand four hundred and sixty-nine piles,
requiring the expenditure of a large sum of money.
The most ancient church in Amsterdam is
the Old Church {Ondc-Kerk), standing in the northern part of the city
between Warmocsslraat and the Oude-zijds-Voorburgival (old side city
rampart).
The Gothic edifice, erected about the
year 1300, and later enlarged, is two hundred and ninety-four feet
long and two hundred and thirteen wide. The steeple (in which there
is a large chime of silvery-toned bells on which tunes are played by
automatic machinery on the striking of the clock) is two hundred and
forty feet high from the ground. The lofty arched wooden ceiling of
the auditorium is supported by forty-two columns. A high window, on
the right side of the main doorway, displays in colored glass the
armorial insignia of all the burgomasters of the city holding office
between the years 1578 and 1767. The rich emblazonments of the
Adoration of the Magi, the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the
Death of the Virgin, in the windows of the Our Lady’s Choir (Lieve
Vnnvcn-Ckoor), and the Cross-bow Shooters’ Choir ( -ire exquisite in
execution. The mortuary monuments and mural tablets in different
parts of the spacious building set forth in Latin epitaphs the famous
exploits of a number of eminent navigators and soldiers whose remains
are there entombed.
The New Church {Nicuwc-Kcrk), dating
the laying of its first foundation in the year 1408 and the beginning
of the erection of its original walls in the year 14 14, stands
between the Dam and the Nicuivc-ziuis-Voorbiirgioal (the new
VII-W OF THE INTKRIOK Ol’ THE NEW
CHURCH, SOUTH END, A.MSTI-KDAM, 1765.
An open grave in the foreground.
45
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
side city rampart). Despoiled and
damaged by fires at different times, the present restored Gothic
cruciform structure is considered to be one of the most attractive
churches in Holland. It is three hundred and fifteen feet long, and
two hundred and ten feet through the transepts. The arched wooden
ceiling of the nave and the groined stone ceilings of the aisles arc
supported by fifty-two clustered columns of stone. The building is
lighted by seventy-five large windows. In the middle of the church
hang” five large and twelve smaller brass chandeliers ; the
first having respectively thirty and the others sixteen or twenty
branches with sconces. The elaborately carved wooden pulpit
(/>rcdikstocl), with its massive canopy, is a conspicuous feature
of the spacious interior. A number of memorial pillars and monuments
in different parts of the auditorium serve to preserve the fame of
the achievements of some of the
great admirals of Holland whose bodies
arc buried beneath them.
t>
The Palace {Jut Palcis), opposite the
Nicuwc-Kcrk, is one of the most imposing buildings in the city. Itis
two hundred and eighty-two feet broad, two hundred and thirty-five
deep, and one hundred and forty-six high,
exclusiveofthetower,whichisforty-one feetinheight.
AfterNapoleonI.hadmade his brother, Louis Bonaparte, King of the
Netherlands, the building (the erection of which had been begun, in
1648, as a city hall (Stad/nns), and was finished, in 1655, at cost
of eight million florins), was presented, in 1808, to King Louis, by
the city, for his majesty’s residence. The great hall {dcgrootc zaal
) on the second floor, now the royal reception room, is one hundred
feet high, one hundred and seventeen long, and fifty-seven wide. The
walls of this magnificent chamber are lined with white marble brought
from Italy. “In the centre of
“
the marble floor,” as described by
Baedeker, is a representation of the firmament, inlaid in copper,
which, however, is covered by a thick carpet manufactured in
Deventer, and is not shown to the public. Above the entrance to the
throne-room is a representation of Justice, with Ignorance and
Quarrelsomeness at her feet; to the left is Punishment, to the right
a skeleton (now concealed), and above, Atlas with the globe.”
From a set of bells, in the clock-tower surmounting the building, is
elicited, at the end of each quarter of an hour, a popular tune, by
automatic machinery. The foundation of the weighty edifice rests on
thirteen thousand six hundred and fifty-nine piles.
The enlargement of the city’s commerce
in the beginning of the seventeenth century necessitated the erection
of several public weighing-houses. The brick, towered structure,
erected in 1488 as a part of the city wall, and used as a gateway,
called Saint Anthony’s gate (Sint Antouis-Poort), was, in the spring
of 1 6 r7, modified and reconstructed for a weighing-house, which
obtained the name ofSaint Anthony’s weighing-house
(Sint.lu£/ioiiieswaag) . Its situation at the south end of the
Zeedij/c, where now is the open space
I’lIK SOUTH SIDK OK TUT. OLD ARCHIVE,
OR SAINT ANTHONY’S \VHIGHIXG-HOLSK, A.\ The New Market in the
foreground.
47
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
titled the New Market {Nicuwc Markt),
between the Gelder sche Kaai and the Kloveuicrsburgzual, being
somewhat central, certain rooms in the building were for many years
used by several societies, one of which was Saint Luke’s Guild (Suit
Lucas-Gilde), an association of painters, glaziers, and sculptors.
The chamber of the Surgeons’ Guild (7 Chinirgijns-Gildc) was in the
upper part of the building, as also was the dissecting room (dc
Siiijkauicr), which
was made famous by Rembrandt van Rijn’s
painting, the Anatomical Lecture, in which Doctor Nicholaas Tulp and
seven other members of the guild were so notably pictured in 1632.
The antique structure, now known as the
Old Archive (tie Oud slrchicf), has become a depository for the
preservation of historical manuscripts, and ecclesiastical and civic
records of the city of Amsterdam. The baptismal and marriage
registers of the different churches of the city, shelved in the
stack-rooms, are highly valued sources of genealogical information.
At the time of the extension of the
city westward, undertaken in 161 1, the large canals, the
Hecrcngracht, Kcizcrsgracht, and PrinscngracJit, running southward
from the Brouzversgracht toward the site of the later-made
Lcidschegracht, were constructed. Westward of the first-mentioned
three, another canal, which extended southward along the inner side
of the new wall of the city, was excavated and called the Lijubaau or
Baangracht. A little north of the junction of this canal and the
Brouwcrsgracht, the new Haarlem gate (Nicuwe Haarlcmmcrpoort), was
built in 1615. Between the Hecrcngracht (once a part of the old city
wall) and the new city wall, bordering westward the Lijnbaansgracht,
streets were laid out and named, along which, in that and the
following decade, a laro-e number of dwellings and warehouses were
erected.
The ease of access and egress to and
from the Kcizcrsgracht, for sailing
vessels crossing the //’, in all
probability led the three members of the firm of
the Swartwout Brothers to select this
recently laid-out part of the city as their
place of business and residence.
Standing, as their dwellings and warehouse
were, on the street running along the
west side of the Kcizcrsgracht and
within sight of the Brouwersgracht
north of them, they were not far from
either the Oude-Kcrk or the
Nicuczvc-Kcrk.
Wybrandt Swartwout, probably the eldest
of the three brothers, may have
been the first to marry. Herman
Swartwout had, on May 1, 1629, become, at
Amsterdam, the husband of Geertruijt
Schutte, of Lockum, a village in the
province of Geldcrland.
In Holland, at that time, a public
announcement of an intended marriage
was required to be made in the places
where the affianced persons then
resided and had recently been residing.
It was therefore in compliance with
ATTESTATION FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE
BANNS OF TOMYS SWARTWOUT AND AURIJETJEN SIJMONS.
49
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
this legal enjoinment that Tomys
Swartwout, on becoming betrothed to Adrijetjen, daughter of Sijmon
Sijmons, a broker (mahc/acr), dwelling on the Prinscngracht, in the
city of Amsterdam, had their proposed nuptials proclaimed in
Groningen, whence he had moved to Amsterdam. As entered upon the
Proclamation Register, preserved in the Old Archive of Groningen, the
following attestation was made concerning the publication of the
banns in that city:
“4 Februariy 1630. “Dc Erbare
Tomas Swartwolt van Gronyngen in de Lammc Ifuingestrate ende de
docchsavic dochtcr Aerijaentijen Sijmcns van Amsterdam wort dc
proclamatic Jiicr conscntccrt myts dat sc dacr occk motcn
proclaniccrt worden, dacr van attestatic vcrtoneu.”
“
February 4, 1630.
“The Honorable Tomas Swartwolt of
Groningen | living recently] in Lamhuinge Street, and the virtuous
maiden Aerijaentijen Sijmens of Amsterdam ; the publication was
allowed here inasmuch as it must also be proclaimed
there, as the attestation hereof
shows.”
The attestation for the publication
ofthe banns at Amsterdam, dated March 21, 1630, contained in the
Church Registry Book (Kcrkeiij/c Intcckening Bock), and presented
here by photography, has a special value as a memorial, inasmuch as
it displays the signatures of the man and the woman who were about to
be united by the holy bonds of matrimony as husband and wife:
‘
“
Comparcerden hiervoor Thomas Swartwout
van Groningen out 23 yacrcn vertoonende actc van het oaen van dc
geboden tot Groningen, woonende op dc Kcyscrsgracht, tabakskooper, en
Ariacntjc Sijmons van A. out 22 Jacrcn ocassis tccrt mit Sy111011
Symonsz haer vacder en Tryn Grcbbers Jiacr mocder woonende op dc
Prinsengracht.
“Dcr socckende hare drye
Sondaeghse itytrocpingcn, omme naer de sclvc dc voorsz, trouivc te
solcnniseren en in alles tc voltrecken, so verrc dacr anders geve
vbettige vcrhinder ingc voor en vatic. Ende nacr dien zy bydc
loacrlicyt vereiacrden datsc vryc pcrsoonen wareu, ende malcandcrcn
in blocde.
“
IVaar door ecu Christelijck huivclijck
mochte verhindcrt worden, niet en bestonden, zijn htcn Jiaer gheboden
vcriuiltigliet. “Tomys Szvartwout. Adrijetjen Sijmons.”
“
For this appeared Thomas Swartwout of
Groningen, twenty-three years old (presenting proof of the
publication of the banns at Groningen), a tobacco merchant [now],
residing on the Kcyscrsgracht, and Ariaentje Sijmons of Amsterdam,
twenty-two years old, assisted by her father, Sijmon Sijmons, and by
50
THE SWAKTWOUT CHRONICLES.
her mother, Catryna Grcbbers, residing
on the Prinsengracht, seeking the crying out of their banns on three
Sundays in order to obtain the solemnization of the aforesaid
marriage, and to have it wholly consummated, so far as otherwise
before granted, changed, hindered, and interpreted. And for that they
truly declare that they arc free persons and together in extraction.
“Nothing existing where a
Christian marriage should be prevented, they here proffer their
compliance. “
Tomys Swartwout. Adrijetjen Sijmons.”
As recorded in the marriage book (Jiet
trouivboek) of the Nieuzuc-Kerk, Tomys Swartwout and Adrijetjen
Sijmons were joined in holy matrimony on April 7, 1630, by the
Reverend Rudolphus Petri, in the venerable edifice still standing on
the west side of the Dam, but now greatly changed architecturally
of their marriage.
inside and outside since the
celebration t>
Their conjugal happiness was
unfortunately brief, for, in giving birth to a son, on the
seventeenth of December, that year, the earthly life of the suffering
mother abruptly ended. Jan, their son, who was baptized in the month
of January, 1631, having inherited the sum of four hundred florins,
the money was placed in the hands ofhis father, who, on the fifteenth
ofMay gave bonds that he would pay the same to his son at his
majority ; the grandfather of the child, Sijmon Sijmons, and his
uncle, Wybrandt Swartwout, being accepted as sureties. Whether the
boy lived through childhood, or died while stillan infant, there is
no information extant to determine the one or the other of these
alternatives.
It was Tomys Swartwout’s good fortune
to become acquainted with Hendrickjen, the amiable daughter of Barent
Otsen, a prominent book-publisher of the city of Amsterdam. They
became engaged shortly thereafter, and as required by law they
subscribed their names to an attestation for the publication of the
banns of their intended marriage as is recorded in the Kcrkclijk
Intcckening Bock of the Nieuwe-Kerk, on
” the tenth of May, 1631.
Appeared before the Commissioners
Heyndrick Coppit and Dirk de Graef, Thomas Swartwout, of Groningen,
widower of Arijaentje Sijmons, residing on the Kcysersgracht, and
Heyndrickje Barents, of Amsterdam, twenty years old, assisted by her
father, Barent Otsen, residing in Brcestraat, at the
****
Ossemarct. ” Tomys Swartwout,
Hendrickjen, Barents daughter.” On June 3, 1631, Tomys Swartwout
and Hendrickjen Otsen were married, in the Nicuxve-Kcrk, by Domine
Joannes Cornelius Silvius. “
1 The Dutch text, Hendrickjen Barents
doc/ier” translated, means Hendrickjen, Barents daughter.
1
“”
“4T , “4T , f—V f—V
*..
“. “.
AU-BLfc^”
V
**<
•
ATTESTATION FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE
P.ANNS OF TOMVS SWARTWOUT AND HENDRICKJEN BARENTS OiSI-N.
52
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
The joyous event was followed by a
supper which was made memorable by the reading-of an cpithalamium
composed by the bride’s brother, Otto, and the singing of two wedding
songs of which he was also the author.
…
jt |
RKCORI) OF THE MARRIAGE OF “‘l’OMAb
SWARTWOUT AND lIENRICKJE ISARKNTS.
The nuptial poem and the bridal sonnets
were published by her father. A translation of the text of the title
page of the uniquely-embellished and rare souvenir reads :
Nuptial Poem
in honor of the desired
marriage, between the honorable,
worthy, wise, prudent bridegroom,
Thomas Swartwout,
and the modest, virtuous, well-
mannered, intelligent, discreet young
lady,
Hendrickjen, Barents daughter,
joined in holy matrimony on the
third of June, at Amsterdam, in the
year 163 1.
¦X-¦X ¦X •fc
At Amsterdam.
Printed by Barent Otsz, book-printer,
residing
outside of the Old Regulator’s Gate, in
the new Printing-house, 1631. 1
The epithalamium, comprising one
hundred and twenty-six thirteen-syllable trochaic verses, is printed
in large and attractive script covering five prettily-bordered pages.
The first marriage-song (brtcylofts liedt) is a composition of six
four-line stanzas, and the second of six, each of eight lines. Both
are set in script and are appropriately ornamented. The tunes to
which they were sung are named beneath the titles. The custom in the
Netherlands of singing at wedding festivals songs composed by
relatives and friends of the bride and bridegroom is one ofearly
origin and isstillfollowed. The copies ofthe prints
1 The inscription encircling the Eden
scene in the vignette, Gclyk Adams sonde dc doot ter ivcrelt
brocht so heeft Cliristus ons met syn
bloet gecocht, translated reads :As Adam’s sin brought death into
the world so Christ has redeemed us
withIIis blood.
Vide:Photo-engraved pages of the Dutch
text of the poem and songs and translations of them
in the Appendix. Document No. 5.
<
.4 (@ ;t k,
V1»
sf
%
I
t
;t
i*f
t.xj3 ”TTT” DUTCH
I
«
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>: BRVILOFTS GHEDICHT,
€er wen Set sftetoenftt f«
3tt()bi£tttll
THOMAS SVYARTWOVT, \
S^rtiwiwbaawettcfitTijifeetod
9
HENDRICKIENBARENT&D”
t^etTaemtinden l^.^cltmnaet ten y
? 3mmsMmtnMkftexmfflnnoi6)L,
«
I
«” y
tL,
m
<
55
f
y
ToIAMSTELKKDAM,
I
bujbni>’i3i^ifilc3clKrsJ)oujl/itvicttt«a«wa>jucl(«-^i(»?i
«
>;
f./
V
“».„.” •»..• ‘••¦’
‘•••• >’• > TEXT OF THE TITI.K ]’\CE OK ‘I11 K
NL’I’IIAI.J>OE.M.
54
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
VIKW OF TIIK RKC.rUKRSI’OORT, KNOWN
LATKR AS THE MUNT (jMINt).
of the nuptial poem and the songs are
about one-third less than the size of the original.
t>
The place of business of Barent Otsen
(or Otsz), was then on Broad Street {Brecstraat), on which was the
space called the Ox Market (Osscmarct), south of the Old Regulator’s
gate {Oudc Rcgulierspoorf). He had established himself in Amsterdam
as a printer in 1612, and in 1614, published the once popular but now
rare work (a small octavo), titled the Great Riddle Book (‘ T Groote
Raedtccl Bock). In 1626 he printed for C. L. van der Plasse the
precious duodecimo, the Golden Harp (dc Guide Harpe), containing the
Little Songs (de Licdckcns), composed by Karel van Mander. On October
2i, 16 19, he was enrolled a member of the Booksellers’ Guild
{Bockverhooper s-gilde) of Amsterdam. His trade device is embellished
with his initials and several ecclesiastical symbols.
The birth ofTomys and Hendrickjen Otsen
Swartwout’s first child, Roeloff, was followed by his baptism in the
Oudc-Kerk, on June 1, T634. -As was a common custom in Holland, he
was given as the first-born son the name of his father’s father.
Their second son, Barent, baptized in the Oude-Kerk, on
PART OF A MAP OF THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM
MADE IN 1625.
Showing the situation of
Regulterspoort, the Osic Marct, and Breestniat, west of the Amstel
River.
THE SWAkTWOTT CHRONICLES.
56
July 15, 163cS,was called so inhonor
ofhis mother’s father, and their daughter,
Trijntjc (Catrijna), baptized in the
same church, on December 15, 1639,
received the name of her father’s
mother, and Jacomijntje, baptized in the
Nicuzvc-Kerk, on February 10, 1646,
that of her mother’s mother.
While Tomys Swartwout was associated
with his brothers at Amsterdam as a tobacco dealer, the tulip craze,
“Tulipomania” phenomenally distempered for a time the minds
of the stolid Netherlanders. A bulbous plant, called by the Turks
tulbend, from the resemblance of its flower to a turban, was brought
from Constantinople, and was so finely cultivated in Holland that
from the rare beauty of its flowers it began shortly to command
exorbitant prices. In 1635 so enormous a sum as 100,000 florins
($40,000) was recognized as the value of forty choice bulbs. A plant
of the superb species called Semper Augustus. was sold, a year or two
later, at Amsterdam, for 46,000 florins ($1,840), a fine carriage,
two high-priced horses, and a double set of handsome harness.
“”
Large fortunes,” an historian
remarks, were acquired by speculations on this article, which, in
Amsterdam alone, involved, it is said, no less a sum than 10,000,000
of guilders. Persons of all ranks, sexes, and ages neglected their
ordinary vocations to amuse themselves with this novel species of
gambling; but as those who purchased were often of slender means and
unable to fulfiltheir engagements, the speculation became so unsafe
that men lost their confidence
‘
in it, and in course of time it died
away of itself.”
The commercial enterprise at that time
of the merchants of Amsterdam was returning them great wealth. In
1638 the siege of Antwerp was about to be undertaken by Prince
Fredrik Henrik, the stadtholder of the United Provinces. While
preparations were making for beleaguering the Belgian city,
Comte d’Estrades, the French
ambassador, complained to the prince, as is related by Davies, “that
the merchants of Amsterdam transmitted to Antwerp constant supplies
of arms and ammunition. Fredrik-Henrik, having sent to inquire
concerning the matter, one Beyland was brought before the magistrates
of the town, accused of having freighted four fly-boats with powder,
muskets, and pikes, for Antwerp. Beyland boldly confessed the fact,
saying that the merchants of Amsterdam had a right to trade where
they pleased, and there were a hundred commissioners from Antwerp in
the town, of whom he was
‘
one ; and he added, that ifanything
were to be gained by trading to hell, he would risk burning his
sails.’ The magistrates acquitted him, on the ground that he had done
his duty to his employers ; a decision which roused the prince
”
into a transport of rage : You see,’
said he to d’Estrades, what patience I
must have with these brutes of
merchants ;Ihave no greater enemies than
the town of Amsterdam ;but ifIonce gain
Antwerp,Iwillbring them so low
1 lliston of Holland. Davius, vol. ii.,
p. 607.
–
¦>
\||\\ mi Mil IXMKIOK o| Mil Oil) l111
K( 11, WI I II)I, \MMIKIMM,\”j()^
VIEW OF THE FRONT OF THE CI’IY HALL,
AMSTERDAM, I765.
A part of the east wallof the New
Church seen on the west side of the building.
59
tiii<; swwßTworr chronicles.
‘
that they shall never rise again ; a
speech, affording, perhaps, the best possible explanation of the
motives which actuated the citizens on this occasion. The city of
Amsterdam, the most influential member of the States of Holland,
which, in their turn, were; predominant in the States-General, became
thus the virtual head of the Union, and as such was ever viewed with
a jealous eye by the stadthoklers, to whom it appeared as a rival in
authority and consid’
eration. 1 1
“
Adverting to the influx of multitudes
of refugees of different nations who sought shelter within her
boundaries,” as causing the rapid advancement ol Holland in the
esteem of the other nations of Kurope, Davies further remarks :
“
Fugitives from the Spanish Netherlands,
from Spain itself, Protestants driven from Germany by the miseries of
the Thirty Years’ War, jews from Portugal and Huguenots from Prance,
found here welcome, safety, and employment. Nor was it more in the
numbers than in the sort of population she thus gained that Holland
found her advantage. The fugitives were not criminals escaped from
justice, speculators lured by the hope of plunder, nor idlers coming
thither to enjoy the luxuries which their own country did not afford
; they were generally men persecuted on account of their love of
civil liberty, or their devotion to their religious tenets ; had they
been content to sacrifice the one or the other to their present ease
and interest the)-had remained unmolested where the)-were ; it was by
their activity, integrity, and resolution that they rendered
themselves obnoxious to the tyrannical and bigoted governments which
drove them from their native land ; and these virtues they carried
with them to their adopted country, peopling it not with vagabonds or
indolent voluptuaries, but with brave, intelligent, and useful
citizens. Thus not only was the waste in the population of the
provinces consequent on the war rapidly supplied, but, by means of
the industry and the skill of the new comers, their manufactures were
carried to so high a pitch of perfection that in a short time””‘
they *were* able to surpass and undersell the traders of every other
“‘
nation.
“At the time of the peace, this
nook of land (the province of Holland containing scarcely 700,000
souls, and the others proportionally less) found itself mistress of
the island of Amboyna and its dependencies ; Handa, a part
of the Moluccas; Minado, in the Island
of Celebes; Timor, the town of Malacca; Tenasserim and Gudjansalang ;
the fort of Gucldria and the towns of Paliacatte and Ulegapatnam, on
the coast of Coromandel ; with the town of Batavia and the
surrounding country in the Island of Java ; the fort of St. George,
in Africa; and the town and colon)’ of New Amsterdam, in North
1 History of Holland. I).i\ics, \ol.
n., \)\). noS, 609.
60
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
America. In South America the
possessions of the West-India Company comprised a few years before
this period three hundred leagues of territory from Siara to the Hay
of All Saints, but were now much diminished by the revolt of the
Portuguese. The Dutch had likewise discovered portions of New
1lolland and Van Diemcn’s Land, but had not as yet attempted to form
a colony”on any part of this continent.
To enumerate the various articles which
were the objects of trade in these settlements, as well as almost
every country of the globe, would be tedious ; everything conducive
to the support, convenience, and luxury of man was brought in
abundance to the shores of the United Provinces, where, however, but
a comparatively small portion was consumed ; the remainder being
again exported to supply the demands of other nations, while the
inhabitants, retaining just sufficient for social decencies and
comforts, were content to live in their ancient style of simplicity ;
nor was the increase of riches among them followed by the usual
consequences of luxury, ostentation,
or extravagance.
“
From another vice, often attendant on
increased wealth, that of avarice, they cannot be judged equally
free. An excessive greediness of gain began to pervade all ranks of
men ; which, though not displayed in acts of dishonesty or rapacity,
led them to devote themselves with too much passion to pursuits of
traffic and speculation. The avarice of the Dutch, however, never
interfered with the love of their country ; and the same individual
whose habits of economy in private life amounted almost to parsimony,
was found to contribute cheerfully a portion of his income to the
wants of the state and to lavish without grudging large sums to
forward the progress of any work having for its object the relief of
the poor or the improvement of his native city in strength, beauty,
or commodiousness.” !
At the beginning of the fifth decade of
the seventeenth century, the mercantile and commercial prosperity of
Holland began exhibiting signs of a general decline in vigor and
magnitude. Davies, commenting upon the great
“
blight that had fallen upon the country
in the year 1653, remarks : Among the Dutch the causes of anxiety for
the termination of hostilities [between England and Holland] were
increased in ten-fold proportion. The whole of the eighty years’
maritime war with Spain had neither exhausted their treasury nor
inflicted so much injury on their commerce as the events of the last
two years. The province of Holland alone paid from six to seven
millions annually as interest of her debt, and while the taxes began
to press severely on all ranks of the people, their usual sources
ofgain were nearly closed ; the
History of Holland. Davies, vol.
ii.,pp. 663-665.
61
THE SWAKTWOUT CIIRONICLKS.
‘
Greenland fishery was stopped, the
herring fishery, the gold mine of Ilolland,’ unsafe and almost
worthless, the English having captured an immense number of the boats
; and the decay of trade so great, that in Amsterdam
‘
alone 3,000 houses were lying vacant.”
The gradual disruption of the channels
of trade had been circumspectly viewed by Tomys Swartwout, who, on
seeing the growing stagnation of general business in Amsterdam and
the rapid lessening of the value of property in the city, began to
entertain fears respecting the welfare of his family should he
continue to invest his means there in business as a merchant under
the adverse circumstances then attending trade and commerce in the
Netherlands. He and his wife were also seriously concerned, at that
time, in determining the character of the advantages which they might
afford their offspring before their sons and daughters reached
manhood and womanhood. The enticing accounts heard by them of the
climate and the productions of New Netherland naturally directed
their thoughts to the benefits to be realized by settling within its
limits. They pondered the issues of this change of residence with
mingled feelings of ambition and affection. They could not debar from
their minds thoughts of a separation from their kindred in Holland
and an exclusion from the social, educational, and religious
privileges so long enjoyed by them in Amsterdam. They mentally
surveyed the self-denials to which they would be subjected on
becoming denizens of the remote country, where most of their
surroundings would be primitive in character, where they would be
destitute of many household comforts and conveniences, and be
compelled to inure themselves and their children to various hardships
incidental to their settlements in “the bush.”
At that time the government of New
Netherland was administered by General Petrus Stuyvesant, resident
director-general of the West-India Company, who had assumed the
responsibilities of his office at New Amsterdam, in May, 1647, as
successor to Director-General Kieft. In a letter addressed to him on
March 21, 1651, the directors of the Amsterdam Chamber of the
West-India Company disclose in part the will and purpose of the
corporation in opening the territory of New Netherland for the
settlement of colonists :
****
“We direct you herewith, not to
grant land to any one without his acknowledging properly the
authority of the West-India Company, and you will especially take
care that henceforth not more land is granted to people than what in
your opinion, after a thorough examination of their means, they will
be able and intend shortly to populate, cultivate, and bring into a
***
“ood state of tillage.
1listory ofIlolland. D.vics, vol.
11,[)[).721, 722.
62
tiii<: swartwout ciironiclks.
“
We direct you therefore expressly not
to allow or grant any more land to anybody except under the
conditions stated above, and keeping Long-Island (which we believe to
be the most important and best piece) for the company, to be divided
upon occasion for the accommodation of farmers and planters, until a
rule shall have been made, how much land shall be allotted
* *•**
to each colonist.
“
Itis astonishing that the delegates
|who had been sent to Holland from New Netherland] dare spread the
report in the community [on their return to New Netherland | that the
company owned no other soil in New Netherland then Manhattans Island,
while it can be clearly proved that they [the members of the company]
have bought vast tracts of land on the South [Delaware]
River, on the Fresh [the Connecticut]
River, on Long Island, and at many other places in the neighborhood.”
1
After many perplexing doubts and
interchanges of opinion regarding the advantages accruing to them and
their children by becoming colonists of New Netherland, Tomys
Swartwout and his wife finally determined to dispose of their
property in Amsterdam and engage in such preparations as were
necessary for them to make before leaving Holland.
At the beginning of the month of March,
1652, on the day for the sailing of the ship in which they had taken
passage for themselves and their children to the Mauritius River,
they sorrowfully parted with their kindred and acquaintances gathered
on the wharf overlooking the //’, and embarked, and were borne away
from the seat of their first connubial home and earl)-domestic joys.
The events oftheir voyage to New Amsterdam were specialized by no
remarkable incidents.”
On landing at Manhattans Island,”
they were cordially greeted by Director-General Stuyvesant, who
graciously expressed a desire to assist them in such ways as would
enable them to settle speedily and comfortably upon a boitwcrij or
farm, which they might select under his direction and approval.
The colonists in the little city of New
Amsterdam also hospitably welcomed them, and they were soon provided
with a temporary abiding-place and adequate comforts while sojourning
there. The rude character of the wooden buildings, stretching across
the south end of the island eastward of Fort Amsterdam, ceased in a
short time to impress them as a novelty, as also did the dilapidated
condition of the fort, partly constructed of stone, logs, palisades,
and earth, in which were the church and one or two buildings occupied
by the officials of the West-India Company. In their intercourse with
the inhabitants they obtained considerable information concerning the
growth of New Netherland and the prosperity of the different
settlements.
1Documents 1elating to the colonial
hibton of the State of New York, \ 01. xiv.,pp. 132. 133.
63
TIIR SWWRTWOI’T CHRONICLES.
Looking-southwardly across tlie East
River (Oosf Rivicr), they could see on Long Island {Latigc Eylandl)
most of the buildings of the settlement to which had been mven the
name of Breukelen, that of a village in the province ofUtrecht, in
Holland, about fifteen miles south of the city of Amsterdam. Six
English miles southeast of Breukclen, they learned was another small
collection of houses and barns which had acquired the name of
Amersfoort, that of another well-known village in the province of
Utrecht, twenty-nine miles distant from the city of Amsterdam. They
were further told that eight miles
\IL\V OF lilK CITY OF NEW AMSTERDAM
•
I’.ic-similc of the cnj^i\i\mi; in A
\’n m<.<e 01 O/ihrkrin/, U’,;/</</ of IU\t In vtiii^
tii// Iniiiim //(/’//.iiitl-land. /)(!<>/ Ainolilu\
A/on/iiniis. 7″Am\L)dam. 1671
south of the hamlet of Breukelen was
another called Gravesande, and seven northeastward of Breukelen was
the site of a number of colonists’ houses denominated Middelburcr the
name of a village on the island of Walcheren, in the province of
Zeelancl, in the Netherlands ; and that, three miles northeast of it,
was still another settlement which had been called Vlissingen after a
seaport on the south side of the island of Walcheren. They were
likewise told that twenty miles eastward of Breukelen lay a sixth
hamlet, distinguished by the name of Heemstede, the title of a
village in the province of North Ilolland. (See map, page 2.)
One hundred and thirty-four miles north
of the city of New Amsterdam, beginning at Bears’ Island {Bccrcn
Jiylandt), in the Mauritius or Noorrf Rivicr, the extensive manor of
Rensselaerswijck stretched northward along both sides of the river as
far as the northermost mouth of the Mohawk River (A/aquaa Kill).
Small sections of this vast estate, as Tomys Swartwout and his wife
were told, had been divided into farms which were cultivated by
colonists
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65
TIIK SWARTWOI’T CHRONICLES.
planted on them by Kiliaen van
Rensselaer, under certain privileges granted him as a patroon of New
Netherland, on November 19, 1629, by the West-India Company. They
also learned that, in consequence of an order issued
byDirector-General Stuyvesant, in March, 1652, for the removal of the
buildings erected near the walls of Fort Orange, a village,
bearing-the name of Bcverswijck, had been founded, a little north of
the company’s fort. They were further informed that certain colonists
were cultivating farms on States Island (Statcn Eylandt) lying south
of Manhattans Island.
Among the colonists with whom they
became acquainted was Jan Snedekcr,
who had settled at New Amsterdam, in
1642. Circumspect and resolute, he disclosed to them privately many
particulars of his experience which greatlyenlightened them
respecting the administration of the affairs of the West-India
Company in New Netherland, and enabled them to understand what was
necessary
to be done by them to obt? ;n in an
eligible and accessible locality the quantity of land they desired to
pi. .c under cultivation.
They also formed a lasting friendship
with Jan Stryker, then thirty-seven years of age, a recently arrived
colonist from Rumen, a village in the provinceof Drenthe, about
sixty-five miles south of Groningen and eight north of Meppel. He
also was waiting the grant of a bouwerij on which he might reside
with his family.
Individually possessing qualities of
heart and mind to attach them strongly to one another in lasting
fellowship, Jan Snedekcr, Jan Stryker, and TomysSwartwout solicited
ofDirector-General Stuyvesant the right of settling together
on the level reach of wildland (de
vlackc bosch) or the flat bush, adjacent the outlying
farms at Breukelen and Amersfoort. The
privilege was granted them, and they were forthwith apportioned the
areas of ground severally desired by them. Clearing away the trees,
thickets, and vines growing upon the spaces of land intended to be
placed under immediate cultivation, they speedily preparedthem for
seeding with such grain as would mature crops before the season of
destructive frosts. The preparation of timber for the construction of
their log-houses then engaged their attention. The rude architecture
of their reed-thatched dwellings, having the back and sides of
thick-walled fireplaces and chimneys constructed of stone or roughly
made brick on the outside of one or both their gable-ends, soon began
to diversify the features of the level landscape.
Barns and other wooden structures also
multiplied the conspicuousfeatures of the cultivated stretches of
wildland.
Through Tomys Swartwout’ s suggestion,
it would seem, the settlement was given the name of the village of
Midwout or Midwolde, lying about twenty-five miles eastward of the
city of Groningen, where certain of his ancestors had long resided.
66 THE SWART WOUT CHRONICLES.
Having brought with them from Holland
certificates of church membership, Tomys Swartwout and his wife were
formally admitted to the communion and fellowship of the church at
New Amsterdam. As entered on page 506 of the Hook of Members, or
Register of Members hereat since the year 1649 (‘7″ Lcdcniatcn
Boeck oft Register der Lcdcmatcn al/iier C seder t dc jarc /6jcj)
t
their names are severally the two
hundred and eightieth and the two hundred and eighty-first : Thomas
Swartwoudt and Hcndrickjc Barents, his wife (” Thomas
Sivartwoudt, enllcndrickje, sijn huijsvr). \huijsvrouiv\.” x
Members of the Canarse tribe of Indians
often roved over the unoccupied land around Midwout, and the recently
settled colonists soon became accustomed to the presence of the
ranging Wild People ( JVildai) as the savages inhabiting the
territory of New Nethcrland were called by the Dutch. The aboriginal
owners of the western part of Long Island were exceedingly friendly
in their intercourse with the settlers, although the warriors
frequently complained to them of the treatment to which they had been
subjected by the officials of the West-India Company. Repeated
promises, as they alleged, had been made them by the provincial
authorities that they should be remunerated for the tracts of land
allotted the colonists, and yet no evident intention had been
manifested to fulfilthese declarations.
The founders of Midwout, nevertheless,
became greatly alarmed on learning that a party of aggrieved Indians
had slain, in May, 1652, four colonists on a bouwcrij, near
Hell-channel (Hellcgat), because the company had not paid the tribal
chiefs anything for it. Their fears were the more intensified a few
days later by a report that the Wilden intended massacring them
should the promised indemnification for the tracts of land embraced
in the farms at Midwout be withheld much longer by the
director-general and council of New Netherland. The principal men of
the settlement at once commissioned Jan Snedeker to importune the
director-general to liquidate this claim of the Indians at his
earliest practicable opportunity. The value of the land ingoods,
which the tribe demanded in payment,
was estimated at five hundred guilders, equal to two hundred dollars,
money of the United States of America.
Jan Snedeker 1s mission was not an
agreeable one. He, as other colonists, had felt the heavy pressure of
the demands of the West-India Company for payments of exorbitant
duties and taxes ; and he, as they, had also observed
1 On pa^e 500, the one hundred and
sixth name registered is that of”Thomas Swai twout,” which
seems 10 li.nc been entered theie fust
but was afterward rewritten with that of his” wife.
On pa^e 506, the two hundred and nmel\”
-fourih name le^istcied is that of Cornelius Sw artwout,”
which was evidently intended” for
that of “Cornelius Swart,” who is assumed to be the son of
”Jacob
Hellakets,” otheiwise called Jacob
Swut and “Jacob Swartwout,” who was not related to the
members
of the Swartwout family.
67
Till* SWARTWOI’T CIIRON ICLKS.
that the wealthy company was usually
remiss in fulfilling its promises of assist ance and protection to
settlers when such service was attended with outlays ol money ; and
he, as they, had also seen well-born, highly-educated, and patriotic
men so bitterly persecuted in New Nctherland that his own manhood
seemed debased in witnessing the public humiliations of the
fair-minded and virtuous settlers who had dared to criticise openly
the sordid selfishness of the directorate
of the avaricious corporation.
Confident that the director-general
would deny the charge that the West-India Company was indebted to the
Indians for the land conveyed to the settlers at Midwout, and would
resort to subterfuges of specious reasoning in
order to make it appear that the
corporation was in no way responsible for the antagonistic attitude
of the JVildeu, the courageous emissary sought an immediate interview
with him. Discovering that he would not concede the fact that the
people at Midwout were occupying land for which the previous Indian
owners had not been paid, Jan Snedeker thereupon vehemently declared
that, should no immediate recognition be taken of the perilous
position of the inhabitants of Midwout, upon him as the executive
officer of the West-India Company would rest the guilt of recklessly
placing an unprotected body of men, women, and children at the mercy
of a band of exasperated and revengeful barbarians. Unwilling to be
reQ-arded as the author of hostilities that might be inaugurated by
the Indians detrimental to the company’s interest, the wary official
promised to make good whatever money or commodities Jan Snedeker and
his associates nwht contribute to satisfy for a time the savages
demanding immediate payment for the land at Midwout.
The provoked delegate, confident that
the promise would not be fulfilled should he accept it, surlily
quitted the presence of the diplomatic director-general. On
disclosing the result of his conference with the irascible agent of
the West-India Company, the troubled colonists, compelled by the
adverse circumstances attending their settlement at Midwout,
determined to arrange as quickly as practicable with the Canarse
chiefs the terms upon which they might be compensated for the land of
the rlacke bosch farms.
The double-dealing servitor of the
covetous corporation was not a little terror-stricken by the grave
accusations which Jan Snedeker had made in charo-Jno-him with
breaking faith with the friendly Indians and affording them a pretext
for massacring innocent and peaceable settlers and eventually
involving the West-India Company in an unnecessary and expensive war.
In a letter, dated at New Amsterdam, on Monday, June 17, 1652, and
addressed to the members of the Council of New Netherland,
Director-General Stuyvrsant plausibly endeavored to exonerate himself
from any culpability in the matter of seating colonists on land not
owned by the West-India Company, and yet
68 THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
“
admitted that he had allowed Jan
Snediger to give or to promise secretly a
“
gratification to the savages claiming
the ownership of the land at Midwout. The purpose inciting him to
write this communication was, as he too truthfully remarked, to
influence the members of the council to draw up and place
“
on record a resolution by means of
which he should have in the future a
“
better defence before the
Lords-Directors of the West-India Company,
and which, as he further explained,
should “prevent any blame of negligence
falling upon us.”
“Jan Snediger has been pleased to
address us in a most unmannerly way, saying among other things, that
upon me and mine should |fall] the losses and damages hereafter
[caused]
by the natives. These words were shouted so loud that every
one could hear them, which is derogatory not only to our person but
also to our official position, and not willing to submit to such
insult, we have been compelled to inform your Honors of the
occurrence and call for your advice and assistance.
“As to the matter itself, your
Honors should know that shortly before the last murder |of colonists
by the Indians] the said Jan Snediger came tome and reported in the
presence of the Reverend Doctor Megapolensis that some savages had
come to see him demanding payment for the land at the vlacke bos, but
the discussions had about it, our proposals and the consequences
resulting from it cannot be known to you. They can be brought under
two heads as follows :
“i. Is it expedient and
advantageous to uphold the savages in their unmannerly and impudent
demand so far as to buy and pay again upon their threats the lands
which previously they have of their own good will sold, given, ceded,
and received payment for, and which partly have since been
occupied ?
“
2. Would it not lead to serious
consequences, ifit can be proved, that there is in the midst of the
purchased land some which has not been bought, (although we are not
quite convinced of it), or what would be the consequences at this
conjuncture ifwe gave a small gratification to the savages, or would
their ionoble and insatiable avarice not take advantage of it and
consider it as an inducement to murder more Christians, imagining
them to be faint-hearted, and threatening a massacre that later on
they may obtain money and goods for another piece of wild and waste
land ?
“
Concerning these points, Iam somewhat
in doubt whether the savages had a better claim to the wild and waste
bush, upon which God and nature had grown trees, than any other
Christian people ; and what proof and assurance could be produced
that the savages had a better right and title to this parcel of land
than other savages, even than the greatest sachem or chief who
THE SWARTWOI’T CHRONICLES. 69
a long time ago had sold, given and
ceded the whole piece of land and its dependencies to the former
officers of the Honorable |West-India | Company, and had received
according to the declaration of the late director and council
satisfactory payment for it in goods.
“
Nevertheless and notwithstanding it was
improper and contrary to all reason and equity, we have agreed for
the sake of preventing blame and new troubles to allow the said Jan
Snediger to give or to promise secretly a gratification to the
savages, and to make a report to us that in time we might refund it,
but we never thought, much less absolutely directed |any one | to
promise for so small a piece of land so large a sum at the expense of
the company or of our own funds, especially not on such uncertain
conditions and terms.
“
To have in future a better defence
before the aforesaid Lords-Directors
of the West-India Company], and to
prevent any blame of negligence falling upon us, we refer this
purchase to your Honors’ knowledge and discretion that a proper
resolution may be drawn up concerning it.”!
The jeopardy of the people at Midwout
soon became a topic of conversation in the neighboring settlements on
Long Island, and the general judgment of the colonists rightly
burdened the despotic director-general with the authorship ofit. Ina
summary ofcomplaints and censures formulated inJuly, 1652, respecting
the maladministration of the affairs of the province, the following
particulars regarding the inauspicious beginnings of Midwout were
concisely detailed :
“The director began on his own
authority to found a hamlet in the flat bush {ylacke bos), on Long
Island, between Amersfoort and Breukelen, named by him Middlezvout,
where Jan Snediker, one of his commoners, settled. The }Vildcn
complained that they were not compensated for that land, but no
regard was paid to their claim. Discontented, they threatened Jan
Snediker [with an intention] to burn his bouwcrij, who complaining
thereof to the director, arranged, with his approbation, with the
Indians, on the second day of June last, about the payment for the
land. The director should do the paying, but there comes nothing of
it, so that the man remains imperilled, and the village {dorp) does
not thrive. The director willnot pay for the land nor suffer others
to do it.”~
The occupation and cultivation of the
wildland forming their farms necessitated irksome and prolonged
labor. The tillage of grassy, vine-matted
1 New York colonial manuscripts. New
Netherland Council minutes, 1652—1654, vol. \., p. 43. Documentb
relating to the colonial history of the state of New York, 1883, vol.
xi\., p. 183.
‘-‘ “
De Dircctcur Jicej’/op si/n cygen
aut/iotiteyteen bum.wliaf> be^inncn te fouderen opt Lan^c
>•/’/land
in1111 \ rlatke bos, tussc/icn
Avwrsfort ende Jlreukelen, b/ hem Middehi’out ‘, aluuuir sich Jan
—
S/h’difct’r, t’t’/t Tan sijn liceft
nee> gesct ;de IT/ldeu c /amende, dat dat hint Jiaer nit t
70
THE S\\\\RT\V(HTT CHRONMCLF.S.
ground, the felling of large forest
trees for suitable timber for their houses, barns, and fences, the
exertion of erecting them, the oversight required to keep their
cattle from straying while their bouiverljs remained unenclosed, the
watchfulness
exercised to protect their seeded land
and maturing crops from the ravages of insects, birds, and
graminivorous animals, these and many other urgent duties and
multiplying cares allowed them no time during the summer and fall
months to engage in less exacting and less exhausting occupations.
Walking, and occasional riding by turns on horseback, to and from New
Amsterdam on Sundays, and worshipping with the colonists residing
there and in the neighboring settlements, afforded the older members
of the households at Midwout enjoyable respites from agricultural and
domestic toil. When obstructing depths of snow and the severe cold of
winter restricted them to the immediate vicinity of their farms, the
cadence of beating flails, the sound of hewing axes, and the lowing
of sledge-drawing oxen often revealed the locality and nature of the
daily tasks of the busy farmers.
In the summer and fall of [653, certain
colonists on Long Island were robbed of horses and other movable
property. The sufferers repeatedly made known their losses to
Director-General Stuyvesant, but failed in bringing about the arrest
and punishment of the thieves. The indifference of the provincial
authorities to their appeals for protection caused them to seek the
advice of the people of the neighboring settlements regarding the
means to be employed to free themselves from further losses of
property. In order to obtain an adequate-expression of the views of
the other settlers respecting the action to be taken to protect the
outlying farms from thieves and marauders, they invited the
property-holders of Gravesande, Vlissingen and Middelburg (New Town),
to send representatives to New Amsterdam, on November 24, to meet
with those of the burgewecsters and schepens o{ that city.
In order to forestall any action taken
at the meeting criminating him for inattention to the appeals of the
colonists for protection, and to overrule it in such a manner as
would frustrate the purpose for which the delegates were to convene,
the crafty director-general, on the twenty-fourth of November, issued
the following speciously worded announcement :
“
Whereas several complaints have been
made to us concerning the incursions
and robberies of a certain Thomas
Haxter, a fugitive from this province, and his companions, by which
among others, Jochim Pietersen Cuyter, Wilbefae/de/i is, ii’c? t mi/i
1 met lit;si/ /’ o/n’rede/i si/n de Jiebben “Jan Snedi/cer si/ne
bouiocri/e
–
inbrand te sfmLn, dae/oiu/ In/
dt’iiDirecteur ila^ende J/eeft met si/// o/> den id ‘Jn/ii/ too/
/(den niif d< ll’i/den ever de
beta/in^ voor V hint <;< aetordee/ t. I)e Direiteur so/ide dc
betalin^e doe//,
niaer daer 10/nt n’nt i>a/i,soo dat
de man in />eri/ti/l b/yst, t/i het dorp niet voorten^aet ;de
Dueiteur
unit lant //iitbetae/e/i, tun lili/dt/i
dat ter anderen dot//.”
Holland documents, vol. \ i.,p. 221
Documents reLUtny to the colonial history of the state of
Now York, vol. i., p. (.98.
71
THE SWAkTWOTT ClIRONICLES.
lcm Harck, and others have suffered,
and particularly the secret and thievish abduction of ten or twelve
horses from the village of Amersfoort ; and
” Whereas, we cannot but be
incensed at this and other robberies and incursions committed by the
said Thomas Baxter and his accomplices, which have been complained of
by the damaged inhabitants,
“
Therefore we have resolved to send
letters to and summon from each of the nearest subordinate colonies
two deputies, who are to meet at the City-hall in this city, and to
whom we think it advisable to join two respected members of our High
Council, to wit: the Honorable Mr. Johan La Montague and Mr. Cornelis
van Werckhoven, authorized to make in our name the proposal, and
further to deliberate with the other delegates for the protection and
greater security of the country and its good inhabitants upon some
effective remedies and means to prevent and stop these incursions, of
which deliberations they willgive us a report with all speed.” 1
The subtle director-general next
attempted to control the proceedings of the convention by having one
of his representatives preside over it and another present a
resolution shielding him and his councillors from odium and reproach.
In this he signally failed, for, as soon as the intention of the
wilfuldignitary became apparent, the English delegates objected to
the recognition of the emissaries of the director-general and his
council by the convention. ” The evident chicanery of the
strategic official is sufficiently outlined in the
Journal of the proceedings of the
convention,” to afford a clear comprehension
“
of its character. Although the
so-called “journal of the convention is not the real one, but an
account of the proceedings written by the delegates of the
burgemecsters and schepens of the city of New Amsterdam, and partly
attested by the representatives of the director-general and his
council, yet the reader willbe enabled to understand, after perusing
the garbled compilation of the minutes of the convention, the
immediate issues which led Tomys Swartwout to become a bold advocate
of the rights of the oppressed colonists and historically
distinguished with his associates for initially pleading at that
early
“
day for a decent respect” to be
paid to the willof a taxed people by those governing them. The
so-called journal recites :
“
On November 26, 1653, the following
named delegates from the High Council of New Netherland, Mr. J. La
Montague and Cornelis van Werckhoven, met at the City-hall with the
delegates from the Board of biirgcmeesters and schepens of this city
of New Amsterdam, Martin Crigier and Paul us Lcendertsen van der
Grift; the delegates from the village of Gravesande,
New York colonial manuscripts: New
Netherland Council Minutes, 1652—1654, \ol. v., pp. 142,
143Documents
relating to the colonial history of the
state of New York, vol. xiv., pp. 218, 219.
72
TIJI< SWARTWOTT CHRONICLES.
George Baxter and Sergeant Iluybert;
from the village of Vlissingen, John Micks and Tobias Peeks; |and]
from the village of Middelburg, Mr. Coe and
Gootman Ilasert.
“
Messrs La Montagne and Werckhoven
propose verbally and in writing that the respective delegates should
express their opinion how and by what means the robberies can be
stopped.
“1. Ensign George Baxter and all
the other English delegates asked whom Mr. Werckhoven represented,
and, upon his answer that he was sent as a delegate from the High
Council, they said they would have nothing to do with him and did not
acknowledge him as a member of the council, nor would they agree that
the director-general or his deputy should preside as he could not
protect them.
“
2. The English delegates sent a written
communication to the Honorable Director-General of the following
tenor : that if the director, representing the Privileged West-India
Company, willnot protect us, we shall be compelled to prevent our
ruin and destruction, and it is therefore our opinion that we need
not pay to him any more taxes and duties ; but they promised to
remain faithful to the Lords States-General and the Honorable
Company, offering the delegates from the [Board of | burgxmeestcrs
and schepens of this city to enter into a firm alliance with them ;
to which the delegates [from the Board of burgemeesters and
schepeus’] gave no answer but left.
“
3. The delegates ofthe city of
Amsterdam, summoned before the Honorable Director-General, reported
to the council the foregoing [proceedings], to which his Honor said
the answer was a prompt one, but he had no objection that the
burgemccstcrs and schepens should make a union with them, but as they
could not out-vote them, he intended to grant, at the next election,
a court of justice to the people of Amersfoort, Breuckelen, and
Midwout, so that on all future occasions there might be, with the
votes of Fort Orange and the others, a sufficient number against
them.
“In the afternoon the aforesaid
delegates met again at the same place. van La Montao-ne and Werck”
4. C. Werckhoven testifies Messrs. ••^
that he had heard and understood hoven submitted an answer in
writ-what was transacted verbally so far. ing from the Honorable
Director-
General, wherein he expresses his
willingness to protect his people, according to his commission, with
the power and means entrusted to him by God and his superiors, [which
the English delegates said was not quite satisfactory, for Jochim
Pietersen [Cuytcr,] WT-illem Harck and others have already been
robbed, and the director-general has as yet done very little to
protect others against these robberies, therefore we
73
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
must defend ourselves, for ifhis Honor
cannot deliver us from sixteen or seventeen men, what could he do
against more |. “La Montamie testifies to the The meeting
resolved to assemcorrectness thus far. ble again in the morning of
the next day, with the exception of Messrs. La Montagne and
Werckhoven, and consider what should be done.
“
On the 27th of November, at nine
o’clock, a. m., all the aforesaid delegates met again with the
exception of Cornelis van Werckhoven and La Montagne.
o
“5. The English delegates
unanimously asked Martin Crigier and Paulus Leendertsen [van der
Grift], the delegates from the [Board of ] buvgcmccslcrs and schepens
of this city, whether they would live with them in peace like
‘
brothers and friends. They were
answered, yes, but no firm alliance could be made with them until the
Honorable Director-General, the High Council, and all the adjacent
districts and villages had been informed of it.’ The English
delegates answered: Should the burgcmccstcrs and schepens not join
them, and the Honorable Director should not protect them, they would
form a union with one another on Loner Island. The city delegates
suo’^ested that it would be better to write about it to the
Lords-Directors [ofthe West-India Company in Holland], and they
promised that in the interval they would keep them [the colonists of
Long Island] well-informed regarding and assist them against robbers
and other evil-doers of that kind to the best of their ability, and
live with them as friends. Regarding the letter to be written to the
Lords-Directors [of the West-India Company], the city delegates
however requested |that, before any further action were taken
concerning it, they desired ] to hear the advice ofthe villages
ofAmersfoort, Breukelen, Midwout, and [ofthe colonists] on Staten
Island, for at this season of the year, when the ships are ready to
sail Ito the Netherlands], they could not wait for the advice and
opinion of the
people Rensselaerswyck, and the South
River.
” at Fort Orange,
Hereupon it was unanimously resolved to
come together again from the respective places on the tenth of
December next, in order to write to the Lords-Directors, and then the
delegates separated.
“Done this twenty-seventh of
November, 1653, at New Amsterdam, in New Netherland.” With the
marginal declarations of Cornelis van Werckhoven and Doctor
t>
Johannes La Montagne 1, and the names
of Martin Crigier and Paulus Leendertsen van der Grift subscribed to
the compiled account of the proceedings of the convention, the
over-confident director-general evidently thought that he had in itan
open certificate attesting his common care of the colonists and his
74
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
general readiness to render such aid
and protection as they might require of him from time to time.
In order that the convention to be held
in the following month should sit under the sanction of the
provincial authorities, the burgcmceslcrs and schepcus of the city of
New Amsterdam addressed, on November 29, a communication
“
to them, saying : That on the tenth of
next month, delegates from all the Knglish and Dutch towns and
villages should meet to report the present state of the country here
to the Noble Lords-Directors [of the West India Company] as masters
and patrons of this province.” With due deference and respect
“
they further remarked : Therefore we,
the bitrgcmccstcrs and schepcus of this city, make the friendly
request to your Worshipful Honors to summon delegates from the
respective Dutch towns and settlements to appear on the said day and
make such a remonstrance to the Lords-Directors for the peace and
welfare of the country as in their opinion they shall consider
advisable. In expectation of your Worshipful Honors’ favorable
decision, etc.” x
Although the provincial authorities
consented to the holding of the conven”
tion, they did not accede to it except
on the condition that the deputies of
“
the Iligh Council should be permitted
to be present at its sittings. They,
“
however, did not refrain from declaring
that they might adduce weighty
*¦**-*
reasons * * * * why this fashion of
gathering and individual remonstrations should be discountenanced.”
They undertook to exonerate themselves from public blame in not
securing the arrest of the persons robbing the settlers on Long
Island by adverting to the fact that an effort had once
“
been made to apprehend them, saying
that the statements that Jochim Pietersen [Cuyter |, Willem Harcks,
and others have been robbed without anything having been done, the
director-general and council declare to be false and calumnious, for,
on account of these robberies of Jochim Pietersen [Cuyter] and the
theft of horses, immediately after the return of the director-general
from Fort Orange, three yachts, under Paulus Leendertsen [van der
Grift], and a land force of about sixty men, under the command of
Captain Crigier, were sent out in pursuance of the resolutions and
appointments passed and made for this purpose.” They also
advanced the plea, under a guise of apparent truthfulness, that such
robberies as had taken place would not have happened had the orders
of the West-India Company and the provincial authorities been obeyed,
remarking : “Ifthey add that these persons [who had been robbed
| cannot be protected, it must be considered that the said persons
and many others, contrary to the general order of the company, and
the warnings of the director-general
and council, have settled separately far
from the villages, hamlets, or
neighbors.”
•
1NewYoikcolonialmaiuisciipts
NewXetheilandCouncilMmutes, 1652-1654,vol.\.,pp.152,153,
154. Documents 1elating to the colonial
history of the state ofNew Voik, \ol.\iv.,pp. 223-225, 226,227.
75
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
The false declarations embodied in the
last sentence arc rendered conspicuous by the wording of the summons
issued by the director-general on November 24, for the attendance of
delegates at the convention to be held in New Amsterdam on the
twenty-sixth day of that month, in which he refers to “the
secret and thievish abduction often or twelve horses from ;-,
the villageof Amersfoort,” which
as early as the year 1647 was recognized as a settlement of some
importance ; and also by a communication addressed him by the
Directors-General of the West-India Company, on July 24, 1650, in
which they
‘ wrote: “Many free people have
taken passage on these two ships, the Fortuyn’ and the ‘Jaagcr? as by
inclosed lists, we desire that you may allot to each, according to
his capacities and family, sufficient quantities of laud where they
choose [to settle], but not on land reserved by the exemptions for
the company, as for instance at Pavonia, which the company bought in
for
*** *
certain reasons. * * * * It looks as if
many people will come over by every ship, and we desire that you
shall accommodate all newcomers as well as possible.” 1
Five days later the settlers at Midwout
were notified to elect delegates and send them to the convention. “
Dear Friends :
“
As the Board of biirgcmccstcrs and
schepens of this city have resolved with the knowledge of the
Honorable Director-General upon calling for two delegates from each
of the adjacent villages, to wit: Amersfoort, Breukelen, and Midwout,
to write jointly to the Lords-Patrons concerning the condition of
country, we request herewith our friends in the village of Midwout
speedily to select two delegates and to send them to this place
to-morrow, the ninth instant, provided with the necessary
credentials, and directing them to report at the City-hall. Relying
thereon, we remain, your affectionate friends.
“
“By order of the burgemccsters and
schepens. “New Amsterdam, Decbr. 8, 1653. Jacob Kip, Secretary.
To the Honorable, Dear, and Good Friends, the inhabitants of the vil~
lage of Midwout.”
The settlers at Midwout, upon the
reception of this request, held a meeting and elected and accredited
Tomys Swartwout and Jan Stryker to represent them at this first
provincial assembly or landdag of the colonists of New Netherland.
1New York colonial manuscripts : New
Netherland Council Minutes, vol. v., pp. 155-15H.
Documents relating to the colonial
histoi y of the state of New Yoik, vol. \iv., pp. 22N, (So, 126.
-‘New York colonial manusci ipts New
Netherland Council Minutes, 1652-1654, \ol. v.,p. 159.
Documents lclahny to the colonial
history of the state of New Yoik, \ol. xi\.,p. 230.
7676 THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
The Board of burgemccsters and schepens
of the city of New Amsterdam sent as municipal delegates : Arent van
Hattem, Paulus Leendertsen van der Grift, Martin Crigier, Willcm
Beeckman, and Pieter Wolfertsen van Couwcnhoven ; Gravesande, George
Baxter and James Hubbard ; Vlissingen (Flushing), John 1licks and
Tobias Fecks; Middelburg (New Town), Robert Coe and Thomas ITazzard ;
Heemstede (Hempstead), William Wasborn and John Seaman; Amersfoort,
Elbert Elbertsen and Thomas Spicer ; and Breukelen, Frcderik
Lubbertsen and Paulus van der Beecq.
“
The dangers to which the people were
exposed,” as remarked by O’Cal”
laghan, affected all alike ; and the
grievances of which they complained were no respecters of persons.
The greatest harmony and concord therefore prevailed ; so true is it,
that the fortuitous circumstances of birth or religion wcisrh but
little with the right-thinking and unbiased masses, except when
seized on by those interested in the existence of public abuses to
lead tbe public mind astray so as to secure the continuance of a
state of things from which the latter
*
derive either honor or profit.”
When the delegates assembled, on
Wednesday, the tenth of December, at the City-hall, in New Amsterdam,
a committee, with George Baxter for its chairman, was appointed to
formulate a remonstrance and petition to be sent to the
Lords-Directors of the West-India Company and their High Mightinesses
the Lords States-General of the United Netherland Provinces. The
expressive memorial adopted by the convention on the following day,
to which all the delegates subscribed their names, ably sets forth
the clearly defined purpose of the intelligent and patriotic
representatives of the people of the eight settlements. In
dispassionate and dignified language they presented their
expostulations regarding the detrimental conditions under which the
inhabitants of New Netherland held tenure to the farms allotted them
by the West-India Company, and the inattention of the officers of the
provincial government to the rightful complaints of the distressed
colonists.
“We acknowledge,” they
declared, “a paternal government which God and Nature have
established on the earth for the maintenance and preservation of
peace and the good of mankind, not only in conformity to Nature’s
laws but in accordance with the rules and precepts of God, to which
we consider ourselves bound by His word, and therefore submit.”
“
Conceiving their rio-hts and privileges
“to be the same as those of the
“
inhabitants of the Fatherland, they
being” no wise a conquered and subjected
people,” but settled in New
Netherland on a mutual covenant and contract
entered into with the Lords-Patrons,”
they humbly solicited that their remon1
Ilibton of Now Xetherlaiul. l>y K.
1>-O’Calla^han, \dl. v., j). 243.
77
T
TllliS\VART\V()1T CIIkOxNICLKS.
strance and petition might be “received
and construed favorably, and be interpreted not sinistcrly but
advantageously.”
“
We shall, therefore, frankly declare,
with all humility, our fear and the alarm which for some time have
broken our spirits and hurt us in our labors and callings, so that
we, being in a wilderness, are unable to promote the prosperity of
the country with the same energy and affection as heretofore ; the
“causes being”:
t>
i. Our apprehension of the
establishment of an arbitrary government
****
among 1 us.
t5
“
2. We are usually and every year
expecting that the natives, by the murders they commit under a
pretext that they have not yet been paid for their
* * **
lands, may begin a new war against us.
“
3 Officers and magistrates, although by
their personal qualifications deserving such honors, are appointed to
many places contrary to the laws of the Netherlands ; several acting
without the consent or nomination of the people,
whom it most concerns. “4. Many
orders and proclamations, made in days gone by, without the
approbation of the country, solely by the authority of the director
and council, remain obligatory. *-¦**•*
“
5. On the promise of deeds and general
patents of privileges and exemptions, various plantations have been
made at great expense to the inhabitants, through building houses,
constructing fences, and tilling and cultivating the
* **
soil; especially by those of Middelburg
and Midwout, ¦* wi10 took up many single farms, and solicited deeds
for such lands, but were always put offand disappointed to their
great loss. This creates a suspicion that innovations are in
contemplation, or that other conditions willbe inserted [in the
deeds” and letters-patent] different from the original
stipulations.
6. Large quantities of land are granted
to some individuals for their private profit, on which, here and
there, might have been established a village or hamlet of twenty or
thirty families. This, indeed, must in the end, cause an immense loss
hereafter to the patrons by way of revenue, and at present greatly
impair the strength of the province, which, under such circumstances,
is incapable of defence, unless villages or settlements be planted or
formed.”
The Remonstrance and Appeal having been
written in English, a Dutch translation of the document was sent on
the following clay to the provincial authorities, addressed and
styled: “To the Very Worshipful Honorable Gentlemen, the
Director-General and Council of New Netherland, on the part of Their
High Mightinesses the Lords States-General of the United Provinces,
an Humble Remonstrance and Appeal of the Colonies and Villages in the
7* Till’: SWAKTWOUT CIIRONICLKS.
Province of New Netherland,” with
a request that answers to the different points set forth in the
memorial be returned to the convention. The director-general and
council, after reading the communication and
“
accompanying paper, sent a request to
the remonstrants” that each member of the provincial council be
provided with a copy of the Remonstrance and Appeal, which they
criticised as being somewhat obscure in meaning and badly translated.
The surly and captious request of the offended officials obtained the
“following response from the convention :
The burgcmccslers and schcpe?is of this
city, together with the respective delegates from the villages of
Gravesande, Vlissingen, Middelburg, Hecmstede, Breukelen, and
Miclwout, have seen the answer of the Honorable Director-General and
Council to the Remonstrance delivered yesterday to the Honorable
Director-General, asking, on account of some obscure or
badly-translated passages in the Remonstrance, that a copy thereof be
given to each member of the council. The said delegates reply thereto
that they have submitted the original of which his Honor, the
Director-General, may give copies to the council if he pleases, and
they request once more to know whether the Honorable Director-General
and High Council will condescend to give a definite answer upon each
point or not, for the delegates are here at great expense, and wish
to know how to govern themselves.” x
This communication drew from the
officials an arraignment ofthe delegates peculiarly despiteful: “The
Director-General and Council arc ignorant of any delegates from the
respective villages, the more so as Midwout, Amcrsfoort, and
Hreukelen have no court or jurisdiction and consequently no authority
to send delegates. As to the other villages, the Director-General and
Council declare the present gathering illegal, for it annulled and
acted contrary to the resolutions passed by the Provisional Assembly
as well as the order and decision made by the Director-General and
Council at the request of the burgcwecstci’s and schcpois on the
third instant. The Director-General and Council find themselves
therefore compelled for the protection of the rights of the
Lords-Patroons and their deputies to protest against the present
gathering, as they herewith do.
“
As to the Remonstrance itself, the
Director-General and Council do not know whether the original or a
copy thereof have been submitted lo them ; the document shows and
proves that it is a translation, and the Director-General and Council
further state that they do not feel bound to give a definitive
‘New York colonial manuscripts: New
Nethcrland Council Minutes, 1652-1654, vol. v., pp. 160-164, 165.
Documents relating l>> the colonial history of the state ot”
New Yoik, vol. i., pp. 550-555 :vol. \iv., pp. 231, 232. History of
New Nelherland. O’Callaghan, \ol. 11., pp. 243-246.
79
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
answer to a private and
obscurely-styled remonstrance of a few unqualified delegates assuming
1 the rights and privileges of the whole.
“The Director-General and Council
therefore charge and order the aforesaid so-called delegates not to
address either them or anybody else under such name and title; but
ifthe burgemccsters and schepens of this city or the magistrates and
delegates of the villages have to make remonstrances or requests for
their respective places, then they severally shall notify thereof the
Director-General and Council, who will give them answer and such
satisfaction as the circumstances and the case may require.” 1
Notwithstanding the delegates were
restrained by their individual fortitude and wisdom from manifesting
any reprehensible disrespect toward the provincial authorities, they
were more strongly stimulated to persist in impressing upon the minds
of the director general and the members of his council the lofty and
patriotic sentiments which moved them to write again to the
disputatious officials, saying:
“
On the eleventh of this month the
delegates from the respective villages
of Gravesande, Vlissingen, Middelburg,
Hcemstede, Amersfoort, Breukelen, and Midwout, and the deputies of
the burgcmccslers and schepens of this city, convened at the
City-hall, submitted to your Honorable Worships a Remonstrance
and Appeal to which they received on
the following day in answer a demand for copies [of the document jin
order that a well-considered reply might be given. The said
convention made on the same day an answer in writing, whereupon the
Honorable Director-General and Council were pleased, instead of
giving a decision upon their request, to charge the convention with
illegality because of a pretended lack of jurisdiction of the
villages of Midwout, Amersfoort, and Breukelen, which in consequence
thereof could not send properly qualified delegates [to the
convention] ; and to protest against the convention. This appears
strange, for the said villages were written to by the burgemecsters
and schepens only with the knowledge and consent of the Honorable
Director-General and Council ; besides, the convention had no other
aim than the service and protection of the country, the maintenance
and preservation of the freedom, privileges, and property of its
inhabitants, but not an unlawful usurpation of the authority of the
said Honorable Director-General and Council; on the contrary, their
intention was to prevent illegal proceedings, inasmuch as the laws of
Nature give all men the right to unite for the welfare and protection
of their liberty and property.
“
The delegates, convened as above
mentioned, request, with the burgcmecstcrs and schepens, that your
Honorable Worships willplease, after having
New York colonial manuscripts :New
Nethciiand Council Minutes, 1652-1654, vol. \., p. 167. Documents
relating to the colonial history of the state of New York, \ 01.
xi\.,p. 232.
80
TIIR SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
declared the aforesaid convention
lawful, to answer the points submitted in their remonstrance,
inasmuch as they are willing, with due respect, to admit to their
meetings and allow all such persons as your Honorable Worships may
decide to depute to share in and advise upon all business which may
arise.
“
In case of refusal, which they hope
will not be given, they would find themselves compelled to protest
against your Honorable Worships for all the inconveniences which have
befallen or may befall the country in general or particular, and they
intend to apply to their High Mightinesses, the Lords States-Generals
as their sovereigns, and the Privileged West-India Company as their
patrons, in order to submit to them a remonstrance on such matters as
they believe are required for the service and welfare of the
country.” This communication, dated at New Amsterdam, on
December 10, 1653, was signed by all the delegates except William
Wasborn and John Seaman, from Heemstede, who, it would seem, had
returned to that settlement ; the letter being certified to be a true
copy of the original by D. van Schelluync, a notary-public.
Upon the reading of this unequivocal
expression of the criticism and purposes of the resolute
representatives of the colonists, the director-general and the
subservient members ofhis council sent a peremptory order, on the
following
“
day, to the delegates at the City-hall
commanding them not to assemble any more in such form and manner, but
to separate on sight hereof under pain of our extreme displeasure and
arbitrary correction.” 1
The guileful director-general, two days
later, addressed an open letter to the colonists on Long Island, with
which Cornelis van Ruyven, secretary of the provincial government,
was sent to Breukelen, Midwout, and Amersfoort, to read to the
inhabitants, and in which he said: “We are further informed that
the buroxmecsters and scJiepeus of this city invited in our name
delegates from your villages and told you that it had been done with
our consent and approval. We hereby declare that it was not so, and
therefore require and direct you not to allow such delegates to
convene again or come here, especially during this crisis, because it
can only be to your disadvantage and injury.”
As was the intention of the delegates,
a copy of the Remonstrance, with explanatory papers regarding the
action of the provincial convention, was sent to Holland in the hands
of Francois Le Bleu, a counselor-at-law (advokaat), who was empowered
to present them to the Lords-Directors of the West-India Company
through the Amsterdam Chamber.
Apparently under compunctions of his
guilt in disregarding the complaints
‘New Yoik coloni.il manuscripts: New
Nctherland Council Minutes, 1652-1654, vol. v., pp.179, ISO, 181.
Documents relating to the colonial
history of the state of New Voik, \ol. xiv.,pp. 237, 235.
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES. 8181
of the colonists, the double-minded
director-general, in a paper, dated at New
Amsterdam, April 8, 1654, setting forth
the commission of Cornells van
Tienhoven and Martin Crigier as envoys
to the Honorable Theophilus Eton,
governor of New Haven, acknowledged it
to be his duty to heed and prevent
their complaints, and to exert himself
to secure the settlers in the possession
–
of their property, for he wrote: “Some
rovers and pirates have appeared we do not know under what authority
or whose commission— -who during last summer have uttered threats
and committed several hostile acts, invasions, and attacks upon the
good inhabitants in the country, Dutch as well as English, on land
and sea, robbing and plundering Willem Harck and Jochim Pietersen
Cuyter, stealthily taking away a vessel belonging to John Tobyn,
stealing and leading off nine or ten horses from the village of
Amersfoort on Long Island, and three or four negroes sent out to
recapture and bring back some fugitive negroes. Havino-suffered these
and other hostilities at the hands of the said robbers and pirates,
not only last year but also again quite recently in the person of
Willem Harck, when the)-added many threats of lire and massacre to be
inflicted upon oilier good inhabitants of this province, we, the
Director-General and Council, believe ourselves compelled by our
official position and its duties upon the repeated complaints of our
good subjects to
prevent them byallhonest and admissible
means as far as zvc can’and toprotect our good subjects against all
such rovers, pirates, and thieves. 1 x
The despiteful manner in which the
director-general and the members of his council vented their
reproaches upon the patriotic representatives of the colonists seems
less reprehensible than the way taken by the officials of the
Amsterdam Chamber of the West-India Company to debase them. Had the
number of settlers been larger and more belligerent, probably their
appeal would have been differently viewed by the avaricious
corporation ; or, possibly a revolution might have been inaugurated
by the oppressed colonists to acquire a right of representation in
the government of New Netherland.
On May 18, 1654, the directors of the
Amsterdam Chamber of the West
India Company wrote to the Honorable,
Prudent, Pious, Dear, Faithful Director-General and Council in New
Netherland, saying: “We have been amazed by the proceedings of
the delegates from some colonies and villages, especially because in
the whole remonstrance we cannot find anything that could have given
them a reason for complaining of some wrong ; but from their
conclusion and accompanying protestations it may be conjectured that
the whole thing consists only of forged pretexts for an imminent
factious sedition. We think that you should have proceeded rigorously
against the ring1New
York colonial manuscripts :New
Netherland Council Minutes. 1652-1654, vol. v., pp. 186; 242
245. Documents
relatingtothecolonialhistoryofthestate ofNewYork,vol.xiv.,pp.240,
241;254, 255.
82 THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
leaders of this undertaking, and not to
have meddled with it so far as to answer protests by counter-protests
and then let it pass without further notice ; for as it is highly
arrogant for inhabitants to protest against their government so do
the authorities prostitute their office when they protest against
their subjects without punishing them according to the situation and
exi*
**
gencies of the code. ¦* \ye charge you
to mete out due punishment for what has passed so that in future
others may not be led the same
ft
way.
The patriotic embassador of the
delegates was also made to feel the implacable resentment of the
haughty and despotic lords-directors in a manner particularly
disgraceful. Of this they remarked : “The attorney, Mr. Francois
Le Bleu, has been informed by us that he need not calculate upon
sailing [to New Netherland] this season. He willbe able to draw his
own conclusions from that and from what has happened to him here, and
report to his employers that we are not at all pleased with such
commissions.”
A discourteous reprimand was at the
same time addressed to the b7trgemeesters and schepens of the city of
Amsterdam, who were threateningly admonished :
“
We cannot let this occasion pass
without informing you that it has appeared strange to us that you or
some of you have allowed yourselves to be instigated by some
evil-minded persons so as not only to help arrange without order a
meeting, but also to present remonstrances, which, we think, were at
this time very much out of place, although represented differently.
We write more in detail on this subject to the director-general and
council, who willcommunicate with you in due time; meanwhile we
recommend and charge you to behave quietly and peacefully, to obey
the authorities placed over you, and by no means to join with the
English or other private parties in holding conventicles, either for
the sake of deliberating on affairs of state ; which is not your
business, or, which is still worse, in order to make the changes in
the province and its government. We have wished to warn you and giv.e
you advice before we make other dispositions.” 1
The desire of having the burgemcesters
and schepens of the city of New Amsterdam as well as all the other
colonists obey the company’s officers and abstain from attempting to
make changes in the government too strongly swayed the thoughts of
the covetous men having the exclusive jurisdiction of New Netherland
to allow them to think of parting with any of the privileges which
they had acquired solely for the advancement and protection of their
selfish and sordid interests. The self-seeking policy of these
miserly capitalists
1New York colonial manuscripts : New
Netherland Correspondence, et cet. 1654-1657, vol. xii.,pp. 3, 5.
Documents relating to the colonial history of the state of New York,
\ol. xiv., pp. 261, 262 ;266.
83
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
was the bane of the prosperity of the
settlers of New Netherland and the source of nearly all the political
evils afflicting-them during’ the West-India Company’s administration
of the government of the province.
The settlement of more colonists at
Miclwoul largely expanded the area of its cultivated land. The
increase of the number of its inhabitants was sufficient to justify
the provincial authorities in establishing” there, on March 6,
1654, a local court of justice consisting of three magistrates
(sc/icftcns), represented in the persons of Jan Stryker, Jan
Snedeker, and Adriaen Hegeman. This court sat three-fourths of the
year at Midwout and the remaining fourth at Amersfoort until March
31, 1661, when each place was granted a local court. David Provoost,
who, in 1654, was sheriff (sc/ioul-Jiscaal } of the district of
Breukelen, was then ordered to include Midwout and Amersfoort in his
bailiwick. On January 25, 1656, Pieter Tonneman succeeded him in that
office.1
The long distance between Midwout and
New Amsterdam, which the peo1
ple of the village were obliged to
traverse in o-oino-to and returning from Sunday and feast-day
services at the church within the walls of Fort Amsterdam, led to the
organization ofa religious society at the settlement, on February 9,
1654. A request was then sent to the Classis of the Reformed Church
at Amsterdam, Holland, to select a suitable pastor for it. Shortly
thereafter the
“
Reverend Johannes Theodorus Polhemius
(written by him Polhcijm “), arrived in New Netherland, who had
been compelled to leave his pastorate at Itamarcas, Brazil, in
consequence of the abandonment of that country by the West-India
Company in favor of the Portuguese. He was then fifty-six years old.
Meanwhile his wife had gone to Holland to try to obtain from the
Lords-Directors of the West-India Company the arrears of salary due
her husband by that corporation. Finding that his services as a
school-teacher and a minister were available, the people of Midwout
and those of Amersfoort engaged him to instruct their children and to
officiate as pastor of the two congregations. 2
The first steps taken to erect a
building in which religious services might be conducted regularly by
him at Midwout, were those consequent upon the authorization, on
December 1 7th, that year, of the Reverend Johannes Mega”
polensis, minister of the Gospel in the
city of New Amsterdam,” Jan Snede”
“
ker, and Jan Stryker to make public and
private contracts for the building
“
of a house of about sixty or sixty-five
feet in length, twenty-eight in width, and twelve to fourteen feet
high under the crossbeams, with an extension in the rear, in which a
chamber might be partitioned off for the preacher.” ;i
1The Register ofNew Netherland.
1626-1664. By I\. B. O’Callaghan, pp. 76, 77, 42.
‘
4 A Manual of the Reformed Church in
America. 1625-1876. By the Rev. Kdward Tanjore C’oru in,
D.D. 1879, p. 406.
3Documents relating to the colonial
history of the state of New York, vol. xiv.,pp. 294, 310.
84 THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
In the spring” of 1655, line
erection of the building was begun. For want of timber the
construction of the edifice advanced slowly during the summer. In the
month of December, the Reverend Dominie Polhemius complained, in a
letter addressed to Director-General Stuyvesant, that the planks he
had sent him with which to finish the parsonage had been used for
other purposes before he had any knowledge of the boards being in the
village. As particular”
ized by him, twenty-four were delivered
to Jan Eversen Meyer, six were put down at the church for benches; of
the remainder sixty-nine were taken away with the consent of Jan
Snedeker and Jan Stryker, and seventeen carried to Tomys Swartwout
and his brother Aldert Swartwout.” ] However, as soon as the
purpose for which the boards were intended was known, they were taken
to the parsonage and used in completing it.
It would seem that the provincial
authorities deemed it conducive to their own and the West-India
Company’s interests to manifest a spirit of good-will ofintelligence
toward such colonists of Dutch
extraction as were men <-> and integrity, even when their
sentiments regarding the administration of affairs of the province
were diverse and opposite their own. Thereupon recognizing the
qualifications of Tomys Swartwout and the high esteem in which he was
held by the people of the settlement, Director-General Stuyvesant and
the Council of New Netherland appointed him, on April 13, 1655, a
schepen to serve with Jan Snedeker and Adriaen Hegeman, who with him
composed the Court of Midwout until the withdrawal of Jan Snedeker,
on October
1 6th, that year, who was succeeded by
Jan Stryker. Unwilling to be burdened another term with the
responsibilities of a local magistrate, Tomys Swartwout in the spring
of the following year declined a proffered appointment to the same
office.~
The well-founded fears of the
colonists, which were so urgently set forth by the Lauddag of 1653,
that the Indians would at an early day inaugurate a war and attack
the unguarded inhabitants, were suddenly verified on September 15,
t65 ;, when a body of savages, estimated as numbering nineteen
hundred, landed at daybreak at New Amsterdam and occupied the streets
of the city.
The alarmed citizens prudently
dissembled their terror in the presence of the insolent invaders.
Having shot a citizen in the breast with an arrow and struck down
another with an axe, they were fortunately driven to their canoes by
the soldiers o-arrisonin<>-the fort, leaving-three of their
number dead on the
1 Aldert Sw.irtwout is named as
plaintiffin a trial in the City-hall, New Amsterdam, on October 31,
1656. l’/i/i:Records ofNew Anibleidam.
Kdited by ISerlhold Kernou. 1597, vol. ii., p. 213.
-‘New \oik colonial manusci ipts: New
Netherland Conned Minuter. 1656-1658, vol. \iu.,
p. 96. Documents relating to the
colonial history of the state of New York, \ol. xiv., pp. 370, 371,
376 ; 314. The Register of New Netherland. O’Callaghan, p. 76.
85
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
east shore of the North River. Passing
over to the west side of the river,
they burned at Hobokcn and Pavonia, and
also on Staten Island, man)-houses
and “barns of the settlers.
” During the three days that this
storm raged,” as related by O’Callaghan,
the Dutch lost one hundred people, one
hundred and fifty were taken into captivity, and more than three
hundred persons besides were deprived of house, home, clothes, and
food. Twenty-eight bouweries and a number of plantations were burned,
twelve to fifteen thousand schcpcls of grain destroyed, and from five
to six hundred head of cattle killed or driven off. The damages
inflicted on the colonists were estimated at two hundred thousand
florins, or eighty thousand dollars.
“
A visitation so dreadful, it may easily
be conceived, spread the greatest consternation abroad. All the
country people except those of Amersfoort,
”
Breukelen, and Midwout, and the negro
hamlets took wing and lied to the Manhattans.” J
The magistrates of Midwout, Adriaen
Hegeman and Tomys Swartwout, then reduced to two by the withdrawal of
Jan Snedeker, recognizing the insecurity of the place should the
Indians attempt a massacre of the settlers there, began immediately
to concert plans for their protection. Aware of the importance of
having them reside near one another so that all their dwellings
micrht be within the limits of a smaller area which miodit be fenced
then with palisades with less expense and labor, the prudent schepens
induced the householders to agree to do what seemed most imperative
in view of their defenseless
situation.
In order
to
secure
the sanction of the provincial
authorities,
they presented
the followin
g petition :
“
To the Noble and Respected Lords, the
Director-General and the Honorable Members of the Council of New
Netherland. Noble and Respected Lords:
“
The magistrates of Midwout, authorized
and representing all the inhabitants of the aforesaid village, set
forth to your Honors how dangerous it is in this critical juncture if
each inhabitant should continue to reside on his own farm, wherefore
the supplicants, having first consulted the other inhabitants who
embraced their proposal, are of the opinion that it would be
desirable for the security of their persons and property to
concentrate the aforesaid inhabitants on a smaller space in such a
manner as might be approved by your Honors, wherefore we solicit your
Honors that it may please you as soon as it is possible to have the
limits of our village fixed so that each inhabitant may
1 History of New Motherland.
O’Callaghan, \ol. ii.,pp.291, 292.
86 THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
ascertain without difficulty where to
place his dwelling and what rule he has to follow.
“
Kxpecting soon a favorable answer, we
remain
“
Your Honors’ obed’t servants,” ”
Adriakn Hegeman, TOMYS SWARTWOUT.”
The memorial having-received the
approval of the authorities of New Nctherland, who that day had
appointed Jan Stryker a schepeu to succeed Jan Snedeker, the
following order, dated October i6, 1655, was issued:
“
Whereas Jan Stryker, Adriaen Hegeman,
and Tomys Swartwout, inhabitants and magistrates of the village of
Midwont situate on Long” Island,
r
have this da)exhibited to us a certain
plan and petition annexed, to be empowered to effect the
concentration of the aforesaid village for the greater security
thereof and for enabling the inhabitants in general, when necessary
t
the more readily and effectually to
assist one another, which being examined by us the Director-General
and Council of New Netherland, we have approved thereof and so deemed
it proper and necessary.
“
We, therefore, do hereby authorize said
magistrates, Stryker, Hegeman,
and Swartwout, to lay out the aforesaid
village according to the exhibited
plan, provided that five or six lots be
reserved for public buildings, such as for
the sheriff, the minister, the
secretary, schoolmaster, village-tavern and public
court-house, hereby commanding the
inhabitants of the said village in general
to submit themselves without opposition
provisionally, and until further order,
to the” proposal of the aforesaid
magistrates and this our good intention.
Done at the assembly of the Honorable
Director-General and Council
of New Netherland, hoklen in Fort
Amsterdam.”
In another ordinance, dated February
22, 1656, it was further ordered that
the sellout Pieter Tonneman” and
the magistrates of the village be peremptorily
ordered and commanded to lay out the
settlement and lots thereunto required
in the form agreeably to the aforesaid
model, and allot them to the first
that is ready to build without
distinction of persons and without making any
alteration in the plan ; hereby
commanding at the same time all inhabitants
already residing or hereafter coming to
live in the aforesaid village, to submit
themselves to the aforesaid order,
model and survey, and to the taxes or assessments,
which the aforesaid sheriff and
magistrates shall find necessary to
collect with the advice of the
Director-General and Council, in order to promote
the setting offof the aforesaid village
with palisades and a blockhouse.” 1
1 Laws and Oidmances of New Netherland.
1638 1674. By E. B. O’Callagh.xn. 1868, pp. 199, 213, 214, 229.
87
THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES.
The environment of the village with a
fence of palisades was shortly thereafter begun, and continued until
the fall of 1656, when it was completed.
Of the three villages, Amersfoort,
Breukelen, and Midwout, the last-named settlement was not only then
the most populous but also the wealthiest. Besides having the
precedence of having a house for religious worship, the place
contributed more generously than either Amersfoort or Breukelen
toward the
–
FL\TBUSH, AS UK1.1NXVIXI) ON A “iM.OTT
Ol-\’ Slll’XI’ION OK V IOWNS AM)
HACKS ON \’ WISIKRN I’M) OK I.ON(.
ISLAM) ‘[() 1 1KMI’sTl-\I) I’.OI’NDS,
July 31), 1 666, r.v mr. iiniis \un.”
support of the Reverend Dominie
Polhemius, for, on December 29, 1656, the people of Midwout agreed to
give yearly four hundred florins toward his salary, those of
Amersfoort three hundred, and those of Breukelen a like sum. The
magistrates of the villages, in a communication addressed to the
provincial authorities, on January 13, 1657, adverting to the way in
which they hoped to
88 THE SWARTWOUT CHRONICLES. “
fulfil their part of the agreement,
remarked : That after several meetings, the)’ could find no other way
than to impose upon each lot and parcel of land, of which there arc
about fort)-in Midwout, a tax of ten florins yearly in proportion.
This tax of ten florins yearly for every lot proportionally would
make up the sum of four hundred florins, which we of the Court of
Midwout have promised in the presence of the Honorable
Director-General to contribute to the yearly pay of the said Dominie
Polhemius. But as each one of the inhabitants and neighbors has not
the same amount of property, one having-less, the other more, we must
and cannot tax all alike, but each in proportion to his
property and real estate.” 1
The church, which the people of Midwout
began to erect in September, 1658, on the plot of ground where now
stands the third edifice, built in 1796, was a plain wooden
structure, which, as reported on September 30, 1660, had cost four
thousand and fifty-seven florins and nine stivers, or, in present
money, one thousand six hundred and twenty-three dollars and twelve
cents. By order of the provincial authorities, the Building Committee
was discharged
~
on January 4, 1663.
The burgomasters and magistrates of the
city of New Amsterdam, having, on January 22, 1657, petitioned the
Honorable Director-General and Council of New Netherland to grant
them the privilege of conferring upon such of the inhabitants of the
place as might desire to enjoy the rights and immunities derived from
burghership {bui’gcr-rccht), they, on January 30, 1657, were
empowered to invest any reputable citizen with either the great or
small burgher-right whom they might adjudge worthy of possessing the
one or the other. A citizen, therefore, who, by subscription or oath,
had acknowledged himself a subject of the government of the
West-India Company, and had covenanted to bear his share of the
burdens, expenses, expenditures, and watches that were incumbent upon
the burghers, and had paid fifty guilders for a great burgher”
right, was thereafter qualified to fill
all the municipal offices and dignities within the city and
consequently to be nominated thereto ; secondly, be exempt for one
year and six weeks from watches and expeditions ; and thirdly, be
free in his person from arrest by any subaltern court or judicial
benches of the province;” and one, having paid twenty guilders
for a small burgher-right, although not eligible to civil office and
not permitted to enjoy the same exemptions as those granted to a
citizen holding a great burgher-right, was
“
allowed to exercise within the city any
public-store, business, or handicraft trade.” 3
1 Documents relating to the colonial
history of the state ofNew York, vol. xiv.,pp. 379, 380.-‘/,W. pp.
! Records of New Amsterdam. Edited by
Bcrthold Fernow. 1597, vol. ii., pp. 286, 287.
89
THE SWARTWOUT CIIRONTCLES.
It would seem that Tomys Swartwout, in
1658, intended to engage in a mercantile business in the city of New
Amsterdam, for, on February 28, that year, he solicited the Hoard of
Burgomasters and Magistrates to grant him
“
the small bur^fher-ripfht, and took the
oath in court, siVninpf an obligation for twenty gilders, beavers
payable for it.” ] Evidently, in order to reside there with his
family, he purchased, in the following year, a lot on the corner of
Broad and Beaver streets, which, by a miscarriage of other
investments, he was compelled shortly thereafter to return to a
creditor of the original owner.
Having for many years vainly solicited
letters-patent for the land occupied and cultivated by him at
Midwout, he received, on March 7, 1661, from Director-General
Stuyvesant, the long-desired instrument of writing, placing him in
legal possession of his farm of fifty-eight movgens, or about one
hundred and sixteen English acres. 2 Intending to change his
residence to Wiltwijck, he sold, on March 15, 1661, one-half of this
farm to his friend and neighbor, Jan Snedeker. Tomijs Swartwout’s
signature is found in the original record-book of the Reformed Dutch
Church of Wiltwijck, attesting the former membership in Holland of a
woman who became a member on that day of the church in that village,
lying on the Esopus Kill.’3 He is also named in the baptismal
register of the same church, as a sponsor, on January 8, 1662, for
his son Roeloff’s second son, Antoni. Tradition relates that he
returned to Holland (perhaps after the decease of his wife), where he
died.
‘Records of New Amsterdam. Edited by
Bcrthold Fernow. 1897, vol. ii.,pp. 342, 343. In lieu of money, a
good merchantable beaver-skin had at that time a value of six
guilder’s, or that of two dollars and forty cents, present money.
2 Ibid. vol. Hi., pp. 27, 48, 94, 95,
115.
History of New Nethcrland. O’Callaghan,
vol. ii. Appendix, pp. 59, 592.
Flatbush records. Deeds, lib. C, pp. 1
1-14.
3 History of Ulster County, New York.
By Nathaniel Bartlctt Sylvester. 1880, p. 62.
