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AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
Centennial Celebration
OF THE
#fw Qw Jsumwt i8I&,
BI THE CITIZENS OF THE
TOWN OF N(3RTHFIELD,
RICHMOND COUNTY, NEW YORK,
Including the
OR ATio:t^
By Hon. GEO. WM. CURTIS,
AND
UISTOHICAL SKETCH
By JOHN J. CCTJTE, Esq.
CiiAiiLES VoGT, Steam Pkinter, 114 Fulton Street.
1S76.
AN ACCOUNT
Centennial Celebration
4vm &F MiiWn i8M,
BY THE CITIZENS OF THE
TOWN OF NORTHFIELD,
RICHMOND COUNTY, NEW YORK,
Ill.cl^lclino; the
OR A.TIOISr
By Hon. GEO. WM. CURTIS,
A
/A
HISTORICAL SKETCH
By JOHN .J . O L TJ T E , Esq.
Charles Vogt, Steam Printer, 114 Fulton Street.
1876.
■V" \
i^'W'ASHt^-^
1776. #^'M 1876
The undersigned, the Committee aj^pointed to prepare for pub-
lication a report of the Centennial Celebration by the citizens of
the Town of Northfield, Richmond County, Independence Day,
1876, respectfuUy submit the following as their report :
N. C. Miller,
S. F. Rawson,
C. M. Johnson.
The Supervisors of the County of Richmond having, at a meet-
ing of that body, passed a resolution requesting the citizens of the
respective towns in the County to meet in their towns, and send
ll^'e delegates to attend a convention at the Com-t-House, to take
into consideration the proper celebration of the 4th day of July
1876, the citizens of Northfield accordingly met at the Station
House m Port Richmond, with Mr. J. H. Van Clief in the chair
and C. M. Johnson as Secretary, and elected five delegates, and
instructed them to state that the people of Northfield deemed a
celebration by tlie whole County inexpedient, and that Northfield
proposed to have a suitable celebration, and recommended Hke
action by other towns. The delegates attended at the Court-
House, and afterwards reported to an adjourned meeting of the
citizens of Northfield, held at the School-House, and their report
was accepted, and a Committee was then organized to prepare for
a town celebration. The members of the Committee were divided
mto Sub-Committees, as stated by Mr. Rawson in his openino- re-
marks. ^ °
Beautifully printed programmes, with the airs to be sun- print-
ed thereon, were furnished to the fifteen hundred persons assem-
bied. The celebration was held imder the shade of the maple trees
on Heberton Street, in front of the School-House in Poi-t Rich-
mond.
The singing was conducted by Mr. W. L. Sexton, and the in-
strumental music was under the direction of Mr. Jas. "NYhitford.
A large number of children of the vicinity Avere organized into a
chorus for the occasion.
During the exercises a salute of thii-teen guns was fired.
The display of fireworks in the evening was on a float anchored
in the water off Johnson's Dock.
The residences in the vicinity were beautifully decorated in
honor of the day.
In opening the exercises of the day, Ex-District Attorney Raw-
son, who presided, spoke as foUows :
My Fellow Citizenb- :
There is one subject upon which we are this day, without regard
to race, faith, nation, previous or present political, or other condi-
tion of servitude, fully agreed, and that subject, I hardly need to
mention, is the due observance of the one hundredth anniversary
of our birth as a nation.
Having been selected by my associates of the Committee for the
purpose of presiding over the exercises of the day, which I deem
a great honor, it does not come within my province to make any
extended address, though it is hard for any American citizen,
with half an opportunity upon this day of all days, to refrain from
a few^ star-spangled remarks. I will, lioweA^er, restrain my incli-
nations, and simply call your attention to the proclamation of the
President of the United States, issued some time since, pursuant
to a resolution of Congress, which, in substance, recommends that
the people do on this day assemble in their respective towns, and
cause to be dehvered an historical sketch of such town fi'om its
formation.
The proclamation also contains suitable recommendations for
the preservation of such sketch, to which we have attended.
Another moi'e recent proclamation requests the people to assem-
ble at some suitable j^lace in their respective localities, and retm'n
thanks to Almighty God, " who hath made and preserved us a
nation."
5
The committee of the citizens of the town of Northfield have
endeavored to comj^lv with these recommendations by uniting
with the accustomed celebration the rehgious exercises, and the
historical sketch ; and the printed programme is now before you.
It has been deemed best to publicly announce the organization,
under whose auspices this celebration is given.
The speaker then announced the committees, as follows :
Committee of the Whole. — J. H. Van Clief, Chairman ; N. C.
Miller, Secretary.
Sub-Committees, composed of members of the Committee of
the Whole, as follows :
On Address — Historical Sketch — Reading Declaration, and Re-
ligious Exercises. — S. F. Rawson and N. C. Miller.
On Music. — Messrs. Jas. Davis, W. R. Eadie, John Decker.
On Platform and Decorations. — J. H. Van Clief, N. Van Pelt,
John Decker.
On Fireworks. — N. Van Pelt, Jas. Davis, John Decker, and Wm.
H. Van Name.
On Finance.— J. B. PoUock, N. C. MiUer, J. H. Van Clief, Wm.
H. Van Name, Henry Miller, Jr., C. C. Jones, J. P. Kohler, G. P.
Wright, and John I. Housman.
On Police.— J. H. Van Chef.
On Preparing a Record of the Reception. — Messrs. N. C. Miller,
S. F. Rawson, and C. M. Johnson.
Reception Committe. — W. R. Eadie, N. C. Miller, Jas. Davis.
Ushers.— D. C. Belknap, Geo. S. Middlebrook, Theo. A. Thomp-
son, E. M. Ford, Theo. M. Eadie.
The committee desire me to exjDress the deep obligations they
are under to the gentlemen who kindly promised to come,
and, better still, are here to aid us in decorating the grave of the
past century, and at the same time wreathing the new-born cen-
tury with bright garlands of rhetorical flowers.
We are especially under obligations to Mr. Cirrtis, who, after
declining several formal invitations to deliver orations in promi-
nent places, which, if accepted, would have brought him much
honor, finally yielded to oui' pressing solicitations, and consented
to address liis friends and neighbors here to-day.
It is eminently appropriate that all exercises of the kind
which we are now about to enter npon, should be commenced
with prayer, and with that view I now introduce to you bur
revered friend and fellow-townsman, Kev. Dr. Brownlee.
Dr. Brownlee then offered the following
Prayer.
Almighty God, our God and Father, our country's God, by
whose favor we enjoy this peace and prosperity, we come before
thee with grateful hearts to acknowledge thy goodness ; and
with all our fellow citizens, every where with hke purpose assem-
bled, to offer Thee the tribute of a Nation's praise. By Thy grace,
the child of a hundred years ago has grown to be a man, able to
take a place in the foremost rank of the nations. We have been
preserved in the luidst of dangers from without and from within.
Oui' material interests have been prospered till the world has
been filled with wonder ; and all is from thee. In the advance-
ment of our nation in science, in art, in the blessings of a benefi-
cent government, in education, diffusing its elevating influences
everywhere ; in religion unfettered, sanctifying our prosperity,
and still tui'ning the great heart of the nation to Thee, we re-
cognize Thy paternal care, and we desire to stir up our souls to
magnify and bless Thee.
Grant that we may never forsake Thy fear. Let no worldliness
close our hearts to the higher blessings of Thy grace. May it,
ever be our honor and our joy to walk before Thee as Thy dear
children, esteeming Thy favor more than all besides.
We pray Thee to look on us still with the same kindness which
has followed us hitherto as a peojole. As we enter upon another
century of our national life, may we resolve to seek our prosper-
ity, above all, fi*om Thee. May we be more and more a Christian
people, not alone in name. May we honor Thy holy day, and
take Thy holy word as the basis of our institutions. May we en-
joy more and more of that liberty which the truth confers, and
cultivate more and more of that righteousness which exalteth a
nation. May God the Lord dwell in the midst of us, our God
for ever, even as He has been our father's God, and may He grant
us the grace to do our work in His service, as a people, seeking
ever to advance and diftuse the blessings of civilization, and es-
pecially of the religion of Christ. May Thy Kingdom come in the
midst of us, and Thy will be done as in Heaven, So may we
hope for the glory of the nation to continue, and our land to be
filled with a people prosperous, happy, and blessed. We ask it
in our Redeemer's name. Amen.
The audience then joined with the chorus in singing "Hail
Columbia."
After which, the Rev. Jas. S. Bush read the Declaration of
Independence in an impressive manner, which was followed by
singing Keller's "American Hymn."
Mr. John J. Clijte, of AVest New Brighton, was then intro-
duced by Mr. Rawson, as the gentleman who was to be known to
futui'e generations as the historian of Staten Island, he being
about to publish a history of Richmond County.
Mr. Clute spoke as follows :
On a beautiful morning early in September, two hundred and
sixty-seven years ago, a stout, Dutch ship, called "The Half
Moon," entered the harbor and anchored within the promontory
of Sandy Hook. She bore Henry Hudson and his fellow voya-
agers, probably the fii'st white men who had ever looked upon
the beautiful panorama which surrounded them. Exploi'ations
of the land and water were immediately commenced, and while
Hudson himself coasted along Long and Coney Islands, a boat
in charge of John Coleman, his mate, was sent to examine the
shores of Staten Island. This boat entered the Kills, and pene-
trated as far as Newark Bay, or the Sound, when the phenome-
non of the tides running in opposite directions, within a short
distance, mystified tliem, and induced them to retiu'n to the
ship ; the mystery of the tides, however, demonstrated the fact
that the land which they had examined was an island. In
ix)unding the point at New Brighton on their retm-n, they en-
countered two large canoes filled with savages, who, in their
surprise and alarm, discharged a shower of arrows at the
strangers, one of which struck Coleman in the neck and killed
him. He was conveyed to the ship, and the following day was
8
interred on Sandy Hook, wliich, for a long time thereafter, was
known as "Coleman's Point."
The Indians inhabiting Staten Island at the time of its dis-
coverj', were the Earitans, a branch of the great Leni-lenape, or
Delaware nation, and the native name of the Island was Aque-
honga-Monacknong ; it was also called Egquahous, or " the
l^lace of bad woods."
After exjDloring the bay and its surroundings, Hudson entered
the great river which still bears his name, and ascended as far
as the present site of Albany. He was eleven days in ascending,
and as many in descending, and one month after entering the
harbor, he sailed out of it again on his homeward voyage.
The report he made of the beauties of the coiintiy, and es-
pecially of the immense quantities of furs which might be ob-
tained fi'om the natives, in barter for articles of trifling value, ex-
cited the cupidit}' of numbers of the Dutch merchants, and many
ships were sent over at various times, the owners of which real-
ized immense fortunes. Pleased with the climate and the fertility
of the soil, permanent settlers at length came over.
In 1624, the first settlement was made on Staten Island by a
number of Walloons, who, after remaining here nearly a year,
removed to Long Island.
The West India Company, or " The Nineteen," as it was some-
times called, because it was composed of that number of mem-
bers, had just been chartered in Holland, and in 1630 conveyed
our island, and all the country on the main, extending from Ho-
boken to near the Raritan, to Michael Pauw, one of their num-
ber, whose name still clings to a part of his possessions at Com-
munipaw, or the Commune of PauAV.
Difficidties which we cannot now examine arose, which induced
Pauw to sell out all his rights to the country to his fellow mem-
bers, and the same year, or early on the following, David Peter-
sen de Vries, having extinguished the Indian title, became pro-
prietor, or patroon, of Staten Island, or the greater part of it,
and began to make settlements upon it. It was the practice of
the Company, before confirming a grant of land in the colony, to
see that the patentee had first extinguished the Indian title, or
had satisfied the Indians and obtained then- consent to part with
their laud. In some instances this proved a difficult matter, and
espeoiidly was this the case with Stateii Island. They were al-
ways ready to sell it whenever a purchaser presented himself.
In 1680 they sold it to Michael Pauw ; shortly after to David Pe-
terson De Vries ; in 1641 to Cornelius Melyn ; in 1651 to Aiigust
Heerraans ; in 1657 to the Baron Van Capelan, and in 1670 to
Governor Lovelace. To this last sale they were obliged to ad-
here, probably because there was more formality about it, the
Governor insisti?ig" upon possession being given by " turf and
twig," — that is, by a sod of the earth, and a branch of each sort of
tree which grew upon the land. Each proprietor, Pauw probably
excepted, introduced a number of settlers. The first settlements
within the limits of Northfield were made on the northwest ex-
tremity of the island, entirely by Dutchmen, which locality is to
this day known as " Holland's Hook," an abbreviation for " Hol-
lander's Hook."
In 1655 there was a great massacre of the whites on the island,
by the Indians, when all parts thereof was devastated, and the
settlements on the Hook suffered severely. In April of the same
year Johannes De Decker arrived in the country; he was a young
man of excellent rejDutation, and had occupied some official sta-
tion at Schiedam ; he brought with him a letter fi-om the Direc-
tors of the "West India Comi">any, recommending him to the first
vacant honorable position. He came as supercargo of the ship
"Black Eagle." The Vice -Director at Fort Orange having be-
come insane, De Decker was appointed to succeed him, a very re-
sponsible position for a young man and a stranger, but he proved
equal to the emergency. As he was the undoubted progenitor of
the hosts of Deckers now so profusely scattered over oui* island,
and especially over this town of Northfield, we will briefly follow
his career until he disappears from the scene of action.
After he had assiimed the direction of affairs at Fort Orange,
now All)any, Governor Stuyvesant issued a proclamation against
unauthorized preachers, from whom notliing could be expected
but " discord, confusion and disorder in Church and State." De
Decker issued an echo thereof, and adopted energetic measures to
enforce it. When the knowledge of these proceedings reached
Holland, Stuyvesant was severely rebuked, and forbidden to in-
terfere with the free exercise of relia'ion thereafter. In 1656 De
10
Decker returned to Holland, where lie married, and in 1657 re-
tiu'ned to this country again.
He had become possessed of a plantation of one hundred and
wenty acres of land within the limits of Northfield, but by reason-
of some dispute with Stuyvesant, he was dispossessed, and, it is
said, banished ; if so, his sentence must have been reversed, and
the differences between him and the Governor reconciled, for
when the colony was wrested from the Dutch by the EngHsh, he
was appointed by Stuyvesant one of the commissioners for arrang-
ing the terms of surrender. The English carried out, to the let-
ter, the articles agreed upon, so far as they related to the enjoy-
ment of property, and the free exercise of religion, but when they
began to remodel the laws and change the names of places, De
Decker's Dutch patriotism was aroused, and he protested so loudly
and so fi-equently, that he again became offensive, and was once
more banished from the colony by Governor Nicolls. During the
administration of Lovelace, De Decker applied to the Dvike of
York for a revocation of his sentence and the restoration of his
property. The duke referred the matter to Lovelace to do in the
premises what was just and proper, and the result was that he
was reinstated in all his rights. Thenceforward we hear no more
of him, except that he devoted himself to the cultivation of his
farm and the raising of Deckers, in which last he succeeded ad-
mirably, as we have evidence before us at this day. How many
children he had is not known, but among his sons were Matthew,
Pieter and Charles, names we find repeated among his descend-
ants continually, thus affording proof of their legitimate descent
from their "illustrious predecessor."
Another of the old famiHes of Northfield is the Post. Adrian
Post, who was the progenitor of those of that name at the pre-
sent day, came to this country before 1G.50, as the captain of an
emigTant ship. When he came to the island is not known, but
he was here before De Decker, for at the time of tlie great
Indian massacre in 1655, he had resided here with his wife, five
children and two servants, for some time in the capacity o
Superintendent of Baron Van Capelan's jilantation. He and his
family escaped on that occasion, but soon thereafter returned
and resumed his occupation.
The Du Puys also came here at an early date. Nicolas du
11
Pvii, with his wife and three chndren, arrived here in 1GG2, in
tlie ship called the " Pui'merland Church," and settled on Staten
Island. He was, undoubtedly, the progenitor of the Depuys of
the present day, as we find his name perpetuated amonpf his de-
scendants. They settled in that part of Northfield which borders
on Fresh Kill.
The Simonsons were in the colony as early as 1631, but it was
31 years later, namely 1662, before the name is found in connec-
tion with Staten Island. Willem Simonson settled here at that
date, and though there is no record of the names of all his
children, we find among them the names of Barnt and Aert, or
Arthur, which are perpetnatecl among the descendants to this
da}-.
The Corsens were in the colony several 3'ears before we find
the name in connection with Staten Island. The first mentioned
is Cornelius, to whom two patents were granted in 1680, one for
60 acres and another for 320, besides 32 acres of salt meadow,
in the words of the document, "where most convenient." He
died before December 7th, 1693, as on that day his will was ad-
mitted to probate. The grounds which we are now occui)ying is
a part of the estate granted by that patent. His son, Cornelius.
died in March, 1755, and lies interred in the neighboring church-
yard,* where his gravestone, with its Dutch inscription, may
still be seen. The original Cornelius is designated in the Albany
Records as captain, and several of his descendants received mili-
tary commissions of various grades — others were called to fill
civil offices, as Members of Assembly, Sheriff, County Clerk, &c.
The Merrills are also an ancient family. The first of the name
was Richard, who, with his wife Sarah Wells, both natives of
Warwickshire, England, settled on Staten Island in 1675. One
of their sons, Richard, was Judge of the County in 1739, and
member of the Colonial Assembly both before and after that
date.
The Mersereaus fled from their native France, first to England,
and then to America. The family consisted of a widowed mother,
two sons Joshua and Daniel, and two daughters Mary and Mar-
tha ; another son, Paul, remained in England. They left France
* The yard of the Reformed Church. The gravestone of his wife, June Van
Biiskirk, also with a Dutch inscription, stands beside it.
12
immediately after the Revocation of the Edict of Nautes in 1<J85 ;
the}- made but a brief stay in Enji^land, and left that country with
an intention of settling in Philadelphia, then just founded, but
were driven by a storm to seek safety in New York. While here,
the natural beauties of our island attracted their attention, and
they finally settled here, and in the graveyard of tlie old French
church at Fresh Kill repose the remains of the widow, who
brought her childi-en here as the only refuge from persecution.
Joshua, a grandson of the widow's son Joshua, was the first mem-
ber of assembly from this county after the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and filled the office for several years. No name occurs
oftener in the ci\al list of our county than that of Mersereau.
The first Van Pelt we meet with iu the records of Staten Island,
is Hendrick ; he was here before 169G.
The first Van Name was Evart, who lived here before 1709.
The Pralls were here in 1694 ; the Lakes in 1696 ; the Hillyers
in 1693 ; the Crocherons in 1698, and the Haughwouts about
1700, &c.
In 166-1, during a period of profound peace betAveen England
and Holland, the former power sent four ships of war to America,
and wrested the province from the Dutch, from which time until
the achievement of our national independence, with the exception
of a few months, she retained possession of it. Under the Dutch,
there were no political divisions of the province, but the legal
business was done at New Amsterdam. The English, soon after
taking i:)OSsession, divided the southern part of the province into
shires, and Long Island, Staten Island, .and what is now known
as ^Yestchester, were comprised in one shire called Yorkshire ;
these shii-es were again divided into ridings.
In 1683, the province was divided into twelve counties, of which
Richmond was one, and the four original towns were bounded
and described in 1688. The boundaries of Northfield are about
the same to day as they were then.
The history of Northfield during the war of the Revolution is
peculiarly interesting, but time will permit us only to glance at it.
Staten Island has been charged with being a nursery of toryism
during that eventful period, and General Washington, in one of
his letters, speaks of " the well-known disaffection and treachery
of the people of Staten Island." This is a serious charge, coming
m
from such a source, yet it might be materially palliated, but not
uttei'ly denied, did time permit. It is, indeed, true, that there
were many tories on the Island at the beginning- of the war, biit
so heavily was the hand of oppression laid upon the pe(.)ple during
its continuance that, at its close, there were very few.
But at no time was the charge true as it related to the Town
of Northfield. In this Town there was double the amount of pa-
triotism than in all the rest of the County combined. This was
owing to the fact that the majority of the people were of Dutch
extraction, or French amalgamated with the Dutch. In this Town
dAvelt the Corsens, the Mersereaus, the Van Names, the Van Pelts,
the Crocherons, and a host of others, all well-known patriots.
When the distribution of quarters for the British army took
place, after they had taken possession of Staten Island, in July,
1776, one hundred years ago to-day, that part of Northfield bor-
dering upon Fresh Kill was assigned to the Queen's Rangers, a
regiment of tories fi-om Long, Staten, and Manhattan Islands,
and a few from New Jersey, commanded by the notorious Lieut.
Col. John Graves Simcoe. A fortification was erected on the emi-
nence just west of St. Andrew's Church, which was considered a
very important mihtary position, because it commanded the ap-
proach to the very centre of the Island through Fresh Kill.
On the 8th of August, 1777, a party of Americans crossed from
New Jersey to Staten Island, landing somewhere on the shore
near the Mill Creek, and directed their course through Northfield
towards Richmond. They were met not far from that village by
a detachment of British soldiers, who, after a brief struggle, re-
treated, and sought shelter within the stone walls of St. Andrew's
Church. The Americans surrounded the church, firing through
the windows until every' pane of glass in the building was broken.
By this time the British had received reinforcements from the
vicinity of Tompkinsville, and it then became the turn of the
Americans to retreat, Avliich they did by the Fresh Kill road
through "Westtield, and finally reached New Jersey by seizing-
boats along- the Sovmd, having lost several men, but having also
killed the British Colonel in command of the piu-suing party.
The winter of 1779 was exceedingly severe ; the snow was
deep, and the Kills and Sound were frozen over. A detachment
of Americans, under Lord Stirling, taking advantage of the ice.
14
crossed the Sound at Elizabctliport for the purpose of surprishig
"Skinner's New Corps," stationed on Staten Island. After land-
ing at Hollands' Hook, thev marched along the shore, and the
advance party, it is said, had reached the Mill road, but found
the snow so deep, they could advance no further in that direction.
They accordingly retraced their steps, and when they had reached
the junction of the Shore and Church roads, a superior British
force met them, and a smart skirmish ensued on the ground now
occupied by the Gi'iffith, Van Pelt & Grreenwald stores, and the
buildings in the \'icinity. The Americans were compelled to re-
treat, which they did with small loss.
During the whole war, the Pralls and other families residing
near " The Lines," as the vicinity of the Sound Avas called, suf-
fered greatly from the depredations of the Jerseymen on their
property, who regarded all who continued to live on Staten Isl-
and as tories, while the British looked upon them as half-fiedged
whigs.
AU intercourse between the people of Staten Island and New
Jersey was prohibited by the British authorities, and during the
seasons when the Kills and Sound Avere navigable, one or more
gun-boats were kept plying to and fi-o, to enforce the jDrohibition.
These gun-boats were maintained by the people of the county)
who were taxed to pay their expenses. When the waters were
frozen, patrols were stationed along the shores to prevent com-
munication.
Since the formation of the federal government, the town of
Northfield has sent two liepresentatives to Congress in the persons
of Heniy Crocheron and Jacob Crocheron. Of the County
Judges, Daniel Lake and Richard Merrill, before, and Gozen
Ryers and John J. Murray, after, the formation of the present
government. There have been eight Presidential electors from
our county, two of whom, Jacob Crocheron and John T. Har-
rison, came fi-om Northfield. Of the Members of Assembly-,
Northfield has furnished the following : Joshua Mersereau, grand-
son of the widow, eight times ; Cornelius Corsen. once ; Gozen
Ryers, four times ; Lewis Ryers, three times ; Richard Corsen,
three times ; Jacob Mersereau, twice ; Paul Mersereau, once ;
Lawrence Hillyer, twice ; Peter Mersereau, once ; Nicholas
Crocheron, once ; Joshua Mersereau, Jun., once ; Thomas Child
15
once ; Nathaniel J. Wyetli, once ; John Decker, four times ; John
B. Hilly er, once. In 1788, Gozen Eyers was sent to the State
Constitutional Convention. Of the County Clerks, Thomas Car-
hart, Adam Mott, Daniel Corsen, John Mersereau, Joshua Merse-
reau, Jun , Israel C. Denyse, (twice) came from Northfield. Since
1818, Avlieu the office of District Attorney was made a county of-
fice, there have been thirteen incumbents, of whom five either
resided or had their offices, in Northfield, viz : Lot C. Clark,
Georg-e White, Alfred DeGroot, Sidney Y. Rawson, and John
Croak, the present incumbent.
Of the sheriffs of the county, the following came from North-
field, viz. : Thomas Stilhvell, twice ; John Depue, twice ; Christian
Corsen, John Hillyer, three times ; another of the same name,
once ; Lewis Ryers, Benjamin Parker, Jacob Crocheron, three
times ; Jacob Hillyer, Lawrence Hillyer, Andrew B. Decker and
Jacob Simonson.
During the last century, this locality has been known by a va-
riety of names. One hundred years ago, Rivington's Roj/al
Gazette, published in Nev>r York, announced the fact that a ferry
had been established between Staten Island and Bergen Point,
but does not inform us who was the proprietor ; probably it was
Gozen Ryers, who, several years before the close of the last
century, was the proprietor of a ferry not only to Bergen Point,
but to New York. The boats used on the latter were the old-
fashioned pirogues, or periauguas, which had certain hours for
starting, but very imcertain hours for arriving, which might be
the same day or the next, as winds, tides, or other circumstances
permitted. The locality was then known as Ryers' ferry. These
boats started from the old wharf at the foot of the Church road.
There was an opposition ferry in those days, too, which was
started by John Hilleker, from a wharf just east of Jewett's lead
works, the remains of which may still be seen. Early in the
present century, the late David Mersereau, Esq., became the
owner of botb these ferries, and the village received the name of
Mersereau's ferry, which it retained for many years. As it grew
in proportions, and the business, and, we may add, the self-esteem
of the inhabitants increased, efforts were made to bestow upon it
a more eui^honious apj^eUation ; meetings were held, and several
names were proposed, among which were Ii-vington, New Bristol,
16
&c. ; but by some means the prepostei'ous name of City ville became
attached to the place, and if memory serves, even the post-of!ice
was called by that name. At length, the absurdity' of the name be-
gan to be more and more apparent, and another meeting was held,
the result of which was, that at the suggestion of the Eev. Dr.
Brownlee, the present appropriate name of Port Richmond was
adopted. As it is a part of tlie Rev. gentleman's professional
duties to bestow names, it is not at all surprising that he should
have become an adept, after more than forty years' practice.
I have the authority of the late Rev, Dr. Van Pelt, for thirty-
three 3'ears pastor of the Reformed Church in this Village, for as-
serting that, in the old frame building which formerly stood on
the site of the Greenwald stores, and universally known as " The
Academy," the first Sunday School in the United States was organ-
ized. It was intended especially for the instruction of larger
children and adults, who had not had the advantages of an educa-
tion in their earlier years, and, in addition to a fitting religious
culture, they were instructed in the ordinary fixndamental branches
of a common school education ; and there are, no doubt, some
still living, who are approximating, if they have not already
reached their three-score and ten years, who were pupils in that
school.
It is a matter worthy of remark, that in two of the churches of
this Town, the pastorates have been of extraordinary length. In
St. Andrew's Church the pastorate of the Rt. Rev. Richard Chan-
ning Moore commenced in October, 1788, and terminated in 1808,
a period of twenty years ; he was immediately succeeded by his
son, the late Rev. Dr. David Moore, whose pastorate terminated
with his life in 1856, a period of forty-eight years, making a total
of sixty-eight years in the two succeeding pastorates of that
church.
But the Reformed Church in this Village presents a more re-
markable record. In 1802 the Rev. Dr. P. I. Van Pelt was in-
stalled as pastor, and continued in that office until #1835, a period
of thirty-three years ; in the latter year the present pastor, the
Rev. Dr. Brownlee, was installed ; his pastorate, next month, will
reach its forty-first year ; thus, the two pastorates of this church
will embrace three-fourths of a century, within one year.
On the 24th of November, 18G6, the Village of Port Richmond
17
was incorporated ; the division of the village into wards was not
adopted, avoiding thereby the sectional jealousies and bickerings
which so often distui'b the harmony, and retard the prosperity of
small communities. For several consecutive years the same trus-
tees were reelected, and the present presiding officer of the Village
is the first and only one it ever had.
On the 24tli of July, 1835, the " Staten Island Banking Associa-
tion " commenced business. The bank was located in this Village,
in the west end of the double bviilding at the corner of Broadway
and the Shore road, now occupied as a shoe store. Its first Board
of Du-ectors were Richard D. Littell, John H. Smith, William A.
Swain, Franklin S. Kinney, "William Woram, William Colgate,
Eder V. Haughwout, Jacob Bodine, John Totten, Sen., Joseph
Seguine, John T. Harrison, and Samuel Sherwood. Richard D.
LitteU was President, and John W^est Cashier. After a brief ex-
istence of a few years, its doors were closed, and remain so to
this day.
On the 14th day of September, 1836, in the northeast room of
the second story of the Port Richmond (now Continental) Hotel,
died Aaron Burr, the talented, ambitious, and unscrupulous
statesman.
In a house still standing, a few rods from this spot, but some
years since remodeled and modernized, on the 27th day of May,
1794, (eighty-two years ago,) was born a man, still hving, and
known all the world over for his sagacity, his indomitable energy,
his probity, and the wonderful success of every enterprise under-
taken by him. A man who has converted into gold whatever liis
magic hand has touched, until he counts his wealth by many mil-
lions, but who was never so devoted to Mammon as to forget that
he was a son, a father, and a man ; Avhose benefactions have been
many, but entirely unostentatious, and were made by the thou-
sands, the hundred thousand, and the million. This man, a son
of Northfield, now lies upon his sick bed, and his hold on life
gradually weakening, until, in all human judgment, no long time
will elapse ere the ponderous doors of the costly granite mauso.
leum in the Cemetery of the Moravians wiU forever close upon the
venerable form of Cornelius Vanderbilt.
The " Star-Spangled Banner " was then sung.
18
The Oration.
By Hon. George Wm. Curtis.
In introducing Mr. Curtis, Mr. Rawson said :
We have of late (referring to the political conventions for the
nomination of President) heard and read a great deal about
" favorite sons." The suns of many of them have happily set, but
there are those who are always " favorite sons," and I feel hon-
ored in now having the privilege of introducing Staten Island's
favorite son, the Honorable George William Curtis.
]VIr. Curtis was received with great applause, and said :
Mr. President, fellow citizens, neighbors and friends :
On the 19th of April, 1775, when Samuel Adams, well called
the father of the Revolution, heard the first shots of the British
upon Lexington Green, he knew that war had at last begun, and
full of enthusiasm, of hope, of trust in America, he exclaimed
wdth rapture, " Oh ! what a glorious morning." And there is no
feUow citizen of ours, wherever he may be to-day — whether sail-
ing the remotest seas or wandering among the highest Alps, how-
ever far removed, however long separated from his home, who, as
his eyes open upon this gloi'ious morning, does not repeat with
the same fervor the words of Samuel Adams, and thank God with
all his heart, that he too is an American. In imagination he
sees infinitely multiplied the very scene that we behold. From
every roof and gable, fi*om every door and window of all the
myriads of hapi^y American homes from the seaboard to the
mountains, and from the mountains still onward to the sea, the
splendor of this summer heaven is reflected in the starry beauty
of the Ameiican flag. From every steeple and tower in crowded
cities and towns, from the village belfry, and the school-house
and meeting-house on sohtary country roads, ring out tlie joyous
peals. From countless thousands of reverend hps ascends the
voice of prayer. Everywhere the inspiring Avords of the great
Declaration that we have heard, the charter of our Independence,
the scripture of our Hbei-ty, is read aloud in eager, in grateful
ears. And above all, and under all, pulsing through all the praise
and prayer, from the frozen sea to the tropic gulf, from the At-
lantic to the Pacific, the gi-eat heart of a great people beats in
19
fullness of joy, beats with pious exultation, that here at last, upon
our soil — here, by the -wisdom of ovu.' fathers and the bravery of
our brothers, is founded a Republic, vast, fraternal, peaceful, upon
the divine corner-stone of liberty, justice and equal rights.
There have indeed been other republics, but they were founded
upon other principles. There are republics in Switzerland to-day
a thousand years old. But Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden are
pure democracies not larger than the county in which we live,
and wholly unlike our vast, national and representative repubHc.
Athens was a repubhc, but Marathon and Salamis, battles whose
names are melodious in the history of liberty, were won by slaves.
Rome was a rejjublic, but slavery degraded it to an empire.
Venice, Genoa, Florence, were rej^ublican cities, but they were
tyrants over subject neighbors, and slaves of aristocrats at home.
There were repubhcs in Holland, honorable forever, because
from them we received oiu* common schools, the bulwark of
American liberty, but they too were repviblics of classes, not of the
people. It was reserved for our fathers to build a republic upon
a declaration of the equal rights of men ; to make the Govern-
ment as broad as humanity ; to found political institutions upon
faith in human nature. " The sacred rights of mankind," fer-
vently exclaimed Alexander Hamilton, " are not to be rummaged
for among old parchments or musty records ; they are written as
with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature, by the
hand of Divinity itself." That was the sublime faith in which
this century began. The world stared and sneered — the difficul-
ties and dangers were colossal. For more than eighty years that
Declaration remained only a Declaration of faith. But, fellow
citizens, fortunate beyond all men, our eyes behold its increasing-
fulfilment. The sublime faith of the fathers is more and more the
familiar fact of the children. And the proud flag which floats
over America to-day, as it is the bond of indissoluble union, so it is
the seal of ever enlarging equality, and ever surer justice. Could
the men of that earlier day, could Samuel Adams and all his asso-
ciates have lived through this amazing century to see this glorious
morning, as they counted these teeming and expanding States,
as they watched the advance of republican empire from the
AUeghanies tlu'ough a country of golden plenty, passing the snowy
20
SieiTas and descending- to the western sea of peace, as they saw
the little sj^ark of political liberty which they painfully struck,
blown by the eager breath of a century into a flame which as-
pii'es to heaven and illummates the eartli, they would bow theii'
reverend heads at this moment, as Adams and Jefferson bowed
theu's fifty years ago to-day ; and the happy burden of their
hearts would tremble fi-om their expmng- lips, " Now, oh Lord, let
thy servants depart in peace, for their eyes have seen thy sal-
vation."
But we have learned, by sharp experience, that prosperity is
girt with peril. In this hour of exultation we will not scorn the
■v\T.se voices of warning and censure, the friendly and patriotic
voices of the time. We will not forget that the vital condition of
national greatness and prosperity is the moral character of the
people. It is not vast territory, a temperate chmate, exhaustless
mines, enormous wealth, amazing inventions, imperial enter-
prises, magnificent public works, a population miraculously
multii^lied : it is not busy shops and humming mills, and flaming-
forges, and commerce that girdles the globe with the glory of a
flag, that makes a nation truly great. These are but opportumties.
They are like the health and strength and talents of a man, which
are not his character and manhood, but only the means of their
development. Tlie test of our national greatness is the use we
make of our opportunities. If they breed extravagance, wild riot
and Ucense — if they make fraud plausible and corruption easy — if
they confuse private morality, and debauch the public conscience,
beware, beware ! for all our prosperity is then but a Belshazzar's
feast of splendor, and while we sit dninken with wine and
crowned with flowers, the walls of our statety palace are flaming
and cracking with the terrible Avords of our doom.
But with aU faults confesssed, and concessions made, with all
dangers acknowledged and difficulties measured, I tliink we may
truly say that, upon the whole, we have used our oi)portunities
well. The commanding political fact of the century that ends to-
day, is the transcendent force and the recuperative power of re-
pubHcan institutions. Neither the siren of prosperity, nor the
red fury of civil war, has been able to destroy our Government
or to weaken our faith in the principles upon which it is founded.
We have been proud, and reckless, and defiant ; we have sinned,
21
and have justly suffered, but I say, iu yom- lieai-ing, as, had I the
voice, I would say in the hearing of the world to-day, that out of
the fiery fvirnace of our atiiictions, America emerges at this
moment greater, better, truer, nobler, than ever in its history
before.
I do not forget how much is due to the political genius of the
race from which we are so largely sprimg. Nine-tenths of the
revolutionary population of the country was of English stock.
The Declaration of Independence was a fruit of Magna Charta,
and Magna Charta grew from seed planted before history in the
German forest. Om- friend, the historian of the island, in the in-
teresting sketch of this town that he read us, tells us that
Northfield was the most patriotic town in the county dm-ing the
revolution, and that the original settlers were, in great part, of
German stock. The two facts naturally go together. The in-
stinct of individual liberty and independence is the germ of the
pohtical developement of that race from which also our fathers
sprang. They came from England to plant, as they believed, a
purer England. Their new England was to be a true England,
At last they took up arms reluctantly to defend England against
herself, to maintain the principles and traditions of English lib-
erty. The farmers of Bunker Hill were the Barons of Runny-
niede in a later day, and the victory at Yorktown was not the
seal of a revolution so much as the pledge of continuing Erglisli
progress. This day dawns upon a common perception of that
truth on both sides of the ocean. In no generous heart on either
shore hngers any trace of jealousy or hostility. It is a day of
peace, of joy, of friendship. Here above my head, and in yom*
presence, side by side with our own flag, hangs the tri-color of
France, oui- earhest friend, and the famous cross of England, oiu'
aUy in civilization. May our rivah-y in all true progress be as in-
spiring as our kinshi]) is close ! In the histoiy of the century, I
claim that we have done our share. In real service to humanity,
in the diffusion of intelligence, and the hghtening of the burden
of labor, in beneficient inventions, — yes, in the education of
the public conscience, and the growth of political morality, of
which this very day sees the happy signs, I claim that the act of
this day a hundred years ago is justified, and that we have done
not less, as an Independent State, than om- venerable mother
England,
22
Think what the country was that hundred years a^o. To-day
the State of which we are citizens contains a larger population
than that of all the States of the Union when Washington was
President. Yet, New York is now but one of thu-ty-eight States,
for to-day our youngest sister, Colorado, steps into the national
family of the Union. The country of a century ago was our fa-
ther's small estate. That of to-day is our noble heritage. Fidehty
to the spirit and principles of our fathers will enable us to deliver
it enlarged, beautified, ennobled, to our children of the new cen-
tva'v. Unwavering faith in the absolute supremacy of the moral
law ; the clear perception that well-considered, thoroughly-
proved, and jealously-guarded institutions, are the chief security
of liberty ; and an unswerving loyalty to ideas, made the men of
the Revolution, and secured American independence. The same
faith and the same loyalty will presei've that independence, and
secure progressive liberty forever. And here and now, upon this
sacred centennial altar, let us, at least, swear that we will try pub-
lic and private men by precisely the same moral standard, and
that no man who directly or indirectly comiives at corruption or
coercion to acquii'e office or to retain it, or who prostitutes any
opportunity or position of public service to his own or another's
advantage, shall have our countenance or our vote. The one thing
that no man in this country is so poor that he cannot own is his
vote ; and not only is he bound to use it honestly, but intelligent-
ly. Good government does not come of itself ; it is the result of
the skilful co-operation of good and shrewd men. If they will
not combine, bad men will ; and if they sleep, the de^^ wiU sow
tares. And as we pledge ourselves to ovir fathers' fidelity, we
may well believe that in this hushed hour of noon, their gracious
spirits bend over us in benediction. In this sweet summer air, in
the strong breath of the ocean that beats upon our southern
shore ; in the cool winds that blow over the Island fi-om the north-
ern hiUs ; in these young faces and the songs of liberty that mm*-
mur from their lips ; in the electric sympathy that binds aU our
hearts with each other, and with those of our brothers and sisters
throughout the land, hfting our beloved country as a sacrifice to
God, I see, I feel, the presence of our fathers : the blithe heroism
of Warren, and the unsullied youth of Quincy : the fiery impulse
of Otis and Patrick Henry- : the serene wisdom of John Jay and
23
the comprehensive grasp of Hamilton : the sturdy and invigorat-
ing force of John and of Samuel Adams ; — and at last, embracing
them all, as our eyes at this moment behold cloud and hill, and
roof and tree, and field and river, blent in one perfect picture, so
combining and subordinating all the great powers of his great
associates, I feel the gloiT of the presence, I bend my head to
the blessing of the ever-living, the immortal Washington.
" My Country, 'tis of Thee," was then sung, followed by the
Doxology, " Praise God," &c.
The Rev. S. G. Smith then dismissed the audience with the fol-
lowing benediction :
May the blessing of our father's God now rest upon us. As in
time past, so in time to come, may He guard and defend our land.
May He crown the coming years with peace and prosperity. May
He ever clothe our rulers with righteousness, and give us a future
characterized by piu-ity of hfe and integi'ity of pvu-pose. May He
everywhere shed forth the benign influence of His spirit, and to
the present and coming generations vouchsafe the inspiring hopes
of His gospel, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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