Albany County ,Rensselaerswyck NyArchives Court.....Introductory, Materials 1648 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ny/nyfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com June 5, 2007, 1:02 am Source: Minutes Of The Court Of Rensselaerswyck Written: 1648 MINUTES OF THE COURT OF RENSSELAERSWYCK 1648-1652 Translated and edited by A. J. F. VAN LAER Archivist, Division of Archives and History ALBANY THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 1922 The University of the State of New York Division of Archives and History December 21, 1922 Dr. Frank P. Graves President of the University DEAR SIR: I herewith transmit and recommend for publication the volume entitled Minutes of the Court of Rensselaerswyck, April 2, 1648 to April 15, 1652, translated and edited by A. J. F. van Laer, Archivist of the Division of Archives and History. In point of view of date this volume precedes the Minutes of the Court of Fort Orange and. Beverwyck already published. Reference to the preface by the translator and editor will show the position which these minutes occupy in relation to the previous publication. Their importance in giving a picture of the legal, institutional and economic conditions of the time has already been called to your attention in the volume to which reference has been made. Very truly yours JAMES SULLIVAN State Historian and Director Approved for publication FRANK P. GRAVES, President of the University and Commissioner of Education PREFACE The court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, whose minutes for 1648-1652 are published herewith, formed from an early date an important part of the judicial organization of the province of New Netherland. The court was erected by Kiliaen van Rensselaer by virtue of the power conferred upon him by the charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1629, which provided that members of the Dutch West India Company who within four years after giving notice to the company should plant in New Netherland a colony of fifty adults should be acknowledged as patroons and should hold their land from the company as a perpetual fief of inheritance, with "high, middle and low jurisdiction." By these terms the patroons were authorized to administer civil and criminal justice, in person or by deputy, within the limits of their respective colonies and to erect courts whose jurisdiction should extend to matters affecting life and limb, although article 20 of the charter provided that from' all judgments given by the courts of the patroons above 50 guilders there should be appeal to the director general and council of New Netherland. [1 - See Endnotes] The first step to organize a court in the colony of Rensselaerswyck was taken by the patroon on July 1, 1632, when he appointed Rutger Hendricksz van Soest schout and empowered him to administer the oath of schepen to Roelof Jansz van Masterland, Gerrit Theusz de Reus, Maryn Adriaensz, Brant Peelen and Laurens Laurensz, all of whom, with the exception of de Reus, were then residing in the colony. The patroon issued instructions for the schout and schepens on July 20, 1632, and sent these to the colony by his nephew Wouter van Twiller, the newly appointed director general of New Netherlahd, who also took with him a silver plated rapier with baldric and a hat with plumes for the schout, and black hats with silver bands for the schepens. Van Twiller sailed from the island of Texel, on the ship "Soutberg," shortly after July 27, 1632, and arrived at New Amsterdam in April of the following year. He had with him a power of attorney from Kiliaen van Rensselaer to administer the oath of schout to Rutger Hendricksz van Soest, but as far as can be judged from the meager information that is available did not administer the oath. Conditions, just then, were not favorable for the erection of a court in the colony. Differences had arisen in the board of directors of the Dutch West India Company in regard to the fur trade and efforts were made by those who were opposed to the agricultural colonization of New Netherland to deprive the patroons of the privileges granted to them by the charter of Freedoms and Exemptions. Van Rensselaer complains of this in a memorial presented by him to the Assembly of the XIX on November 25, 1633, [2] in which he makes the statement that in July, 1632, he had people and animals enough to start five farms, but that his efforts were frustrated because the Company refused to let him have carpenters, smiths and other mechanics and also declined to furnish his people with supplies, in exchange for grain and dairy products. Taking this statement in connection with the facts that Rutger Hendricksz' term of service as a farmer was about to expire and that his name does not appear in the records of the colony after 1634, it seems safe to conclude that when Van Twiller arrived in New Netherland Rutger Hendricksz had determined to leave the colony and declined to accept the position of schout. Van Twiller wrote to the patroon and recommended Brant Aertsz Van Slichtenhorst for the post, [3] but before his letter was received the patroon had already made other arrangements and entered into a contract with Jacob Albertsz Planck, whereby the latter was engaged as schout for the period of three years. Planck received his instructions on April 27, 1634, and soon after sailed for the colony, where he arrived on or just before the 12th of August. His instructions provided that on his arrival in New Netherland he was to. present himself before Director Van Twiller and to request him to administer to him the oath of office "instead of to Rutger Henrickssz, according to previous power of attorney" and, furthermore, that at the first opportunity he was to choose three schepens from among the fittest of the colonists, so that he could hold court if need be. Presumably, therefore, the court of the colony was first organized shortly after August 12, 1634. The court as then constituted corresponded to the usual courts of schout and schepens as they at that time existed in most of: the manors of the Netherlands. It was evidently intended to be a court of limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, for the patroon, in a letter to Wouter van Twiller, dated April 23, 1634, distinctly states that Michiel Pauw,. in his colony of Pavonia, calls Cornelis van Vorst his "chief officer," but that for his own reasons he desires that "Jacob Planck shall as yet not be otherwise entitled than as officer," thereby indicating, it seems, that, he was not to have the rank of a city schout, or the presiding officer of a superior court having power to inflict capital punishment. [4] Planck not only held the position of schout, but also that of commies, or trading agent and administrative officer of the colony. His services were not satisfactory, so that at the expiration of his term, in August 1637, he was not reappointed. The patron, however, had difficulty in finding a suitable successor and requested Planck to remain until the arrival of Arent van Curler, who was sent out as his assistant in the latter part of December of that year. Planck was back in Holland in August 1639, and probably left the colony shortly after May 12th, when the patroon wrote to Director General Kieft: "I am negotiating about sending some people of capacity to my colony, but they were not able to make up their minds so quickly and to get ready, and in the former officer, Jacob Planck, I do not find a proper manager. He knows more about trading furs, which have been of greater profit to him than to me; however, I wish to part with him in friendship and not to give the least occasion for dissatisfaction among my people, for they stir one another up." Having failed to find a successor to Planck, the patroon, the same day, entrusted the administration of justice and the general management of the colony to three gecommitteerden, or commissioners, namely, Arent van Curler, Pieter Cornelisz van Munnickendam and Cornelis Teunisz van Breuckelen. Of these, the first was made secretary and bookkeeper of the colony and until further order was also to act as officer and commies, the second was made receiver of tithes and supercargo of the vessel, and the third was appointed the patroon's voorspraecke, or attorney, to defend his interests. These three commissioners managed the affairs of the colony until the arrival of Adriaen van der Donck, who was commissioned officer of justice on May 13, 1641. Just how long Van der Donck held the post of officer is not known. He arrived in the colony in August 1641, and like Planck and other officials of the colony was probably appointed for a period of three years, so that his term of office would seem to have expired in August 1644. [5] Just about this time word must have reached the colony of the death of the patroon. An entry in the minutes of the director general and council of New Netherland under date of August 8, 1644, [6] in which reference is made to "the heirs of Mr Renselaer, deceased," shows, namely, that Kiliaen van Rensselaer died, not in 1646, as stated by O'Callaghan, Brodhead and all other writers, but some time prior to August 1644, and perhaps as early as the fall of 1643, when the patroon's letters to the colony, published in the Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, ceased. The patroon's estate and title now: descended to his eldest son, Johannes, who, being a minor, was with his property placed under the guardianship of his uncle Johan van Wely and his cousin Wouter van Twiller. Upon these guardians, therefore, devolved the duty of appointing a successor to Van der Donck. The latter had been lax in the performance of his duties, so that many abuses had sprung up in the colony and a firmer hand was needed in dealing with the colonists. The man chosen for this purpose was Brant Aertsz van Slichtenhorst, the same person who in 1633 had been recommended by Van Twiller for the position of schout of the colony. Van Slichtenhorst was appointed director of the colony on November 10, 1646, but before this appointment was made, Van der Donck had already left the colony and Nicolaes Coorn, the commander of Rensselaers-Steyn; a small fort on Beeren Island, at the southern entrance to the colony, had taken his place. Coorn acted as officer of the colony until Van Slichtenhorst's arrival in March 1648, but was then given the title of Oficier Luytenant, or deputy sheriff, and made Van Slichtenhorst's assistant, in which capacity he was soon succeeded by the latter's nephew, Gerrit van Wenckum. Of the records of the court, from its organization in 1634 to the end of Nicolaes Coorn's term as officer, nothing has been preserved and little is known of what actually happened in the colony beyond what may be gathered from the patroon's correspondence, Which stops in 1643. Several facts, however, are known which show, not only that court was held between 1643 and 1648, but that during or even before this period the court had ceased to be a court of limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. One of these facts is that on February 4, 1644, and again on August 28, 1647, sentence of banishment was pronounced on Willem Jeuriaensz; anbther, that on August 13, 1644, a similar sentence was pronounced on Adriaen Willemsz; and still another that, apparently in 1646, Wolf Nyssen, a native of Fulda, in Hessen, [7] was executed for a crime which is not mentioned in the accounts. This execution is the only case of capital punishment in the colony of which we have any record. The sentence was carried out by a negro named Jan, who received 38 guilders for the task, The name of the negro does not appear in the account books of the colony except under the date mentioned above, It is probable that he was a slave belonging to the Company, who had been hired for the special purpose, for on March 9, 1643, in connection with the arrest of refractory colonists, the patroon wrote to Van der Donck: "I am almost thinking of asking some of the negroes (with consent of the honorable Director Kieft) or even to employ for your assistance some Indian of good courage and obedience who would then also be of service to you in other things." [8] Van Slichtenhorst, as already stated, was appointed on November 10, 1646. He received his instructions and took the oath of office on September 4, 1647, [9] and on the 26th of the same month sailed for his post. He landed in Virginia on December 12th, thence proceeded by another ship to Manhattan, which he reached on February 7, 1648, and finally arrived in the colony on March 22d. Van Slichtenhorst was then 59 years of age. [10] He was born at Nykerck, in the province of Gelderland, where his ancestral estate, known as the Aert-Brantsgoed, extending on both sides of the Slichtenhorst road, adjoined the property of the Van Twillers and was situated not far from Corlaer, the original seat of the Van Curlers. Thus, long before his coming to New Netherland, he must have been well acquainted with both Wouter van Twiller and Arent van Curler, the latter of whom was at the time of his appointment in Holland and returned with him to New Netherland. Van Slichtenhorst married early in January 1614, at Nykerck, Aeltje van Wenckum, a distant relative of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, by whom he had nine children, namely, four sons and five daughters, of whom Arend, the historian of Gelderland, and a daughter Goudje, or Hillegonda, remained in Holland. A younger daughter, Margaret, and his son Gerrit [11] accompanied him to New Netherlands and the other children died young. He was a deacon of the Dutch Reformed Church at Nykerck from 1619 to 1622, and from 1621 to 1627 was subcollector at the same place for Joncker Carel Bentinck ten Berencamp, one of the representatives of the nobility of the district of the Veluwe, who held the lucrative office of collector or receiver. Van Slichtenhorst's name first appears in connection with New Netherland under date of June 25, 1632, when he was appointed commissary of stores by the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch West India Company. [12] He was to sail in that capacity to New Netherland in the company of Director Wouter van Twiller, but was unexpectedly detained by his former employer, Bentinck, owing to a litigation in which the latter was involved with the inhabitants of Nykerck. Having, in view of his appointment, already disposed of his property at Nykerck, Van Slichtenhorst first removed to Harderwyck, [13] where his son Arend attended the university, but soon after changed his residence to the city of Amersfoort, where from 1636 to 1644 he held the position of lieutenant schout, and where he remained until his departure for New Netherland in 1647. Before coming to New Netherland, therefore, Van Slichtenhorst had considerable experience, both as an administrative officer and as deputy schout. His contract with the guardians of the young patroon provided that he was to hold the positions of hoofd-officier and director of the colony for the period of three years from the date of his arrival in the colony. As hoofd-officier, he was to preside over the court, to act as public prosecutor and to perform the combined duties of a modern sheriff and chief of police. As director, he was the chief administrative officer of the colony and as such was to collect the patroon's revenues derived from farms, mills, licenses to trade, etc., of which he was to render a strict account, with the understanding, however, that he was not to engage in the fur trade, or to act as commies. For the performance of these various duties he was to receive a salary of 900 guilders a year, of which 150 guilders were to be paid in Holland to his daughter Hillegonda, who shortly after his departure married at Nykerck Pieter van der Schuer. In addition to this salary, Van Slichtenhorst was to receive one third of the fines and the proceeds from confiscated property, above the amount of ten guilders ; below that amount, he was to have the entire sum, provided that one half was to go the deputy schout. As a third source of income, he was to have the toepachten, or fees paid in addition to the annual rent and tithes of the farms. The contract further provided that with his daughter Margaret, his son Gerrit, and his nephew Gerrit van Wenckum, the director was to enjoy free passage and board to New Netherland [14] and that in addition he should receive 150 guilders for moving expenses. After his arrival in the colony, he was to have, rent free, the house and garden formerly occupied by the commies, Arent van Curler, and, furthermore, four cows and two horses on shares, 8 acres of plowed land and as much pasture as was needed for the horses and cattle. Finally, he was to receive 5 per cent of the profits of the trade which the guardians expected to carry on between Amsterdam and New Netherland, but in regard to which they at that time did not wish to commit themselves definitely. Van Slichtenhorst's instructions, dated September 4, 1647, consisted of 24 articles. They provided in substance that upon his arrival at the island of Manhattan he was to present his respects to the director general and deliver to him a letter from the guardians of the patroon. At the first opportunity he was to proceed to the colony, call upon Domine Megapolensis, make known his official capacity and ask his advice in regard to the administration and redress of the colony. He was then to present his commission to the council, thank the members for their services and summon Anthony de Hooges and Abraham Staets, in order to notify them of their appointment as gecommitteerden by the patroon. He was furthermore to make regulations for the proper observance of the "Sabbath of the New Testament," to enforce the contracts and the ordinances, to collect the revenues, and to attend to the proper administration of justice, taking care not to keep persons for a long time in detention at the expense of the colony, but to bring them speedily to trial and, whenever required, to inform the court of the names of the persons who were in custody and the cause of their arrest. The court as organized by Van Slichtenhorst consisted at first of four and afterwards of five persons, of whom two were designated as gecommitteerden, or commissioners, and two, or afterwards three, are in the record indiscriminately referred to as raden, raeispersonen, gerechtspersonen, or rechtsvrienden. The duties of the gecommitteerden were primarily of an administrative nature, while those of the raden, contrary to what one might expect from the title, seem to have been chiefly judicial. The gecommitteerden represented the patroon and acted under definite instructions from the guardians. The raden, on the other hand, were appointed by the director, but represented the colonists, it being at that time held sufficient if persons who were to represent others were chosen from among them, so as to represent their class. The only requirement was that they should not be in the patroon's service. Goossen Gerritsz made a point of this on October 22, 1648, when as one of the reasons for his being unable to accept the office of gerechtspersoon he stated that he was "not yet on a free basis with the patroon." The objection, however, was overruled, so that he was obliged to serve. The members of the court were as a rule chosen from among the most prominent residents of the colony. De Hooges, one of the first commissioners, had been sent out in 1641 as assistant to Arent van Curler. Upon the latter's departure for the Netherlands, in October 1644, he was put in charge of the colony and given the title of commies. After the arrival of Van Slichtenhorst, he became secretary of the colony, a position which he occupied until his death in October 1655. Staets was a surgeon and trader, who came to the colony in 1642. He held the office of raetspersoon from February 5, 1643, to April 10, 1644, and from the latter date to April 10, 1648, was Presideerende,or presiding officer of the council. As gecommiiteerde, he was before June 5, 1649, succeeded by Jan van Twiller, whose place in turn, on January 5, 1651, was taken by Arent van Curler. The office of raet, or gerechtspersoon, was held by such men as Andries de Vos, Rutger Jacobsz van Schoonderwoert, Goossen Gerritsz van Schaick, Jan Verbeeck and Pieter Hertgers, all of whom were prominent members of the community, and who afterwards became members of the court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck. The proceedings of the court presided over by Van Slichtenhorst cover the period from April 2, 1648, to April 15, 1652. They form the most important source for the history of the colony during that period; but unfortunately add but little to what is known from other sources in regard to the outstanding event of that period, namely, the controversy between Van Slichtenhorst and General Peter Stuyvesant regarding the jurisdiction of the territory around Fort Orange, which forms one of the dramatic episodes of the history of New Netherland. As is well known, this controversy had its origin in the claim made by the patroon, as early as 1632, that "all the lands lying on the west side of the river, from Beyren Island to Moeneminnes Castle;" . . . "even including the place where Fort Orange stands," [15] had been bought and paid for by him. The Dutch West India Company, on the other hand, maintained that the territory of the fort, which was erected several years before the land of the colony, was purchased from the Indians, belonged to the Company and consequently was not included in the patroon's purchase. The question had remained unsettled during the lifetime of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, but came to an issue When Van Slichtenhorst, soon after his arrival in the colony, began to issue permits for the erection of houses in the immediate vicinity of the fort. Stuyvesant objected to the erection of these houses on the ground that they endangered the security of the fort and ordered the destruction of all buildings within range of cannon shot, a distance at first reckoned at 600 geometrical paces of 5 feet to the pace, but which afterwards was reduced to 150 Rhineland rods. [16] The order called forth a vigorous protest from Van Slichtenhorst, who regarded it as an unwarranted invasion of the patroon's rights, and he proceeded with the erection of the buildings. A counter protest followed and in 1651 charges were brought against Van Slichtenhorst, who was summoned to appear before the director general and council at Manhattan and there detained for 4 months. The controversy continued after his return, but was definitely settled on April 10, 1652, when a proclamation, drawn up by the director general and council of New Netherland on the 8th of the same month, was issued in the colony for the erection of a separate court for Fort Orange, independent of that of the colony. The erection of this court was a serious blow to the colony of Rensselaerswyck, from which it never fully recovered. By virtue of this proclamation, the main settlement of the colony, which was known as the Fuyck, but which in the court record is generally referred to as the byeenwoninge, or hamlet, was taken out of the jurisdiction of the patroon and erected into an independent village by the name of Beverwyck, which afterwards became the city of Albany. [17] As a result of this action, the jurisdiction of the court of the colony was thereafter confined to the sparsely settled outlying districts of the colony, so that the cases which came before it must have been very few. No consecutive judicial record of the court of the colony after April 15, 1652, has been preserved, but entries in the minutes of the court of Beverwyck indicate that the court of the colony continued to hold sessions. Van Slichtenhorst vigorously protested against the erection of the court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck and with his own hands tore down the proclamation which had been posted on the house of the patroon. For this he was arrested on April 18, 1652, and taken to Manhattan, where he was detained until August 1653. With his arrest, Van Slichtenhorst's administration came to a close. On July 24, 1652, he was succeeded as director by Jan Baptist van Rensselaer [18] and as officer of justice by Gerard Swart, so that thereafter the two functions were no longer combined in one person. The latter had been commissioned schout on April 24, 1652, [19] and continued to hold this position until 1665, when by order of Governor Richard Nicolls the court of the colony was consolidated with that of Fort Orange and the village of Beverwyck. The year 1665 therefore marks the end of the existence of the first local court that was organized in the province of New Netherland, outside of New Amsterdam. Van Slichtenhorst returned to the Netherlands shortly after July 1655 and took up his residence with his daughter Hillegonda, who at Nykerck had married Pieter van der Schuer. Before his departure from the colony, the commissioners had approved a debit and credit account covering the years 1648—1650, which showed that for this period of his administration there was due to him from the patroon the sum of 13,799 guilders, 2 stivers and 12 pence. [20] The patroon considered this amount excessive and refused to pay it, whereupon Van Slichtenhorst brought suit against him in the district court of the Veluwe, in the province, of Gelderland. Judgment was given for the plaintiff, but on an appeal taken by Van Rensselaer, to the Klaarbank, or court of appeals, at Engelanderholt the decision was reversed, so that in the end the former director failed to recover any considerable amount. The case dragged on in the courts from 1656 to 1661. The following year, Van Slichtenhorst commenced a second action against the patroon, but before any decision was reached Johan van Rensselaer died and further proceedings were abandoned. Van Slichtenhorst now turned his attention to the completion of an historical work, entitled: Hoe en wanneer Gelderlandt tot eene voogdhye is afgesondert, 878-1666, which is ascribed to his son Arend. In 1664, he became feeble minded and was no longer able to take care of his affairs. As his daughter had a large family and his condition made quieter surroundings necessary, he was placed in the home of Evert Elberts, a carpenter at Nykerck, where two years later, on or just before September 26, 1666, he died at the advanced age of 78 years. Van Slichtenhorst, is one of the few New Netherland officials of whose complete career we have any detailed knowledge. Mr Beernink sums up his character by stating that he was "a man of many-sided knowledge and great ability, of recognized integrity and proved fidelity, of rare courage and unfailing perseverance, which at times amounted to obstinacy; an untiring champion for the rights of others and of himself." [21] The present minutes of the court presided over by Van Slichtenhorst contain many personal touches which testify to his ability and devotion to duty, but the general impression left by these minutes is that he was a man of aggressive temperament and arbitrary and unyielding disposition, who frequently came into needless conflict with his associates and the colonists. One point in connection with Van Slichtdmiprst's administration on which much emphasis has been laid by Mr Beernink is worthy of special notice. On the strength of a statement made by Van Slichtenhorst in the course, of his litigation with Johan van Rensselaer, that on his arrival in the colony there were but three houses standing near the fort, that by August 1648, eight houses had been built, and; that at the end of, his administration, in April 1652, there was a settlement of about one hundred houses, Mr Beernink calls him "the founder of Albany." [22] This title heeds qualification, for it is well known that in 1646 and 1647 severe freshets had carried away a number of houses in the colony, so that the sudden building activity during Van Slichtenhorst's administration may mean nothing more than that people were replacing the buildings that had been lost. On the other hand, there are various indications that before 1648 the main settlement of the colony was not on the west, but on the east side of the Hudson river, in the so-called Greenenbosch, afterwards corrupted to Greenbush, a pine grove opposite the ferry. [23] It is possible, therefore, that at Van Slichtenhorst's initiative this settlement was, either for greater security, or for other reasons, gradually removed to the vicinity of Fort Orange, in which case there would be considerable justification for regarding him as the real founder of the city of Albany. It is interesting in this connection to read what Father Isaac Jogues, in his Novum Belgium, has to say about the colony. Writing in 1646, but describing conditions as he found them in 1643, he says: "There are two things in this settlement (which is called Renselaerswick, as if to say, settlement of Renselaers, who is a rich Amsterdam merchant) — first, a miserable little fort called Fort Orenge, built of logs, with four or five pieces of Breteuil cannon, and. as many pedereros. This has been reserved and is maintained by the West India Company. This fort was formerly on an island in the river; it is now on the mainland, towards the Hiroquois, a little above the said island. Secondly, a colony sent here by this Renselaers, who is the patron. This colony is composed of about a hundred persons, who reside in some twenty-five or thirty houses built along the river, as each found most convenient. In the principal house lives the patron's agent; the minister has his apart, in which service is performed. There is also a kind of bailiff here, whom they call the seneschal, who administers justice. All their houses are merely of boards and thatched, with no mason work except the chimneys. The forest furnishing many large pines, they make boards by means of their mills, which they have here for the purpose." [24] While Father Jogues does not specify whether the houses stood on the east or on the west side of the river, it is evident from his description that in 1643 there was no compact settlement around Fort Orange. It would seem therefore that what Van Slichtenhorst actually did, was to have the separate dwellings that stood on both banks of the river removed to the vicinity of the fort. Such a concentration of the settlement, for the greater security of the inhabitants, similar to that which ten years later, at Stuyvesant's suggestion, was carried out at Wiltwyck, [25] would satisfactorily explain the peculiar usage of the term byeenwoninge, literally, "a dwelling together," by which the hamlet is repeatedly designated in the court minutes. Mr Beernink considers the employment of this term in the sense of a village so remarkable, that he cites it as a distinct proper name, which was given to the settlement by Van Slichtenhorst, but which heretofore has been overlooked. [26] This, however, does not seem to be the case, for the name never became current outside of the locality and is not mentioned in the declaration made by the directors of the Dutch West India Company in 1674, in which they speak of "the hamlet, first called de Fuyck, afterwards Beverswyck, and now Willemstadt, whereabouts Fort Orange is built." [27] The use, moreover, in Arend van Slichtenhorst's defense of his father before the district court of the Veluwe, of such a phrase as eene Byeenwoeningh van omtrent honderd huysen (a settlement of about one hundred houses), cited by Mr Beernink, [28] sufficiently proves that the word byeenwoninge was employed as a common noun. As shown in the preceding pages, the minutes of the court presided over by Van Slichtenhorst form the only record of the court of the colony of Rensselaerswyck that has been preserved. The record breaks off on April 15, 1652, the very date on which the first session was held of the newly created court of Fort Orange and the village of Beverwyck. The present record, therefore, connects directly with the first book of minutes of the last named court, of which a translation has recently been published by The University of the State of New York. The record, in its original form, was a paper covered volume of 114 leaves, which on the front cover bore the title of "Gerechtsrolle der Colonie Rensselaerswyck." It is repeatedly cited under this title in the second volume of O'Callaghan's History of New Netherland and has been used extensively in the compilation of the list of settlers of the colony which is printed at the end of the Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, but the complete text of the record has heretofore not been available in print. The record belongs to the archives of the colony which, together with the later records of the manor of Rensselaerswyck, were for many years kept in the patroon's office, a one-story brick building with a fireproof vault, which until recently stood near the south west corner of Broadway and Tivoli street, in the northern part of the city of Albany. It was with these records, in 1899, removed to the Albany county clerk's office [29] and from there, in 1906, as part of the same collection of records, transferred to the New York State Library. There, less than 5 years, later, it was severely, damaged in the fire which on March 29, 1911; broke out in the western portion of the State Capitol and in a few hours destroyed not only, the general contents of the Library but also many valuable records, including the greater part of the Rensselaerswyck manuscripts. As shown by the illustrations, the lower part of the record is completely charred, the portion containing the last two or three lines; of every page being severed, from the rest of the manuscript and in some cases lost. Wherever possible, the writing,on these charred fragments has been carefully deciphered, so that the text, as here presented is to a large extent complete. The main body of the record is in the handwriting of Anthony de Hooges, who throughout the period of Van Slichtenhorst's administration and until his own death, in 1655, held the office of secretary. Here and there, however, pages occur in another hand, which is probably that of Gerrit van Wenckum, Van Slichtenhorst's nephew, who according to the account printed in the appendix did considerable copying. Throughout the record there are many additional entries and marginal annotations by Van Slichtenhorst. In the translation no systematic effort has been made to indicate these changes of handwriting, which as a rule are without special significance. November 20, 1922 A. J. F. VAN LAER Additional Comments: ENDNOTES [1] This appeal applied only to judgments in civil cases. According to the Dutch criminal procedure of that period, conviction was had only upon confession by the criminal, extorted by torture, if necessary. From sentences rendered upon such conviction there was no appeal. The right of appeal was largely nullified by a pledge which the patroon exacted from the colonists not to appeal to the supreme court of New Netherland. Kieft and afterwards also Stuyvesant held that this was an infringement of the charter, but the patroon, in a letter to Kieft, dated May 29, 1640, maintained that a clause to that effect was inserted in the contracts with the colonists merely for the purpose of preventing them from wasting their time and money in needless litigation. See Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 476, and Doc. rel. to Col, Hist, N. Y., 1:423. [2] Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 235-50. [3] Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 281. [4] Wassenaer, under date of November 1626; speaking of the court at Manhattan as at first established by Minuit, says: "The council there administers justice in criminal matters as far as imposing fines, but not as far as corporal punishment. Should it happen that any one deserves that, he must be sent to Holland with his sentence." J. F. Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, p. 84. [5] Cf. Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y. 1:431, 532-33. [6] New York Colonial Mss, 4:99. [7] "t'Stift Vol in Hessenlant;" N Y.Col Mss, 2:61a; 3:135a. Cf, Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 830, where "t'Stift" has been interpreted erroneously as referring to the Sticht, or bishopric of Utrecht. [8] Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 642. September 27, 1646, ,a slave named Jan Francisco, the younger, was manumitted by the director general and council of New Netherland at the request of Domine Megapolensis. This may have been the negro who was employed to carry out the sentence in the colony. See Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, p. 60. [9] For abstracts of Van Slichtenhorst's commission and instructions and the form of the oath, see G. Beernink, De Geschiedschrijver en Rechisgeleerde Dr. Arend van Slichtenhorst en zijn vader Brant van Slichtenhorst, Stichter van Albany, Hoofdstad van den Staat New-York (Werken uitgegeven door de Vereeniging Gelre, No. 12), Arnhem, 1916, p. 155-64. [10] According to Mr. Beernink, Van Slichtenhorst was on January 1, 1656 more than 67 years, old, and in 1664, 76 years of age. See his biography, p. 216, 255. [11] Gerrit van Slichtenhorst married Aeltje Lansing. He had a daughter Aeltje, or Alida, born at Beverwyck, who married, first, Gerrit van Schaick, and secondly, Pieter Davidz Schuyler. In O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 2:69, this daughter Aeltje; is erroneously given as a daughter.: of Brant Aertsz van Slichtenhorst. Margaret, or Grietje, van Slichtenhorst became the wife of Philip Pietersz Schuyler. Cf. G. W. Schuyler, Colonial New York; 1:179, and also 1:171, where Arent van Slichtenhorst is erroneously called Brant Aertsz van Slichtenhorst's brother. [12] For a facsimile of this commission and a printed copy of the text, see Beernink, p. 69, 77. [13] Mr Beernink, p. 83, states that the principal street at Harderwyck, called the Donkerstraat, was on account of its many prominent residents dubbed the Johkerstraat. It is not unlikely that the Jonker straet at Beverwyck, or Albany, afterwards corrupted to Yonker street, derived its name from this nickname of the corresponding street at Harderwyck. [14] Van Slichtenhorst's wife died before January 1, 1645, and therefore did not accompany him to New Netherland. See Beernink, p. 119. [15] Instructions to Rutger Hendricksz van Soest, July 20, 1632; Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 212. [16] Doc. rel to Col. Hist. N. Y., 14:191. One Rhineland rod equals 12.36 English feet. [17] The directors of the West India Company afterwards repudiated Stuyvesant's action and on April 2, 1674, declared: "That the abovenamed Patroon Renselaer and co-partners have been already, from the year XVIc and thirty, and are true owners of the abovenamed hamlet named Beverswyck or Willemstadt, and that the possession by their late Director could not take away nor diminish said ownership; declaring, therefore, that the abovenamed Company has no right, action nor pretension thereto, leaving the right of ownership in the abovenamed Patroon and associates" Doc. rel. to Col. Hist N. Y., 2:558, 560—61. [18] Johan Baptist van Rensselaer had been in the colony since June, 1651. Van Slichtenhorst's term as director expired on March.22, 1651, but,he continued to exercise his functions until his arrest on April 18, 1652. [19] Swart's commission, dated April 24, 1652, and his instructions, dated May 6, 1652, are printed in O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 2:564-66. [20] A translation of this account is given in the Appendix. April 4, 1652, the, directors of the Dutch West India Company wrote to Stuyvesant: "From what we can learn here, the owners of the, Colony, of Rensselaerswyck have here come to an agreement and will probably send over another manager, but we doubt whether they will easily get rid of Slechtenhorst, for it is said here, that he demands from the owners 14000 to 15000 guilders; we know not, how true, it may be." Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y., 14:171. [21] Beernink, p. 260. [22] Beernink, p. 175, 202, 204. [23] See, Van Rensselaer Bowier Mss, p. 454, 619. Also Van Curler's letter to the patron, June 16, 1643, in O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 1 :459, 462 464. [24] J. F. Jameson, Narratives of New Neiherland, p. 261-62. [25] See Resolution of the inhabitants of Esopus, May 31, 1658, at the beginning of "The Dutch Records of Kingston," revised translation by Samuel Oppenheim, in vol. XI of the, Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association. [26] Beernink, p. 139, 202, 204. [27] Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y., 2:558. [28] Beernink, p. 208, 253. [29] See chapter 268, Laws of 1896, and chapter 471, Laws of 1899, making provision for the safe keeping of the "Van Rensselaer papers" in the Albany county clerk's office. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ny/albany/court/introduc671gwl.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/nyfiles/ File size: 41.3 Kb