Biographical Sketches of Wealthy Men
of the Colonial Era in New York
William Axtell 1720-1795 Landowner
William Axtell was born in Jamaica, the son of a successful sugar trader
and plantation owner. His father, Daniel Axtell, had also acquired a
large land tract in New Jersey, which the young man inherited, along
with the rest of his father's large estate. In 1746, the twenty six year
of heir came to New York, with the intentions to dispose of his New
Jersey land and make some useful acquaintances with the city's leading
merchants. He enjoyed New York's colonial society and was particularly
attired by young Margaret De Peyster, whom he courted and eventually
married, settling in a comfortable mansion on Broadway. She was the
daughter of Abraham de Peyster jr and through her mother, a Van
Cortlandt. William Axtell was well appreciated for his lavish
entertaining, both at his Broadway mansion and on his country seat,
"Melrose Hall" at Flatbush, Long Island NY. Nicknamed "William the Gay"
(when that word still meant joyful) in his younger years, he gained a
decidedly more sinister reputation during the Revolutionary War. A
member of the Governor's Council in 1776, he was commissioned Colonel
and commander of a Loyalist regiment known as the Nassau Blues and much
feared for its exaltations against those who embraced the patriot cause.
Melrose Hall allegedly became the scene of tortured rebel prisoners,
whilst still retaining its fame for lavish entertainment, now limited to
the Loyalist Elite. No wonder, the Axtell properties were prominent on
the list of estates to be confiscated, according the New York Act Of
Attainder of 1779. When they were sold in 1784, "Melrose Hall" was
acquired by 'Colonel' Aquila Giles of the Continental Army. He offered
the place to his newly wed bride, the former Elizabeth Shipton, who
happened to be the adopted daughter of William Axtell and Margaret De
Peyster, who had no children of their own. Giles had fallen in love with
Elizabeth in the pre-revolutionary days, when he was a frequent guest at
Melrose Hall. But the Independence War had separated the lovers. William
Axtell returned to England and died at Beaumont Cottage, Surrey, in
1795. Like other Tories, he had been partially indemnized for his losses
due to the American Revolution. But most of his estate had anyway always
been in England and the West Indies.
Nicholas Bayard 1644-1707 New York City Merchant and Landowner
The youngest son of Anna (Stuyvesant) Bayard, widow of Samuel Bayard and
sister of 'Governor' Peter Stuyvesant. He came to New Amsterdam in 1647,
along with his siblings and their mother, who educated the children in
trade. In his public career, Nicholas Bayard much benefited from his
relation to Governor Stuyvesant, who provided him with his first
appointment as clerk of the Common Council in 1664 and soon thereafter
made him his private secretary. No longer governor after his surrender
of the colony to the British, Peter Stuyvesant nevertheless remained an
influential man, notably involved in the regulation of trade and in
Manhattan land deals. Nicholas Bayard benefited greatly from
Stuyvesant's mentorship and advanced both, his political career and the
building of his personal wealth. In 1672 he became provincial secretary
and in 1685, he served two mandates as Mayor of New York. His military
career, started as a lieutenant in the Dutch militia in 1672 peaked a
year after the end of his mayoralty, when he became Commander in Chief
of the New York Militia. In this position and as one of three resident
members of the Governor's Council, Nicholas Bayard became a personal
target of Jacob Leisler, when the latter conducted his rebellion in
1689. He fled to Albany but was imprisoned on a visit to his son in New
York. The Leisler regime was short-lived though and upon restoration,
Nicholas Bayard became a councilor of 'Governor' Sloughter.
By that time he was a wealthy merchant and the owner of about 200
acres of Manhattan farmlands (Bayard Farm). But his career as a
landowner had just started. In 1694, he received a license to buy 4'000
acres along the Schoharie Creek from the Indians. These were the times
of the notoriously corrupted 'Governor' Benjamin Fletcher, who made a
personal fortune of £40'000 with fraudulent land grants and protection
money from pirates, and Nicholas Bayard was one of his most trusted
allies. When he chartered his purchased land, the original 4'000 acres
suddenly became a tract forty miles long and thirty miles broad on both
sides of the Schoharie Creek, some 768'000 acres. For this he was
granted the Manorship of Kingsfield by 'Governor' Fletcher in December
1695. For all this he had paid the Indians goods valued less than a
hundred pound, an outrageous bargain, even in these times. There is no
surprise the Indians were unhappy and promptly repudiated the deal. They
found an ally in 'Governor' Bellomont, who replaced Fletcher in 1697.
Doubtlessly driven more by the objective to recover land for the Crown
than by the Indians complaints, 'Governor' Bellomont revoked some of
Fletcher's most outrageous land grants, including Bayard's. The latter
did not relinquish his claim on these lands and joined other landlords
in their campaign to have their grants reconfirmed by the Lords of
Trade. Queen Anne later granted the same land to a colony of Palatine
settlers, who moved to the Schoharie valley in 1713 and were promptly
challenged by Bayard's heirs. Unable to prevail against the settlers the
Bayards sold the land to the "Seven Partners" who eventually managed to
force the Palatine settlers to pay quitrents or leave the land. Nicholas
Bayard married Judith Varleth in 1666. She was the sister of Nicholas
Varleth, the one time (Dutch) ambassador to the colony of Virginia and
also the third husband of Anna (Stuyvesant) Bayard. In her younger
years, Judith Varleth had been sentenced to prison for witchcraft in
Connecticut. They had one son, Samuel Bayard II.
Wilhelmus Hendrickse Beekman: Merchant and Landowner 1623-1707
The founder of the Beekman family in New York City, William Beekman came
from Holland in 1647, on the same ship as Peter Stuyvesant, the last
governor of New Netherlands. Two years after his arrival, he married the
daughter of Hendrick De Boogh, a wealthy settler of Beaverwyck (later
Albany). They settled on Corlaer's Hook, the former property of Jacobus
Van Corlaer, which Beekman had acquired by the time. His close
acquaintance to 'Governor' Stuyvesant helped him get two lucrative
offices, which were crucial to his pecuniary advancement. He was first
made resident treasurer of the Dutch West India Company and later
appointed vice-director of a colony of Swedes on the Delaware river.
After the surrender of new Netherlands to the English, he moved to
Esopus, where stayed until 1670. Returning to New York City, William
Beekman then bought the property upon which the large Beekman fortune
was founded. This property was a large farm, formerly owned by Thomas
Hall and stretched along the East River along what later became Beekman
Street. The property was later extended to the South to incorporate
Cripple Bush, henceforth known as Beekman Swamp and eventually a
valuable piece of New York City real estate. Along with the farm,
William Beekman acquired a brewery, which he continued to operate with
great success. He expanded this business, built flour mills in and
around New York and became one of the city's largest wholesale
merchants. As such he soon owned ships and invested in ship-building,
bills-of-exchange and other mercantile assets, the typical interests of
a large colonial trader. By 1695, he was counted among the richest New
York merchants and had at least two sons, already well established in
the city too. In true Dutch tradition and against British law, he split
his real estate evenly among his surviving children and offspring of a
pre-deceased daughter. Each of them notably inherited a 60 feet wide
(and probably over 100 feet long) tract of what later became New York's
prime real estate property. Among William Beekman's descendents, those
who did most to increase the family fortune were his son Hendrick, who
in 1703 acquired the 240'000 acres Beekman Patents in Dutchess County,
and a grandson Gerard Beekman, who along with his own son and namesake,
grew the Beekman mercantile operations manifold. The Beekman children
also married well, notably daughter Maria to Nicholas William
Stuyvesant, heir of the late governor's extensive Manhattan real estate
properties.
John Cruger 1678-1744 Merchant and Colonial Mayor of New York City
John Cruger was a merchant and colonial mayor of New York City, probably
originally of the Netherlands. In 1696 he was recorded as a factor for
European merchants in partnership with Ouzeel Van Swieten. Both were
then among New York's wealthiest merchants. In 1698 he was employed as a
slave trader by the owners of the ship "Prophet Daniel" and sailed from
New York to the African Coast. From this operation and the proceeds of
privateering during Queen Anne's War, John Cruger built a substantial
fortune, which he invested in merchant ships and real estate, notably in
Westchester County. In 1702, John Cruger married Maria Cuyler, of
another prominent Dutch American mercantile dynasty. Together they had
three sons who joined the family business and built up Cruger Brothers,
with establishments in New York, Bristol and the West Indies. They also
had four daughters, of whom one married Nicholas Gouverneur, also a man
of great wealth. As a merchant, John Cruger naturally took an interest
in city politics. In 1712 he became Alderman of the Dock Ward, a
position he was to keep for 22 years. Then in 1739 he became Mayor of
New York, the first to reside in the official Mayor's residence on Broad
Street. He kept the office until his death in 1744. His son Tileman
Cruger, who represented the firm in Curacao, died unmarried in 1730. His
second son, Henry Cruger, settled in Bristol and took care of the
English side of the Crugers' far flung trading operations. John Cruger
jr succeeded his father in New York, both in business and later also as
mayor (1757-66). The Crugers operated a very successful international
trade between New York, Bristol, Amsterdam and the West Indies,
specialized on flaxseed, ginseng and potash.
Stephen (Etienne) De Lancey 1663-1741 Shipping Merchant
Etienne De Lancey was the descendent of a noble family of Protestants in
France. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) forced the French
protestants to leave their country or deny their belief. Most of these
Huguenots, as they were called, resettled in Switzerland, Belgium or
Holland. Many of them emigrated to America, as Etienne De Lancey did,
taking the oath of allegiance to James II in London, prior to his
crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the spring 1686. He arrived in New
York on June 7, promptly anglicanized his first name into "Stephen" and
started a mercantile career without a peer in the colony. His starting
capital was made up of a share in the De Lancey family jewels, which he
sold for £300. He then sought association with the most powerful of the
assimilated Dutch American merchants, including Stephen Van Cortlandt,
who became his father-in-law, and Adolphe Philipse. These established
merchants still enjoyed a lucrative fur export monopoly to Amsterdam in
the aftermath of the English conquest. Stephen De Lancey soon joined
them in their most lucrative ventures, which included "legalized"
smuggling and the financing of piracy. His rising wealth favored his
political career, which he started as a city alderman in 1691. His wife
Anne Van Cortlandt, whom he married in 1700, brought him additional
wealth and social standing, as well as a large number of children, some
of whom would rise to even higher (political) positions as himself. He
served in the New York Assembly for a total of twenty four years,
notably from 1710 to 1719. There he opposed attempts to enforce taxation
and duties by governors Bellomont and Hunter. In his later years he
supported the political career of his eldest son, James De Lancey, who
was appointed to the Governor's Council in 1729, became Chief Justice of
New York in 1733 and eventually became acting governor of the province.
By 1713, Stephen de Lancey was among New York's leading shipping
merchants, the sole owner of at least four ships and a partner in many
other vessels. Besides two or three annual voyages to London, in which
his cargo exceeded the one of his peers in both weight and value, his
ships plied between New York and the West Indies, South Carolina and
occasionally Ireland. His exports to London included furs, copper ore
and leather goods from the province and commodities from the West Indies
and the Southern colonies. He imported dry goods, bricks, wrought iron
and silks, mostly through Dover and Perth Amboy, where undutied goods
could be easily legalized through the influence of corruptible customs
officials. Although furs were enumerated after 1722, Stephen de Lancey
continued to export them directly to Amsterdam, on his own account or on
behalf of associated merchants. The outstanding profitability of his
ventures as well as his longevity in the trade, allied Stephen De Lancey
to amass a fortune of £100'000, the largest of any New York merchant at
the time. This he handed down to his five sons and two daughters, when
he died in 1741. Besides ships, wharves and other real estate in New
York City, the de Lancey estate also contained large country
landholdings, mostly in Westchester County. Stephen De Lancey is
credited with paying for the city's first town clock and importing the
first fire engine to the province of New York.
Robert Livingston "1st Lord of the Manor" 1654-1728
Scottish born and Dutch educated pioneer fur trader and Secretary of
Indian Affairs in Albany, New York. He acquired land and was granted
manorial rights for his Livingston Manor in 1686, a 160'000 acres
property in nowadays Dutchess and Columbia counties. He married Alida
(Schuyler) Van Rensselaer, daughter of Philip Pieterse Schuyler and
widow of “Dominie” Nicholas Van Rensselaer, a younger brother of patroon
Jeremias Van Rensselaer. To ascertain his wealth and social position,
Robert Livingston held numerous public offices, including town clerk and
rent collector of Albany, as well as eight terms in the New York
Provincial Assembly of which he was a Speaker for eight years.
Livingston descendents became the probably most prominent family of
Colonial New York.
Frederick Philipse III-New York 1720-1786
The last lord of the manor of Philipseborough, Frederick Philipse III
also became one of the most famous Loyalists during the Independence
war. Along with some two hundred other loyal subjects to the Crown,
Frederick Philipse III signed a Declaration of Dependence, laying open
his faith in king George III. Philipse's stand was obviously on the
wrong side as subsequent events proved. Arrested on orders from George
Washington, Philipse escaped to England, where he died in 1786, a broken
man, his vast properties having been seized and auctioned off by the New
York State Legislature.
Peter Schuyler Landowner 1657-1724
The eldest son of Philip Pieterse Schuyler and Margaretta Van
Slichtenhorst, Peter Schuyler was also the most prominent, both in
colonial politics and in business. He followed his father in the fur
trade and thanks to his mastership of the Iroquois and other Indian
tongues, he was even more successful than his forebear. Among the white
settlers of Albany, he was one of the most trusted by the Indians, who
called him "Quidder" or "Quidor", which was either an Indian word for
brother or as close as the natives could pronounce his first name,
Peter. His prominence as a merchant and frontier diplomat, as well as
his excellent family connections, brought Peter Schuyler to the
forefront of local and provincial politics. In 1686, he became the first
mayor of Albany, when the city was chartered by 'Governor' Thomas Dongan.
He kept that office until 1694 and as a consequence headed the
influential Commissioners of Indian Affairs, along with his
brother-in-law, Robert Livingston. In 1692, Peter Schuyler was the first
Albany man to be made a member of the Governor's Council. Besides the
fur trade, negotiations with the Indians covered the subjects of defense
(against the French) and land acquisitions. Peter Schuyler played a key
role in both, as a colonel of the Albany militia and as the extensive
landowner he became. His most noticeable land transactions were made in
1696, when he received deeds for large land tracts in conjunction with
'Reverend' Godfriedus Dellius, Evart Bancker and Dirck Wessels. The
first was a seventy miles long and twelve miles deep stretch on the
Eastern side of the Hudson river, North of Albany. The second, a fifty
miles long and four miles wide tract in the Mohawk valley. Governor
Fletcher confirmed the deeds, but they were invalidated in 1699 by
'Governor' Bellomont, on the oath of two Christian Indians, who swore
they had been secured by graft. 'Dominie' Dellius was revoked and
returned to Europe, but Peter Schuyler and the two other partners
eventually ended with large landholdings in Northern New York
nevertheless. The peak of Peter Schuylers career as frontier diplomat
and politician doubtlessly came, when in 1710 he took four Iroquois
Chieftains to England and introduced them at the Court of Queen Ann as
North American kings. Peter Schuyler was married twice and had nine
children. Both his wife's were members of the emerging local aristocracy
and particularly his second marriage, to the daughter of the Patroon of
Rensselaerswyck and sister of the Lord of Courtlandt Manor, added much
to his and his family's prestige.
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