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 XV. 
 MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Hon. JAMES De LANCEY, 
 
 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PROVINCE OF NEW YORK, 
 
 BV 
 
 Edward F. De Lancey. 
 

MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HONOURABLE JAMES DE LANCEY 
 
 LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW YORK 
 
 This distinguished man was the oldest son of Etienne or 
 Stephen De Lancey a French Huguenot gentleman of the City of 
 Caen in Normandy, who, driven from France by the persecution 
 of 1681, fled with numbers of his countrymen to the new world. 
 He belonged to an ancient family in Picardy, and on being 
 obliged to fly from France, on account of the religious persecu- 
 tion which disgraced those days, he went first to Rotterdam in 
 Holland, and after remaining in that hospitable land for two or 
 three years crossed over to England. There on the 11* of 
 March 1686, he took out letters patent of denization under the 
 great seal, and shortly afterwards sailed for New York, where he 
 arrived on the seventh of the following June ' . 
 
 On the 23 d of January 1700 he married Anne second daughter 
 of the Hon. Stephanus Van Cortlandt, an opulent and highly 
 respectable citizen of New York, of which marriage was issue 
 James De Lancey, the subject of this sketch, who was born in 
 New York city in 1702, and was the eldest of seven children ; 
 five sons and two daughters. His eldest sister, Susannah, became 
 the wife of Capt. afterwards Vice Admiral Sir Peter Warren KB. 
 Anne, the youngest, married the Hon. John Watts of New York 
 Of his brothers, two, Stephen and John, died unmarried in early 
 manhood ; the other two, Peter and Oliver, became men of note 
 
 1 N. Y. Ass. Jour. I, 515. 
 
1038 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 in the colony. The former resided at the borough of West 
 Chester which he represented for years in the Assembly ; Oliver, 
 the youngest of the brothers, was most of his life Commander 
 of the forces of the colony, was also a member of the Assembly 
 and of the Council, Receiver-General of New York, and the 
 senior Loyalist Brigadier-General in commission in the war of 
 the Revolution. 
 
 After having attended the best schools the Colony then afforded, 
 James De Lancey was sent to England to prosecute his studies, 
 and entered as a Fellow-Commoner of Corpus Christi college in 
 the University of Cambridge, on the second of October, 1721. » 
 The Master of Corpus at that time was Dr. Samuel Bradford, 
 afterwards bishop of Carlisle, and uext of Rochester. And 
 the gentleman whom young De Lancey chose as his Tutor, was 
 the learned Dr. Thomas Herring, who became successively 
 Bishop of Bangor, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 This choice proved afterwards of great advantage to James 
 De Lancey, for the master and pupil kept up their intimacy by 
 letter long after the one became primate of all England the other 
 was in office in his native land ; and in the various political 
 controversies in which the latter became afterwards engaged, 
 the archbishop's influence was always exerted in his behalf in 
 the councils of their Sovereign. How long Mr. De Lancey 
 remained at the University is uncertain, as he entered at an 
 advanced period and not at the beginning of the academic course. 
 Towards the close of 1725, he returned to New York. 2 Admittted, 
 soon after his arrival, to the bar, he commenced the practice of 
 his profession in his native city, and soon rose to that eminence 
 to which his great natural abilities and sound and cultivated 
 judgment entitled him. He was early distinguished for the 
 active and responsible part which he took in political affairs. 
 Three years after his return, Gov. Montgomerie upon the death 
 of Mr. John Barbarie,. recommended him as that gentleman's 
 successor in the Council of the Province. In his letter to the 
 Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations 3 dated May 30 th , 
 
 1 Lamb's Master's Hist, of Corp. Christ. Coll. Cambridge. 
 
 2 Lond. Doc. XXXI.. 136. 3 Lontl. Doc. XXIV., 15. 
 
H0N0BABLE JAMES DE LANCEY. 1039 
 
 1728, the Governor says : "lam now fully convinced that it 
 will be for his Majesty's service to appoint Mr. James De Lancey 
 to be one of the Council here. He is every way qualified for 
 the post ; his Father is an eminent merchant, a member of the 
 Assembly, one of the richest men of the Province, and he his 
 eldest son. I beg your Lordships will recommend him as a 
 proper person to succeed Mr. Barbaric" 
 
 The board followed the Governor's suggestion and did recom- 
 mend him to the King, George II., by whom he was called up 
 the council by mandamus bearing date Jan. 26 th , 1729. • 
 
 Shortly before he entered the council Mr. De Lancey married 
 Miss Anne Heathcote, the eldest of the two daughters of Hon. 
 Caleb Heathcote a Councillor of - the Province, and Receiver 
 tjeneral of his Majesty's Customs in North America. 2 Already 
 through his professional exertions, and the liberality of his father, 
 in very easy circumstances, this marriage made Mr. De Lancey a 
 wealthy man 3 , for Miss Heathcote inherited upon her father's 
 . death one half of his large estate, real and personal • the latter 
 
 1 Smith's Hist. N. Y. i. 245. 
 
 2 This gentleman was a son of Gilbert Heathcote, Mayor of Chester in England, 
 and was a merchant and a man of wealth in that country. The cause of his 
 emigration was very different from that which brought most Englishmen to 
 America. He was engaged to a very beautiful lady, to whom he introduced his 
 eldest brother, Sir Gilbert Heathcote, (afterwards M. P. for London, and Lord 
 Mayor of that city in 1711, at the very time his brother was Mayor of New York, 
 and one of the chief founders and the first governor of the Bank of England), 
 a circumstance most unfortunate for him, for the lady soon found she preferred 
 the elder brother, and broke her engagement with the younger, who at once left 
 England and came to New York, where he arrived in 1692. He bought large 
 tracts of land in Westchester, from Indians and others, which he had erected into 
 a manor called the Manor of Scarsdale. He became a leading man in the colony, 
 was judge of Westchester and Colonel of its militia all his life, first Mayor of the 
 borough of Westchester, a Councillor of the Province, Mayor of New York for 
 three years, foi* a time Commander of the colony's forces and from 1715 to his 
 death, in 1721, Receiver General of the customs for all North America. He 
 married Anne, daughter of Col. (Tangier) Smith, of Long Island, so called from 
 having been governor of that city in Charles 2d\s time, and left two daughters: 
 Anne who married James De Lancey and Martha married to Lewis Johnston 
 M.D., of Perth Aniboy. 
 
 3 When he first opened his office after his return from England, his father gave 
 him £3000 currency towards "his advancement in the world," as the recital in 
 his Will expresses it. Sec Will, N. Y. Surrogate's office, XIV., 91 &c. 
 
1040 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 alone amounting to upwards of .£10,000 sterling and the former 
 being one of the largest landed estates in the Province. 
 
 Stephen De Lancey, his father, died in 1741, upwards of 80 
 years of age, " worth at least =£100,000 gained by his own honest 
 industry, and that with credit, honor and reputation." ' Besides 
 which he possessed large tracts of land on New York Island and 
 in Westchester, and Ulster counties. The whole of which estate 
 he left to his five surviving children equally, 2 and the share 
 which thus fell to James De Lancey, added to what he already 
 possessed, made him one of the richest men in America. 
 
 The two puisne Judgeships of the Supreme Court becoming 
 vacant in 1731, Mr. De Lancey was appointed to be second, and 
 Mr. Adolph Phillipse third judge. Their commissons bear date 
 the same day, June 24% 1731. Up to this time Mr. De Lancey 
 had been steadily practising his profession, and had acquired the 
 character of an able advocate and an honest lawyer. His fellow 
 barristers were men well known, and nearly all his seniors in 
 age. Among them were Joseph Murray, James Alexander, 
 Francis Harrison and William Smith, the elder. 
 
 In 1730 a new charter was granted to New York, the corpo- 
 ration of which, in token of Mr. De Lancey's zealous exertions 
 in their favor upon the occasion, presented him with the freedom 
 of the city, being the first person to whom they voted that honor 
 under the new instrument. 
 
 Upon the death of Montgomerie in July 1731, Rip Van Dam, 
 the eldest councillor, succeeded to the command and retained 
 it till August 2 d , 1732, when Col William Cosby, the new Gov- 
 ernor, arrived and took the reins of government. The great 
 dispute concerning the salary soon after arose between them, 
 Van Dam having received the whole, and Mr. Cosby producing 
 an order in Council, dated May 31 st , 1732, and given to him in 
 England soon after his appointment, directing its equal division 
 between them. Mr. Van Dam would agree to this if Mr. Cosby 
 would also divide certain funds which he alleged came to his 
 hands in England The Governor declined this proposal, as the 
 order referred only to the salary given by the colony and the 
 perquisites arising from the granting of lands within its limits. 
 
 1 Jones' Mss. Hist, of N. T. 2 Will Book XIV-, 91, N. Y. Surrogate's office. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1041 
 
 Van Dam then refused to pay over any thing and claimed a 
 balance as due to himself. The Governor was thus compelled 
 either to institute legal proceedings or give up his claim. Being 
 a matter of account and therefore cognizable only in a court 
 of Equity, an action could not be brought in the Supreme Court 
 which was a court of Law. Being Chancellor ex officio the 
 Governor was shut out from the Chancery as he could not of 
 course hear his own cause. He proceeded therefore before the 
 Judges of the Supreme Court as Barons of the Exchequer. This 
 Court which had sat occasionally before, and the Chancery were 
 however extremely unpopular, owing to a strange but inveterate 
 prejudice against Courts of Equity which very early seized the 
 people of New York. 
 
 Taking advantage of the popular feeling Mr. Van Dam's 
 counsel pleaded to the jurisdiction, but the exception after full 
 argument was overruled by the Court, the Barons standing two 
 to one. Judges De Lancey and Phillipse in the affirmative and 
 Chief Justice Lewis Morris in the negative. The latter delivered 
 a dissenting opinion, on this occasion reflecting upon Gov. Cosby, 
 who shortly after requested a copy of it in writing. This irri- 
 tated the Chief Justice, who took the unheard of course of sending 
 him a copy in print, with a very insulting letter, • and at the 
 same time published both to the world. This extraordinry and 
 insulting conduct of the highest judicial officer of the colony 
 rendered Gov. Cosby very indignant, and he at once wrote the 
 Duke of Newcastle, then minister, regarding the Chief Justice's 
 conduct and urged his removal from office, 2 To this letter, 
 dated May 3 d , 1733, he must have received an early answer 
 from the Duke coinciding with his views, for on the 21 st of the 
 following August, Mr. Morris was removed from office and James 
 De Lancey was appointed Chief Justice of New York 3 in his 
 stead. 
 
 The appointment was made under the usual clause in the 
 Governor's commissions, which authorized them to " constitute 
 
 1 Bolton's Hist, of Westchester; II., 807. . . * 
 
 2 Cosby's Letter, dated May 3d, 1733, in Lond. Doc: XXIV., 232. 
 
 3 His. Comn. is recorded in Book of Comns., III., 272 in Sec. of State's 
 
 Office, Albany. 
 
 66 
 
1042 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 and appoint judges." A power which they exercised independ- 
 ently of the council, and not with its "advice and consent," 
 as in the erection of courts and the exercise of a few other 
 powers. ' 
 
 About two years afterwards came on before the Supreme Court 
 the famous trial of John Peter Zenker for a series of libels on the 
 Governor and chief officers of the colony. He was a printer 
 by trade ; in arrears to a small amount as collector of taxes in 
 the city, and the Assembly had refused to allow him to discharge 
 the small debt by doing public printing enough to cover it. 2 
 
 He subsequently published a small paper entitled the New 
 York Weekly Journal, at the instance of the opposition, in which 
 the libels complained of were published. His counsel were 
 James Alexander and Wm. Smith the elder, the supposed authors 
 of the libels, two gentlemen of ability and intellect, both politi- 
 cally opposed to Chief Justice De Lancey. 
 
 Aware that the law would certainly convict their client they 
 attempted to destroy the court, by excepting to the commissions 
 of the judges as invalid and illegal ; though they knew them to 
 be in the usual form, and sucli as their predecessors had always 
 held, and under which they had acted for a number of years. 
 Their objections, if valid, would have destroyed the court as 
 well as the commissions, for it existed not by force of any statute, 
 as they contended, but by virtue of an ordinance of the Governor 
 
 1 See similar clause in Sir Danvers Osborn's Commission. Appendix to 
 Smith's Hist, of N. T.; I , 299. 
 
 2 The following entry explains Zenger's difficulties: — "Sept. 8, 1731. The 
 petition of John Ptter Zenger was presented to the House and read, setting 
 forth, that he having been chosen Collector of sundry public Taxes in the city 
 of New York, was prevented from gathering the same, when they should havo 
 been collected, by reason he fell under some Trouble from his creditors at that 
 time, that by Removal of some and Insolvency of others, rated in the said Taxes, 
 there is about Twenty three pounds irrecoverable; that, including the said sum. 
 he remains accountable to the Province, for the sum of Forty pounds and 
 upwards, for which he is informed "Writs are issued against him. And that he 
 being unable to pay the same, has been forced to keep out of the way, but pro- 
 poses 4o discharge in his way of Printing, at the most moderate and reasonable 
 wages. And therefore prays that Prosecution against him be stayed, and he 
 employed in printing for the Publick. Ordered, That the said Petition lie on the 
 Table."— N. Y. Assembly Journal; I., 627, 636 
 
HON. JAMES DE LA.NCEY. 1043 
 
 and Council, dated May 15th, 1699. 1 A formal denial of its 
 existence deliberately made was therefore a gross contempt of 
 court, and the Chief Justice from the bench warned the counsel 
 of the consequences. But they persisted in tendering the excep- 
 tions, upon which the court made an order striking their names 
 from its rolls and excluding them from further practice. Zenger 
 being unable to procure other counsel, the Court assigned him 
 Mr. Joseph Murray, witli whom the silenced lawyers associated 
 Mr. Hamilton of Philadelphia, who made so artful an address to 
 the Jury at the trial a few days afterwards " that," in the words 
 of one of their own friends, 3 " when he left his client in those 
 hands, such was the fraudf'ul dexterity of the orator, and the 
 severity of his invectives upon the Governor and his adherents, 
 that the Jury missing the true issue before them, they, as if triers 
 of their rulers, rather than of Zenger, pronounced the criminal 
 innocent because they believed them to be guilty." 3 
 
 Chief Justice De Lancey's course on this occasion has been 
 much misunderstood, owing to the fact, that the only report 
 of the trial was that published by Zenger himself, written by the 
 silenced lawyers, and printed, not in New York but in Boston, in 
 1738, three years after the trial, which of course represents him 
 in the worst possible light. Taking the facts of the case, how- 
 ever, as given even there, it would be difficult to point out any 
 other course which the court could have taken consistently with 
 its own dignity and self-respect. 
 
 At this period, and from these controversies and others allied 
 to them, arose the two great parties, which ever afterwards 
 divided the people of the Province. The one maintaining prin- 
 ciples moderate and conservative ; the other, those of a more 
 radical tendency. 
 
 Both professed the strongest attachment and loyalty to the 
 British constitution, and vied with each other in claiming and 
 upholding all the rights of Englishmen. 
 
 In New York, as in some of the other colonies, the religious 
 element entered largely into politics. In point of wealth and 
 
 1 N.Y. Hist. So?. Collections; III., 355. 
 
 2 Smith's Hist. N.I.; II., 22. 
 
 3 See Report of the trial published by Zenger himself, in Boston, 1738. 
 
1041 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 influence the Episcopalians were the leading denomination, the 
 Dutch Reformed Church came next, and the Presbyterians last ; 
 while in point of numbers their positions were exactly reversed, 
 the Presbyterians outnumbering the Dutch, and the'Dutch the 
 Episcopalians. The last with most of the Dutch chiefly belonged 
 to the conservative party ; while the remainder of the Dutch, 
 and the Presbyterians almost to a man, were found in the ranks 
 of the opposition. 
 
 Another and very striking peculiarity in the composition of 
 the colonial parties, was the remarkable preponderance of the 
 wealth and social position of the Province on the side of the 
 conservatives. In their ranks were found the Philipses, Van 
 Cortlandts, De Lanceys, Bayards, Crugers, Wattses, Waltons, 
 Van Rensselaers, Beekmans, Bleeckers, Barclays, Joneses of Long 
 Island, Jays, Verplancks, Harrisons, and other substantial families, 
 while in those of the opposition, the Livingstons, Morrises, 
 Alexanders and perhaps the Smiths and one or two more were 
 probably all that belonged to the same class. 
 
 The political contests were consequently warm and spirited, 
 but always in the end terminated in favor of the conservatives, 
 one of whose chief leaders was James De Lancey. The enforce- 
 ment of Cosby 's claim against Van Dam, and the prosecution 
 and trial of Zenger, were, however, though both in strict accord- 
 ance with the principles of Justice and the law of the land, 
 against the popular feelings, which had been exerted by the cry 
 that the people's rights were perilled by the establishment of 
 Equity Courts, and that the liberty of the press was in danger. 
 This feeling increased largely by the unprincipled attempts 
 of Gov. Cosby, just before his death in 1736, to invalidate certain 
 land patents on Long Island and in the Mohawk Valley, 1 was so 
 intense that upon the dissolution of the old Assembly, in 1737, 
 by Lt. Gov. Clark who succeeded him, the radical party carried 
 the election which immediately followed. 
 
 But the triumph of the opposition was of very short duration. 
 Lt. Gov. Clark, aware that the Council was strongly conservative, 
 attempted to take a middle course, which lost him the confidence 
 
 1 Smith's History of N. Y.; II., 24. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1045 
 
 of that body. Discovering this, he determined, in order to 
 regain it, to break down the opposition by intriguing with their 
 leaders to place them in office. 
 
 Lewis Morris, Jr., the Speaker, Mr. Simon Johnson and the 
 other prominent men entered into his views and accepted his 
 offers, but the Council refused to give their consent. In this 
 unfortunate dilemma their intrigues became public, and the 
 lessons of hatred and contempt for men in office which they 
 had taught the people for the last few years, reacted so power- 
 fully upon themselves, that " they instantly fell from the heights 
 of popularity into the most abject contempt." * This proof of 
 the absence of principle in their leaders destroyed the opposition. 
 A dissolution of the Assembly soon followed, and in the new 
 elections the conservatives regained their power. This ascend- 
 ancy was henceforward maintained, and their party became 
 supreme in the colony. The people, disgusted with their old 
 leaders, gave it a cordial support, and the affairs of the Province 
 continued in its keeping for a long series of years. 
 
 During this period Chief Justice De Lancey not only discharged 
 the responsible duties of his office to the satisfaction of the 
 colony, and with credit to himself, but was regarded on all sides 
 as the acknowledged leader of the Council, a position he retained 
 throughout the administration of Cosby, Clark and Clinton, and 
 until his own accession to the command of the Province as 
 Lieutenant Governor in 1753, a period of upwards of twenty 
 years. 
 
 He was engaged also at times in important public matters in 
 other colonies. Among other trusts of this nature he was 
 appointed by the King one of the commissioners to settle the 
 disputed boundary between Massachusetts and Ehode Island in 
 1741 , and was an active member of the board. Neither province 
 was satisfied with the result, and both appealed to the King in 
 council. But the question remained an open one between the 
 parties both as provinces and states, and was determined in 1846 
 or 1847, curiously enough, upon almost the very line marked 
 out by the Royal Commissioners more than a century before. " 
 
 1 Smith's Hist. N. Y. ; II., 44. 
 
 2 See original " Book of Minutes of the Corn's" in See's office, Albany. 
 
1046 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 A notice to reconsider the subject has however been recently 
 given in the Massachusetts legislature. 
 
 During the first few years of Gov. Clinton's administration 
 harmony prevailed in the government. He reposed great 
 confidence in the Chief Justice and the conservatives, which he 
 manifested by presenting the former, of his own accord, as it 
 appears, with a new commission as Chief Justice " during good 
 behavior," or, in other words, for life, dated September 14 th , 
 1744, in place of his former one, the tenure of which was only 
 "during pleasure." Not long after, however, Mr. Clinton 
 recommended certain measures which did not meet the approba- 
 tion of either the Council or the Assembly, the most objectionable 
 of which was the demand of an independent support for a term 
 of years, in place of the annual appropriation hitherto made. 
 This produced a rupture between him and those bodies, and he 
 consequently withdrew his confidence from the conservatives, 
 who opposed his measures, so that from 1746 to the end of his 
 administration, in 1753, they were in continual opposition to 
 the dominant party in the colony and in the legislature. 
 
 The Chief Justice took an active part in these disputes and 
 exerted all his power in favor of the people and against the 
 Governor, who had thrown himself into the arms of Dr. Colden, 
 and the Chief Justice's old opponents, • Mr. Smith and Mr. 
 Alexander. 
 
 The influence possessed by Chief Justice De Lancey during 
 this period was greater, perhaps, than that which any single 
 individual ever exerted in New York prior to the Revolution. 
 Smith, the author of the History of the colony, the son of William 
 Smith, the elder, the rival and opponent of Chief Justice 
 De Lancey, thus speaks of it, as manifested by the result of the 
 election of 1752, which turned upon the questions involved in 
 the controversies with Clinton. 1 "The influence of the Chief 
 Justice was, nevertheless, so prevalent that he had a great 
 majority of friends and relations in the new Assembly, convened 
 on the 24 th day of October, 1752." " It may gratify the curiosity 
 of the reader to know, that of the Members of this Assembly, 
 Mr. Chief Justice De Lancey was nephew to Col. Beekman, 
 
 1 Eiefc N» Y; II», 143, 145. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1047 
 
 brother to Peter De Lancey, brother-in-law to John Watts, cousin 
 to Philip Ver Planck, and John Baptist Van Rensselaer ; that. 
 Mr. Jones, the speaker, Mr. Richard, Mr. Walton, Mr. Cruger, 
 Mr. Phillipse, Mr. Winner and Mr. Le Count, were of his most 
 intimate acquaintances ; and that these twelve of the twenty- 
 seven which composed the whole house, held his character and 
 sentiments in the highest esteem. Of the remaining fifteen he 
 only wanted one to gain a majority under his influence, than 
 which nothing was more certain ; for except Mr. Livingston, 
 who represented his own manor, there was not among the rest a 
 man of education or abilities qualified for the station they were 
 in. They were, in general, farmers and directed by one or more 
 of the twelve members above named. Of the whole House the 
 only wealthy, able member, neither connected witli Mr. De Lancey 
 nor within the sphere of his influence, was Mr. Livingston. 
 
 " His station on the bench with the independent tenure of 
 good behaviour, added to his amazing power, which was again 
 augmented by the inferior abilities of his assistants and his 
 incessant assiduity, joined to his own affluence, and that of his 
 family, in cultivating all the arts of popularity from the moment 
 he was disgusted by Mr. Clarke in 1737." 
 
 In the autumn of the next year, 1753, Gov. Clinton was 
 superseded in the command of the Province by Sir Danvers 
 Osborn. On the tenth of October, in that year, the new Governor 
 was sworn in, in the presence of the Council, and received the 
 seals from Governor Clinton, who at the same time produced 
 and delivered to Chief Justice De Lancey, a commission as 
 Lieutenant Governor dated Oct 24 th 1747, which he had kept 
 back in his own hands until this time. This commission, under 
 the sign manual of George II., had passed the seals nearly six 
 years before, and had been in Gov. Clinton's keeping ever since, 
 who either from jealousy or fear of the Chief Justice, suppressed 
 it till he could do so no longer. ' 
 
 The facts relative to this commission and its suppression, 
 reveal the determination of Gov. Clinton and his advisers, Smith 
 
 1 The original commission is in the possession of the Lt. Governor's grand-son, the 
 Rt. Rev. William H. De Lancey, Bishop of Western New York; it was also recorded in 
 bbbk of Ctomnd. IV., 122, in See's of State's office, Albany. 
 
1048 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 mid Alexander, to undermine the Chief Justice in England, 
 when they found they could not shake his power in New York. 
 Tlie course of the latter was approved by the Home Government, 
 or he never would have been appointed Lieut. Governor, 
 especially at the time when the promotion was made, for 
 <luring the whole of 1747 Gov. Clinton and Dr. Colden were 
 continually writing to the Dukes of New Castle and Bedford, 
 two of the ministry, greviously complaining of him and his 
 party. 1 They even went so far as to ask his removal from the 
 Chief Justiceship. On the eighth of November, 1747, only 
 iifteen days after his commission of Lt. Governor was signed by 
 the King in London, and of course before he thought such a 
 step was contemplated, Gov. Clinton wrote from New York to 
 Mr. under secretary Stone, recommending the Chief Justice's 
 removal from office, and the next day, the ninth, he wrote 
 another letter to the Duke of New Castle, urging the same 
 step. 3 
 
 Finding however that lie was promoted instead of disgraced, 
 Mr. Clinton on the 13 th of Feb. 1748, sent a sort of remonstrance 
 to the Duke stating that Mr. De Lancey's advancement to be 
 Lieutenant Governor was very unhappy for the Province and 
 prejudicial to himself. 3 This sort of warfare was unceasingly 
 kept up as long as Clinton remained in office, and while he 
 actually had Mr. De Lancey's commission as Lt. Governor in 
 his hands. 
 
 In 1751 the enemies of Mr. De Lancey changed their plan of 
 operations. On the 28 th of February Gov. Clinton sent a formal 
 " memorial" to the Duke of Bedford praying that gentleman's 
 removal from the office of Lieutenant Governor, and the appoint- 
 ment of another in his place. 4 This was followed, on the 8 th of 
 April, by a letter to the Board of Trade requesting his " suspen- 
 sion" from the Lieut. Governorship, 5 and on the 18 th of July Dr. 
 Colden was recommended as President of the council, 6 so that 
 he might be ready to succeed Mr. Clinton, if the " suspension" 
 took place. At the same time an. intrigue was set on foot, as 
 
 1 See their various letters in London Document XXVIII., Secretary of State's office.. 
 .Mbany. 
 
 2 Ibid., 215, 219. 3 Ibid., 238. 4 Ibid., 210. 5 Ibid: XXX., 354. 6 Ibid. 261. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1049 
 
 appears from a letter of Mr. Charles, the colony's agent in 
 London, to the speaker of the Assembly, ' to get Mr. Robt. 
 Hunter Morris appointed Lieutenant Governor of New York ; 
 Gov. Clinton and his friends being determined, if it were possible, 
 to oust Lt. Gov. De Lancey from his office by any means in their 
 power. 
 
 But all these efforts were utterly futile. Mr. Clinton was not 
 only compelled, in the end, to deliver up to Mr. De Lancey his 
 commission, but to undergo the further mortification of witnessing 
 the manifestations of popular pleasure which the announcement 
 of the fact produced. 2 Two days afterwards, on the 1 2 th October, 
 1753, occurred the tragical death of Sir Dan vers Osborne, who 
 committed suicide in a fit of insanity, and the command of the 
 province immediately devolved upon Mr. De Lancey. His 
 accession was hailed with general delight, for his long service 
 as Chief Justice, having traveled the circuits upwards of twenty 
 years, had made the people of the Province thoroughly acquainted 
 with him ; and the approval of his elevation, which they now 
 manifested, showed how highly they esteemed his character and 
 capacity. 
 
 At this time the agitation of the great question of the day, 
 regarding the support of Government, was at its height. The 
 "instructions," which accompanied the commissions of the 
 Colonial Governors, provided that acts giving a permanent 
 support for five years, should be passed by the Assembly as often 
 as was necessary. This had always been done previous to 1737 ; 
 but finding that the certainty of a support for so long a period 
 rendered the Governors very independent, and gave rise to 
 prodigality of different kinds, the Assembly of that year deter- 
 mined that the support acts should be annual for the future in 
 spite of the " instructions." This was considered an encroach- 
 ment upon the royal prerogative and as such was strongly resisted. 
 
 From that time this subject caused great struggles between 
 the Assembly and the Governors ; but the former would only 
 pass annual bills, though the latter always asked those for five 
 years. Gov. Clinton, during the first three years of his admin- 
 istration, signed annual bills — then he refused to do i 
 
 1 Smith's Hist. N. Y II.. 145; 146. 2 Smith's Hist. N. Y. IL, 152. 
 
]050 ' MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 longer and demanded a revenue for five years, which caused the 
 rupture between himself and Chief Justice De Lancey and the 
 conservative party, who were warmly in favor of the annual 
 mode of support. A long and severe contest followed in which 
 the nearly general voice of the province was with the conserva- 
 tives, while curiously enough the supporters of the Governor 
 were Mr. Smith, Mr. Alexander and their friends, who were the 
 original proposers of the annual mode in 1737. l 
 
 In the midst of this contest of the people against the prerog- 
 ative, with his feelings, opinions and political sentiments alto- 
 gether on the popular side, the Lt. Governor found himself 
 unexpectedly called to the supreme command. The thirty-ninth 
 of the new "instructions," which Sir Danvers Osborn had 
 brought out, and which his office compelled him to obey, enjoined 
 in the strongest terms upon the Commander-in-chief to insist 
 upon " a permanent revenue solid, indefinite, and without limi- 
 tation." 2 
 
 Tiie difficully of his position now, was only equalled by its 
 delicacy. His individual and party views, and the popular 
 sentiment, favored one course of action, while his commission, 
 his " instructions," and the oaths of office pointed out another. 
 
 In spite of all the danger which, his popularity and consistency 
 ran, he did his duty and boldly communicated the obnoxious 
 " instructions," as he was bound to do, with his first speech to 
 the Assembly, and told them they must act accordingly. 3 And 
 in all his future speeches he continually urged them to obedience. 
 At -the same time he received all their resolutions, representations 
 and addresses against the measure, and forwarded those they 
 wished to the home government, and when it was proper, wrote 
 to the ministry pressing upon them to agree to the views and 
 wishes of the Province. But he would not assent to the annual 
 bills they passed and sent to him, in consequence of which he 
 received no salary as Commander-in-chief till 1756, in the spring 
 of whicli year the ministry gave up the point and agreed to 
 annual support bills for the future, and directed Sir Charles 
 Hardy, the then Governor, to communicate the change of the 
 
 1 Assembly Journals; I., 728, 732. 2 Assembly Journals; II.j 3&i. 
 
 3 See as beloTB Ajfeembly Jctaraala; II., 351. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1051 
 
 instruction to the Assembly, whieli he did on the 24 th of the 
 following September. 1 This was a great triumph for the 
 colony, and for which it was indebted solely to the policy of 
 Lt. Governor De Lancey, and the tact and statesmanship he 
 shewed in carrying it out. A fact so manifest as to compel the 
 reluctant praise of the partial author of the Hisfory of New 
 York. 2 
 
 On the 19th of June, 1754, Lieut. Governor De Lancey con- 
 vened and opened the celebrated Congress of Albany, over which 
 he presided. This was a Congress of delegates from all the 
 colonies 3 which the home government directed the Lt. Governor 
 of New York to hold, for the purpose of conciliating the Indian 
 nations who were invited to attend it ; of renewing the covenant 
 chain and attaching them more closely to the British interest, 
 and for comprising all the provinces in one general treaty to be 
 made with them in the King's name, and for no other purpose. 4 
 Speeches and presents were made to the Indians who promised 
 to do all that was asked of them, but no formal treaty whatever 
 was concluded. The Congress voted instead, that the delegation 
 from each colony except New York, should appoint one of their 
 number, Who together should be a committee to digest a plan 
 for a general union of all the colonies 
 
 The choice of the New York committee-man was left to Lt. 
 Governor De Lancy, who, acting most impartially, appointed his 
 political opponent, William Smith, Esq'., the elder. 5 This 
 movement, which was not within the objects of the Congress as 
 denned in the letter of the Board of Trade above mentioned, 
 resulted in the adopting of a plan of a union to be made by act 
 of Parliament, which, after its provisions were resolved on, was 
 put into form by Benjamin Franklin, who was a delegate from 
 Pennsylvania, and which was not decided upon, but merely sent 
 to the different provinces for consideration. 
 
 1 Assembly Journals; II., 500. 
 
 2 Smith's Hist. N. Y. ; II., 232. 
 
 3 Virginia and Carolina did not send delegates, but desired to be considered as present. 
 Doc. Hist. N.Y.; II., 567. 
 
 4 See Letter of Lords of Trade, directing the holding of the Congress, and the nmrates 
 of its proceedings in full, in Doe. Hist, N. Y. ; II., 566. 
 
 6 Doo Hiefc N. Yt ; II»; 6fo> 
 
1052 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Before the motion for the appointment of this committee was 
 made, Lt. Gov. De Lancey, being in favor of the colonies uniting 
 for their own defence, proposed the building and maintaining, at 
 the joint expense of the colonies, of a chain of forts covering 
 their whole exposed frontier, and some in the Indian country 
 itself. Butihis plan was without effect upon the Congress; 
 for as he tells us himself, " they seemed so fully persuaded of the 
 backwardness of the several assemblies to come into joint and 
 vigorous measures that they were unwilling to enter upon the 
 consideration of these matters." J His idea seems to have been 
 for a practical union of the colonies for their own defence to be 
 made by themselves ; while that of the committees, who despair- 
 ed of a voluntary union, was for a consolidation of the colonies 
 to be enforced by act of Parliament. Neither plan, however, 
 met with favor in any quarter, and the Congress effected little 
 but the conciliation of the Indians. 2 
 
 In the autumn of 1754 the Lt. Governor suggested to the 
 Assembly the system of settling lands in townships instead of 
 patents, a measure which, being passed by them, rapidly increased 
 the population and prosperity of the colony. 3 
 
 On the thirty-first of October, 1754, Lt. Governor De Lancey 
 signed and passed the charter of King's (now Columbia) College, 
 in spite of the long and bitter opposition of the Presbyterians, 
 led by Mr. William Livingston. So decided were these against 
 the Episcopalians at this time, and so determined were the efforts 
 of Mr. Livingston to break down the college, that, though signed 
 and sealed, the charter was not delivered in consequence of the 
 clamor till May 7 t!l 1755, when, after an address, Lt. Governor 
 De Lancey presented it to the trustees in form. 4 
 
 This college controversy gave renewed vigor to the feud 
 between the De Lancey and Livingston parties, the former of 
 whom were leading supporters of the College, and the latter its 
 bitterest foes. A feud, which burning strongly ever after, exerted 
 
 1 See his speech to the Assembly of Avigust 20th, 1754. Ass. Jour. ; II., 
 386, 387. 
 
 '1 See the proceedings of the Congress. Doc. Hist. NY; II C>4 r ' 
 3 Assembly Journal; II., for September 1754. 
 1 Moore's Hist. Col'a College, p. 20. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1053 
 
 a controlling influence in the future politics of the colony. So 
 much so that in 1759 the two parties were designated by the 
 names of these two powerful and wealthy leaders. • 
 
 In the spring of 1755 the Lt. Governor attended the council 
 of Governors, called by Gen. Braddock, at Alexandria, and 
 aided in the adoption of the measures there concerted against 
 the French, with whom hostilities had commenced. 2 Sir Charles 
 Hardy, the new Governor, appointed in Sir Danvers Osborne's 
 place, arrived and took command of the Province on Sept. 2 nd , 
 1755 ; and Lt. Governor De Lancey resumed his seat upon the 
 Bench as Chief Justice. Gov. Hardy was an officer of the Navy 
 and not much accustomed to civil affairs. He depended chiefly 
 on the • Lieut. Governor, who supported all leading measures, 
 except the ill-advised and unsuccessful attempt he was induced 
 to make to vacate the Kayayderosseras and a few other land 
 patents. Preferring his professional life, Sir Charles, after a ten 
 months' residence in New York applied to be allowed to resign 
 his government and to re-enter the Navy. 3 A short time after- 
 wards his request was granted, and being made a Rear- Admiral, 
 he sailed from New York, with a command in the expedition against 
 Louisburgh, on the second of July, 1757, just twenty-two months 
 after his arrival in that city. By this resignation the command 
 again devolved upon Mr. De Lancey. The war with France 
 w r as then going on, and the Province was entirely engaged during 
 this, and the two succeeding years, in military affairs and 
 measures. During this period civil matters were very quiet, 
 and the energies of the Lt. Governor were given to promoting, 
 directing, and carrying out the various measures which the events 
 of the war rendered necessary on the part of the Colony. He 
 contributed greatly to the retrieving of the disasters of 1757, 
 and to the success of the operations of 1758 and 1759 ; and 
 especially to promoting the expedition which ended in the 
 repulse at Ticonderoga, and that which followed it in the suc- 
 ceeding year. 
 
 Though generally quiet, the opposition did not give up entirely 
 their attempts against the party in power. The most notorious 
 
 1 Smith's Hist. N. T.; II., 273. 2 Doc. Hist. N. Y.; II., G48. 
 
 3 See his letter to this effect, dated Aug. 2nd, 1750, Lond. Doc. ; XXXIII., 367. 
 
1054 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 of which was the printing, in England and secret circulation 
 there and in the colony, of an anonymous pamphlet, entitled a 
 " Review of the military operations in North America, from the 
 commencement of the French hostilities on the frontiers of 
 Virginia, in 1753, to the surrender of Oswego, on the 14 th 
 August 1756, in a letter to a nobleman." In this publication 
 the Lt. Governor was attacked by name, and in terms of bitterest 
 invective. Falsehood was, however, so evident on its face that 
 neither Lt. Gov. De Lancey, nor any of the other gentlemen whom 
 it attacked, ever considered it worthy of notice. Mr. Alexander 
 superintended its printing as he acknowledged himself, 1 being 
 at the time in England, engaged in his vain attempt to prove 
 title to the earldom of Stirling ; but its author is now believed 
 to have been William Smith, the younger, the writer of the 
 colony's history, notwithstanding it has been ascribed to Mr. 
 Livingston. 2 
 
 The Assembly adjourned in the summer of 1760, and shortly 
 after the colony was startled by the very sudden and unexpected 
 death of Lieut. Governor De Lancey, which happened on the 
 morning of Wednesday, the- 30 th of July, in that year. 3 He 
 was discovered by one of his chjjdren in a dying condition in 
 his library, too far gone for medical aid to be of the least service : 
 his dissolution having been caused by an affection of the heart. 
 
 1 Smith's Hist. N.Y., II., 255. 2 "This pamphlet was written in New York, and 
 it is believed, from circumstances, that William Smith, afterwards Chief Justice 
 of Canada, was the author; that he copied it himself, never permitting either of 
 his clerks to see a word of it; that the manuscript was carefully nailed up in a 
 box prepared for the purpose, and sent to London to be printed. The pamphlets, 
 when received from London, were not publicly distributed, and only a few of them 
 were given to particular individuals. But it soon became known in the city that 
 such a pamphlet existed. I was then a clerk in Smith's office, and wished 
 to procure one of the pamphlets, but all my endeavors were fruitless; and I 
 never got one until some time during the revolutionary war, when I met with 
 one at an auction in New York and purchased it." Hon. Samuel Jones' notes 
 on Smith's History of N. Y. in Vol. 3 of N. Y. Hut. Soc. Collections, p. 361. 
 See also a prior letter of his, same Vol. p. 349. The pamphlet itself is in Mass. 
 Hist. Soc. Collections, VII., p. 67. 
 
 3 Some doubt has been thrown around the precise date of his death. Dunlap 
 places it in 1759, and some other writers have followed him. But the council 
 minutes, (XXV., 316,) and the newspapers of the day, agreeing with family 
 tradition, fix it, beyond cavil, as stated in the text 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. . 1055 
 
 The next evening the funeral took place with great pomp ; the 
 Rev. Mr. Barclay performed the solemn services in Trinity 
 church, which was illuminated for the occasion, after which the 
 body was deposited in the family vault beneath the centre aisle 
 of that edifice. ' 
 
 The death of Lieut. Governor De Lancey was deeply felt and 
 lamented by the people of the colony as he was universally 
 beloved and highly esteemed. " To do ample justice," says one 
 of the newspapers of the day, " to this eminent character, so 
 suddenly taken from us, is what the world will hardly expect, 
 or his distinguished accomplishments, indeed, permit. He 
 enjoyed a quick conception, a deep penetration, a clear judgment 
 t and a retentive memory. His natural talents, heightened and 
 improved by his attainments in literature, and an intimate 
 acquaintance with mankind, made him an agreeable and instruc- 
 tive companion to those who were honored with his conversation ; 
 and qualified him to fill the most important offices with uncom- 
 mon dignity and lustre. His genius, provident, active, fertile 
 in expedients, and capable of averting or improving the most 
 unexpected occurrences, joined to a perfect knowledge and esteem 
 of our happy constitution, and a zealous attachment to his Majesty's 
 illustrious House, rendered him a most able and faithful counsellor 
 of the Crown ; and, to the rights and liberties of the people, a 
 cordial and unshaken friend. On the chief seat of justice, he 
 was, for capacity and integrity, equalled by few, exceeded by none. 
 Patient in hearing, ready in distinguishing, and, in his decisions 
 sound and impartial — he gave such universal satisfaction that 
 even the vanquished confessed the justice of the sentence. His 
 promotion to. the Government, at a season the most momentous 
 to the colony, was signally advancive of his Majesty's service, 
 and the public emolument. And by the confidence of the people, 
 reposed in his superior abilities, they were induced to exert 
 themselves in the common cause with the greatest alacrity." 2 
 
 To this evidence of the estimation in whicji he was held at 
 the time of his decease, may be added the testimony of one who 
 
 1 See long accounts of this funeral in Ts T ew York Mercury and Farker's Post 
 Bo} 7 , and other papers of the day. 
 
 2 Editorial from the '•' New York Mercurv" for Avg. 4th 1700 
 
1056 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 knew him very intimately , both officially, and in private, the Hon. 
 John Watts, an eminent citizen of New York, and a member of 
 the council during, and long after, Lt. Governor De Lancey's time, 
 who was the author of the following sketch of his character and 
 death, written in 1787, nearly thirty years after that event :' 
 
 " James De Lancey was a man of uncommon abilities and in 
 every view, from the law to agriculture, and an elegant, pleasant 
 companion — what rarely unites in one person ; it seemed doubt- 
 ful which excelled, Iris quick penetration or his sound judgment : 
 the first seemed an instant guide to the last." " No man in either 
 office, (Chief Justice or Lieut. Governor,) had more the love and 
 confidence of the people, nor any man, before or since, half the 
 influence. He was unfortunately taken from us in July, 1760, 
 so suddenly that his very family suspected no danger. We had 
 spent, very agreeably, the day before on Staten Island ; after ten 
 at night he left my house perfectly well, in the morning he was 
 as usual, but about nine a servant was dispatched to tell me his 
 master was very ill ; I mounted instantly and hurried to his 
 house, in Bowery Lane, but on the way was alarmed by a call 
 1 that all was over,' and too true I found it ; he sat reclined in 
 his chair, one leg drawn in, the other extended, his arms over 
 the elbows, so naturally, that had I not been apprized of it, I 
 certainly should have spoken as I entered the room. No body 
 but his youngest daughter, a child, was present at the time, so 
 little did the family apprehend the least danger. Never did 
 these eyes behold such a spectacle, or did my spirits feel such 
 an impression. The idea affects me whenever I think of it ; to 
 lose such a companion, such a counsellor, such a friend." 
 
 Lieut. Governor De Lancey left three sons and three daugh- 
 ters. James, the eldest, educated at Eton and Cambridge Uni- 
 versity, was a prominent member of the Assembly for many 
 years prior, and up to the Revolution. He went to England on 
 a visit in the spring of 1775, and, the war commencing, did not 
 return. His son, Lieut. Col. James De Lancey, of the First 
 Dragoon Guards, is the only male member of his family now 
 
 1 The original, in Mr. Watt's handwriting, was found among the papers of his 
 daughter, Mrs. Leake, and is now in the possession of her niece, Mrs. Henry 
 Laight of New York, Mr. Watts' grand daughter. 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1057 
 
 living. Stephen, the second son, whose intellect was affected by 
 disease in his infancy, was killed accidentally in 1795. Of the 
 daughters, Mary married William Walton of New York; Anne 
 became the wife of the Hon. Thos. Jones of Fort Neck, Recorder 
 of New York, and one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of 
 the Province ; and Susannah died unmarried. John Peter, the 
 youngest child of the Lieut. Governor, was also educated in 
 England, at Harrow, and at the military school at Greenwich ; 
 he entered the army, served till 1789, when he threw up his 
 Commission of Captain, returned shortly after to America, and 
 resided till his death in 1828, at his grandfather Heathcote's 
 old seat, at Mamaroneck, Westchester county, of which he was 
 the proprietor. » 
 
 No American had greater influence in the colonies than the 
 subject of this sketch. Circumstances, it is true, aided in raising 
 him to this elevation, such as education, connections, wealth, 
 and his high conservative principles ; but he owed as much to 
 personal qualities, perhaps, as to all the other causes united. 
 Gay, witty, easy of access, and frank, he was personally the most 
 popular ruler the Province ever possessed, even when drawing- 
 tightest the reigns of government. 
 
 It was this unusual admixture of the popular spirit with that 
 of the incumbent of office, that rendered him so obnoxious to 
 the assaults of his enemies. There are few instances in our 
 history, of attempts to destroy a public man, such as those 
 which were made by the enemies of James De Lancey. When 
 Sir Danvers Osborn was found suspended in a garden, dead, it 
 was whispered that he had come to his end through the ambition 
 of his successor, the new head of the colony. 2 Subsequently it 
 was proven beyond a cavil, that Osborn, borne down with grief 
 
 1 Thomas James, the eldest son of this gentleman, died a judge of Westchester 
 county, at the age of 32 ; William Heathcote, his younger son, is the present 
 Bishop of Western New York; Edward Floyd, another son, died in early man- 
 hood. His eldest daughter, Anne Charlotte, married John Loudon McAdam, 
 immortalized by his system of making roads; the second, Susan Augusta, the 
 wife of the late J. Fenniraore Cooper, Esq., died 20th Jan'y, 1852; and the two 
 youngest are still living unmarried. 
 
 2 Smith's History of New York; II., Chap. 3. 
 Vol. iv. 67 
 
105S MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 at the death of his wife, had made two previous attempts at 
 suicide ; but so frantic were the efforts of his opponents, that 
 the unscrupulous did not hesitate covertly to bring the charge 
 of murder against their successful rival. After withholding his 
 commission wrongfully for six years, they consummated their 
 opposition by hinting at this atrocious calumny. 
 
 Religious acrimony greatly heightened the intensity of the 
 hostility to De Lancey. He and his associates openly laughed 
 at what they termed " the sanctimonious grimaces" of the other 
 sects, and possibly were more careless of those cutting wounds 
 inflicted by the tongue, than was either right or prudent. As a 
 consequence, his name has passed into history under colors which 
 take* their hues rather from the passions of the day than from 
 the light of truth. The head of the court party, he was termed 
 a demagogue — a gentleman, a scholar, affluent, and of a peculiarly 
 gay and social temperament, he is accused of the sordid vices 
 of the miser and extortioner, — delicate, a martyr to asthma, and 
 obliged to be abstemious, he is charged witli low excess — beloved 
 by all around him, he is denounced as hateful — and approved by 
 the ministry in England, even when opposing their policy, he is 
 pointed out to posterity as a political sycophant. 
 
 The near approach of the Revolution, and the uncontradicted 
 odium that the popular writers of this country lavished, as a 
 matter of course, upon the servants of the crown, contributed 
 to the success of the false character thus given to Lieut. Gov- 
 ernor De Lancey. The representations of defeated opponents 
 have been received for historic truth, and an almost village 
 littleness of gossip accepted for an analysis of character. 
 
 James De Lancey was the fourth, and last, native of New 
 York that administered the affairs of that colony. He corres- 
 ponded personally, as well as officially, with Pitt, afterwards 
 Earl of Chatham, during the critical period of the war of 1756. 
 At his death, his sister, Lady Warren, applied to that statesman 
 to put her yougest brother, Oliver De Lancey, in the office he had 
 filled ; but finding the minister turning a cold ear to her appli- 
 cation, she cried with warmth, " I hope, Mr. Pitt, you have had 
 reason to be satisfied with the brother I have lost." " Madam," 
 was the answer, "had your brother James lived in England, he 
 
HON. JAMES DE LANCEY. 1059 
 
 would have been one of the first men in it." l The great fault 
 of his character was indolence. He read but did not like to 
 write. So far from being avaricious or grasping, he even loved 
 his ease more than he loved money. One of the sources of profit 
 to the colonial Government was the fees payable upon the sign- 
 ing of land patents. At the death of Lieut. Governor De Lancey , 
 it is said that so many of these patents awaited his approval, 
 that the signing them gave a large sum at once to his successor, 
 Mr. Colden. 
 
 1 This remark was mentioned by Lady Warren to the Lt. Governor's youngest 
 son, John Peter De Lancey, by whom trie anecdote was related to his son and 
 son-in-law, Bishop De Lancey, and J. Fennimore Cooper, Esq. 
 
 MISCELLANIES 
 
 The First Church in New Netherland. — It is stated by the Rev. Mr. 
 Prime, in his History of Long Island, 132, that the church erected at Southold 
 and that at Southampton, "were the first sanctuaries erected for the worship 
 of the Living God, within the entire province of the New Netherlands." This is 
 entirely a mistake. The earliest of these buildings does not date further back 
 than 1640, whilst it is on record in the Secretary of State's office, that Director 
 Van Twiller caused a church to be erected in New Amsterdam, now New York, 
 as early as the year 1633. 
 
 Christmas on the Mohawk River in 1769. — The manner in wch. ye ppl. in 
 yse parts keep Xmas day in commemor'g of the Birth of ye Saviour, as ya 
 pretend is very affect'g and strik'g. They generally assemble for read'g prayers, 
 or Divine service — but after, they eat drink and make merry. They allow of no 
 work or servile labour on ys day and ye follow'g — their servants are free — but 
 drink'g swear'g fight'g and frolic'g are not only allowed, but seem to be essential 
 to ye joy of ye day. — Rev. S. Kirkland's Journal. 
 
 The first Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie was erected in 1774. It was 
 a very handsome stone building fifty-three feet by forty. Rev. John Beardsley 
 had, however, been a missionary at that place for several years previous. This 
 gentleman adhered to the Crown on the breaking out of the Revolution; was 
 appointed Chaplain to the Loyal American Reg't in 1782, and in 1783 emigrated 
 with his family to New Brunswick and settled at a place called Maugcrville, 
 where he died. 
 
 4 Apl. 1763 — The mail was sent for the first time to Schenectady. — Sir Wm. 
 Johnson's MSS. 
 
 July, 1772. — The mail to be sent weekly from N. York to Albany up one side 
 Of the River and down the other, for which an extra £100 is to be allowed. — lb. 
 
1060 
 
 MISCELLANIES. 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 112 582 
 
 Library op Sir Henry Moody, Bart, one of the first Patentees of the 
 Town of Gravesend, L. I. — Cathologus contining the names of such books as 
 Sir. Henry Moedie had left in security in handts of Daniel Litscho wen hy went 
 for Virginia: 
 A latyn Bible in folio. 
 
 A written book in folio contining privatt matters of State. 
 A writteneth book in folio contining private matters of the King. 
 Seventeen several books of devinite matters. 
 A dictionarius Latin and English. 
 
 Sixteen several latin and Italian bookx of divers matters. 
 A book in folio contining the voage of Ferdinant Mendoz, &c. 
 A book in folio kalleth Sylva Sylvarum. 
 A book in quarto callth bartas' six days worck of the lord and translat in 
 
 English by Josuah Sylvester. 
 A book in quarto kalleth the Summe and Substans of the Conference which it 
 
 pleased his Excellent Majsti to have with the lords bishops &c. at Hampton 
 
 Court contracteth by William Barlow. 
 A book in quarto kalleth Ecclesiastica Interpretatio, or the Expositions upon the 
 
 difficult and doubtful passage of the Seven Epistles callet Catholique and the 
 
 Revalation collecteth by John Mayer. 
 Elleven several bookx moore of divers substants. 
 
 The Verification of his fathers Knights order given by King James. — Notarial 
 Reg. of Soloman Lachaire N.P. of Neiv Amsterdam, Anno 1661. 
 
 N. Y. Libraries Destroyed. — A very fine Library, left fifty years ago by the 
 Rev. Dr. Millington for the use of the Missionaries, consisting of above 1,000 
 volumes, together with the College Library and their philosophical apparatus, 
 and another library belonging to the inhabitants, were plundered, sold and dis- 
 persed by the British soldiers when they took possession of New York. — Abstract 
 of the Soc.for Prop, the Gosp. 1779. 
 
 General Fraser. — Many enquiries have Deen made for the christian name 
 of General Fraser, who was killed at the Battle of Stillwater, 7th October, 1777. 
 Jesse, (Mem. of the Pretenders I.; 127,) and others confound him with the son 
 of Lord Lovat, who was beheaded for joining the pretender, and who died in 
 1782. Beatson, in his Political Index II.; 150-1, contains a list of Colonels 
 ill the Army who, "at different periods, served as Brigadier Generals in North 
 America and the West Indies since the commencement of the war in 1775," and 
 on p. 151 is the name of " Simon Fraser. Died of the wounds received at the 
 battle of Stillwater." He was grand uncle to the celebrated Sir James Mackin- 
 tosh. Dodsley's Annual Reg., 1780, pp. 218-19, contains an abstract of the 
 cause of Mr. Schreiber, pltff., against Mrs. Fraser, widow of the late Gen'l Fraser, 
 who died at Saratoga, deft., for damages on a breach of promise of marriage. 
 Verdict for plttf. £600 damages and costs. We are indebted to Dr. Harris, the 
 polite Librarian of Harvard College, and to other correspondents, for many 
 interesting particulars of the Fraser family; but want of space excludes them at 
 present. 
 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 112 582 5