BROOKLYN VILLAGE
1811-1833
Brooklyn during the "Critical Period" in American History.
The Embargo and the War of 1812. Military Preparations.
Fortifications. Fort Greene and Cobble Hill. Peace. Robert
Fulton. The "Nassau's" First Trip. Progress of Fulton Ferry.
The Village Incorporated. First Trustees. The Sunday-School
Union. Long Island Bank. Board of Health. The Sale of Liquor.
Care of the Poor. Real Estate. Village Expenses. Guy's Picture
of Brooklyn in 1820. The Village of that Period. Characters of
the Period. Old Families and Estates. The County Courts removed
to Brooklyn. Apprentices' Library. Prisoners at the Almshouse.
Growth of the Village. The Brooklyn "Evening Star." Movement
for Incorporation as a City. Opposition of New York. Passage of
the Incorporation Act.
As the hamlet of Brooklyn waxed in size and took on the characteristics
of an organized community, with a formulated political plan, a fire
department, a commercial nucleus that justified a petition[17] to the
Legislature for the establishment of a local bank, and a population
of nearly 5000 people, it began to feel more directly and inevitably
than it ever had theretofore the effect of political and commercial
movements in the State, and in the nation as a whole.
The early years of the present century, during which Napoleon was
terrorizing Europe, were years of formative uncertainties to the
young United States. John Fiske has called this time "the critical
period" of American history. Speaking of the extraordinary commercial
manifestations of the post-Revolutionary period, Mr. Fiske says:
"Meanwhile, the different States, with their different tariff and
tonnage acts, began to make commercial war upon one another. No sooner
had the other three New England States virtually closed their ports to
British shipping than Connecticut threw hers wide open, an act which
she followed up by laying duties upon imports from Massachusetts.
Pennsylvania discriminated against Delaware, and New Jersey, pillaged
at once by both her greater neighbors, was compared to a cask tapped at
both ends.
"The conduct of New York became especially selfish and blameworthy.
That rapid growth, which was so soon to carry the city and the State
to a position of primacy in the Union, had already begun. After the
departure of the British the revival of business went on with leaps
and bounds. The feeling of local patriotism waxed strong, and in no
one was it more completely manifested than in George Clinton, the
Revolutionary general, whom the people elected Governor for nine
successive terms. From a humble origin, by dint of shrewdness and
untiring push, Clinton had come to be for the moment the most powerful
man in the State of New York. He had come to look upon the State
almost as if it were his own private manor, and his life was devoted
to furthering its interests as he understood them. It was his first
article of faith that New York must be the greatest State in the
Union. But his conceptions of statesmanship were extremely narrow.
In his mind, the welfare of New York meant the pulling down and
thrusting aside of all her neighbors and rivals. He was the vigorous
and steadfast advocate of every illiberal and exclusive measure, and
the most uncompromising enemy to a closer union of the States. His
great popular strength and the commercial importance of the community
in which he held sway made him at this time the most dangerous man in
America."
The relations of the States became more amicable in the early years
of the century, the rival commonwealths being drawn together by a
general obligation of self-defense as against England. In 1808 had come
Jefferson's Embargo Act, of whose influence in New York John Lambert
writes: "Everything wore a dismal aspect at New York. The embargo had
now continued upwards of three months, and the salutary check which
Congress imagined it would have upon the conduct of the belligerent
powers was extremely doubtful, while the ruination of the commerce of
the United States appeared certain if such destructive measures were
persisted in. Already had 120 failures taken place among the merchants
and traders, to the amount of more than 5,000,000 dollars; and there
were above 500 vessels in the harbor which were lying up useless,
and rotting for want of employment. Thousands of sailors were either
destitute of bread, wandering about the country, or had entered the
British service. The merchants had shut up their counting-houses and
discharged their clerks; and the farmers refrained from cultivating
their land; for if they brought their produce to market they could not
sell it at all, or were obliged to dispose of it for only a fourth of
its value."
Elsewhere in his journal, Lambert writes: "The amount of tonnage
belonging to the port of New York in 1806 was 183,671 tons, and the
number of vessels in the harbor on the 25th of December, 1807, when the
embargo took place, was 537. The moneys collected in New York for the
national treasury, on the imports and tonnage, have for several years
amounted to one fourth of the public revenue. In 1806 the sum collected
was 6,500,000 dollars, which, after deducting the drawbacks, left a net
revenue of 4,500,000 dollars, which was paid into the treasury of the
United States as the proceeds of one year. In the year 1808 the whole
of this immense sum had vanished!"
In June, 1812, came the declaration of war with Great Britain. The news
occasioned considerable excitement in Brooklyn, whose middle-aged men
retained a lively recollection of the British occupation. In the "Star"
of July 8 appeared this announcement: "A new company of Horse or Flying
Artillery is lately raised in this vicinity, under the command of
Captain John Wilson. This company promises, under the able management
of Captain Wilson, to equal, if not excel, any company in the State.
The Artillerists of Captain Barbarin are fast progressing in a system
of discipline and improvement, which can alone in the hour of trial
render courage effectual. We understand this company have volunteered
their services to Government, and are accepted. The Riflemen of Captain
Stryker and the Fusileers of Captain Herbert are respectable in number
and discipline. The county of Kings is in no respect behind her
neighbors in military patriotism."
The Fusileers wore green "coatees" and Roman leather caps. The green
frocks of the Rifles were trimmed with yellow fringe, a feature of the
costume which is reputed to have originated the appellation "Katydids."
In August the Artillery practiced at a target, and John S. King won a
medal.
Two years elapsed before Brooklyn was actually threatened with war. In
1814 the fear that the British fleet might, as in the Revolutionary
descent, land at Gravesend, was naturally entertained. The committee of
defense decided to build two fortified camps on Brooklyn Heights and
on the heights of Harlem. Volunteers for labor on local and suburban
defenses were called for, and there was a patriotic response. A company
of students from Columbia Academy, Bergen, N. J., performed work on
the Brooklyn Heights fortifications.[18] The Long Island defenses
extended from the Wallabout to Fort Greene, to Bergen's Heights (on
Jacob Bergen's property), and to Fort Lawrence.
On the 9th of August, 1814, General Mapes, of New York, with a body
of volunteers, broke ground for the intrenchments at Fort Greene. The
work was carried on day by day by a different corps of volunteers. One
day the labor would be performed by the tanners and curriers and the
veteran corps of artillery; on another day, in happy unison, would
be seen working, side by side, a brigade of infantry, a military
association of young men, the Hamilton Society, and students of
medicine; on another, a delegation from Flatbush would be seen engaged
earnestly on the work; on another, the people of Flatlands would
be armed with pick and shovel; then Gravesend dug in the trenches.
Irishmen were not to be outdone; they proved their patriotism and
love of liberty by volunteering, 1200 strong, to labor in the cause.
Then the burghers from New Utrecht gave a helping hand. The free
colored people gladly gave their aid. Jamaica came, headed by Dominie
Schoonmaker, and with them came the principal of the academy, with
his pupils. Workmen came from New York, Newark, Paulus Hook, and
Morris County, N. J. A company came from Hanover Township, headed
by their pastor, Rev. Dr. Phelps, and labored for a day upon these
fortifications. So, too, the members of the Baptist Church in New York
came, with their pastor, Rev. Dr. Archibald Macloy, and did a day's
work. Rev. Dr. Macloy was the father of Congressman Macloy, who ably
represented the seventh ward of New York and a part of Kings County
before the late civil war.
The erection of the defenses of Brooklyn was thus not a local affair.
It was one in which the neighboring cities, towns, and States took
part. The people were enthusiastic. The Grand Lodge of Masons enlisted
in the service, and the watchword of the day was: "The Master expects
every Mason to do his duty." Old Fortitude Lodge, which still exists,
rendered a day's service. A company of ladies came from New York,
forming a procession, with music, marched to Fort Greene, and used
the shovel and the spade for several hours. The people had one mind
and were actuated by one purpose. The work advanced rapidly, for, as
in the days of Nehemiah, the "people had a mind to work," and their
efforts were crowned with success. These were the times when the
people willingly gave their money for the good of the country, without
expecting to receive it again with compound interest.
Early in September the works were completed. The Twenty-second Brigade
of Infantry, composed of 1750 men, was stationed within the lines.
Heavy artillery was mounted. Brigadier General Jeremiah Johnson was
in command. He was a natural soldier, and possessed every element
of character necessary to lead a brigade. Stern and unflinching in
the performance of duty, he yet had a warm and generous heart, which
led him to take an active interest in the welfare of the men in his
command. The soldiers loved him, and rendered willing obedience to his
orders. Being a resident of Brooklyn, he knew or was known by most of
his men personally.
At the fort on Cobble Hill worked military companies under command of
Captains Stryker, Cowenhoven, and Herbert, the "exempts" of Bedford
and the Wallabout, Fire Company No. 2 of Brooklyn, and a company of
Bushwick people headed by Pastor Bassett. "Next to the duties which
we owe to Heaven," said the Bushwick people at their meeting, "those
which belong to our country demand our chief attention."
The volunteers worked with the utmost zeal, laboring by moonlight when
sunset still left work to do. The Sixty-fourth Regiment, of Kings
County, was commanded by Francis Titus, with Albert C. Van Brunt as
second major, and Daniel Barre as adjutant. New Utrecht's company was
headed by Captain William Dewyre; Brooklyn's company was headed by
Captain Joseph Dean; the Wallabout and Bushwick company, by Captain
Francis Stillman; the Gowanus company, by Captain Peter Cowenhoven, and
later by Captain John T. Bergen; the Gravesend and Flatbush companies,
by Captain Jeremiah Lott.
Brooklyn was, indeed, ready, but fortunately the crisis for which it
prepared did not appear. On the evening of February 11, 1815, came
the news of peace with Great Britain. On the evening of the 21st
Brooklyn was illuminated in a spirit of rejoicing, and the band of the
Forty-first Regiment, then stationed in the village, voiced the delight
of the people.
Meanwhile, various important advances had been made by Brooklyn and her
neighbors. In 1812, Robert Fulton having made a successful experiment
with his first steamboat, the Clermont, a steam ferry was opened
between New York City and Paulus Hook, Jersey City. In that year Fulton
and his "backer," Robert R. Livingston, offered to the corporation of
the city of New York a proposition to establish a steam ferry from Fly
Market Slip to Brooklyn.[19] The proposition was accepted, and it was
decided to run the boats from Burling Slip. "As, however, the slip was
not then filled in, and the cost of filling was estimated at $30,000,
it was finally concluded to establish the ferry at Beekman Slip
(present Fulton Street, New York), which was accordingly purchased for
that purpose by the corporation from Mr. Peter Schermerhorn. Beekman
Slip at that time extended only to Pearl Street. Fair Street, which
then ran from Broadway to Cliff Street, was extended through the block
between Cliff and Pearl streets to join Beekman Slip. To this newly
extended Fair Street, from the East River to Broadway, and to Partition
Street, which then extended from Broadway to the Hudson River, was
given the name of Fulton Street, in honor of the distinguished
inventor, in consequence of the establishing of whose steam ferry this
street was about to become a great highroad of travel and traffic. The
ferry from Fly Market Slip was discontinued.
"The lease of the ferry was granted to Robert Fulton and William
Cutting (his brother-in-law), for twenty-five years,--from the 1st
of May, 1814, to May, 1839,--at an annual rental of $4000 for the
first eighteen years, and $4500 for the last seven years. The lessees
were to put on the ferry one steamboat similar to the Paulus Hook
ferry-boat; to run once an hour from each side of the ferry, from
half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; to furnish
in addition such barges, etc., as were required by previous acts of
the Legislature; and on or before the 1st of May, 1819, they were to
provide another steamboat in all respects equal to the first, and when
that was done a boat should start from each side of the river every
half hour. As a compensation to the lessees for the increase of expense
which would be incurred in conducting the ferry upon such an enlarged
scale, the corporation covenanted to apply to the Legislature for a
modification and increase in the rates of ferriage; and in case the
bill passed before May 1, 1819, Messrs. Fulton and Cutting agreed to
put on their second boat at the earliest possible date thereafter. In
case of its failing to pass, they were to be permitted to receive four
cents for each and every passenger who might choose to cross the river
in the steamboat, but the fare in barges was to remain as it had been,
viz., two cents."[20]
The proposed bill successfully passed the Legislature, and Fulton
and Cutting formed a stock company, called the New York and Brooklyn
Steamboat Ferry Association, with a capital of $68,000. The first
steam ferry-boat, called the Nassau, began running on Sunday, May 10,
1814. "This noble boat," said the Long Island "Star," "surpassed the
expectations of the public in the rapidity of her movements. Her trips
varied from five to twelve minutes, according to tide and weather....
Carriages and wagons, however crowded, pass on and off the boat with
the same facility as in passing a bridge. There is a spacious room
below the deck where the passengers may be secure from the weather,
etc." On one of the first day's trips an engineer was fatally hurt.
The Nassau made forty trips on the following Sunday, and became a
useful and popular institution. She was used after business hours for
pleasure excursions on the river. The plan of construction was that of
a double boat, with the wheel in the centre, the engine-house on deck
and the passenger cabin in one of the hulls. Peter Coffee, the first
pilot, died in 1876, aged ninety-nine years. One end of the deckhouse
of the Nassau was occupied by a pensioner of Fulton's, who sold candies
and cakes.
While the Nassau was in operation the horse ferry-boats were also used
on the Fulton Ferry. These horse ferry-boats were peculiar craft. The
first horse-boats were single-enders, and were compelled to turn around
in crossing the river. Subsequently double-enders were used. All these
boats had two hulls, about twenty feet apart and covered over by a
single deck. Between these hulls were placed the paddle-wheels, working
upon the shafting propelled by horses.
"By an invention of Mr. John G. Murphy, father of ex-Senator Henry
C. Murphy, the managers of these boats were enabled to reverse their
machinery without changing the position of the horses. The steamboat
was very popular with the public. Owing to its success there was soon
a very marked desire in both cities for the addition of the second
steamboat, in accordance with the terms of the contract made by the
lessees with the city of New York. Objection was made by the lessees
on the ground of additional expense, and boats run by horse power were
substituted. In 1815 Robert Fulton died. Mr. Cutting, who had lived
in New York, removed to Brooklyn, and died at his residence on the
Heights in 1821. The winter of 1821-22 was one of the most severe in
the history of the country. The ferries were obstructed by enormous
quantities of floating ice. Great cakes became jammed between the
double hulls, and travel was practically suspended. Brooklyn had grown
rapidly, and an uproar arose in which the ferry management was roundly
assailed. Who can tell but it was here that the original idea of the
East River Bridge was first born? In 1827 a steamboat similar to the
Nassau, and called the William Cutting, was put on the ferry, but even
this did not satisfy the public, who were eagerly seeking more extended
accommodations. In 1833 Messrs. David Leavitt and Silas Butler secured
a controlling interest in the stock of the company, and sought to meet
the anticipations of the people by adding two new steamboats, the
Relief and the Olive Branch. Unlike their predecessors, these boats had
single hulls and side wheels. Subsequently agitation in the southern
part of Brooklyn led to the establishment of the South Ferry."
In 1817, the Loisian Academy, which had been started four years before,
received a salaried teacher, and was removed to the small frame house
on Concord and Adams streets, where Public School No. 1 was afterward
built.
Brooklyn began soon after the Revolution to think seriously of the
matter of incorporation as a village. On January 8, 1816, a public
meeting was held at the public house of Lawrence Brown, "to take
into consideration the proposed application for an incorporation of
Brooklyn. A committee, consisting of Thomas Everit, Alden Spooner,
Joshua Sands, the Reverend John Ireland, and John Doughty, met the
following day at the house of H. B. Pierrepont. On April 12th the act
incorporating the village passed the Legislature."
[Illustration: FULTON FERRY-BOAT, WM. CUTTING
_Built in 1827_]
The section of the town of Brooklyn, commonly known by the name
of the Fire District, and contained within the following bounds,
namely: "Beginning at the public landing, south of Pierrepont's
distillery, formerly the property of Philip Livingston, deceased, on
the East River, thence running along the public road leading from said
landing to its intersection with Red Hook Lane, thence along said Red
Hook Lane to where it intersects the Jamaica Turnpike Road, thence
a northeast course to the head of the Walleboght mill pond, thence
through the centre of said mill pond to the East River, and thence
down the East River to the place of beginning,"--was incorporated as
a village, by the name of the Village of Brooklyn; and by the act the
village was constituted a road district, and declared exempt from
the superintendence of the commissioners of highways of the town of
Brooklyn, and the Trustees of the village were invested with all the
powers over the road district, and subjected to all the duties in
relation thereto which by law were given to or enjoined upon the said
commissioners, etc.[21]
The Trustees were required to make a survey and map of the village,
to be kept by the clerk, subject to the inspection of the people, "in
order that no resident might plead ignorance of the permanent plan
to be adopted for opening, laying out, leveling, and regulating the
streets of said village." In pursuance of the requirements of this
law, the Trustees caused to be made a survey and map of the village,
which was adopted by them on the 8th of April, 1819. By a law passed
in 1824, the Trustees were authorized to "widen and alter all public
roads, streets, and highways, already laid out ... to such convenient
breadth, not exceeding sixty feet, as they should judge fit;" also to
lay out new roads and streets. In 1827 the village was divided into
five districts.
The first Trustees of the village were Andrew Mercein, John Garrison,
John Doughty, John Seaman, and John Dean.
The first named of these Trustees appears as one of the principal
founders of a Sunday School which was "in operation in the village of
Brooklyn" in 1816. This school seems to have been designed and operated
on broad grounds. While combining "moral and religious instruction with
ordinary school learning," parents or guardians were privileged to say
"what catechism" they wished the children to study. As a result of this
school movement the Brooklyn Sunday School Union Society was afterward
organized. The school met for a time in Thomas Kirk's printing-office
on Adams Street, but found the schoolhouse quarters on the same street
to be more desirable.
Previous to 1814 there were two markets in Brooklyn: one at the foot of
the old Ferry Street (which began to acquire the name Fulton Street,
after the steamboats began running and Fulton Street had been named on
the New York side); the other at the foot of Main Street. Both were
taken down in 1814.
The Long Island Bank was incorporated in 1824, with a capital of
$300,000, divided into 6000 shares. In the same year the Brooklyn Fire
Insurance Company came into existence.
On the village map adopted April 8, 1819, sixty-seven streets appear,
besides a number of alleys. Several of the streets were sixty feet
wide. Doughty Street was the narrowest, being only twenty feet wide.
In 1820 the population of the town had increased to 7175. The village
population was 5210.
In 1822 there were four distilleries in the town, which at that time
contained but little over 7000 inhabitants. This was a distillery to
every 1750 inhabitants. All the grocers appear to have sold liquors.
In 1826 the population of the village was about 9000. The sum of the
excise fees paid over to the overseers of the poor in that year was
$3627, the significance of which large amount need not be pointed out.
In 1824 a bill was introduced into the Senate, by John Lefferts,
to organize a board of health in the village of Brooklyn. The act
constituted the Trustees a board of health. By its provisions the
president and clerk of the village became the officers of the board.
The president's salary was fixed at $150 per annum, and the physician
appointed by the board received $200 yearly.
The introduction of swill milk into the city appears to belong to
a later period. It became the practice for milk-dealers to send to
the various distilleries and purchase swill, which they fed to their
cows. The stables were generally long, low buildings divided into
narrow stalls, and afforded accommodation for forty or fifty cows.
The swill cost one shilling a hogshead, and was fed hot to the cows.
The principal distilleries were Cunningham's on Front and Washington
streets; Manley's, corner of Tillary and Gold streets; Birdsall's, John
A. Cross's, and Wilson's. The two latter were at the Wallabout.
In 1824 the real estate of Brooklyn was assessed at $2,111,390, and the
personal property at $438,690; making a total of $2,550,080.
On the 14th of January, 1830, the Supervisors of the county purchased
the poor-house farm at Flatbush. On the 9th of July, 1831, the
corner-stone of the building was laid, on which occasion an address was
delivered by General Jeremiah Johnson, who afterwards became Mayor. He
served as Supervisor continuously from 1800 to 1822, and distinguished
himself in the War of 1812, a part of the time being in command of the
fortifications on Fort Greene.
The expense of supporting the poor of the town of Brooklyn during the
year 1830 was $7233.13. The taxes for all expenses amounted to only
sixty cents on every hundred dollars of valuation of real and personal
property.
The items of village expense as estimated August 18, 1830, were as
follows:--
Village watch $3,000
Fire department 1,400
Public cisterns 300
Interest on village stocks 600
Repairs of wells and pumps 900
Salaries of officers 1,200
Contingent expenses 2,600
-------
$10,000
On the 2d of September, 1830, the Kings County Temperance Society was
formed at Flatbush. The Hon. Leffert Lefferts was elected president.
The population of the town as ascertained by the census of 1830 was
15,292. The village contained about two thirds of the town population.
Furman, the indefatigable collector of statistics, says that in 1832
Brooklyn (the village) was divided into five districts, which together
contained 12,302 inhabitants. In the village there were 110 licensed
and 68 unlicensed taverns. This was at the rate of one tavern to every
69 persons. The second district appears to have enjoyed the privilege
of having the most taverns. It contained 79 in a population of 2801, or
one to every 36 inhabitants. In view of the fact that the proportion of
saloons to population to-day is one to every 225 persons, those rash
debaters who persist in finding a movement toward ruin in modern life
may find the figures significant.
An interesting glimpse of Brooklyn as it appeared in 1820 is furnished
by Guy's well-known picture, painted from a Front Street window, and
showing a cluster of houses in the heart of the village. The scene
is of winter, and the figures in the foreground snow are in most
instances likenesses of people of the day. The Brooklyn Institute is
in possession of the picture. At the time of the fire which, in 1890,
destroyed the Institute building, then on Washington Street, and since
completely obliterated to make way for the Bridge approach, it was
slightly damaged; but it remains one of the most interesting memorials
of an interesting period. According to the key published in Stiles, the
picture represents stores and dwellings of Thomas W. Birdsall, Abiel
Titus, Edward Coope, Geo. Fricke, Diana Rapalje, Mrs. Middagh, Benjamin
Meeker, Mrs. Chester, Robert Cunningham, Jacob Hicks, Joshua Sands,
Augustus Graham, Burdett Stryker, Selah Smith, and Dr. Ball, as well
as the figures of Mrs. Harmer, Mrs. Guy, Jacob Patchen, and Judge John
Garrison.
Diana Rapalje, a daughter of Garrett Rapalje, was one of the prominent
figures in the village, formerly a "favorite in Presidential circles at
Washington, and latterly an eccentric of haughty bearing." Her house
was bought by Colonel Alden Spooner, who printed the "Star" under its
roof. Near the ferry stairs was the house of William Furman, overseer
of the poor, who was one of the founders of the Catherine Street Ferry,
and served as the first judge of the county between 1808 and 1823. He
served in the state Legislature, and filled other important commercial
and political offices. His son, Gabriel Furman, was the author of the
"Notes" on the antiquities of Long Island, which have been so useful to
later writers. At Birdsall tavern, on the Fulton Road, people bought
the New York papers, and Quakers made it a stopping-place. Near at hand
was the house of Henry Dawson, who ran the "sixpenny boats." In a low
stone house lived "the gentlemen Hicks," and in the same region to the
south were "Milk" Hicks and "Spetler" Hicks, other prominent members
of a family whose name is closely associated with the early history
of the Heights. Here also were the Middagh and Pierrepont properties,
which were greatly improved by a street plan originated by Hezekiah
Pierrepont. On the Middagh estate was a house built by Thomas Kirk for
a home and printing-office, and afterward occupied by George L. Bird,
the editor of the "Patriot." To this house, too, came James Harper, the
grandfather of the distinguished publishers, Harper and Brothers.
[Illustration: GUY'S SNOW SCENE IN BROOKLYN, 1820]
John Doughty occupied the house formerly owned by Diana Rapalje.
Doughty was intimately connected with Brooklyn's village life, as
fireman, assessor, town clerk, overseer of highways, president of the
fire department, school-committee-man, and collector of the village.
A picturesque figure was Jacob Patchen, a pungent, unmanageable man,
conspicuous in the village life by his obstinacy and determination.
Over the wheelwright shop of George Smith, opposite the lower corner
of Hicks Street, was the court-room of Judge Garrison. Garrison was
born at Gravesend in 1764. He served as fireman, trustee, school
commissioner, and justice. Joralemon's Lane was a rough country road,
at the foot of which had been Pierrepont's Anchor gin distillery,
which was converted about 1819 into a candle-factory, and again became
a distillery. The road had been laid out by Peter Remsen and Philip
Livingston. The site of the present City Hall was then an open field,
while the site of the county court house was occupied by a famous
resort known as the Military Garden.
The Pierrepont mansion stood at the foot of Montague Street. It
was built by John Cornell, and became Pierrepont property in
1802. Hezekiah Pierrepont was a dignified and influential member
of a community in which his exertions were always for broad and
public-spirited plans. Teunis Joralemon, who had been a harness-maker
in Flatbush, bought part of the Livingston estate, on which he
practiced market gardening. He filled the offices of justice of
the peace and Trustee, and other offices, but was of a temperament
antipodal to that of Pierrepont, hotly opposing new streets, especially
through his own property, and scorning the distinction of having
Joralemon Street named after him. Another prominent estate was that
of the Fleets. The name of Bergen is prominently associated with
the progress of the village. At Bedford Corners were the Meseroles,
Ryersons, Lefferts, Vandervoorts, Suydams, Tiebouts, Cowenhovens, and
other old families.
In December, 1821, the subject of removing the court house from
Flatbush to Brooklyn was agitated in the papers, and on the 21st of
January, 1825, a meeting was held at Duflons, whereat a committee
was appointed to obtain the removal of the court house and jail from
Flatbush to Brooklyn. In 1826 the subject was brought to the attention
of the Legislature, and that body passed an act that the court of
common pleas and general sessions should alternate between Flatbush
and the Apprentices' Library Building in Cranberry Street, then just
finished. The court of common pleas in those days corresponded to the
county court of our time. The county clerk's office was removed to
Brooklyn in March, 1819. The county court began to hold sessions in
Brooklyn in January, 1827.
The Trustees of the village of Brooklyn deemed a debtors' prison a
very important addition to the city. On the 19th of February, 1829,
Joseph Sprague, president of the Board of Trustees, made a report on
the subject of fitting up under the market a prison-room for debtors.
In accordance therewith a lockup was provided and cells built under the
market. These cells were oftentimes crowded, and but little provision
was made for the comfort of the occupants. The Bridge approach now
passes over the old lockup.
During those early days prisoners were also confined in cells in the
almshouse, then situated on the south side of Nassau Street, between
Bridge and Jay streets. The building is still standing, and has been
converted into dwellings.
The agitation relative to the removal of the court house still
continued. The Supervisors took the matter in hand. They were empowered
in 1829 to raise by tax a sum of money for the purchase of lots, and
the erection of a suitable building in Brooklyn to accommodate the
courts and jail when completed. It may well be supposed that Flatbush
did not relish the idea of the removal, and, being anxious to retain
her precedence among the towns, her representatives strenuously opposed
the change, and their votes for a short time delayed the inevitable.
The elements, however, aided those who urged the removal, by the
burning of the jail and court house, as heretofore stated, and the way
was opened for a new building. The next year an act was passed by the
Legislature providing for the building of a jail and court house in
Brooklyn.
Under the provisions of this law three commissioners were chosen to
purchase a suitable site for the buildings. The act also provided
that when the court house was finished and ready for occupancy, a
certificate to that effect should be obtained from the first judge of
the county, and that thereafter all terms of the court of common pleas
and general sessions of the peace should be held in the new building,
and that all processes and writs should be made returnable thereat. It
might be stated that subsequent to the fire at Flatbush, and prior to
the occupation of the new building, the courts were temporarily held at
the Apprentices' Library, and were removed to Hall's Exchange Building.
Baily, writing in 1840, says: "The Kings County courts are held in
the large building called the Exchange, situated on the corner of
Cranberry and Fulton streets. It is a plain brick building without any
extraordinary architectural beauty." The court-room was on the second
floor. On the first floor of the building was Bokee & Clem's hardware
store. David A. Bokee was an influential politician of the Whig school.
His store for a time was the headquarters of the Whigs, who would
assemble almost daily for consultation. Bokee ran for Mayor in 1843
against Joseph Sprague, the latter being elected by 311 majority. The
Whigs elected him an Alderman, and he served during the years 1840-43,
1845-48. He was state senator in 1848 and 1849, congressman from 1849
to 1851, and naval officer from 1851 to 1853. Mr. Bokee was one of the
leading members of the First Baptist Church.
The Apprentices' Library Building, where the courts were held, was a
notable structure. One of the principal sources of its fame arose from
the fact that its corner-stone was laid on the 4th of July, 1825, by
that earnest and zealous friend of American institutions, Lafayette.
It was taken down in 1858 to make room for the Armory, which was
afterward sold. Previous to the erection of the City Hall it served as
the municipal building. The Common Council and Board of Education met
there. The municipal court also held its sessions in the building, and
it afforded room for the post office and county clerk's office. On the
1st of May, 1828, an act was passed by the Legislature providing for
the erection of a fire-proof county clerk's office in Brooklyn. The
Legislature, on the 25th of April, 1833, passed an act for the erection
of a court house and jail in Kings County. By this act Losee Van
Nostrand, Joseph Moser, and Peter Canaver were appointed commissioners
to purchase a suitable site or sites in the village of Brooklyn for the
same. To defray the expenses to be incurred in erecting the buildings,
the supervisors were authorized to create a public stock to the amount
of $25,000. A building committee of five persons was directed to be
appointed by the Supervisors of the county, and the president and
Trustees of the village, within sixty days after the passage of the
act. The act also provided that when the court house and jail, or
either of them, should be so far completed as to permit either of them
being used for the purpose intended, that the first judge of the county
should sign a declaration to that effect, and file the same in the
office of the clerk of said county. The clerk thereupon was to publish
the notice in the papers printed in the county, and from and after this
publication the terms of the court of common pleas and general sessions
should be held in the court-room, and from and after such declaration
relating to the jail it should become the common jail of the county.
This act was amended February 17, 1834, so as to declare that the
second section of the act of 1833 authorized the Supervisors to create
stock, not only for the purchase of a site, but also for erecting
buildings.
Meanwhile the village had been flourishing in other directions. Its
general growth was marked not only by the increase in population, but
by the increase in the number of commercial institutions, churches, and
schools. A second bank was chartered. A "night boat" began running on
the ferry. There was an effort to establish a theatre; and a building
for this purpose, subsequently abandoned, was erected, in 1828, on
Fulton Street, between Nassau and Concord. The Brooklyn "Evening
Star" began daily publication, and continued to be a daily paper for
six months, when insufficient patronage made it necessary to suspend
daily issue. Stone walks were laid. The movement resulting in the
formation of the Brooklyn Gaslight Company was begun. A second bank was
chartered. A temperance society, a dispensary, a tract society, and a
literary association (the Hamilton) were organized. There began to be
talk of water-works and of railroads. Fulton Street was widened, boats
appeared on the South Ferry, and the boom in real estate indicated the
growing popularity of the village.
The movement for the incorporation of Brooklyn as a city met the
determined opposition of a large proportion of New York's inhabitants,
who maintained that the propriety of natural growth demanded that
Brooklyn and New York should become one city. From the earliest days
of their common existence New York had grudged Brooklyn an independent
life. The "water-rights" quarrels occupy much space in the early
records. Under the early charter New York claimed ownership in the
East River, and of Brooklyn land to low-water mark, and afterward to
high-water mark. This brought many disputes in the matter of ferry
rights,[22] and the spirit of this early dispute survived in the later
attitude of New York. In the year 1824 the town on Manhattan Island
received an income of over eight thousand dollars from the East River
ferries. The legislative provision for Brooklyn's harbor-master had
been declared to be an encroachment on the rights of New York.[23]
Despite strong opposition, Brooklyn triumphed at Albany, and in April,
1834, became a full-fledged city.