WALTER VAN TWILLER, SECOND of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
Now this Walter Van Twiller was a relative of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer,
one of the patroons. You will see why the West India Company's choice of
him for a Governor was not by any means a wise choice. For he was soon
doing exactly what Minuit had done. The only difference was that
Governor Van Twiller favored Van Rensselaer more than he did the other
patroons.
Van Twiller was a stout, round-bodied man, with a face much the shape of
a full moon. He was a sharp trader, having made two voyages to the
Hudson River in the interest of Van Rensselaer, but he knew nothing of
governing a colony.
The ship that brought the new Governor to the Island of Manhattan, had
also on board a hundred soldiers, and these were the first soldiers
ever sent to the island. There was also on the ship Everardus Bogardus,
the first minister of the colony, as well as Adam Rolandsen, the first
school-master. This school-master had a hard time of it in the new
country, for not being able to make a living by his teaching, he was
forced to do all kinds of other work. He even took in washing for a
time!
By this time negro slaves were being brought to the colony from Africa.
They did the household work, while the colonists cultivated the fields
These slaves did most of the work on a new wooden church which was set
up just outside the fort, for the new minister.
Governor Van Twiller began improving the colony by having three
windmills built, to take the place of the horse-mill. But he had them
placed in such a position that the building in the fort cut off the wind
from their sails, and the mills were almost useless.
The Governor did not neglect his own comfort, for within Fort Amsterdam
he built for himself a fine house of brick--finer than any in the little
settlement--and on one of the bouweries nearest the fort, he erected a
summer-house. On another bouwerie he laid out a tobacco plantation, and
had slaves paid by the Company to look after it.
[Illustration: Van Twiller's Defiance.]
When Van Twiller had been Governor three years, he gave to one of the
colonists a farm on the western side of the city along the Hudson River.
The colonist died the year after the farm was given him, leaving his
widow, Annetje Jans, to care for the property.
Years after, when Queen Anne ruled in England, and the English had come
into possession of New Netherland, she gave the Annetje Jans farm to
Trinity Church. That was almost two centuries ago. What was once a farm
is now a great business section, crossed and recrossed by streets.
Trinity Church has held it through all the years, and holds it still.
Close upon the time when the Jans farm was given away by Governor Van
Twiller, a sailor of note, who had visited almost every country in the
world, founded a colony on Staten Island. This sailor was Captain David
Pietersen De Vries. Staten Island attracted him because of its beauty.
After the colony was well started, De Vries travelled between New
Netherland and Holland, and he will be met with again in this story.
[Illustration: Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island.]
Although Governor Van Twiller did not do much for the colonists, he was
very careful to look after his own affairs. He bought from the
Indians, for some goods of small value, the little spot now called
Governor's Island; which was then known as Nut Island, because of the
many nut-trees that grew there. There is little doubt but that
Governor's Island was once a part of Long Island. It is separated from
it now by a deep arm of water called Buttermilk Channel. The channel was
so narrow and so shallow in Van Twiller's time that the cattle could
wade across it. It was given its name more than a hundred years ago,
from boats which drew very little water, and were the only craft able to
get through the channel, and which took buttermilk from Long Island to
the markets of New York.
[Illustration: Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850.]
Van Twiller bought the islands now known as Randall's and Ward's
Islands, and these, with some others, made him the richest landholder in
the colony. On his islands he raised cattle, and on his farm tobacco.
Many of the colonists did not take kindly to Governor Van Twiller's
methods, and among them was Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal. He told
the Governor that it was very evident that he was putting forth every
effort to enrich himself at the expense of everybody else, just as
Minuit had done. The Governor became very angry. He told the
schout-fiscal not to expect any more salary, that it would be stopped
from that minute. This did not worry the schout-fiscal much, as he had
not been paid his salary in three years! But Van Twiller did not stop
there. He sent the schout-fiscal as a prisoner to Holland, which was a
foolish thing for him to do. For the prisoner pleaded his own cause to
such good effect that before the end of the year 1637, Van Twiller was
recalled to Holland, after he had governed New Netherland for four
years, very much to his own interest, and very much against the interest
of the West India Company and everybody else.
[Illustration: Dutch Costumes.]