HBllil THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL . FROM 1633 TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY HENRY WEBB DUNSHEE. ait Kntro&uction BY REV. THOMAS DEWITT, D.D. Published by the Authority of the Consistory of the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, of the City of New- York. PRINTED BY JOHN A. GRAY, 95 & 97 CLIFF, COB. FRANKFORT ST. 1853. Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1853, BY HENRY WEBB DUNSHEE, In the Clerk's Office of*the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of- New York. Education Library LTD / PROLEGOMENA THE preparation of an inscription for the tablet .intended to be placed in the front of the new edifice erected for the school of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, in the city of New- York, led to the inquiry : " In what year was the school established ?" To this question no satisfactory answer could be obtained. History, indeed, informed us that the establishment of a school by the Dutch in New-Netherland was synchronous with the founding of a colony ; and from this circumstance, the opinion was entertained by some that the germ of this institution was planted in New-Amsterdam at an early period in its history. But the generality of those who were acquainted with the school, supposed that the date of its origin could be traced to a period subsequent to the Revolutionary War. The traditionary knowledge of the school leading its Trus- tees to the belief that it was one of antiquity, that body, on the motion of MORTIMER DE MOTTE, Esq., one of its members, requested the Principal to compile such information with re- gard to it as authentic sources migh't furnish. The present work is the result. Identified with the history of the city from its settlement, and with the most ancient church established therein ; per- petuated by our worthy ancestors, to whose children and children's children, even to the present day, it has afforded a religious and intellectual training; endeared by associations of a most interesting character to numerous members of the oc IV PROLEGOMENA. Dutch Church now living, descendants of the original stock, and partakers in youth of its benefits ; an interest attaches to it, at once peculiar and delightful. Induced by these considerations, and with the view of pre- serving, in substantial form, the history of this the oldest educational institution existing at present in the Western World, the Consistory of the Collegiate Church, with its accustomed liberality, made provision for its publication. The materials for this work were principally derived from the Colonial Records of New- Amsterdam, preserved in the archives of the City and State Governments ; the Corre- spondence of the Classis of Amsterdam ; the Consistorial Min- utes of the Collegiate Church, (the Rev. Dr. De Witt ren- dering the translation from the Dutch language, in the two latter ;) Brodhead's New- York, the Documentary History of the State, and the Minutes of the Board of Trustees. The Author acknowledges with kindness his lasting obli- gations to Hon. James W. Beekman, E. B. O'Callaghan, M. D. ; James B. Brinsmade, Esq., bf Albany ; A. D. F. Ran- dolph, Esq.; David T. Valentine, Clerk of the Common Council ; Theodore Nims, Jr., Esq. ; Samuel W. Seton, Esq. ; and to the Librarians of the Historical Society, Mercantile and Society Libraries of this city, for the facilities they so cordially afforded him in the prosecution of his researches. Extracts from the Minutes of the Board of Trustees and of Consistory : New- York, May 29, 1848. " On the motion of Mortimer De Motte, it was unanimously "Resolved, That Mr. Henry W. Dunshee be requested to investigate the records of our church, and gather together from them, and from such other sources as may be presented to him, all the facts attainable, in connection with and relative to the School of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, in the city of New- York, for the purpose of preparing its history. THOMAS JEREMIAH, Sec. Board of Trustees. PROLEGOMENA. V Upon the completion of the work, it was approved by the pastors of the Collegiate Church and the Board of Trustees, before whom it was read, May 24, 1852. At a subsequent meeting of the Board, June 28, " Messrs. Van Nest, Oothout, and Dunshee were appointed a commit- tee, with reference to the publication of the work." " Oct. 25th. The draft of a memorial was presented at a meeting of the Trustees, by Mr. Van Nest, in behalf of the above committee, and it was on motion "Resolved, That the said memorial, signed by the officers of this Board, be presented to Consistory." GEO. S. STITT, Sec. In Consistory, February 3, 1853. " On the request of the Trustees of the School of the Church, to publish its history for gratuitous distribution, "Resolved, That the sum of six hundred dollars be appro- priated for that purpose. "Revolted, That the Rev. Dr. De "Witt be requested to aid the Trustees in the said publication." Extract from Minutes. CORNELIUS -BOGERT, Clerk. June 29, 1853. "Resolved, That Messrs. Warner and Beadle be a special committee to superintend the publication of the History of the School." GAMALIEL G. SMITH, Sec. BOARD OF TRUSTEES SCHOOL OF THE REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH, IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. 1803. PETER R. WARNER, Chairman. GAMALIEL G. SMITH, Secretary. EDWARD L. BEADLE, M.D. JOHN VAN NEST. GEORGE S. STITT. CHARLES S. LITTLE. JOHN I. BROWER. TEACHERS, HENRY WEBB DUNSHEE. JAMES T. GRAFF. Miss HARRIET PARKER. " MARIA JOSEPHINE ROGERS. " ELSIE J. NICHOLSON. INTRODUCTION. A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PAEOCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HOJJAND SUBSEQUENT TO THE REFORMATION. BY REV. THOMAS DE WITT, D. D. THIS yolurne gives the History of the School of the Re- formed Dutch Church in this city, as far as it can be ascertained from surviving documents in various sources. This school was co-eval with the first settlement by Hollanders here, and haa continued, to the present time, an instrument of much good in training the children, especially of the poorer class, under a direct religious influence. It has proved, under the Divine blessing, a nursery to the Church, gathering many into her communion ; and it has introduced a very large proportion as useful members of society. It was the custom, after the Reformation in Holland, to send out with emigrants going to any of its colonies, however few in number, a well-qualified schoolmaster, who was a member of the Church, and accredited by his competence and piety to take charge of the instruction of children and youth. During the absence or want of a minis- ter, he was bound to conduct public worship, by reading a ser- 8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE mon, offering prayers, etc., on the Sabbath, and on other occa- sions. With the earliest agricultural settlement of Manhattan Island and its vicinity, such a schoolmaster and voorleser was sent out, and from the earliest period the School has conti- nued to this day. The importance of the religious element in early education cannot be too highly estimated in reference to the formation of character, and the direction of the future course of life. Under the Old Testament economy, the Divine direction was : "These words shall be in thine heart; and thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" In the early Christian Church, particular attention was paid to the scriptural and religious instruction of youth, and con- stant reference is made to the office and exercises of catechists and catechumens. The witnesses for the truth in the dark mid- dle ages of the reign of Papal usurpation were remarkable for their faithfulness in the religious instruction and discipline of their children. The excellent and devoted Waldenses were probably indebted, under God, to their peculiar diligence in the discharge of this duty for their remarkable success in keep- ing their body together, under the influences and persecu- tions that pressed upon them ; in transmitting their testimony from generation to generation, and in remaining continually a beacon -light amid the prevailing darkness, for the admira- tion and guidance of the Church in future times. History informs us that they bestowed constant and careful attention on the religious instruction of their children and youth, that they were in the habit of preparing excellent and appropriate catechisms and formularies, and that the pastors made the religious training of their youth a leading and unceasing object of their labow. PAROCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HOLLAKD. 9 At the period of the Reformation, the different parts of the Protestant Church made this a prominent object of their care and efforts. Formularies of divine truth, and cate- chisms adapted to different ages, were early introduced. Many of them obtained ecclesiastical sanction and authority, and were directed to be explained in the pulpit and the schools. It would be interesting to trace the history of the introduction and use of catechetical instruction in the churches and schools, from the earliest time of the Reform- ation, by the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Reformed Churches of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, etc. Measures were taken in Scotland, at an early period of the Reformation, leading to the institution of parochial schools, widely diffused, under the supervision of the churches, and making religious instruction a pervading and distinguishing element. We can here only make a brief reference to the Church of Holland. No where was the struggle for the principles of the Reformation so severe and (we may say) so crushing. Charles V., who held the crown of Spain, and the patri- monial inheritance of the Netherlands, was elected Emperor of Germany. He found it his policy to treat the Protestant princes, and the professors of the Protestant faith there, with comparative indulgence ; while in the Netherlands, heredita- rily devolving upon him, he introduced his Spanish armies and the Inquisition. The page of history is replete with the account of the severity and extent of the religious persecu- tions by Spanish and Papal power. Thousands upon thou- sands lost their lives, while many more fled for refuge to other parts. But then the Word of the Lord took deep root The first religious societies of the Reformed faith called themselves "De Kerken van Christus onder het Kruys :" " The Churches of Christ under the Cross." In 1566 the 1* 10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE first Synod met at Antwerp, minutes of which have not been handed down. The noted and cruel Duke of Alva succeeded to the Viceroyalty of the Netherlands in 1567. lie boasted that during his seven years' regency, eighteen thousand had been put to death by him for heresy. The Reformed held their Synod at Wesel, now in Rhenish Prussia, on the Rhine, in 1568; and at Embden, in East Friesland, in 1571 ; not being able to find a place of safety in the Netherlands. They called themselves "Believers under the Cross scattered throughout the Netherlands" At these Synods, particular reference was made, and provision secured, for the Christian education of the young. At subsequent Synods, held in Holland, before and after the Union of Utrecht, in 1579, the subject was carefully considered, and plans adopted. The principles thus adopted became more fully developed and matured in the action of the well-known Synod of Dort, held in 1618 and 1619. In the seventeenth session of that Synod, November 30, 1618, the subject of the instruction and education of youth, and of catechising, was under dis- cussion. In.the result, the following resolution was adopted, and minute made. The whole is inserted, as worthy of being read and well weighed : " In order that the Christian youth may be diligently instructed in the principles of religion, and be trained in piety, three modes of catechising should be employed. I. IN THE HOUSE, BY PARENTS. II. IN THE SCHOOLS, BY SCHOOLMASTERS. III. IN THE CHURCHES, BY MINISTERS, ELDERS, AND CATECHISTS ESPECIALLY APPOINTED FOR THE PURPOSE. That these may diligently employ their trust, the Christian magistrates shall be requested to promote, by their authority, so sacred and necessary a work; and all who have the oversight of churches and schools shall be required to pay special attention to this matter." PAROCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HOLLAND. 11 " I. The office of PARENTS is diligently to instruct their children and their whole household in the principles of the Christian religion, in a manner adapted to their respective capacities; earnestly and carefully to admonish them to the cultivation of true piety ; to engage their punctual attend- ance on family worship, and take them with them to the hearing of the Word of God. They should require their children to give an account of the sermons they hear, espe- cially those on the Catechism ; assign them some chapters of Scripture to read, and certain passages to commit to memory; and then impress and illustrate the truths con- tained in them in a familiar manner, adapted to the tender- ness of youth. Thus they are to prepare them for being catechised in the schools, and by attendance on these to encourage them and promote their edification. Parents are to be exhorted to the faithful discharge of this duty, by the public preaching of the Word ; but specially at the ordinary period of family visitation, previous to the administration of the Lord's Supper ; and also at other times by the minister, elders, etc. Parents who profess religion, and are negligent in this work, shall be faithfully admonished by the ministers ; and, if the case requires it, they shall be censured by the Consistory, that they may be brought to the discharge of their duty." "II. SCHOOLS, in which the young shall be properly instructed in the principles of Christian doctrine, shall be instituted not only in cities, but also in towns and country places where heretofore none have existed. The Christian magistracy shall be requested that well-qualified persons may be employed and enabled to devote themselves to the service ; and especially that the children of the poor may be gratuitously instructed, and not be excluded from the benefit of the schools. In this office none shall be employed but 12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE such as are members of the Reformed Church, having certifi- cates of an upright faith and pious life, and of being well- versed in the truths of the Catechism. They are to sign a document, professing their belief in the Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism, and promising that they will give catechetical instruction to the youth in the principles of Christian truth according to the same. The schoolmasters shall instruct their scholars according to their age and capa- city, at least two days in the week, not only by causing them to commit to memory, but also by instilling into their minds an acquaintance with the truths of the Catechism. [An elementary small Catechism, the Compendium, and the Hei- delberg Catechism are those specified to be used by the differ- ent grades of children and youth.] The schoolmasters shall take care not only that the scholars commit these Catechisms to memory, but that they suitably understand the doctrines contained in them. For this purpose, they shall suitably explain to every one, in a manner adapted to his capacity, and frequently inquire if they understand them. The school- masters shall bring every one of the pupils committed to their charge to the hearing of the preached Word, and particu- larly the preaching on the Catechism, and require from them an account of the same." " III. In order that due knowledge may be obtained of the diligence of the schoolmasters, and the improvement of the youth, it shall be the duty of the MASTERS, WITH AN ELDER, and, if necessary, with a magistrate, to visit all the schools, private as well as public, frequently, in order to excite the teachers to earnest diligence, to encourage and counsel them in the duty of catechising, and to furnish an example by questioning them, addressing them in a friendly and affectionate manner, and exciting them to early piety and diligence. If any of the schoolmasters should be found PAROCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HOLLAND. 13 neglectful or perverse, they shall be earnestly admonished by the ministers, and, if necessary, by the Consistory, in relation to their office. The ministers, in the discharge of their public duty in the Church, shall preach on the Catechism. These sermons shall be comparatively short, and accommo- dated, as far as practicable, to the comprehension of children as well as adults. The labors of those ministers will be praiseworthy who diligently search out country places, and see that catechetical instruction be supplied and faith- fully preserved. Experience teaches that the ordinary instruction of the Church, catechetical and other, is not sufficient for many, to instil that knowledge of the Christian religion which should, among the people of God, be well grounded ; and also testifies that the living voice has very great influence ; that familiar and suitable questions and answers, adapted to the apprehension of each individual, is the best mode of catechising, i order to imp'ress the princi- ples of religion upon the heart. It shall be the duty of a minister to go with an elder to all capable of instruction, and collect them in their houses, the Consistory-chamber, or some other suitable place, (a number particularly of those more advanced in years,) and explain familiarly to them the articles of the Christian faith, and catechise them according to the circumstances of their different capacities, progress, and knowledge. They shall question them on the matter of the public sermons on the Catechism. Those who desire to unite with the Church shall, three or four weeks before the administration of the Lord's Supper, be more carefully and frequently instructed, that they may be better qualified and be more free to give a satisfactory account of their faith. The ministers shall employ diligent care to ascertain those who give any hopeful evidence of serious concern for the salvation of their soul, and invite them to them ; assembling 14: HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE those together who have like impressions, and encouraging to friendly intercourse and free conversation with each other. These meetings shall commence with appropriate prayer and exhortation. If all this shall be done by the ministers with that cordiality, faithfulness, zeal, and discretion that become those who must give an account of the flock committed to their charge, it is not to be doubted that in a short time abundant fruit of their labors shall be found in growth in religious knowledge, and holiness of life, to the glory of God, and the prosperity of the Church of Christ." In the above we find evidence of alliance between Church and State to some extent, from which we are, happily, wholly free. But it suggests sentiments, and marks a course bearing upon the religious education of children and youth, well deserving the attention and approbation of the Church and Christian community, it is deeply to be regretted that with the extension of common school education through the entire community, under the patronage and by the provision of the State, certain influences have successfully operated to divest them of a Christian character. Some time since, the Romanists raised an organized opposition to our common schools as then conducted, demanding the alteration and excision of our school-books, and afterwards proceeded to object to the use of the Bible and the offering of prayer in the schools, until they are deprived of the semblance of religious character. Succeeding in this, they raised the cry that the schools were godless and infidel, and claimed for themselves their proportionate part of the public moneys to support their own denominational schools, confounding the doctrines and rites of their own Church with religion. While the system of universal education, under the patron- age of the State, is to be preserved as of the highest importance, PAROCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HOLLAND. 15 and no denominational claim should be allowed, it is most desirable and important that in the Christian community the Bible should be preserved in our schools, and that God should be acknowledged in them. But beyond this it is the province of the Church, from her own resources and means, to devise the best methods of providing an enlightened, sound religious education to her children, in a way the most practicable under existing circumstances. The minute extracted from the acts of the Synod of Dort furnishes principles of great value and enduring excellence, which, with some variety in the details caused by a change of circumstances in our posi tion, should be carefully kept in view by the Church, to be faithfully carried into execution. The high importance of selecting or forming schools exerting a religious influence need not be dilated on. Parents should be led with greater fidelity to impart domestic instruction in the great truths of the gospel as embraced in our standards, and should accom- pany it with salutary guidance and example. Ministers and officers of the Church should pay particular attention to the young, in their early religious training, and seek to win them to the faith and service of the Redeemer. Is it not to be feared that in the facilities which modern times afford in the spread of universal education, the institution of Sabbath-schools, and the multiplied and cheap issues from the press, there is yet a decline in the careful attention of the Church, in the use of the various means exhibited in the article quoted from the acts of the Synod of Dort, for the acquisition of sound and well-digested religious knowledge found among the children of the Church in earlier days ? This volume, giving the history of the school of our Reformed Dutch Church in this city, is not without its interest to the general reader as a research into the " olden times" and connected with the earliest period of our city's 16 HISTORICAL SKETCH. history. But it bears peculiar interest to the friends of our Church, and all who feel the importance of the religious training of the children of the Church, particularly of those who might otherwise be neglected. This history has been prepared by the present Principal of the school, after careful investigation of remaining sources of information. It is to be regretted that so few materials as to some periods have been preserved. In the school there has ever been preserved a course of instruction in the branches of knowledge adapted to prepare for practical life, while sound religious instruction has been carefully imparted. The happy and salutary influ- ence of the school has been experienced through its continued existence, and it is now flourishing under the wise and faith- ful direction of the present Principal, who has prepared this volume at the request of the Board of Trustees appointed by the Consistory. THOMAS DE WITT. NEW- YORK, Sept. 20, 1853. 14 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. CHAPTER I.* A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF NEW-AMSTERDAM : 1609 1633. SPECIAL preconcerted efforts, authorized by Government or induced by reb'gious persecution, led to the settlement by the English of ten out of the thirteen original colonies, extending on the sea-coast from Maine to Georgia, inclusive. How, then, did Holland obtain a foothold on this continent, and how came the Dutch Government, with its Church and School, to be the first established in the Empire State ? A brief outline of the circumstances which led to the dis- covery and subsequent colonization of New-Amsterdam will not only afford a solution to these questions, but also demon- strate the fact that a public school was established therein as soon as the circumstances of the settlers permitted it. The discovery of America by Columbus while attempting to reach China and Cathay by a westward passage, did not * The contents of this chapter were culled from the first eight chap- ters of Brodhead's New- York ; and here, as elsewhere throughout the work, his language has at times been appropriated. 18 OTJTLIXE OF THK DISCOVERT in the least repress the efforts prompted by the commercial spirit of the age, to accomplish that undertaking. The voyages made for that purpose resulted in the exploration of most of the large rivers and estuaries on the entire eastern sea-board of the continent. The southern route, discovered by Magellan in 1520, affording no advantages over the ac- customed route through the Indian Sea", a passage was sought for on the north-west. Foremost and most persevering in this enterprise, was England ; no less than thirty voyages, with this design, having been undertaken by British naviga- tors ; among whom was Henry Hudson. Failing to achieve the object of his ambition in the two attempts made by him in 1607 and 1608 in behalf of the English "Association for the Discovery of the North-west passage," he offered his ser- vices to the East India Company of Holland ; and, on the 6th of April, 1609, departed in the u Half Moon," from Texel, with instructions to " explore a passage to China by the north-east or north-west." Prevented by the ice from proceed- ing eastward toward Nova Zembla, he touched at the island of Faro, sailed thence to the Banks of Newfoundland, ran down the coasts of Nova Scotia, Maine, and Massachusetts ; and failing to find an opening to the west, put to sea again. A fortnight after, he made land off the capes of the Chesa- peake, whence, sailing northward along the coast of Mary- land, he entered Delaware Bay. Proceeding thence cautiously up the eastern coast of New- Jersey, he entered the Narrows, and, on the llth of September, anchored in the lower bay. Subsequently, in prosecution of his main design, he. passed up the river, which now bears his name, to the vicinity of Albany ; and, having ascertained by soundings that no far- ther advance could be made, he reluctantly returned to the neighborhood of Hoboken. On the 4th of October he weighed anchor for the last time, and having re-crossed the AND SETTLEMENT OF MANHATTAN. 19 ocean, landed, in November, at Dartmouth in England, whence he communicated to the Company at Amsterdam an account of his discoveries. " Thus the triumphant flag of Holland was the harbinger of civilization along the banks of the great river of New- York. The original purpose of the Half Moon's voyage had failed of accomplishment ; but why need Hudson repine ? He had not, indeed, discovered the passage to the eastern seas, but he had led the way to the foundation of a mighty state. The attractive region to which accident had conducted the Amsterdam yacht, soon became a colony of the Netherlands, where, for half a century, the sons and daughters of Holland established themselves securely under the ensign of the re- public, transplanted the doctrines of a reformed faith, and obeyed the jurisprudence which had governed their ances- tors."* In 1610, thegreat " River of the Mountains" was visited a second time by a vesssel from Holland, in pursuit of beaver and other valuable furs. In 1611, Christiaensen and Block made a joint voyage to the river for the purposes of trade ; and the reports which they made of the country on their return to Holland, led three influential merchants of Amsterdam to dispatch with them, in 1612, two vessels for the purpose of continuing the traffic with the natives. During 1613, three other trading-vessels visited the island of Manhattan, returning in 1614, freighted with large cargoes of valuable furs. The ship under the command of Block having been burned while he was preparing to return to Hol- land, he was obliged to build a yacht, which caused him to remain at Manhattan during the winter of 1613-14 ; and the * Brodhead, N. Y, 36. 20 OUTLINE OF THE DISCOVERY few huts erected by him at this time near the southern point of the inland, were the first European abodes upon it. For- saking these temporary structures upon the completion of his yacht, he explored the bays and rivers on the coasts of Con- necticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Here he found Christiaensen's ship from Manhattan, in charge of Cornelis Hendricksen ; and having exchanged vessels with him, Block returned to Holland. In the meanwhile, Fort Nassau was built by Christiaensen, on Castle Island, a little below Albany, as a warehouse and military defense for the traders. Previous to Block's return to Amsterdam, the States-Gen- eral had passed an Octroy, granting and conceding that " whosoever shall from this time forward discover any new passages, havens, lands, or places, shall have the exclusive right of navigating to the same for four voyages." The merchants who had employed Block, encouraged by the results of his voyage, formed an Association, and lost no time in taking the steps necessary to secure to themselves the special privileges guaranteed in the general ordinance. Through their deputies at the Hague, they laid before the States-General a map and report of the newly-explored countries, which now, (1614,) for the first time, received the name of NEW-NETHERLAND. Their High Mightinesses having granted their request, they assumed the title of " The United New-Netherland Company," and enjoyed for three years from January, 1615, the exclusive trade " of all lands from the fortieth to the forty-fifth degree of latitude.*" In the spring of 161 Y, Fort Nassau was destroyed by a freshet, and a new fortified post was erected by the traders on the main land, on a commanding eminence called Tawass- gunshee, at the mouth of Norman's Kill, immediately south of the present city^of Albany. * Brodhead, N. Y. 60, et seq. AND SETTLEMENT OF MANHATTAN. 21 On the expiration of the Company's charter in 1618, the trade of the Manhattans was thrown open, and many vessels, heretofore excluded, resorted thither for traffic. The next important movement affecting the interests of New-Netherland, was the establishment by charter, in 1621, of the Dutch West India Company. The central power of this Association was divided, for the more efficient exercise of its functions, among five branches or chambers, located in the different cities of the Netherlands, the managers of which were styled Lords Directors. That of Amsterdam was the principal ; and to it was assigned the management of affairs in New-Netherland. The general supervision and govern- ment of the Company were lodged in an Assembly or Col- lege of nineteen delegates. This Company, with the appro- bation of the States-General, appointed the Director-General, and all other officers, civil, military, judicial, and executive. " The profit and increase of trade" was its main object, al- though it was expected to promote colonization. Two years elapsed before the company was prepared to go into operation ; the trade of New-Netherland, however, was constantly in- creasing. In 1623, thirty families were dispatched from Holland, and, upon entering Hudson river, eight men were left to take possession of Manhattan Island, and eighteen families were taken to the neighborhood of Albany. The remainder were sent to locate upon the Connecticut and Delaware rivers and the Wallabout. This was the first attempt at colonization. In 1624, Cornelius Jacobsen May was appointed First Director of New-Netherland, and during his administration, Fort Orange, which had been commenced the year previous, was completed. During 1625, forty-five new settlers were added to the population of New-Netherland; but it was not till 1626 22 OUTLINE OF THE DISCOVERY thai any permanence was given to the colony at Manhattan. In this year Peter Minuit commenced his administration as Director-General, and a council of six individuals was ap- pointed for the administration of affairs. The island, here- tofore occupied by mere sufferance, was purchased from the natives for twenty-four dollars. Fort Amsterdam* was com- menced near the Battery, and became the head-quarters of the Government ; and religious services, in the absence of a regular clergyman, were commenced by the reading of the Scriptures and the Creed, by the Consolers of the Sick. This may be deemed the commencement of a city now unrivalled in the western world. Compelled by the hostility of the neighboring Indians, the eight families now constituting the colony at Fort Orange, and the settlers on the Delaware, removed to Man- hattan ; so that, in 1628, the population of Manhattan amounted to two hundred and seventy. But serious causes operated to prevent the prosperity of the colony. The In- dians were unfriendly, difficulties existed between the colony and the settlements in New-England and on the Delaware; and the colonists received but little attention from the West India Company, in consequence of their commercial interest being involved in the war then existing between Holland and Spain. By the Charter of Privileges and Exemptions granted to the Patroons, in 1629, colonies were established beyond Manhattan, and the commerce of New-Netherlands was prosperous, the imports, in 1632, amounting to $57,200; but the small community located in the vicinity of Fort Amsterdam, being principally engaged in agricultural pur- * This fort was between Whitehall and State streets, directly facing the Bowling Green. The " Government House" afterwards occupied this site. AND SETTLEMENT OF MANHATTAN. 23 suits, supported themselves, in the absence of supplies from the fatherland, with great difficulty. Minuit, who was recalled in 1632, had done much for the advancement of trade, to which his attention had been chiefly directed ; but the affairs of the colony were far from possessing any considerable degree of stability. Several families of Manhattan returned with Minuit to Holland, and for twelve months the colony was left without a Director- General ; when the West India Company, learning that the English, who had for some years laid claim to the country, were making preparations to establish settlements in certain portions of the territory under their jurisdiction, sent over Wouter Van T wilier as Director-General, accompanied by one hundred and four soldiers ; the first military force in the colony. A certain degree of security against the encroach- ments of the Indians and English was now established; prompt and energetic measures for the more efficient manage- ment of the internal affaire of the colony were adopted, and the individual interests and prosperity of the settlers were provided for ; all of which imparted an impetus which enabled the brave and industrious pioneers at Manhattan to overcome all the difficulties from within, and foes from with- out, with which for many years they were called to contend : and it is at this period we shall, in the subsequent chapter, take up the subject of the establishment of the oldest school now in existence in America. 24 HISTORY OF THE SCn001 r CHAPTER II. HISTORY OP THE SCHOOL FROM ITS ESTABLISHMENT, 16*33 r TO THE CAPITULATION, 1664 ; EMBRACING A PERIOD OP THIRTY-ONE YEARS. IN the " Historical Sketch" we have seen that the Dutch have long been distinguished for their interest in education. " Neither the perils of war, nor the busy pursuit of gain, nor the excitement of political strife, ever caused them to neglect the duty of educating their offspring. Schools were every where provided, at the public expense, with good school- masters, to instruct the children of all classes in the usual branches of education ; and the Consistories of the churches took zealous care to have their youth thoroughly taught the Catechism, and the Articles of Religion."* Their national prosperity must be attributed, in no small degree, to their moral character ; and when, in the course of Providence, they commenced the colonization of New- Netherlands, the settlers, noted for their sterling virtues and adherence to the principles which they had embraced, not only brought with them and established, as far as the cir- cumstances of a new colony rendered it practicable, the civil polity to which they had been accustomed, but had secured to them, by legal enactment, the institution of churches and schools. The West India Company, with whom the work of colo- nization commenced, bound itself "to maintain good and * Brodhcad, i. 462. 1633 TO 1664. 25 fit preachers, schoolmasters, and comforters of the sick."* ** They recognized the authority of the Established Church of Holland over their colonial possessions ; and the specific care of the transatlantic churches was early intrusted by the Synod of North Holland to the Classis of Amsterdam. By that body all the colonial clergy were approved and com- missioned. For more than a century its ecclesiastical su- premacy was affectionately acknowledged ; and long after the capitulation of the province to England, the power of ordi- nation to the ministry, in the American branch of the Re- foimed Dutch Church, remained in the governing Classis of Holland, or was exercised only by its special permission."! The establishment of schools, and the appointment of schoolmasters, rested conjointly with the Company and the Classis of Amsterdam ; and it is from this circumstance that much, relating to the early history of the school under con sideration has been preserved. When the special Charter of " Freedoms and Exemptions" was granted by the Company to the Patroons, for the purpose of agricultural colonization, they were not only obligated to satisfy the Indians for the lands upon which they should settle, but were to make prompt provision for the support of "a minister and schoolmaster, that thus the service of God and zeal for religion may not grow cool, and be neglected among them ; and that they do, for the first, procure a comforter of the sick there."| Thus religion and learning were encouraged ; and we find accordingly, in the early records, frequent references to the judicial support and maintenance of schools at Fort Orange, Flatbush, Fort Casi- mir, and other settlements. In the contract made with the * O'Call. N. N. I. 220. f Brodhead, i. 614, \ Vide Charter of " Privileges and Exmptkmi." O'CaH. N". TS. i. 119. 2 26 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, ' Rev. Gideon Schaets, when engaged as minister at Rens- selaerswyck, he was required, among other duties, " To use all Christian zeal there to bring up both the heathens and their children in the Christian religion. To teach also the Catechism there, and instruct the people in the Holy Scrip- tures, and to pay attention to the office of schoolmaster for old and young. And further, to do every thing fitting and becoming a public, honest, and holy teacher, for the advance- ment of divine service and church exercise among the young and old. And in case he should take any of the heathen children to educate, he was to be indemnified therefor as the Commissioners shall think proper."* This is not the only instance where public provision was made by our ancestors for the education of all classes, including even the children of the natives. The course most commonly pursued, when a colony was to be established, was, to have a schoolmaster accompany the settlers, and, to a certain extent, conduct religious services. After habitations were erected, and the settlement had as- sumed a warrantable degree of stability, it was provided with a minister. A settlement on the Delaware furnishes a case in point. Settlers were encouraged to proceed to New- Amstel by certain conditions, thirty-five in number, the seventh of which was, " The city of Amsterdam shall send thither a proper person for schoolmaster, who shall also read the Holy Scriptures in public, and set the Psalms" The eighth article stipulated, " The city of Amsterdam shall also provide, as soon as convenient, for the said schoolmaster." When the population should amount to two hundred, a minister and Consistory were to be appointed. Accordingly, about one hundred and sixty-seven colonists embarked, ac- companied by "EvertPittersen,vt\io had been approved, after * O'CaU. N. N. ii. 667. PROM 1633 TO 1664. 27 examination before the Classis, as schoolmaster and Zieken- trooster," " to read God's Word, and lead in singing." Not- withstanding disasters at sea, the colony was soon organized under auspices favorable to its prosperity. " The religious instruction of the colonists was superintended by Pietersen," until the arrival, a few months afterwards, of Domine Eve- rardus Welius, accompanied by about four hundred new emigrants. A church was immediately organized, and two elders were appointed, with " Pietersen as fore-singer, Zieken- trooster, and deacon," with a colleague. The colony seemed very prosperous, and was augmented by thirty families from Manhattan.* Creditable in the extreme was this determination of the Dutch to transplant in the New World those institutions which had long been the pride of their native land ; and notwithstanding the many and formidable difficulties with which these had to contend in those troublous and perilous times, their influence in the community has not yet ceased. Would that the Dutch descendants of the present gen- eration, the recipients of a noble inheritance, and participants of its resultant blessings, were as ardently attached to these institutions, and as zealous as weie their forefathers in sus- taining and extending them ! 1626. On the settlement of Manhattan, we find nearly the same course pursued as in the case of New-Amstel. When a colonial government was organized, 1626, by Kieft, the first Director-General, we find the place of a clergyman supplied, to a certain extent, by Sebastian Jans Crol, and Jan Huyck, two " Krank besoeckers," " Zieken-troosters," or " Comforters of the Sick," whom they were to visit and pray with. It was their especial duty to read to the people, on the Sabbath, "some texts out of the Scriptures, together * Brod. K Y. L 631-633. 28 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, with the Creeds." " Francois Molemaecker was at the same time employed in building a horse-mill, with a spacious room above to accommodate a large congregation ; and a tower was also to be erected in which the bells brought from Porto Rico were intended to be hung."* Thus, coeval with the arrival of the first organized body of colonists, we have the introduction of public religious services; the settlers being exclusively from Holland, and of the Reformed religion. Exigency of circumstances, in a new settlement, sometimes demanded that the exercise of the functions pertaining to the offices of the minister, the scboolmaster, and the Krank- besoecker, devolved upon the same individual : so that we might with propriety be justi6ed in claiming the introduction of public education as early as 1626 ; but as the term schoolmaster is not expressly applied to either of the Kran';-besoeckers, we will waive the position. It will be observed, however, that this peculiarity of the Reformed Church was introduced into Manhattan previous to any legal enactment of requirement, as it was not until 1629 that the condition was imposed of appointing a " comforter." 1633. In the spring of 1633, Wouter Van Twiller arrived at Manhattan, as the second Director-General of New- Netherlands. In the enumeration of the Company's officials of the same year, Everardus Bogardus is mentioned as offi- * Memoir on the Colonization of New-Netherlands, by J. R. Brod- head, Eeq.; collected from " Wassenaar'a Historicbe VerbaeL" (Amst. 1621-1632.) fa The Creed is still read in the churches in Holland by the ' Voorleezers' or clerks, from the ' Doop-huy^je' or baptistery, under the pulpit Until a recent period, this custom was kept up in the Reformed Dutch churches in this country." ii. N. Y. H. S. Coll. u. 363. Brod. N. Y. L 165. Doc. Hist N. Y. iii. 42. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 29 dating as minister at Fort Amsterdam, and ADAM ROE- LANDSEN as the fiist schoolmaster.* Here, then, in accordance with the custom of the age, the usage of the home Government, and by charter stipulations, we have the introduction of the first schoolmaster in Man- hattan, establishing, as the sequel will prove, the foundation of an institution which the Church has never lost sight of; and although it is probable that at times the school was kept somewhat irregularly, owing to the unsettled state of affairs arising from Indian depredations, and the hostile attitude and aggressions of the colonists in New-England, yet the records furnish direct and indisputable evidence of the efforts made for its support and continuance. : On the arrival of Van Twiller, he found affairs in a sad condition, the colony having been for a year without an executive officer. " Fort Amsterdam, now dilapidated, was repaired. A guard-house and barrack for the newly-arrived soldiers were constructed within the fort; three windmills were erected ; brick and frame houses were built for the Director and his officers ; small houses were constructed for the corporal, the smith, the cooper, and the midwife ; and the 'upper room'' in the mill, in which the people had wor- shipped since 1626, was replaced by a plain wooden build- ing, the first church^ edifice of New- Netherlands, situate on the East river, in what is now Broad street, between Pearl and Bridge streets ;f and near this "Oude Kerck," in Whitehall street, near Bridge, a dwelling-house and stable were erected for the use of the Dominie.J In an extended list of the officers and servants of the * Alb. Rec. i. 52. f Now known us 100 Broad street. Alb. Rec. x. 335. Benson's Hist. Mem. 42. O'Call. N. N. i. 165. \ Val. Man. Com. Coun. 1853, 427 et seq. 30 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, Dutch West India Company, in 1638, Rev. Everardus Bo- gardus is again mentioned as minister at Fort Amsterdam, where Adam Roelantsen was still the schoolmaster.* Roe- lantsen is mentioned also as having a lawsuit this year with one Jan Jansen ; and also as te&tifying in another suit, at the request of Rev. E. Bogardus.f The following year he re- signed his charge, and left the colony ; as in the list of settlers arrived in Rensselaerswyck, in 1639, we find the name of " Adam Roelantsen Van Hamelwaard, previously school- master at New-Amsterdam."! Jan Cornelissen, carpenter, who had preceded him thither in 1635, possibly learning from Roelautsen himself (as the settlement was small) of the vacancy in the school, subsequently came to New-Amsterdam, and was appointed the schoolmaster. In 1642, the church on Broad street having become some- what dilapidated and reproachful in appearance, an effort was made to procure a new one, and at the same time was commenced the laudable undertaking of building a school- house with suitable accommodations. The Vertoogh, after mentioning the efforts made to raise subscriptions for building a new church, adds : " ' The bowl has been going round a long time, for the purpose of collecting money for erecting a srkool-house ; and it has been built with words; for, as yet, the first stone is not laid : some materials only are provided. The money, nevertheless, given, for the purpose, has all * Alb. Rec. ii. 13-15. f Ibid. i. 43. $ O'Oall. N. N. i. 438. In 1643, Roelantsen is again in New- Amsterdam, purchasing a lot for a house and garden. Reg. Deeds, IS". A. 134. In 1644, according to the Baptismal Records of the Dutch Church, which commenced in 1639, he bad a son baptized by the name of Daniel. In 1653, "Adam Roelantsen" was a member of the Burgher Corps of New-Amsterdam. O'Call. N. N. ii. 569. Alb. Rec. viii. O'CalL N. N. i. 435. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 31 found its way out, and is mostly spent.' The church, how- ever, was commenced in the Fort, by John and Richard Ogden. It was to be built of stone, 72 feet long, 52 broad, and 16 over the ground. Joachim Pietersen Kuyter was elected deacon, and with Jan Dam, Captain De Vries, and Director Kieft, formed the first Consistory to superintend its erection."* " But in 1646 the church was still unfinished, as the Director- General, being distressed for money, had applied to his own use the funds appropriated ; and from the same cause, the laudable undertaking of erecting a school-house had failed."! But New- Amsterdam had, indeed, been experiencing trou- blous times. "Even the poor-fund of the deaconry was sequestered, and applied to the purposes of war." Parties of Indians roved about, day and night, over Manhattan Island, killing the Dutch not a thousand paces from Fort Amsterdam ; and no one dared " to move a foot to fetch a stick of fire- wood without a strong escort." "The mechanics who plied their trades were ranged under the walls of the fort ; all others were exposed to the incursions of the savages." For the pro- tection of the few cattle which remained to the decimated population, " a good solid fence" was ordered to be erected nearly on the site of the present Wall street. The authori- ties write : " Our fields lie fallow and waste ; our dwellings and other buildings are burnt. We ' are burthened with heavy families ; we have no means to provide necessaries for wives or children ; and we sit here amidst thousands of Indi- ans and barbarians, from whom we find neither peace nor mercy." "At Manhattan, and in its neighborhood, scarcely one hundred men, besides traders, could be found." Such being the state of affairs, it is not surprising that the church * Van Der Donck'a Vertoogh. il N. Y. H. S. Coll. vil 294. O'Call i. 260. f O'CalL i. 395, 396. 32 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, was unfinished, and the school-house not commenced ; for the money which the impoverished commonalty had contributed to build the school-house had " all found its way out," and was expended for the troops."* Yet, notwithstanding these difficulties, the subject was not forgotten. 1647. In the following year, 1647, a new feature was in- troduced in the government of New-Amsterdam by the appoint- ment of Nine Men. The introduction of this description of tri- bunal furnishes an additional proof that Holland was the source whence New-Netherland derived its munici al institutions, and shows how strongly its settlers were attached to those freedoms with which they were so familiar in their father- land. The Director and Council, desirous " that the government of New-Amsterdam might continue and increase in good order, justice, police, population, prosperity, and mutual har- mony, and be provided with strong fortifications, a church, a school, &c.," permitted the inhabitants to nominate eighteen of the most notable, reasonable, honest, and respectable citi- zens, from whom the Director and Council selected nine, " as is customary in Fatherland."f These Nine Men were the Representatives of the people. They were consulted in all matters of importance, were invested with limited judiciary powers, and those who ap- pealed from their decision subjected themselves to a fine. Oa the organization of this body, Director Stuyvesant, who this year superseded Kieft, called their special attention, among other things, " to the condition of the fort and of thechurcb, and to the state of public education ;" informing them thc'^ " owing to the want of proper accommodations, no school had been held for three months." Subsequently, " he consented BrodN. Y. L 39,7, 374, 392, 398,41ft. f O'Call. N. N. ii. 31. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 33 to defray, on behalf of the Company, a portion of the expenses necessary for the encouragement of education, and to continue such assistance in future, to ' promote the glorious work.' " "Meanwhile, he informed them that a convenient place for a school-house and dwelling for the school-master would be pro- vided for the winter, either in one of the outhouses of the Fiscaal's department, or any other suitable place that the Deacons of the church might approve." " The arrangements for completing the church, and for fostering the school, met with no objection." A plan, however, which he had proposed for repairing the fort was condemned by them.* It will be observed that when a school is spoken of under the Dutch administration, special reference is invariably made to the official public school, supported by the authorities, and in connection with the Established Church, the schoolmasters whereof were appointed by the West India Company. From the first organization of the school till the year 1808, when a special Board of Trustees was appointed, the supervision and management of the school was in the hands of the deacons ; hence the reference made to them above. No private school teachers, as will hereafter be shown, could follow their calling without a license from the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. The Records furnish the names of some such in the city at this period,f but the provision made above is for a school- house and dwelling f r the school-master, under the direction of the deacons ; and, furthermore, the statement that, for want "of proper accommodations, no school had been held for three months," must have reference to the public school in connection with the church; for one Jan Stevenson was actually teaching at the time, and had been so doing for five * O'Call. N. N. ii. 41, 42. f N. Am. Rec, 102. Alb. Rec. L T. 81. 2* 34 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, years. The same statement is also conclusive evidence of the preexistence of the school ; the temporary suspension arising " from want of proper accommodations." Jan Cornelissen was the schoolmaster for whom the dwell- ing was to be provided. 1649. In the year 1649, serious difficulties arose between the Nine Men on one part, and the -Director-General and his Council, in consequence of which, a delegation from the Nine Men, at the head of which was Adriaen Van Der Donck, the President of that body, proceeded to the Hague, and laid before the States-General a remonstrance, known as the Ver- toogh, in which they complain of many grievances existing in the administration at New-Amsterdam. Speaking of the Church, they say : "As for its revenue, we know of none. No pains were taken by the Director to create any. There has been a good deal said about the building of a school-house, but, as yet, the first stone is not laid. The funds collected for this object have been misapplied. No provision has been made for the poor, who had to depend entirely on the congre- gation and a few fines and offerings. But the greater part of the sacred fund had found its way into the Company's hands, on interest, it was pretended, but, as yet, neither principal nor interest was forthcoming. Furthermore, they desire that the school be provided with at least two good schoolmasters, so that the youth may be instructed and trained, not only in reading and writing, but also in the knowledge and fear of the Lord."* Cornelius Van Tienhoven, the Schout or Sheriff of New- Amsterdam, proceeded to the Hague, and presented a reply to the Vertoogh, and in answer to the above says : " It is true the new school-house has not been built, but tliis was not the fault of the Director, who is busy collecting materials, but * Hoi. Doc. iv. O'Call. N. N. ii. 114, 120. ' FROM 1633 TO 1664. 35 of the churchwardens (or deacons) who had charge of the funds, provided in part by the commonalty, and in part by subscriptions." In the meanwhile, Jan Cornelissen had kept the school, a place for which had been provided ; and then immediately adds: "Other teachers* keep school in hired houses, so that the youth are furnished with the means of education," although there is, as yet, no Latin school or Academy. " If," he adds, " the remonstrants be such friends to religion and education as they pretend, let them be leaders in a subscription to such laudable undertakings, and not complain as they did when asked to contribute for the church and school-house.''! This Jan Cornelissen is the second teacher mentioned in connection with the public school under the care of the church. The same year, Dominie Backerus, who had succeeded Bogardus in 1647, by the permission of the Classis, took leave of the church at Manhattan, with the intention of returning to Holland. Jan Cornelissen J having signified his intention to resign his situation, Stuyvesant embraced the opportunity of the Dominie's return to write earnestly to the Classis of Amsterdam "for a pious, well- qualified, and dili- gent schoolmaster." " Nothing," he adds, " is of greater im- portance than the right, early instruction of youth." Subsequent to the departure of Backerus, Dominie Mega- * These undoubtedly were Jan Stevenson and Aryaen Jansen, ac- counts of whom, as schoolmasters, are found from 1643 to 1649, but no where as connected with the Church School. N. Am. Rec. v. 31, 150, 169. f- ii. N. Y. Hist. Soc. Col. ii. 331. O'Call. ii. 123, 126. \ In 1653, Cornelissen was working at his trade, as he had done in Rennselaerswick. N". Am. Rec. i. 340. 22d Dec., 1653, "Jan Cornel, issen claims payment for a building which he had erected on the land which he hired from Borger Jarisen." Cor. 01. Am. Brod. i. 508. 36 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, polensis arrived in Manhattan, on his way from Rensselaers- wyck to Holland, whither his wife had already returned. The church being vacant, he was solicited by Stuyvesant to remain, as children were every Sunday presented for baptism, *' sometimes one, sometimes two, yea, sometimes three and four together." The Dominie being prevailed on to stay, was formally installed.* 1650. Jacob Pergens and S. Ryckaerts, Directors of the West India Company, in reply to Stuy vesant'a letter, state : M We will make use of the first opportunity to supply you with a well-instructed schoolmaster ; and shall inform ourselves about the person living at Harlem, whom your Honor re- commended."f The Committee of the States-General, to whom the remon- strance above spoken of was referred, accorded, in 1650, a Provisional Order for the Government of 'New-Netherland, in which they direct that three new ministers shall be called and supported ; one for Rensselaerswick, one for distant parts of the country, and one in and around New-Amsterdam : and the youth were to be instructed by good schoolmasters. We accordingly find that the Rev. Samuel Drisius was sent out to assist " that worthy old servant, the Rev. Megapolensis."J In the same year, Pergens and Ryckaerts again write to the Director-General, and say : " We appoint, at your request, a schoolmaster, who shall also act as Comforter of the sick. He is considered an honest and pious man, and shall embark the fir t pportunity." In a subsequent letter, they write : " The schoolmaster th.it had been sent for, came over with the wife of Rev. Megapo- lensis,"| on her return from Holland to Manhattan, whe e her husband had been induced to remain. * Brod. N. Y. i. 508. f Alb. Rec. iv. 17. $ O'Call. N. N". ii. 184, 11. Alb. Rec. iv. 23. | Ibid. IT. 8'J. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 37 This third teacher and successor to Cornelissen was WIL- LIAM VESTEXS. In 1654 he petitioned the Classis of Amsterdam for an increase of salary.* 1655. The following year he withdrew from the school, and Harmanus Van Hoboocken was appointed to supersede him, as appears from the following minute : " Whereas William Vestius, [Vestens,] Chorister and Schoolmaster of this city, hath several times earnestly soli- cited leave to depart for the Fatherland, so is his request granted him ; and in consequence thereof have the Noble Lords of the Supreme Council, with the consent of the respected Consistory of this city, appointed Harmanus Van Hoboocken as Chorister and Schoolmaster of this city, at g.35 per month, and ^.100 annual expenditures ; who promises to conduct himself industriously and faithfully, pursuant to the instruc- tions already given, or hereafter to be given. "Done in Am, N. Neth. 23 March, 1655. (Signed) NICASIUS DE SILLE, La Montagner\ The appointment of Vestens by the West India Company ; his office as Krank-besoecker ; his petition to Classis for a rise of salary ; and his formal dismissal by the Council, denote him as the (third) teacher of the Reformed Dutch Church School.^ * Cor. Cl. Am. 1654. f Alb. Rec. xxv. 133. \ There were others in the city at this time engaged in teaching private schools. These wt re licensed by the Council; and in conse- quence of the connection between the Church and Government, its sanction was necessary. On the application of Andries Hudde for a license to keep school, the Director and Council informed him that they would first ask the opinion of the Ministers and the Consistory. One Jacob Van Gorier having arrogated to himself to keep school, is di- rected to apply for a license, which he did repeatedly, and finally received as answer, "Nihil actum." Permission was granted by the Council for Jan Lubberts to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, " provided he conducted himself as such a person ought to do," and so of others. Alb. Rec. ix. 804. N. Am. Rec. 38 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, 1652. The Vertoogh of 1649 having eventuated in a provi- sional Order of Government for New-Netherland, and to the consequent adoption of such measures as were deemed essential to the promotion of its best interests; and as among these was reckoned the advancement of religion and education, the vacant churches were supplied with ministers, and a second public school established, in accordance with the desire of the remon- strants, that " at least two good schoolmasters may be pro- vided, so that the youth may be instructed and trained, not only in reading and writing, but also in the knowledge and fear of the Lord."* A seeming necessity existed for this, in the fact that New- Amsterdam contained at that time a population of seven or eight hundred souls ; f and, as the result of correspondence between, the Director-General and the Company, as to the selection of a teacher, and a suitable place for holding the school, the Directors of the West India Company, April 4, 1652, wrote to Stuyvesant: "We reccommend to you Jan De La Montagne, whom we have provisionally favored with the appointment. Your Honor may appropriate the City Tavern for this purpose, if this h practicable." A few weeks subsequently, they wrote to the Director and Council : "John Mantagne is appointed schoolmaster, with a salary of 250 guilders." J Under the head of " Churches and Clergyman," which sufficiently identifies the school with the church, we find the *Ante, p. 34. f Brod. N. Y. i. 548. f Alb. Rec. iv. 68. The City Tavern, subsequently named the Stadt Huys or City Hall, stood on the corner of Pearl street and Coenties alley. This spot was occupied in 1775 by BrinckerhofF r four strokes briskly and smartly laid on ; he, to avoid a further repetition, stopping and turning ; she looking him steadfast in the eye, and per- ceiving it required all the man in him to keep back ihe tear; not all the fruit in all the orchards of the Hesperide^, and in their best bearing year, to compensate for the exultation of the little heart for the moment The boys requested the next day should be theirs, and be called M inii'-n Dagh, Man's Day ; but my masters were told, the law would thereby defeat its own very purpose, which was, that they should, at an age and in a way most likely never to forget it, receive the ksson of manliness, he U ne er to strike." Tiii-* privilege has been neglected for such u length of time, that perhaps it is never again to be recovered. Ben. Mem. 41. *This was the first revenue in the treasury of .New-Amsterdam. Paulding, 34. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 41 paid out of it the salaries of the Ecclesiastique, to wit : one of the ministers, (Megapolensis or Drisius,) one precentor, beadle, or schoolmaster, and one dog-whipper, now called sexton ; and of the Polity, to wit : the Schout, both the Bur- gomasters, the five Schepens, the Secretary, and the Court Messenger.* 1654. The following year, 1654, the Director and Council re-claimed the excise, "inasmuch as the burgomasters had failed to pay the clergyman and school-master or beadle."f This presents another valid proof of the connection existing between the school and the church. "The schoolmaster was always, ex-officio, clerk or beadle, chorister, and visiter of the sick."]; 1655-56. We have recorded the supersedure of Vestens, in 1655, byHartnanus Van Hoboocken. The following spring, 1656, the first survey of the city was made, and it was ascer- tained to possess 120 houses, and lOOO.souls ; and " the num- ber of children at the public school having greatly increased, further accommodation was allowed to Van Hoboocken, the schoolmaster." His school-house having been burned partly down, he ad- dressed the following application to the city magistrates : " To the Heeren Burgomasters and Schepens of the City of New- Amsterdam : " The reverential request of Harmanus Van Hoboocken, schoolmaster of this city, is, that he may be allowed the use of the hall and side-chamber of the City Hall, for the use of his school and as a residence for his family, inasmuch as he, petitioner, has no place to keep school in, or to live in during the winter, it being necessary that the rooms should be made warm, which cannot be done in his own house, from its * Val. Man. Com. Coun., 1848, p. 377. O'CalL N. N. ii. 269. t O'Call. ii. 270. \ Watson's Annals, 166. O'CalL ii. 540. Brod. i. 623. 42 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, unfitness. The petitioner further represents that he is bur- tbened with a wife and children, .... so that he is much at a loss how to make accommodation for his family and school-children. The petitioner, therefore, asks that he may use the chamber wherein Gouert Coerten at present dwells. Expecting a favorable answer, HARM. VAN HOBOOCKEN."* The reply of the burgomasters to this petition was as fol- lows : " Whereas the room which petitioner asks for his use as a dwelling and school-room is out of repair, and moreover is wanted for other uses, it cannot be allowed to him. But, as the town youth are doing so uncommon well now, it is thought proper to find a convenient place for their accommo- dation, and, for that purpose, petitioner is granted one hun- dred guilders yearly. 41 4th Sept., 1656."f The burning of the schoolhouse, while the youth were " doing so uncommon -well," led to the revival of the question of procuring a suitable edifice ; and the magistrates of the city, writing the 7th of the following November to the West India Company, "assert that the only revenue to the city was that arising from the excise of wines and beers, and that this was needed for immediate expenses in repairing the city wall, the Schoeyinge, the City Hall, the watch apartments, the building of the schoolhouse, and for several other improve- ments, and ask thereon the advice of the Company ."J It is not known what answer was returned to this application, but one thing is certain : the condition of the city finances was such, "the old debt made in the time of the English troubles being yet unliquidated," that the schoolhouse was not built. * Paulding, N. Am. 40. f Paulding, N. Am. 41. \ Paulding, N. Am. 41. It was in this year that streets were first regulated. The first tax list was made out in 1655, to defray the expense of fortifying the city. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 43 During the winter of 1658-59, the colony at New-Amstel on the Delaware experienced great distress. The crops hav- ing failed, famine and epidemic fever, induced by the nature of the soil, nearly decimated the population. Among those who fell victims to the prevailing disease, were the surgeon, the Commissary, the Director's wife, and six of his household, and the good Dominie Welius. The Director himself died also. In the midst of these calamities, information was re- ceived from Maryland that Lord Baltimore was about to extend his jurisdiction over their territory. This added to the consternation, and many of the settlers sought safety elsewhere, so that in a few months, famine, sickness, and desertion had reduced the population from over 600 persons to less than 30 families.* Several of those who left the colony, came to New-Atn4erdam, and among them was EVERT PIETERSEN, who from the first had been their schoolmaster. Here he was employed by the Director-General either as a colleague with Van ffoboken, or as his locum tenens, while he was disqualified from teaching by sickness. The period of Pietersen's engagement is not definitely known ; but on his return to Holland, he petitioned the West India Company for a permanent engagement, the Director- General and magistrates recommending his reappointment The Directors of the Company wrote to Stuyvesant, (1660,) " We will consider the petition of Mr. Evert Pielersen, late schoolmaster and chorister in the colony of the city, to be employed again in the Company's service, and return thither with his wife, and inquiie about his character, conduct, and abilities, when we shall communicate the result to your Honor."f * O'Call. N. K ii. 374-388. Brod. N. Y. 652 et passim, f Alb. Rec. iv. 364. 44 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, Subsequently, the following letter, dated May, 1661, was received by Governor Stuyvesant: " The Directors of the West India Company, department ol Amsterdam, to the honorable, prudent, beloved, trusty Petrus Stuyvesant, Director-General and Council, make known : " Whereas we have deemed it necessary to promote religious worship, and to read to the inhabitants the Word of God, to exhort them, to lead them in the ways of the Lord, and console the sick, that an expert person was sent to New-Netherland in the city of New- Amsterdam, who at the same time should act there as Chorister and Schoolmaster; so is it, that we, upon the good report which we have received about the person of Evert Pietersen, and confiding in his abilities and experience in the aforesaid services, together on his pious character and virtues, have, on your Honor's recommendation, and that of the magis- trates of the city of New-Amsterdam, appointed the aforesaid person as Consoler of the sick, Chorister and Schoolmaster at New- Amsterdam in New-Netherlands, which charge he shall fulfil there, and conduct himself in these with all diligence and faith- fulness ; so as we expect that he shall give others a good exam- ple, so as it becomes a pious and good Consoler, Clerk, Chorister and Schoolmaster ; regulating himself in conformity to the in- structions which he received herefron the Consistory, and prin- cipally to the instructions which he received from us, which he shall execute in every point faithfully ; wherefore, we command all persons, without distinction, to acknowledge the aforesaid Evert Petersen as consoler, clerk, chorister, and schoolmaster in New-Amsterdam in New-Netherlands, and not to molest, disturb, or ridicule him in any of these offices, but rather to offer him every assistance in their power, and deliver him from every painful sensation, by which the will of the Lord and our good intentions shall be accomplished. " Done by the Department of Amsterdam, on the 2d of May, XVI C and sixty-one. " (Signed,) ABRAM WILMERDONCX. " By order of him, LOWER STOOD. " C. VAN SEVENTER."* In a few days, another letter from the same source, dated May 9th, 1661, was received, in which Pk-tersen's salary is fixed, and instructions given with respect to the books he would need as Krank-besoecker. *Alb. Rec. viii. 321. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 45 "Honorable, prudent, beloved Trustees: "Our last was of the llth of April, by the way of Curasoa, of which we now have enclose;! the duplicate; since which period, nothing has occurred here of consequence i. e., which deserves to be mentioned as only, that we have engaged, on your Honors' recommendation and that of the magistrates of the city of New- Amsterdam, Mr. Evert Pietersen as schoolmas- ter and clerk, upon a salary of g.36 per month, [$15,] and g. 125 [$52 + ] annually for his board, who is now embarked in the ship the Gilded Beaver,* but not with his wife, whose indispo- sition, as he said, prevented her departure. And whereas he solicited to be supplied with some books and stationery, which would be of service to him in that station, so did we resolve to send you a sufficient quantity of these articles, as your Honor may see from the invoice. Your Honor ought not to place all these at his disposal at once, but from time to time, when he may be in want of these, whe* his account ought directly to be charged with its amount; so, too, he must be charged with all such books of which he may be in want as a consoler of the sick, which he might have obtained from your Honor, which afterwards might be reimbursed to him, whenever he, ceasing to serve in that capacity, might return these ; all this must be valued at the invoice price.' t This correspondence establishes Evert Pietersen as the sixth schoolmaster of the Reformed Dutch Church school. 1660-1661. Governor Stuyvesant's mansion J was erected on a large " bouwery" which the Director-General purchased in or previous to the year 1649. Settlers gradu- ally located in this vicinity, and the plantation, or the " bouwery," became a sort of " stopping-place and the plea- sure-ground of the Manhattans." In the year 1660, arrange- ments were made for conducting divine service here r under * Doc. Hist. N. Y. iii. 58. f Alb - Rec iv - 8>73 - This building stood east of the Third Avenue, between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. The exact situation of Stuyvesant's estate may be found on a map obtained from Cornelius De Witt, Esq., VaL Man. Com. Coun., 1852, 462. The "old pear tree," still standing at the junction of Thirteenth street and the Third Avenue, vras near the Governor's dwelling. 46 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, the following circumstances : Dominie Selyns was this year installed as the first, clergyman of the church in Brooklyn, which consisted of 24 members; the population of the vil- lage being 134 persons. The bounds of the Dominie's charge included "the Ferry, the Waal-bogt, and Gujanes." "As the people there were unable of themselves to pay his salary, they petitioned the Council for assistance, and Stuyvesant individually agreed to contribute two hundred and fifty guil- ders, provided Dominie Selyns would preach a sermon on Sunday afternoons at the "Director's bouwery, on the island of Manhattan. To this arrangement the Dominie assented." " Thither the people came also from the city for evening ser- vice."* The establishment of church service at the bouwery, and the remote distance which the children in its vicinity were from Pietersen's school, at the lower extremity of the island, rendered it necessary to procure a chorister and schoolmaster. Accordingly, we find the following : "Order in Council. Present, the Director-General, Petrus Stuyvesant, and the Hon. Johan de Decker. " Whereas, Harman Van Hoboocken, before schoolmaster and chorister, was removed because another was sent to replace him [Pietersen] by the Lords Directors and the CON- BISTORT, solicits to be employed again in one or other man- ner in the Company's service, so is he engaged as Adelborst, and allowed 10 guilders per month, and 175 g. for board from 27th Oct., 1661. "Nota: Whereas the aforesaid Harman is a person of irreproachable life and conduct, so shall he be employed on the bouwery of the Director-General as schoolmaster and clerk, [Voorleser,] with this condition, that the Director- General, whenever his service might be wanted for the *Brod. C80-681. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 47 Company, as Adelbor?t, shall replace him by another expert person."* So that from this date, until after the capitula- tion, there were two schools under the care of the Consistory, Pietersen's, at or near Fort Amsterdam, and Van Hoboocken's, on the Bouwery. " The church at New-Amsterdam was now in a flourishing condition under the administration of Megapolensis and Drisius."f The year following, 1662, the burgomasters petitioned the " noble, great, and respectful Director-General and Council in New-Netherland," to grant a lot of ground in Brewer street,^ (in the vicinity of Whitehall and Stone streets,) oppo- site the lot of Johannes de Peyster, for a school-house, and also a lot outside the gates for a burying-ground ;" and the Director-General and Council " deem it, for various rea- sons, more proper that the school-house was constructed on a part of the present churchyard," i. e., within the fort. There is no evidence to support the conclusion that the schoolhouse was built as contemplated. 1664. In 1664, Evert Pietersen still remained as the schoolmaster ; || and on the 17th day of March, the Director- General and Council issued an edict, requiring the practice *Alb. Rec. xix. 383. Governor Fish, in a letter to the author, writes : " I have an impression, although it is but vague and indefinite, that Mr. Stuyvesant pointed out to me the location of the old school, house, as situate on what now is the site of Tompkins Market, about the corner of Sixth street and Hall Place." It is well known that Governor Stuyvesant provided for the education of the colored per- sona on his extensive bouwery, and it is highly probable that Van Hoboocken had them under his instruction. f Brod 681. J Here were several breweries. This was the first street regulated and paved in New- Amsterdam ; hence its present name (Stone street). Alb. Rec. xx. 39, 40. || N. Am. Rec. v. 428. 48 HISTORY OV THE SCHOOL, of a custom long known in the fatherland, and productive of good wherever conformed to, but which at the present day, with us, has grown into sad desuetude ; to wit, " the public catechising of the children." In view of the beneficial results accruing from it, both to the children and the Church, the immediate revival of this good custom is greatly to be de- sired. The first civil ordinance in New^Amsterdam enjoining* this practice was as follows ; and it speaks creditably of the youth-loving and God-loving hearts of its authors : " Whereas, it is highly necessary and of great consequence that the youth, from their childhood, is well instructed in- reading, writing, and arithmetic, and principally in the prin- ciples and fundaments of the Christian religion, in conformity to the lesson of that wise King Solomon, 'Learn the youth the first principles, and as he grows old, he shall then not deviate from it ;' so that in time such men may arise from it, who may be able to serve their country in Church or in State ; which being seriously considered by the Director- General and Council in New-Netherland, as the number of children by God's merciful blessing has considerably increased, they have deemed it necessary, so that such an useful and to our [us] God agreeable concern may be more effectually promoted, to recommend the present schoolmaster, and to command him, so as it is done by this, that they [Pietersen, the Principal, and Van Hoboocken, of the branch school on the Bouwery] on Wednesday, before the beginning of the sermon, with the children intrusted to their care, shall ap- pear in the church to examine, after the close of the sermon, each of them his own scholars, in the presence of the reverend ministers and elders who may there be present, what they, * The custom, introduced from fatherland, bad previously obtained in New Ntherland. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 49 in the course of the week, do remember of the Christian com- mands and catechism, and what progress they have made ; after which the children shall be allowed a decent recrea- tion. "Done in Amsterdam, New-Netherland, this 17th March, 1664-, by the Director-General and Council."* About thtoo-yeafs-arter-tiiis, (12th March, 1664,) an event transpired in England, which was soon to issue in a change in the name, government, and destiny of New- Amsterdam, "which now contained a population of 1500 souls, and wore an air of preat prosperity," notwithstanding the sad reverses it had experienced. On the 12th of March, James II. granted to his brother, Duke of York and Albany, the terri- tory lying between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers including all the possessions of New-Netherland. In August following, the Duke's squadron, under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls, consisting of four ships, carrying 94 guns and 450 soldiers, was off New-Amsterdam, opposite to which, just below Brooklyn, was an encampment of volunteers from New-England and the Long Island vil- lages. To resist this force, the city was wholly unprepared ; for although the fort mounted 24 guns, its single wall of earth rendered it by no means invulnerable. It was garri- soned by only 150 soldiers; and though there were 250 of the citizens able to bear arms, they were not disposed to hazard their lives in a vain resistance. Moreover, "there was scarcely six hundred pounds of serviceable powder in store." Upon the faith of Nicolls' promise to deliver back the city and fort, " in case the difference of the limits of this province be agreed upon betwixt his Majesty of England and the high and mighty States- General," Stuyvesant consented to capitulate upon terms which had been mutually agreed *Alb. Rec. xxil 100. 8 50 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, upon by commissioners ; and on the morning of the 8th day of September,*the Director-General, at the head of the gar- rison, having marched out of Fort Amsterdam with all the honors of war, the British took possession of the city. The name of Fort Amsterdam was immediately changed to Fort James. And though New-Amsterdam became New- York, in name, the ascendency of the Dutch in numbers and cha- racter did not fail to perpetuate that influence which they had originally imparted ; so that even now, after a period of nearly two hundred years, notwithstanding the vicissitudes which the city has experienced, and the present heteroge- neous character of its population, there is not wanting abundant and gratifying evidence of the early presence here of those who brought with them "the liberal ideas, and honest maxims, and homely virtues of their fatherland ; who carried along with them their huge clasped Bibles, and left them heir-looms in their families ; who introduced their church and their schools, their Dominies and their schoolmas- ters."* RECAPITULATION. At the close of Stuyvesant's administration, in consequence of charter provisions, and the efforts of the clergy, " schools existed in almost every town and village"! * n New-Nether- land : of this the records furnish abundant evidence. The whole system was but a counterpart of that to which the settlers had been accustomed in their native land. From the material furnished in this chapter, it is evident that education received a considerable degree of attention in New- Amsterdam ; and that there was a public school therein, dispensing education gratuitously, the teachers receiving their appointment and remuneration from the constituted * Brod. chap. xi. paasim. f O'Call. N. N. ii. 646. FEOM 1633 TO 1664. 51 authorities, is undoubtedly established. The following is a summary of facts connected therewith: Adam Roelandsen,* first schoolmaster; 1633 to 1639. Efforts made by commonalty to procure suitable accom- modations for the school, 1642, 1647, 1652, 1656, 1662. Jan Cornelissen, second schoolmaster; to 1650. William Vestens, third schoolmaster and Kranck-besoecker ; 1650 to 1655. Jan De la Montagne, fourth schoolmaster ; in City Tavern, 1652. Harmanus Van Hoboken, successor to Vestens, fifth school- master; 1655-1664. Evert Pieterson, sixth schoolmaster; 1661-1664. Introduction of catechetical exposition to schools of the last-named schoolmasters ; 1661. OTHER FACTS CONNECTED WITH EDUCATION IN NEW- AMSTERDAM DURING THE PERIOD OF THIS CHAPTER. Previous to 1664, the individuals who had been engaged in teaching school on their own account, under license from the conjoined civic and ecclesiastical authorities, were : Jan Stevensen, Aryaen Jansen, Andries Hudde, Jacob Van Cor- lear, Jan Lubherts, Joost Carelse, Adriaen Van Ilpendam, Juriaense Becker, and Johannes Van Gelaer.f In addition to the means of education thus afforded by the free church schools, and those taught privately, many of the inhabitants desired the establishment of an academy, Latin, or high school. Dominie Drisius, when appointed as colleague with Mega- polensis, in 1652, had called the attention of the West India * The names of all these schoolmasters are found enrolled as mem- bers of the Dutch Church, f Alb. and N. Am. Rec. f2 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, Company to this subject ; and it is highly probable that the abortive attemp't of Montagne, at the City Tavern, was the result. " The foundation of the first ACADEMY and classical school in the city was based upon the following representation, which was transmitted to Holland, 19th September, 1658, as part of a petition of the burgomasters and schepens to the West India Company. "It is represented that the youth of this place and the neighborhood are increasing in number gradually, and that most of them can read and write ; but that some of the citi- zens and inhabitants would like to send their children to a school tha Principal of which understands Latin, but are not able to do so without sending them to New-England ; fur- thermore, they have not the means to hire a Latin school- master, expressly for themselves, from New-England, and therefore they ask that the West India Company will send out a fit person as Latin schoolmaster, not doubting that the number of persons who will send their children to such teacher will from year to year increase, until an academy shall be formed, whereby this place, to great splendor will have attained, for which, next to God, the Honorable Com- pany which shall have sent such teacher here shall have laud and praise. For our own part, we shall endeavor to find a fit place in which the schoolmaster shall hold his school."* In compliance with this petition, the West India Company sent out Dr. Alexander Carolus Curtius, a Latin schoolmaster, from Lithuania. On the 4th of July, 1059, (when about entering upon his duties,) he attended the meeting of the city magistrates, to learn definitely the tenns upon which he was to be employed. The burgomasters proposed to give him, out of the city treasury, five hundred guilders annually, * Pauld. N. Am. 41. FROM 1633 TO 1664. 53 and tendered him fifty guilders, in part thereof, in advance. He was allowed the use of a house and garden, and was per- mitted to charge six guilders per quarter for each scholar. He was also privileged to practise medicine. In 1660, he in several instances demanded a beaver,* (valued at eight guild- ers ;) in consequence of which over-charge, his annual salary was withheld. He likewise lacked the sine qua non for a schoolmaster, and the parents complained of the want of proper discipline among his pupils, " who beat each other, and tore the clothes from each other's backs." He retorted, by stating that " his hands were tied, as some of the parents forbade him punish- ing their children." (The race of uch is not extinct.) The result was, the school changed teachers ; Curtius returned to Holland, and the Rev. ^Egidius Luyck, who had been acting as tutor to Stuyvesant's sons, became Principal of the High School, 1662. Under his charge, it attained so high a reputation, that children were sent to it from Virginia, Fort Orange and the Delaware, to receive a classical education.f * The currency of New-Amsterdam was in general composed of the Indian money called wampum or seawant, and of beaver skins. Sea- want consisted of small perforated shells, "loose" or "strung." This was used in trading at the market, the grocer's, or the baker's. Six white or three black sea wants, " loose" or " commercial," were valued at one stuyver ; i. e., about two cents. The stated value of the "bea- ver" was eight guilders, or about three dollars. When divided into "half beavers," they depreciated in value. Paulding, N. Am. 28. f Brod. 656-694 ; Fauld. N. Ani. 42 ; Alb. and N. Am. Rec. Luyck resided in Whitehall street, near Stone street. 54 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, CHAPTER III. FROM THE CAPITULATION, 1664, TO THE -REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 1776; EMBRACING A PERIOD OF 112 YEARS. ALTHOUGH at the Capitulation of New-Amsterdam, the government of the Dutch as a nation ceased, her people, her Church, her school still remained. By the articles of capi- tulation, the Dutch had secured to them " the liberty of their consciences in divine worship and church discipline, with all their accustomed jurisdiction with respect to the poor and orphans."* It is highly probable that the school of Van Hoboocken, on the Bouwery, was disbanded ; but Evert Pietersen con- tinued to teach as heretofore, residing near his school, in 1665, in De Brouwer Straat.f The ecclesiastical organization of the Dutch Reformed Church remaining intact, she still acknowledged the juris- diction of the Classis of Amsterdam. The school continued, as heretofore, under the direct supervision of the deacons ; and being now deprived of all aid from the treasury of the colonial government, its support wholly devolved upon the Consistory ; and the institution had such strong hold on the affections of the Dutch people, that they could not and would not relinquish their jurisdiction over it, even when efforts * Vide Art. of Capit. in full, O'Call. N. N. ii. 632. f Vide Directory of N. Am., Val. Man. Com. Coun., 1850, p. 454. Paulding, N. Am. 109. FROM 1664 TO 1776. 55 were made to compel them so to do, as will be presently shown. The English governors, solicitous to produce uniformity in religion and language, encouraged English preachers and schoolmasters to settle in the colony ; and although for many years after the Capitulation, there were comparatively but few Episcopalians in the city, independent of the Government officers and the military, yet the Dutch, with magnanimous spirit, granted them the occupancy of the church in the fort a portion of each Sabbath.* In the year 1673, England and Holland being then at war, the city surrendered to the Dutch, and Governor Colve, in granting charters to the several towns of Long Island and the Hudson, enjoined, first of all, that the authorities "should take care that the Reformed Christian religion be maintained in conformity to the Synod of Dordrecht." They were also empowered to enact " ordinances for the observance of the Sabbath, erecting churches and schoolhouses, or similar pub- lic works ;"f but Colve's administration was brief, the pro- vince being ceded to the British by the treaty of November, 1674. Subsequently, 1687, Governor Dongan, in his Report to the Committee of Trade on the Province of New-York, states, "Here bee not many of the Church of England. The most prevailing opinion is that of the Dutch Calvinists. It is the endeavour of all Psons here to bring up their children and servants in that opinion which themselves profess."J During Fletcher's administration, the Assembly passed a law providing for the settlement of ministers of the gospel, to be chosen by the people. The Council added an amend- ment, giving to the Governor the power of approval or rejec- * Doc. Hist. N. Y. i. 186. f Ib. i. 655, et seq. J Ib. i. 161, et seq. 56 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, tion. The House, composed in the main of those attached to the Church of Holland, refused to concur in the amend- ment, when Fletcher, addressing them in an angry speech prorogued them to the next year.* The repeated efforts made in behalf of the English Church bore hard at times upon the prospective welfare of that of the Dutch; but tolerant to all, while watchful for herself, she maintained her position, and continued, as from the first, in the enjoyment of her worship and her school. But, undoubtedly, the greatest severity which the people of the Reformed Dutch Church experienced, was at the hands of Lord Cornbury. His imprisonment and amercement of two Presbyterian ministers, for preaching without his license, and" his breaking up by stringent measures the Dutch schools on Long Island, testify to his misguided zeal.f That he was acting in oppo- sifion to the principles and teachings of the Episcopal Church, cannot for a moment be doubted ; the censure attaches to him a* an individual. Of the Dutch Church in New- York maintaining the as- cendency in numbers an'd influence, he was somewhat wary ; but on the recurrence of a favorable opportunity, he unhesi- tatingly gave them to understand that no Dutch minister or schoolmaster would be allowed to exercise his calling without a special gubernatorial license; and this in direct opposition to the previously-granted charter of incorporation, given by William III. to the Reformed Dutch Church in America, in which is the following concession : "And our will and pita- sure further is, and we do hereby declare that, that the min- Bale's U. S. 76. f Smith's Hist., published at Philadelphia by Benj. Franklin girls write on sand-tables, and read in the Child's Instructor, and Spelling-Book: 48 boys and 12 girls are in arithmetic; 5 of the boys have been through Vulgar and Decimal Fractions, and are now in Interest. The second class consists of 10 in the Rule of Three. The third class, of 10 in Reduction. The fourth class, of 19 in Compound Addition : 7 of the girls have been through Practice, and 6 more are in Compound Addition ; 43 boys and 12 girls recite a new section of the Heidelbergh opened in 1811, in Henry street. The original object of this Society was " the education of children who do not belong to, and are not pro- vided for by any religious society ;" but in 1 808, they received " author- ity to educate all children who were proper objects of gratuitous instruction." Clothing donated for the purpose was at times distri- buted to the necessitous. For the use of the Reports from which the above extracts were t\ken, the author is indebted to the kindness of Samuel W. Seton, an individual who has rendered incalculable (ser- vice to the cause of education iu this city. * Con. Rec. Leg. I. 840, 350. FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 97 Catechism every week; 31 boys and 10 girls study the Shorter Catechism, and every week commit a portion thereof to memory, according to their several capacities : 24 of the children can recite the Heidelbergh Catechism throughout." The Annual Report of the Trustees, accompanying that of the teacher, closes with the following commendatory lan- guage, which shows the high estimation in which his services were regarded : u The Board rejoices in being able to say that they are satis6ed with the zeal, ability, and attention of the teacher, and particularly with the parental care with which he watches over the religious and moral condition of those committed to his charge." December 24. Commenced the custom of closing the school between Christmas and New- Year's. December 28. Hereafter the school was kept from nine o'clock to three, from the 15th of November to the 15th of March. 1819, March 4. A committee of Consistory having de- termined that the state of the funds warranted an increase of scholars, the number was extended from one hundred to one hundred and ten. April 26. Bell's system of instruction was introduced into the school. December 27. The parents were required to furnish cer- tificates of the baptism of children hereafter admitted. 1820, May 29. From this date the school sessions have been between the hours of nine and three, throughout the year. 1825. During the years 1796, 1797, and 1801, this school, in connection with the other charity Schools of this city, received from the State certain appropriations, and enjoyed for a number of years, in common with the Free 5 98 School Society, and other educational institutions, the privi- leges granted by the law of 1813; but, in the year 1820, the Bethel Baptift Church organized a free school in the basement of the church corner of Delancey and Chrystie streets; and subsequently, in 1822 and 1823, by the per- mission of the Legislature, two others, from the surplus money which they had in hand : thus they enjoyed privileges equal to those of the Free School Society, the Trustees of which, apprehensive that the buildings thus erected for the Bethel free school, " becoming church property, might also be appropriated to other purposes than exclusively for the education of the poor," memorialized, with the sanction and cooperation of the Common Council, the State Legis- lature for a repeal of the law enacted in favor of the Baptists, and for an amendment to the law relative to the distribution of the school-fund in this city, so as " to prevent any religious society, entitled to a participation in the fund, from drawing for any other than the poor children of their respective congregations." " For," say they, " the Bethel fre$ schools have taken away many scholars from the Soci- ety's schools, and thereby diminished the amount of attend- ance upon them, and, consequently, their revenue derived from the Common- school Fund." The Trustees of the Free School Society thought also that they had "discovered a manifestation of a disposition, on the part of some other religious societies, to follow the example of the Bethel Baptist Church to the extent of enlarging their schools so as to receive for instruction poor children gene- rally, without restricting themselves, as heretofore, to those of their own particular congregations. A school of this descrip- tion has been opened in Grace Churcb, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Wainwright ; another, for the education of female children, by the Congregational Church in Chambers FKOM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 99 street; and a third will soon be opened by the Dutch Church, in the large rooms in Harmony Hall, at the corner of William and Duane streets ;" " and when it [the Dutch Church School] shall get in full operation, the Trustees have little doubt that they shall be under the necessity of discon- tinuing Free School No. 1." So far as the location of the Dutch Church School and the intentions of its Trustees were concerned, the knowledge of a few facts would have materially allayed the fears of the Trustees of the Free School Society. Since the year 1809, when the six pay-scholars allowed the teacher were removed, up to the present day, the school has been sustained exclusively for children whose parents were either members or habitual attendants of the Dutch Church. The Trustees never enter- tained the idea of " conferring a gratuitous education upon poor children, without distinction of sect," which was the peculiar province of the Free School Society. From the year 1809 to 1819, the number of children to be received into the Dutch Church School was limited by Consistory to one hundred. Again, the erection of additional school-houses was never contemplated by the Dutch Church. For seventy-six years the school had been held in Garden street; and the general occupation of this section of the city at this period by mer- cantile warehouses, and the consequent removal of the most of the children from the neighborhood of the school, rendered its removal to a more convenient locality a work of absolute v necessity. And when the school was opened in Duane street, the premises in Garden street were leased for a number of years, and occupied for other purposes ; and the fear ex- pressed that the four hundred and sixty-six children attending Free School No. 1 would be withdrawn from it, to attend the Dutch Church School, was groundless, as accommodations 100 HISTORY OF TUB SCHOOL, were provided in Duane street for no more scholars than the Trustees were restricted by Consistory to receive. The strenuous opposition of Rev. Johnson Chase, the prin- cipal opponent to the revision of the lave, as proposed by the Free School Society, was of little avail, as in the November session of 1824, the Legislature passed "an act by which that portion of the common school fund, drawn for the city of New- York, was left to the disposal of the Common Coun- cil, who were directed by it to designate to whom such dis- tribution should from time to time be made." The com- mittee of the Common Council to whom the subject was referred to hear and report upon the claims of the respective parties applying under this act for a share of the fund, deeming " that the school fund of the State was purely of a civil cha- racter, designed for civil purposes ; and that the intrusting of it to religious or ecclesiastical bodies was a violation of an elementary principle in the politics of the State and coun- try," "reported against distributing any portion of the fund to the schools of religious societies;" and in 1825, in- troduced an ordinance, which was unanimously adopted, directing the distribution to be made to the " Free School Society," "Mechanics' Society," the "Orphan Asylum So- ciety," and the " Trustees of the African Schools."* 1831. During Mr. Forrester's connection with the school, it had no female teacher, consequently the girls were not instructed in needlework.f To meet this want, Miss Eliza Duryee informed the Board, November, 1831, that an Asso- ciation had been formed by several ladies for the purpose of teaching the children the ordinary branches of sewing and needlework ; and it was resolved that this facility should be * For the details of this whole subject, vide xx. An. Rep. N. Y. P. S. Soc. 1825. f With the exception stated ante, p. 86. FROM 1*783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 101 afforded to the girls two afternoons in the week ; this regu- lation existed for some time. September 8, 1835. The death of their late President having been announced to the Board, they unanimously "Resolved, That in the decease of our beloved and lamented friend, Richard Duryee, we have been deprived of an able counsellor, a warm-hearted friend, and an active, useful mem- ber of this Board. "Resolved, That the charity children of this church have sustained an irreparable loss, in his fervent prayers, affection- ate admonition, and Christian example. "Resolved, That we recognize the hand of our covenant God in taking him to his eternal rest, and bow with submission to His holy will, believing that our loss is his gain. "Resolved, That we tender to his bereaved widow and afflicted family our sincere and warm sympathies under this painful stroke of Divine Providence, and commend them to the guidance, support, and protection of Him who hath said, ' Leave thy fatherless children ; I will preserve them alive ; and let thy widows trust in me.' "Resolved, That a copy of the above resolutions be pre- sented by the Secretary to his widow." 1840. The increase of our denomination in the city, and the growing demand for a more extended course of study than that pursued in the school, had long impressed the Trus- tees with the necessity of endeavoring to procure an edifice for the express accommodation of the school, and of devising such ways and means for increasing its income, that its bene- fits might be more greatly extended. After mature deliberation, a communication,* prepared by the Secretary, fully expressing the unanimous views of the Board upon these subjects, was presented to Consistory. 1842. Mr. Forrester, the Principal of the school, was now approaching the allotted period of threescore and ten. * Vide True. Min. iii. 116 et seq. 102 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, For more than forty-five years, the last thirty-two of which he had spent in this school, he had been engaged in perform- ing the arduous and responsible duties which devolve upon an instructor of youth, and the Trustees felt that he " ought to be relieved in a great measure from the bustle and noise with which he had so long been surrounded, and be suffered to enjoy his advancing age with more peace and quietness than could be expected if required to continue in his present station." They therefore recommended a division of the labors of the school, by the employment of a younger person for the general education of the children, while Mr. Forrester should be retained as catechist. In doing this, the Trustees cheerfully bore their testimony to the faithfulness of Mr. For- rester, and of their confidence in his desire to promote the welfare of the children. Those whom he had instructed in the year 1810, the first year of his connection with the school, if still living, had now attained to middle age. During this period, in the commencement of which the schools of this country were in their infancy, rapid advances had been made in the system of instruction ; many new text-books had come into use, and studies had been introduced into the schools, which at an earlier period would have been deemed super- fluous ; and it was with the view of enabling the school to enjoy the advantages of these improvements that the Trustees proposed the above change. Consistory having taken action upon the subject, the object which the Trustees had in view was consummated in 1842 by the appointment of the present Principal. Mr. Forrester was retained as catechist, the duties pertaining to which office he faithfully performed for twelve months, when his connection with the school ceased alto- gether.* * Mr. Forrester vcas born iu the environs of tbe city of Edinburgh, February 25, 1775, and was baptized in the West Kirk by Sir Harry FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 103 Thirty-three years ! One generation had passed away, and another bad taken its place on the stage of existence. Forty-five years of joy and sorrow, of labor and reward ! Eternity alone can reveal the nature and importance of those influences which it is the duty and privilege of a teacher to exert, for so many years, over the hearts and urinds of young immortal beings. Many are they, now members of the body of Christ, whose religious feelings and exercises were called forth and strength- ened while under his instruction ; and to him it is ever a source of grateful acknowledgment, that he has been the instrument, under God's hand, of leading so many to walk in the ways of truth. Mr. Forrester, in withdrawing from the charge which he had so long sustained, retired in the enjoyment of the " confi- dence and esteem of the Trustees in his moral and Christian character, and in his desire to promote the well-being of the numerous children which had been intrusted to his care." Though on the verge of eighty, and experiencing the in- firmities of declining years, he still survives among us, a monument of the faithfulness and mercy of a covenant God. Moncrief. In the year 1794, he set sail for America. Before reach- ing port, he, with a number of others, was impressed and placed on the British man-of-war, the "Africa." Subsequently, for some reason un- known to him, he was placed on board the ship Fanny, and landed October 16, at the Fly Market He shortly afterwards located in Tappan. In the year 1795, at the age of twenty years, he commenced teaching school at Closter. Here he remained three years and a half, when he returned to the " Liberty Pole," six miles nearer to this city. Here he taught for eight years, when he was offered the charge of the school in Nassau street, opposite the Middle Dutch Church, then under the care of the Presbyterian Church. Having spent three years in this connection, he was appointed, in the year 1810, as the master of the Dutch Reformed Church School 104 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, ^Heretofore, the children of both sexes had been classified together for the purpose of receiving instruction ; but on the reorganization of the school in 1842, the girls were segre- gated, and placed under the supervision and care of Miss Frances Campbell. This was an important advantage se- cured to the school, the need of which had been long felt. In the year 1844, Miss Campbell resigned her charge to take charge of a school out of the city, and Miss Henrietta G-arus, who for a number of years had been a pupil in the school, was appointed to fill her place. Her marriage and retirement, in November, 1846, led to the appointment of the present efficient teacher. Within the past seven years, Mr. John H. MaGon jgle and the Misses Sarah and Rachel Mickens, from being scholars in the school, arose to the occupancy of subordinate stations as instructors in the junior classes ; and the duties devolving upon them, in the capacities which they severally sustained, were rendered with efficiency and satisfaction. It is ever a subject of regret, when any institution is de- prived of the counsel?, }alx>rs, and prayers of an efficient officer, through whose instrumentality its advantages have been secured and its best interests advanced. Such a deprivation this school was called to experience in 1848, in the decease of Noah Wetmore, Esq. For the thirteen years that he had been a member of the Board of Trustees, (a period longer than any of his predecessors in office had served,) he had been its presiding officer. Possess- ing, in an eminent degree, those estimable qualities which ever adorn the man and the Christian, he enjoyed uninter- ruptedly the esteem and confidence of aH who knew him. Within a few years previous to his decease, persuaded by the weight of increasing infirmities that his days of active usefulness were drawing to a close, he frequently expressed a FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 105 desire to retire from the Board ; but its members, unwilling to lose his valuable counsels and prayers, induced him to retain his seat; and he continued to perform the functions pertaining to his office till within a few weeks of his decease. And when at last, * " Life's duty done, its trials o'er," he " fell on sleep," the Trustees experienced the double loss of an able counsellor and a private friend. The institution over which he so long presided was with him an object of special interest, and memory dwells with peculiar delight on the touching, impressive, and fervent prayers which he offered in its behalf. All the children loved him ; and when summoned to sur- round his bier, the remembrance of his solicitude for their spiritual welfare and of his counsels, coming as they did from a warm heart, full of fatherly kindness and love, caused many tears of heartfelt sorrow. May his prayers for them and for the church which so long and so kindly nurtured them be answered ; and may his counsels to them be so implicitly followed that their last end may be like his ! 5* 106 BISTORT OF THE SCHOOL, ATTENDANCE OP THE CHILDREN ON THE SABBATH. IN conformity with a prominent feature of this institution, which happily combines religious with intellectual educa- tion, its pupils, independent of instruction in the principles of divine truth received through the week, have ever been re- quired to attend divine service on the Sabbath. Subsequent to the Revolutionary War, the children assembled every Sab- bath at the school-room in Garden street, in ample time to proceed with their teacher to the seats provided for them in the " Old Church." After Sabbath-schools were established in the city, they attended the one held in the Consistory building, at the cor- ner of Nassau and Ann streets, till the year 1829, when a school was organized in the New or Middle Church ; and here, under Sabbath-school instruction and the teachings of the sacred desk, they remained till the year 1840, when they occupied the gallery of the North Church, attending at the same time the Sabbath-school in Ann street. In September, 1841, a majority of the children having been found to reside north of Grand street, Consistory directed them to attend the Sabbath-school and church in Ninth street. * This institution being the only one of the kind connected with the Dutch Church, and being composed of children whose parents resided in the vicinity of the churches which they respectively attended, it became an onerous duty for the scholars to attend twice on the Sabbath, from distances ranging from Dey street to Twenty-third street, and from the North to the East river ; and many communications on the FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 107 subject having been addressed to the Trustees by the parents, the Consistory, in January, 1847, granted the Board the privilege of permitting the children to attend Sabbath-school and church at those churches with which their parents were connected, and near which they resided. This privilege is now generally enjoyed by the children, under the following regulations, which accompany each cer- tificate : "Resolved, That in all cases in which any pupil of the school is permitted to attend Sabbath-school and church elsewhere than at Ninth street, it shall be the duty of such child to pro- duce a monthly certificate from his Superintendent, that he Eegularly attends the Sabbath-school and church with which he is connected ; and it shall be the duty of the Principal of the school to report all cases of omission to this Board, accompanied with explanations of the cause." "Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be communicated by the Principal to parents, guardians, and Superintendents who are interested in the same." As one great object of the school is religious instruction, the above resolutions have been adopted, that the Trustees may be assured that the Sabbath is not violated by any of the pupils of the school, but that they are in the enjoyment of religious instruction in the Sabbath-school, and under the preaching of the gospel. THOMAS JEREMIAH, Secretary. January 25, 1847. 108 BISTORT OF THE 8CHOOX, REYEHUE OF THE SCHOOL. DURING the first thirty years of the existence of the school, its teachers, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, in connection with the Classis of Amsterdam, were remune- rated from the treasury of the Colonial Government. While the city was urxler the jurisdiction of the English, the support of the school devolved entirely upon Consistory. Whether its expenses, which were not very great, were de- frayed by annual collections in the churches, or by a resort to such limited sources of revenue as the Church may have possessed, cannot be definitely ascertained. On the reorganization of the school, subsequent to the Revolutionary War, commencing in 1789, collections were annually made in the three branches of the Collegiate Church. The money thus obtained was expended in clothing the children ; the teacher's salary, and other expenses of the school, were defrayed from the general fund of the Church. Subsequently, (1792,) a legacy, amounting to seven hun- dred and fifty dollars, was bequeathed by Elias Brevoort to Consistory, for the benefit of the school. This gave rise to an effort " to secure an independent revenue for the future advancement of the seminary ;" and it was Resolved, "That measures be taken for establishing a fund to be put at in- terest." "That, in addition to testamentary and other dona- tions which have been or may be given for the support of the school, the overplus of all moneys annually collected, after the payment of all charges, be added to the fund." " That all money received and collected for the use of the school FROM I7v3 TO THE PBESEKT TIME. 109 9 shall be received by the Treasurer, and paid by him, on the warrants of Consistory." In the year 1808, this was amended so as to read, " on the audit and order of the Board of Trus- tees only, and not otherwise." And it was further Resolved, (1792,) "That the Treasurer shall hereafter keep a separate and distinct account of all moneys received on account of this fund, and of their appropriation ; and that both principal and interest of said moneys shall be applied invariably to the maintenance of this charity, and the promotion of its in- terests." The Treasurer, in his Annual Report to Consistory, renders an account of the receipts and expenditures of this fund, which report is audited by a Committee of Consistory, appointed for the purpose. As the combined result of four different legacies,* acd annual collections in the Collegiate Church, the fund of the school, in 1826, amounted to eleven thousand and twenty- seven dollars and ninety-two cents. ($11,027 92.) This was subsequently increased by annual collections in the Collegiate Church, so that, in 1847, the fund amounted to sixteen thousand two hundred and eighteen dollars and eight cents. ($16,218 08.) The purchase of the lots on Fourth street, and the erection of the J.chool-house, exhausted $9,260 70 of this ; which, with subsequent outlays upon the building, amounting to $561 79, leaves the amount now in the Treasurer's hands $6,395 59. The salaries of the teachers, the clothing of the children, fuel, books, and stationery, amounted, for the year 1852, according to the Treasurer's Annual Report, to $2,412 72. The income from the different sources of revenue, for the *Elia3 Brevoort's, 1*792, $750; Sarah De Peyster's, 1802, $5,392 78 ; Isaac Slidell's, 1804, $831 37 ; Mary Bassett's, 1807, $1,500. 110 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, same year, amounted to $1,121 74 : leaving a deficit of $1,290 98, which was met by Consistory. Is there not sufficient of the spirit of our godly ancestors, who founded and sustained the school for so many genera- tions, to induce its friends, in view of the incalculable good which the institution has accomplished in days that are past; in view of its present acknowledged usefulness to the children of our Church, to make an effort to secure for it an inde- pendent fund, fully adequate to its support? We believe that there is. FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 1 LOCALITY OF THE SCHOOL. FOR more than a hundred years after its establishment, the school was kept at various places in the vicinity of the Bowling-Green, apartments being hired for that purpose. The first edifice erected for its accommodation was in Garden street, in frfl'CH:, and here it remained for a period of seventy-six years; but as the congregation removed from the lower extremity of the city, the North Church be- came its centre ; and under these circumstances, the pro- perty, No. 9 Duane street, near William street, was leased ; and after undergoing some necessary alterations the school was removed thither; and a dwelling-house for the teacher (in lieu of the one vacated in Garden street) was erected in William street, east of Duane street. The Shaks- peare Hotel now occupies the space formerly intervening between the school-house and the teacher's residence. Here the school remained till 1835, when it removed to No. 106 Elm street, south-west corner of Canal street, and the teacher resided No. 25 Carmine street. From 1836 to 1841, it occupied the basement of the church corner of Broome and Greene streets, removing thence to the basement of the church on the corner of Greene and Houston streets, where it remained for one year, removing, in 1842, to the premises No. 91 Mercer street. Here it con- tinued for five years, when a temporary provision was made for it in the basement of the Ninth Street Church, pending the erection of the present edifice, In the beginning of the year 1840, the Trustees, impelled 112 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, by a sense of duty towards the children under their care, prepared and presented a communication to Consistory, in which their attention was drawn to the necessity of providing a suitable and permanent locality for the school, as previously mentioned, and of adopting such other reformatory measures as would be calculated to increase the efficiency of the insti- tution over which they presided. This was the commence- ment of a series of efforts which secured to the school, from time to time, important advantages, and which, after a period of seven years, eventuated in the purchase of the ground in Fourth street. Immediate measures were*taJsen to erect thereon an edifice suitable for school purposes, Messrs. PETER R. WARNER, MORTIMER DE MOTTE, and THOMAS JEREMIAH constituting the Building Committee. Ground was broken in July, 1847, and on the 10th day of November following, Noah Wetmore, Esq., who was then, and had been for many years, the presiding officer in the Board of Trustees, commenced the opening exercises of the school in the present edifice, by commending the school in all its interests to the favor of the Almighty. The labors and prayers of this venerable man of God, in behalf of the institution, had been many and fervent ; and as he remembered God's goodness towards it in former days, and looked upon its present condition and prospects, the expression of his feelings in prayer, flowing from a confiding and grateful heart, was such that all present were deeply affected. FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 113 NAMES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, FROM THE YEAR 1808 TO THE PRE- SENT TIME. When appointed. June 2, 1808, JOHN STOTJTENBURGH,* Chairman, term expired Dec. 31, 1814. " " JOHN NITCHIE, jr.,*Secretary, resigned Jan., 1813. " RICHARD DURYEE,* Chairman from Jan. 1, 1814, to Jan., 1815, when his term expired. Re- elected as Trustee and Chairman, Oct., 1831. Deceased Sept., 1835. " " ISAAC HEYER,* Chairman from Jan., 1815, to the time of his decease, April, 1827. " " ABRAHAM BRINCKERHOFF, Jr.,* resigned Jan., 1813. " " ANTHONY DEY, resigned Feb., 1810. " " JESSE BALDWIN,* resigned March, 1812. Feb., 1810, HUYBERT VAN WAGENEN,* Secretary from Jan., 1813, to Jan., 1815. Term expired Dec. 31, 1817. March, 1812. HENRY J. WYCKOFF,* term expired Feb., 1818. Feb., 1813. JOHN D. KEESE,* term expired Jan., 1819. " " JOHN V. B. VARICK,* Secretary from Jan., 1815, to Jan., 1820, when his time expired. Jan., 1814. JOHN KANE,* resigned Jan., 1818. " 1815. MICHAEL SCHOONMAKER,* removed from the city, Oct., 1823. " 1817. JOHN CLARKE, M. D.,* resigned July, 1824. " 1818. WILLIAM HARDENBROOK, Jr., removed to Harlem, April, 1827. Feb., 1818. JOHN VAN VECHTEN,* deceased Oct. 13, 1821. Jan., 1819. JEROMIUS JOHNSON,* Secretary, Jan., 1820, re- signed July, 1824. March, 1820. PETER I. NEVIUS, resigned Sept., 1821. Sept., 1821. JOHN A. LENT,* deceased Oct. 13, 1821. Nov., 1821. TIMOTHY HUTTON,* resigned July, 1824. " " OBADIAH HOLMES, resigned July, 1824. Oct., 1823. ABRAHAM VAN NEST, resigned March, 1826. July, 1824. ABRAHAM BLOODGOOD,* resigned March, 1826. * Deceased. 114 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, When appointed. July, 1824, JAMES C. ROOSEVELT,* Chairman, April, 1827, re- signed July, 1831. " " JOHN NEXSEN,* resigned July, 1831. " " ISAAC YOUNG, Secretary, July, 1824, resigned July, 1831. March, 1826. JOHN I. LABAGH,* resigned July, 1831. " " STEPHEN VAN BRUNT,* deceased Feb., 1828. May, 1827. PETER STAGG,* resigned July, 1831. " " THEOPHILUS ANTHONY, resigned July, 1831. April, 1828. JOHN OOTHOUT, resigned July, 1831. Oct 6, 1831. JOHN CLARK,* resigned Dec., 1834. " " JOHN LIMBEHGER,* resigned Nov., 1836. " " JAMES V. H. LAWRENCE, Secretary, Oct., 1831, resigned July, 1836. " " JAMES WARD, term expired Feb., 1844. " " JAMES VAN ANTWERP, resigned Jan., 1834. Feb., 1834. REUBEN VAN PELT, resigned March, 1839. Jan., 1835. DAVID L. HAIGHT,* resigned Feb., 1839. Feb., 1835. NOAH WETMORE,* Chairman from Sept., 1835, to his decease, July 12, 1848. Oct., 1835. JAMES SUYDAM, resigned July, 1836. Sept, 1836. JOSEPH V. VARICK,* removed from the city Oct., 1838. " " JAMES SIMMONS, Secretary, Sept., 1836, removed from the city Aug., 1839. PETER R. WARNER,! Secretary, Sept., 1839, re- signed on account of protracted illness, Oct., 1843. Reeleoted to Board, Feb., 1844. Sec. retary from Feb. 1845, to Feb., 1846. Re- signed, Feb., 1848. Reelected to the Board, Oct., 1852, and elected Chairman, February, 1853. Nov., 1838. JOHN I. BROWER,! term expired Feb., 1846. Re- elected Dec., 1649. Feb., 1839. VALENTINE VAN DE WATER, term expired Feb., 1845. Sept, 1839. CHARLES DEVOE, Chairman, July, 1848, removed to Michigan, 1850. " " JOHN I. DE FOREEST, resigned Jan., 1842. Jan., 1842. JAMES D. OLIVER, term expired Feb., 1846. Oct, 1843. JOHN ACKERMAN, Secretary from Dec., 1843, to Feb., 1845. Resigned April, 1849. Deceased. f Present members of the Board. FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 115 When appointed. Feb., 1845. MORTIMER DE MOTTE, term expired Feb., 1851. " 1846. THOMAS JEREMIAH, Secretary from March, 1846, till his term expired, Feb., 1852. EDWARD L. BEADLE, M. D.,f Chairman from Nov., 1850, to Feb., 1853. April, 1848. JOHN VAN NEsr.f Feb., 1849. HUYBEKT VAN WAGENEN, Jr.,* deceased Sept. 10, 1850. April, 1849. GEORGE ZABRISKIE,* deceased Aug., 1849. Oct., 1850. GEORGE S. STITT,| Secretary from March, 1852, to Feb., 1853. " " CHARLES S. LITTLE, f April, 1851. HENRY OOTHOUT, resigned Sept., 1852. Feb., 1852. GAMALIEL G. SMITH,! Secretary, Feb., 1853. The stated meetings of the Board of Trustees were held, rom 1808 to 1824, in the Consistory-chamber, Garden street. From 1824 to 1843, in the Consistory -chamber, corner of Nassau and Ann streets. From January, 1843, to February, 1846, at the school-rooms in Mercer street. From March, 1846, to November, 1847, in the Consistory-room, Fourth street; and since December, 1847, they have been held in the present school-rooms. * Deceased. f Present members of the Board. 116 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL: ITS PRESENT CONDITION, COURSE OF STUDY, ETC. THE building No. 183 Fourth street, erected for the express accommodation of the school, and which it at present occu- pies, is a substantial brick edifice, forty feet front by forty- five feet deep. The main room on the first floor is occupied by the Boys' Department; adjacent to which are two class-rooms, and a wardrobe for their accommodation. The second floor is occupied by the Girls' Department. It consists of one large room and four class-rooms. In one of these the Trustees hold their stated meetings ; and its walls are occupied with specimens of drawings and orna- mental needlework executed and presented by the graduates of the institution ; and also with frames containing their daguerreotypes, from the establishment of ABRAHAM BOGAR- DUS, Greenwich street. The rooms on the third floor are appropriated to exercises in sewing, drawing, etc. Outline maps are delineated on the walls of the school- rooms, and each department is supplied with the Croton water. The Trustees of the institution, desirous of providing for the children the means of enriching their minds with profita- ble reading, and of cultivating among them a taste for lite- rary pursuits, induced a number of its friends to contribute funds sufficient to procure not only a list of miscellaneous FROM 1783 TO TH PRESENT TIME. 117 works adequate at that time (1843) to the wants of the school, but also some astronomical apparatus. The number of volumes in the library has since been augmented by some valuable works donated by Hon. James W. Beekman. Number of Scholars. Previous to the Revolutionary War the greatest number of children in the school at any one period was thirty. Subsequently, (1783,) when the ravages of war had unsettled every thing relating to educational affairs, and the resources of the Church were limited, the school reorganized with ten scholars. In 1786, the number of pupils was limited to twelve. " 1789, " " " thirty. " 1791, " " " " fifty. " 1800, " " " " seventy. " 1808, " " " " seventy-two. " 1809, " " " " one hundred. Up to this date, as a general thing, the Principal had enjoyed the privilege of having pay-scholars, in addition to the numbers above given ; but none of that class have beenteceived since. In 1819, the limit was extended to one hundred and ten ; which number, however, was not complete till the year 1842. Subsequently, the number of applicants for admission greatly increased. This fact, coupled with the earnest desire of the Trustees to extend the peculiar privilege of the school to as many pupils as the building would accommodate, led, in the beginning of 1850, to the simultaneous admission of forty new scholars : thus establishing the present limit of one hun- dred and fifty. Qualifications for Admission into the School. During the greater part of the first one hundred and seventy-five years of the existence of the school, its doors were open to all the citizens who wished to have their children educated therein. 118 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL, ' But as our denomination increased in the city, by the forma- tion of different congregations issuing from the Collegiate Church, it was found necessary to confine the privileges of the school to those whose ancestors had been its liberal support- ers ; and the common schools having sprung into existence, those precluded were not left destitute of the means of edu- cation. The school is therefore now, from necessity, main- tained exclusively for the children of those persons who are either communing members, or habitual attendants, of some church in our denomination ; a certificate to that effect, signed by the pastor, being required from the applicant. All the children are required to attend Sabbath-school and church, at one of the churches of our denomination, under the regulations prescribed.* This feature of the school must commend itself to every reflecting mind ; for the habitual attendance of youth, for many years, upon Sabbath-school instruction and the services of the sanctuary, will, by the influences thereby exerted upon their hearts and consciences, almost invariably preclude them from swelling the hordes of those who now find pleasure in the desecration of the holy Sabbath, reverencing neither it nor its God. CURRICULUM OF STUDY. READING, ORTHOGRAPHY, AND DEFINITIONS. PENMANSHIP. ARITHMETIC AND BOOK-KEEPING. GEOGRAPHY. GRAMMAR. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. UNIVERSAL HISTORY. COMPOSITION. Vide ante, p. 106. FROM 1783 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 119 ASTRONOMY. PHYSIOLOGY. BOTANY. ELOCUTION. PLAIN AND ORNAMENTAL NEEDLEWORK. DRAWING. CATECHISM. For the past sixty years, at first quarterly, and subsequently semi-annually, in April and October, the school has been examined by the Board of Trustees and the Consistory. Durjpg the past ten years, an annual exhibition has been given, consisting of examinations in the various branches taught, and of exercises in declamation and vocal music. On these occasions, also, premia are distributed to those pupils who have distinguished themselves by diligence in their studies, and correct deportment ; and the " Honors" of the school are presented to those children who may be gra- duating from it. These Honors consist of a Bible ; a psalm- book, containing the Catechism and Liturgy of our Church ; and a mounted Testimonial,* signed by the officers of the Board of Trustees. The extent and thoroughness of the instruction imparted, the correct habits induced, and the integrity of their moral character, have acquired for the children a worthy reputation. Of late years, the demand for clerks and apprentices, from * These testimonials, originally written, were first presented in 1792- In 1827, they were printed from a copperplate engraved expressly for the purpose. The Bible was added in 1809, and the psalm-book in 1812. Slany individuals who hold these honors are now maintaining, by their integrity and usefulness, a high rank as merchants, artisans, and members of the learned professions ; among whom may be found the names of a few in the ministerial calling. Books were first distributed as premia in 1810. 120 HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL. among merchants and others, mostly connected with the Dutch Church, has exceeded the ability to supply them. Many children have thus obtained desirable situations with individuals, in whose employ no fear is entertained of the corruption of their moral principles ; and of the whole num- ber of th se who have graduated within the past ten years, and entered upon the active duties of life, not one, so far as is known, has failed to sustain a reputation for intelligence, ability, and moral worth. And it is a happiness to know that several of them, under the influences of the Holy Spirit, have embraced the truth inculcated and early impressed, and are now wielding their influence for the advancement of flieir Saviour's cause. Thus fruit abounds to the praise of Him who has watched over and guided this institution amidst all the vicissitudes of changing time, till it now stands a venerable monument of the past, yet possessed of pristine vigor to meet the claims of the future ; contemplating, as the true idea of education, the simultaneous and harmonious development of the moral, intellectual, and physical powers ; cooperating in rendering efficiency to the instructions of home and the sanctuary ; preparing the future citizen for usefulness and happiness hero and hereafter, and imparting light to the future saint, whose in- fluence shall be on the side of truth, and whose fervent prayer will go up to the God of love and grace, for the hastening of the day when " wisdom and knowledge shall be stability of the times" and for the fulfilment to His Church of the promise of the covenant-keeping God: "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord? 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