FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Our historic journey
fittingly begins at Desbrosses Street, for
here, near the old River-front, extending
from Desbrosses along Greenwich, stood the
Revolutionary line of breastworks reaching
south to the Grenadier Battery at Franklin
Street. Below this were "Jersey,"
"McDougall" and "Oyster" batteries and
intervening earthworks to Port George, on
the Battery, which stood on the site of old
Fort Amsterdam, carrying us back to
Knickerbocker memories of Peter Stuyvesant
and Wowter Van Twiller. The view from the
after-deck, before the steamer leaves the
pier, gives scope for the imagination to
re-picture the far-away primitive and heroic
days of early New York.
Desbrosses Street Pier.—On leaving the lower
landing a charming view is obtained of New
York Harbor, the Narrows, Staten Island, the
Bartholdi Statue of Liberty, and, in clear
weather, far away to the South, the
Highlands of Nevisink, the first land to
greet the eye of the ocean voyager. As the
steamer swings out into the stream the
tourist is at once face to face with a
rapidly changing panorama. Steamers
arriving, with happy faces on their decks,
from southern ports or distant lands; others
with waving handkerchiefs bidding good-bye
to friends on crowded docks; swift-shuttled
ferry-boats, with hurrying passengers,
supplying their homespun woof to the great
warp of foreign or coastwise commerce; noisy
tug-boats, somber as dray horses, drawing
long lines of canal boats, or proud in the
convoy of some Atlantic greyhound that has
not yet slipped its leash; dignified "Men of
War" at anchor, flying the flags of many
nations, happy excursion boats en route to
sea-side resorts, scows, picturesque in
their very clumsiness and uncouthness—all
unite in a living kaleidoscope of beauty.
Across the river on the Jersey Shore are
seen extensive docks of great railways, with
elevators and stations that seem like
"knotted ends" of vast railway lines, lest
they might forsooth, untwist and become
irrecoverably tangled in approaching the
Metropolis. Prominent among these are the
Pennsylvania Railroad for the South and
West; the Erie Railway, the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western, and to the North
above Hoboken the West Shore, serving also
as starting point for the New York, Ontario
and Western. Again the eye returns to the
crowded wharves and warehouses of New York,
reaching from Castle Garden beyond 30th
Street, with forest-like masts and funnels
of ocean steamships, and then to prominent
buildings mounting higher and higher year by
year along the city horizon, marking the
course of Broadway from the Battery,
literally fulfilling the humor of
Knickerbocker in not leaving space for a
breath of air for the top of old Trinity
Church spire.
Stevens' Castle.—About midway between
Desbrosses Street and 42d Street Pier will
be seen on the Jersey Shore a wooded point
with sightly building, known as Stevens'
Castle, home of the late Commodore Stevens,
founder of the Stevens Institute of
Technology. Above this are the Elysian
Fields, near the river bank, known in early
days as a quiet resort but now greatly
changed in the character of its visitors. On
the left will also be seen the dome and
tower of St. Michael's Monastery, and above
this Union Hill.
The Trap Rock Ridge, which begins to show
itself above the Elysian Fields, increases
gradually in height to the brow of the
Palisades. West of Bergen Heights and Union
Hill flows the Hackensack River parallel to
the Hudson, and at this point only about two
miles distant.
Forty-Second
Street to One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth.
The 42d Street Pier is now at hand,
convenient of access to travelers, as the
42d Street car line crosses Manhattan
intersecting every "up and down" surface,
subway or elevated road in the City, as does
also the Grand, Vestry and Desbrosses Street
at the lower landing. While passengers are
coming aboard we take pleasure in quoting
the following from Baedeker's Guide to the
United States: "The Photo-Panorama of the
Hudson, published by the Bryant Union
Publishing Co., New York City (price 50
cents), shows both sides of the river from
New York to Albany, accurately represented
from 800 consecutive photographs. This new
and complete object-guide will be of service
to the tourist, and can be had at the
steamers' news stands, head of grand
stairway, or it will be sent by publishers,
postpaid, on receipt of price."
Weehawken with its sad story of the duel
between Hamilton and Burr is soon seen upon
the west bank. A monument once marked the
spot, erected by the St. Andrews Society of
New York City on the ledge of rock where
Hamilton fell early in the morning of the
eleventh of July, 1804. The quarrel between
this great statesman and his malignant rival
was, perhaps, more personal than political.
It is said that Hamilton, in accordance with
the old-time code of honor, accepted the
challenge, but fired into the air, while
Burr with fiendish cruelty took deliberate
revenge. Burr was never forgiven by the
citizens of New York and from that hour
walked its streets shunned and despised.
Among the many poetic tributes penned at the
time to the memory of Hamilton, perhaps the
best was by a poet whose name is now
scarcely remembered, Mr. Robert C. Sands. A
fine picture of Hamilton will be found in
the New York Chamber of Commerce where the
writer was recently shown the following
concise paragraph from Talleyrand: "The
three greatest men of my time, in my
opinion, were Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles
James Fox and Alexander Hamilton and the
greatest of the three was Hamilton."
The
plain marble slab which stood in the face of
the monument is still preserved by a member
of the King family. It is thirty-six inches
long by twenty-six and a half inches wide
and bears the following inscription: "As an
expression of their affectionate regard to
his Memory and their deep regret for his
loss, the St. Andrew's Society of the State
of New York have erected this Monument."
Quite a history attaches to this stone
(graphically condensed by an old gardener of
the King estate): "It stood in the face of
the monument for sixteen years, and was read
by thousands, but by 1820 the pillar had
become an eyesore to the enlightened public
sentiment of the age, and an agitation was
begun in the public prints for its removal.
It was not, however, organized effort, but
the order of one man, that at length
demolished the pillar. This man was Captain
Deas, a peace-loving gentleman, strongly
opposed to dueling and brawls, and on seeing
a party approaching the grounds often
interposed and sometimes succeeded in
effecting a reconciliation. He became tired
of seeing the pillar in his daily walks,
and, in 1820, ordered his men to remove it
and deposit the slab containing the
inscription in one of the outbuildings of
the estate. This was done. But a few months
afterward the slab was stolen, and nothing
more was heard of it until thirteen years
later, when Mr. Hugh Maxwell, president of
the St. Andrew's Society, discovered it in a
junk shop in New York. He at once purchased
it and presented it to Mr. James G. King,
who about this time came into possession of
the Deas property, where it has since been
carefully preserved."
This mansion of Captain Deas afterward known
as the "King House on the Cliff" was a
stately residence where Washington Irving
used to come and dream of his fair Manhattan
across the river. It was also the
head-quarters of Lafayette, after the battle
of Brandywine.
The
gardener also said: "the river road beneath
us is cut directly through the spot.
Originally it was simply a narrow and grassy
shelf close up under the cliffs, six feet
wide and eleven paces long. A great cedar
tree stood at one end, and this sandbowlder,
which we have also preserved, was at the
other. It was about twenty feet above the
river and was reached by a steep rocky path
leading up from the Hudson, and, as there
was then no road or path even along the base
of the cliffs, it could be reached only by
boats." The first duel at Weehawken of which
there is any record was in 1799, between
Aaron Burr and John B. Church (Hamilton's
brother-in-law). The parties met and
exchanged shots; neither was wounded. The
seconds then induced Church to offer an
apology and the affair terminated. The last
duel was fought there September 28, 1845,
and ended in a farce, the pistols being
loaded with cork—a fitting termination to a
relic of barbarism.
Riverside Drive and Park. Riverside Drive,
on the east bank starting at 72d Street, is
pronounced the finest residential avenue in
the world. Distinguished among many noble
residences is the home of Charles M. Schwab
at 73d Street, which cost two million
dollars; built on the New York Orphan Asylum
plot for which he paid $860,000.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, 89th
Street, a memorial to the citizens of New
York, who took part in the Civil War, a
beautiful work of art, circular in form,
with Corinthian columns, erected by the city
at a cost of a quarter of million of dollars
was dedicated May 30, 1902. The corner-stone
was laid in 1900 by President Roosevelt, at
that time Governor. The location was well
selected, and it presents one of the most
attractive features of the river front.
Columbia University, on Morningside Heights,
has a fine outlook, crowning a noble site
worthy of the old college, whose sons have
been to the fore since the days of the
Revolution in promoting the glory of the
state and the nation. President Low has
happily styled "Morningside," which extends
from 116th to 120th Streets, "The Acropolis
of the new world." The Library Building
which he erected to his father's memory, is
of Greek architecture and cost $1,500,000.
It contains 300,000 volumes and is open
night and day to the public. It also marks
the battle ground and American victory of
Harlem Heights in 1776.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine
(Protestant Episcopal), now in process of
erection, occupies three blocks from 110th
Street to 113th between Morningside Park and
Amsterdam Avenue. The corner stone was laid
in 1892 to be completed about 1940 at a cost
of $6,000,000. The crypt quarried out of the
solid rock has been completed and services
are held in it every Sunday. Near at hand
will be seen the beautiful dome of St.
Luke's Hospital.
Grant's Tomb, Riverside Drive and 123d
Street, has the most commanding site of the
Hudson River front of New York. The bluff
rises 130 feet and still retains the name of
Claremont. The apex of the memorial is 280
feet above the river. Ninety thousand people
contributed to the "Grant Monument
Association fund" which, with interest,
aggregated $600,000. The corner stone was
laid by President Harrison in 1892 and
dedicated April 27, 1897, on the
seventy-fifth anniversary of Grant's birth,
with a great military, naval and civil
parade. The occasion was marked by an
address of President McKinley and an oration
of Gen. Horace Porter, president of the
Grant Monument Association.
An attempt to remove Grant's body to
Washington was made in Congress but
overwhelmingly defeated. The speech by
Congressman Amos Cummings in the House of
Representatives, was a happy condensation of
the facts. He fittingly said: "New York was
General Grant's chosen home. He tried many
other places but finally settled there. A
house was given to him here in Washington,
but he abandoned it in the most marked
manner to buy one for himself in New York.
He was a familiar form upon her streets. He
presided at her public meetings and at all
times took an active interest in her local
affairs. He was perfectly at home there and
was charmed with its associations. It was
the spot on earth chosen by himself as the
most agreeable to him; he meant to live and
die there. It was his home when he died. He
closed his career without ever once
expressing a wish to leave it, but always to
remain in it.
"Men are usually buried at their homes.
Washington was buried there; Lincoln was
buried there; Garibaldi was buried there;
Gambetta was buried there, and Ericsson was
buried, not at the Capital of Sweden, but at
his own home. Those who say that New York is
backward in giving for any commendable thing
either do not know her or they belie her.
Wherever in the civilized world there has
been disaster by fire or flood, or from
earthquake or pestilence, she has been among
the foremost in the field of givers and has
remained there when others have departed. It
is a shame to speak of her as parsimonious
or as failing in any benevolent duty. Those
who charge her with being dilatory should
remember that haste is not always speed. It
took more than a quarter of a century to
erect Bunker Hill Monument; the ladies of
Boston completed it. It took nearly half a
century to erect a monument to George
Washington in the City founded by him, named
for him, and by his act made the Capital of
the Nation; the Government completed it. New
York has already shown that she will do far
better than this."
The Thirteen Elm Trees, about ten or fifteen
minutes' walk from General Grant's Tomb,
were planted by Alexander Hamilton in his
door-yard, a century ago, to commemorate the
thirteen original States. This property was
purchased by the late Hon. Orlando Potter,
of New York, with the following touch of
patriotic sentiment: "These famous trees are
located in the northeast corner of One
Hundred and Forty-third street and Convent
Avenue; or, on lots fourteen and fifteen,"
said the auctioneer to the crowd that
gathered at the sale. "In order that the old
property with the trees may be kept
unbroken, should the purchaser desire, we
will sell lots 8 to 21 inclusive in one
batch! How much am I offered?" "One hundred
thousand dollars," quietly responded Mr.
Potter. A ripple of excitement ran through
the crowd, and the bid was quickly run up to
$120,000 by speculators. "One hundred and
twenty-five thousand," said Mr. Potter. Then
there were several thousand dollar bids, and
the auctioneer said: "Do I hear one hundred
and thirty?" Mr. Potter nodded. He nodded
again at the "thirty-five" and "forty" and
then some one raised him $250. "Five
hundred," remarked Mr. Potter, and the
bidding was done. "Sold for $140,500!" cried
the auctioneer. Mr. Potter smiled and drew
his check for the amount. "I can't say what
I will do with the property," said Mr.
Potter. "You can rest assured, however, that
the trees will not be cut down."
Edgewater, opposite Grant's Tomb on the west
bank, lies between Undercliff on the north
and Shadyside on the south. The latter place
was made historic by Anthony Wayne's capture
of supplies for the American army in the
summer of 1780 which formed the basis of a
satirical poem by Major Andre, entitled "The
Cow Chase."
The steamer is now approaching 129th street,
and we turn again with pride to the
beautiful tomb of General Grant which
fittingly marks one point of a great
triangle of fame—the heroic struggle of the
American soldiers in 1776, the home of
Alexander Hamilton, and the burial place of
the greatest soldier of the Civil War.
