Colden's first decade of residence at Coldengham, which was located about sixty miles from New York City, ninety miles from Albany, and a few miles from the west shore of the Hudson River, was characterized by a continuance of his involvement as an active surveyor general and provincial politician, both requiring frequent travel from home. He remained surveyor general until 1762, when he was replaced by his eldest son, Alexander. As a member of the Council there were trips to New York City, where he remained a highly visible figure. After October 1736, when present, Colden presided as the eldest councilor. Transportation between Coldengham and New York City was unpredictable and relied on sloops that sailed on the Hudson River between New York City and Albany. These vessels were sixty-five to seventy-five feet in length and had a limited number of cabin accommodations for the passengers. Schedules were unreliable due to the vagaries of wind and tide. When the river froze, travel ceased.
Concomitant with the move, Colden became a lessee and rented his house in New York City, using his close friend, James Alexander, as his agent. There is a record that among the renters, were a tavern keeper and a “jew,” who “has no family but a wife & one servant & it would not Suit him to give any higher rent than £20 & the rest of the house besides your room [used for storage of Colden's books and goods] was Enough for him.”1
The building of a permanent residence on the Coldengham estate in sparsely occupied Ulster County was a gradual and prolonged process. The kitchen was not completed until the fall of 1732.2 At the time, Colden employed “4 Negro Men & two wenches and they all do their business cheerfully & seem contented.”3 Using Scottish stone masons, a three-story house with a stone exterior in Georgian style was built over several years. An addition was made between 1732 and 1733 to accommodate the increasing number in the family (fig. 4). The interior floors were made of planking, using local wood. Each of several rooms had a fireplace, perhaps adorned with Dutch tiles, stained paneling, and a decorated iron fireback.4
The Colden children performed a variety of chores, including collecting eggs, plucking feathers, and gathering fruits and nuts. The older girls carried out spinning, weaving, and sewing.5 The estate contained an extensive orchard and nursery that included a variety of apples, cherries, pears, nectarines, and peaches.6 Fried fish from the river were a staple of the diet. Oysters were also fired and oyster stew was a favorite dish.7
One of the unique aspects of the farm was the construction of a canal, which had its point of origin at an enlarged pond to allow shallow-draft barges to transport a variety of material on a stream that ran through the property.8 The canal was identified during an archeological survey conducted in 1967, and is considered to be the first freshwater canal in the United States and the first to utilize horsepower to move boats along its course. Apparently, it began as a drainage ditch to eliminate a swamp, and was enlarged to allow for use by boats when Colden discovered deposits of peat or building-stone in the swamp.9 Colden would later expand his canal concept, which was prescient for the development of the Erie Canal in the early nineteenth century. In a report to the Lords of Trade, he indicated that a direct link could be established between the Mohawk River and Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes, “By which means of these Lakes & the Rivers which fall into them, Commerce may be carried from New York, through a vast Tract of Land, more easily than from any other maritime town in North America.”10 Colden extended his interests in the area almost immediately. He went into partnership with his neighbor Jacobus Bruyn and built a “publick house” at the Newburgh landing on the shore of the Hudson River, and leased it for £12 per year. He also set up a saw mill, which was functioning by 1731.11
Figure 4. Coldengham, woodcut from a map in the New-York Historical Society Quarterly XLV (July 1961). Courtesy of The New York Historical Society.
During the first decade at Coldengham, three more children were born (John on May 28, 1729; Catherine on February 13, 1731; and David on November 23, 1734). Maintenance of the farm and the education of his children occupied most of Colden's time when he was not away on business. But the children's education was mainly dependent on Mrs. Colden. A recollection of a descendent of Alice Colden provided a summation of her contribution to the family.
In the remote situation of Coldengham…she performed the duties of a wife, mother and mistress with peculiar propriety. The management of every part of her family was initiated and admired by all who had just ideas and were similarly situated…. [T]his was fortunate for my Grandfather, whose superior genius for politics and philosophical pursuits rendered him indifferent to the management of household concerns—how happy was it for a man of his turn to be soon connected: I never saw more proof of the proper ascendancy of a husband, blended with esteem and love, than I have observed in this venerable Grand Mother, and I have often experienced how delightful it was to be an object of her affection. I have frequently heard those who have visited at the house observe, that the useful and agreeable qualities that should prevail everywhere, were by her judicious attentions very remarkably exhibited in those over which she had the direction, and when our intelligent progenitor, was called to preside over the government of New York, she did honor to his station by her conduct in every instance.12
Cadwallader was responsible for his son Alexander's preparation as a surveyor and his daughter Jane's development as a botanist. Alexander would perform his first survey as a twenty-one year old.13 Latin was taught to the children by the local minister. In 1732, two of the older children, Alexander and Elizabeth, were sent to the city to enhance their education and social skills. This specifically included dancing school.
During the decade in question, the sole recorded correspondence of Colden related to the exchange of ideas was the February 1736 letter from William Douglass announcing the formation of a medical society in Boston and the society's preparation for publication of its first “Medical Memoirs,” to include a history of a dysentery epidemic in Boston in 1734, and comments on the writings of the famous seventeenth-century English physician, Thomas Sydenham.14
Initially, Colden's time spent at the estate was probably devoted to the improvement of the farm, the construction of the residence, and the education of the children. His frequent absences from Coldengham, often of sufficient length to generate letters between him and his wife, focused on his role as surveyor general and his membership on the Council of the Province of New York. The three-year period of Governor Montgomerie's stewardship of the Province of New York generated little activity on the part of the surveyor general's office. The governor had neither personal interest in the acquisition of land grants nor the inclination to satisfy the requests of others.
Under the governance of Montgomerie, in the three years of his tenure, “The Governour's good humour too extinguished the flames of contention, for being unable to plan, he had no particular scheme to pursue; and thus by confining himself to the common acts of government, our publick affairs flowed on in a peaceful uninterrupted scheme.”15 In 1729, Montgomerie traveled to Albany and on October 1 he renewed a treaty with the Six Nations and gained their support for the defense of Oswego.16 The year 1731 was marked by the appearance of the first printed map of New York City, the Lyne Survey (fig. 5) printed by William Bradford.
The death of Montgomerie on July 1, 1731, led to George II's January 13, 1732 appointment of William Cosby as “Captain General & Governor in Chief of the Provinces of New York, New Jersey and Territories depending thereon in America.” Rip Van Dam, as the eldest councilman, was to serve as interim governor. Cosby arrived in New York City with his family on April 24, 1732, and assumed office on August 2. Colden's situation changed substantially under the stewardship of Cosby.
Figure 5. James Lyne, A Plan of the City of New York from an actual Survey” 1731, printed by William Bradford, New York. Engraving, 45 x 57 cm. Courtesy of Rare Book Division, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.
Governor Cosby has been portrayed as one of the most egocentric and oppressive governors in all of British Colonial America's history. Cosby's arrival at New York immediately altered the political scene and created extreme polarization that affected every major political figure. Cosby's supporters included George Clarke, Archibald Kennedy, Adolph Philipse, Philip Van Cortland, and James Delancey, whom Cosby named chief justice after removing Lewis Morris from office. The group constituted the court party, which was more cosmopolitan, favoring trade with the French at Montreal and overseas trade. Colden's closest confidants—Lewis Morris, James Alexander, Rip Van Dam, and William Smith—led the competitive country party, which focused on provincial economic development and constituted Cosby's political foes.
Cosby's self-interest was also blatantly manifest. He demanded that the late acting governor, Rip Van Dam, remit half his salary to Cosby, and demanded a third of every land patent grant, in addition to petitioning for major grants for himself. Within two years of his arrival, patents were issued for 15,000; 27,000; and 86,000 acres. Cosby asked for 48,000 acres for himself.17 In 1734, Cosby received a land grant from the king of 22,000 acres on the Mohawk River in what became Herkimer County.
Colden represented an obstruction to Cosby's land acquisition, and the governor moved to remove Colden from office. Daniel Horsmanden, a young scheming lawyer, whom Cosby had appointed to the Council much to the dismay of several councilors, maintained a friendly relationship with Colden, in part for personal gains of land. In a letter to Colden, dated November 19, 1734, Horsmanden informed his friend:
Our friend Mathews yesterday Surprized me with an Accot That on Saturday Evening last You were suspended from your Office of Survey Genll. If it be tru, ’twas done in Such privacy, that I know not one Syllable of it.
Lewis Morris, who had been deposed from his position as chief justice by Governor Cosby, wrote to the Marquis of Lothian in defense of Colden.18 Lewis pointed out that the duty of the surveyor general was not only to survey lands granted by the Crown and insure that the grantees do not overstep their privilege but also to prevent the governors from granting land in a manner other than the Crown intended. Thus the surveyor general, in effect, was to restrain a governor in his pursuit of personal gain.
In the letter, Morris continued that it was probably Colden's restraint of Cosby's aggrandizement of land that rendered Colden an inimical personality for the governor rather than the three purported criticisms, which had circulated from the governor's camp. The first of the governor's criticisms indicated that Colden openly stated that the governor's bills had been protested openly by Colden. This never occurred. The second claimed that Colden had revealed secrets of the Council. This was also untrue. The third proposed that Colden was a Jacobite. This was refuted by the previously referred to action of Colden at Kelso in 1715 (see p. 16). As it turned out, Colden was never suspended, and maintained his position throughout Cosby's governorship and for years thereafter.
In his role as surveyor general, Colden's expertise was invoked to establish the boundaries between adjacent colonies. Although the boundary between Connecticut and New York was established in 1664, it remained uncontested until 1684. At that time, Connecticut began to dispute the jurisdiction of several towns within the territory concerning jurisdiction. A tentative agreement between the two colonies was reached in 1725.19 Colden had been an active participant on that occasion. The more recent focal point of disagreement, concerning the rights of the citizens of Richfield, was settled and articles of agreement were signed on May 18, 1732.20 In 1737, Colden served on the commission for settling the boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire.21 In 1741, also Colden served on the commission to define the boundary between Massachusetts and Rhode Island.22
With Governor Cosby's arrival, Colden's political contributions were significantly minimized. Colden's deliberate absence from the Council meetings was a factor. He revealed his sentiments regarding his political status in a letter to his Aunt Elizabeth Hill in January 1734.
It is too true what you hear of the uneasiness the people of this province are under at this time. There is a Complaint gone home against the Governor & probably by next spring it will be known what effect it is like to have As to my part I cannot value my self upon any great share in the Governour's friendship & for that reason I cannot place any security in it but it is said to be some comfort to have many under the same misfortune. However the distance I am at from New York frees me from a good deal of uneasiness that could not be avoided were I there at this time. My endeavor shall be to maintain the Character of an honest man & while I do that I hope never to forfeit your esteem & love It will be the greatest support & comfort to me under what ever misfortunes may be fall me I have taken all the measures which I think prudent to guard against any attempt that may be made & I hope they will be successful but they will create me some experience.23
Although a friend of the governor suggested that it was desirable for the governor to “create an intimate Friendship with you [Colden], because I knew he had much to expect from the Friendship of Man, with your Knowledge of the Nature of the Government, and of the Temper, and different Inclinations of the People he was to govern.”24 This never came to pass.
Colden was a peripheral participant in what was arguably the most significant and most referred to legal trial and decision in the history of British Colonial America. The trial of John Peter Zenger can be traced back to the arrival of Governor Cosby. On his arrival at New York, Cosby disputed the allocation of funds for the salary of Rip Van Dam, the chairman of the Council and acting governor after Montgomerie's death. To resolve the argument to his advantage, Cosby established a chancery court. Chief Justice Lewis Morris objected, based on the fact that the jurisdiction for such a court had expired and that there had been no act by either the Parliament or the Assembly to empower such a court. Governor Cosby responded by dismissing Morris from the position of chief justice and appointing James Delancey to the post. Lewis Morris and his son, Lewis, Jr., then ran for seats representing Westchester County in the New York Assembly and won.
They spearheaded the establishment the New-York Weekly Journal, a newspaper to express views in opposition to those of Cosby and his confidants, which appeared in the city's only existing periodical, William Bradford's Gazette. The New-York Weekly Journalwas edited by James Alexander, Colden's close friend. It emphasized praise for Lewis Morris and criticism of Governor Cosby and his policies. In addition to accusing the governor of an assortment of misconducts, the editorial material accused his government of illegal elections and permitting the French navy to explore New York harbor.
On November 2, 1734, Colden was a member of a privy council that met at Fort George, New York, and ordered that certain issues of the New-York Weekly Journal were to be burned “by the common hangman or whipper, near the pillory in this city, on Wednesday the 6th….”25 The governor declared the journal to be scandalous, and endorsed the order for the papers to be burned. Zenger was arrested for seditious libel on November 17, 1734. James Alexander and William Smith, who were lawyers within the opposition to the governor, were excluded from the court by the chief justice. As the trial was to begin in July 1735, the supporters of the printer were pessimistic about the outcome.
A Philadelphia lawyer named Andrew Hamilton was engaged by the defense. He established that a jury rather than the chief justice would decide if the published statements were true or false, and, if true they should not be considered libelous. The jury was convinced that the newspaper's statements were true and returned a verdict of “not guilty.” The citizens of the city celebrated and Hamilton was presented with “the freedom of the city in a gold box on which were inscribed…Demersae leges—time facta libertas—haec tandem emergunt”26 (the laws being submerged—and liberty made fearful—these emerge at last). The judgment established the precedent for freedom of the press in America by declaring that a printed defamatory statement, which is proved to be true, is not libelous.
Despite Colden's endorsement of the burning of issues of the New York Weekly Post, he remained more closely allied with Lewis Morris, James Alexander, and the group that favored the landowners rather than the merchants and Governor Cosby. But, Colden's physical absence from the eye of political storms allowed him to maintain a somewhat detached appearance rather than that of the champion of a cause.
Colden was made aware of Governor Cosby's rapidly advancing illness toward the end of 1735.27 The governor died on March 10, 1736, of what was likely tuberculosis. The populace was exultant while the politicians had mixed feelings about his successor.28Traditionally, Rip Van Dam, as senior councilor, would have become the acting governor. But, because Van Dam was suspended from the Council when Cosby became ill, George Clarke assumed the leadership role. A contentious period of anarchy ensued and lasted until October when Clarke received notification from the government in England naming him as president and commander-in-chief of the province. This was strengthened by his advancement to the rank of lieutenant governor at the end of the month.29
Colden sent the newly instated lieutenant governor a letter, dated November 3 and written while he was surveying Mohawk lands for purchase, that he signed “your Honours and most Obedient & most humble Servt.”30 as confirmation of his desire to establish a harmonious relationship. Although Colden maintained a close association with James Alexander, Lewis Morris, and William Smith, Sr., as political allies, who represented the minority faction, Colden was also able to enjoy collegiality with Clarke, his former antagonist.
At the beginning of Clarke's period of leadership, Chief Justice Delancey and Adolph Philipse swayed the Council, while the opposition led by Lewis Morris, his son, Lewis, Jr., and James Alexander directed the Assembly. As a consequence, the election that took place in 1737 was particularly contentious. In the course of events leading up to the vote, the votes by Jewish inhabitants were disallowed and for about a decade the Jews were disfranchised.31
That same year witnessed the beginning of a situation, in which Lieutenant Governor Clarke and Surveyor General Colden were allied and eventually became the subjects of censure. Their action evoked criticism that would mature into a cause célèbre. Both Clarke and Colden believed in encouraging settlements, consisting of farms and estates, along the frontier to counter encroachment by the French in Canada. Governor Cosby had previously proclaimed that 100,000 acres near Lake George was to be made available to immigrant Protestant families. Clarke and Colden were initially pleased with the proposal by Captain Laughlin Campbell to form a feudal estate on that frontier land with about eighty Scottish families. It turned out that Campbell lacked the financial resources to fund his scheme and the families, who came as part of the endeavor, were unwilling to participate under the leadership of Campbell. They applied for land on which they could create separate farms, but the patent for the land was withheld. Colden's refusal to allow the settlers to acquire parcels of land generated widespread criticism that affected his reputation for the remainder of his life.
The criticism reached its peak in 1757 with the publication of volume one of William Smith, Jr.'s The History of the Province of New-York. The author, whose book was published when he was only twenty-nine years old, was the son of a distinguished New York lawyer. The senior Smith was made attorney general of New York in 1751, and from 1753 until 1757 he was a member of the Council. During the 1730s and 1740s, the senior Smith and Colden were friends and allied in opposition to Adolph Philipse and James Delancey. In the 1750s, the relationship between Smith, Sr., and Colden transformed into bitter hatred.32
The title page of the first volume of William Smith, Jr.'s book specifies “From the First Discovery to the Year 1732.” In the first volume, the final pages of history, “Part V: From the Year 1720 to the Commencement of the Administration of Colonel Cosby (1732)” extends the time frame by bringing into focus the episode related to Colden that took place in 1737.
Captain Laughlin Campbel, encouraged by a proclamation to that purpose, came over in 1737, and ample promises were made to him. He went upon the land, viewed it and approved it; and was entreated to settle there, even by the Indians, who were taken with his Highland dress, Mr. Clarke, the Lieutenant Governour, promised him, in a printed advertisement, the grant of 30,000 acres of land, free from all but charges of the survey and the King's quit rent. Confiding on the faith of the government, Captain Campbel, went home to Isla, sold his estate, and, shortly after, transported, at his own expense, 83 Protestant families, consisting of 423 adults, besides a great number of children. Private faith and publick honour loudly demanded the fair execution of the project, so expensive to the undertaker and beneficial to the colony. But it unfortunately dropped, through the sordid views of some persons in power, who aimed at a share in the intended grant; to which Campbel, who was a man of spirit, would not consent. [my italics]33
In fact, Smith's interpretation was a misrepresentation, which he could have avoided by consulting contemporary records. Campbell should have been aware that the 100,000 acres had already been allocated. He had only been promised “sufficient land” for as many settlers as he attracted at three pounds per hundred acres and the annual quit rent to the Crown. Campbell had refused the 19,000 acres offered to him and also had falsely included in his list of settlers several who had been in New York before he arrived. Campbell's scheme was aborted because of his own personal greed and determination to make tenants of the settlers.34