Cadwallader Colden

by Seymour I. Schwartz

  In 1770, just before Dunmore arrived in New York, the councilors and city members of the Assembly almost unanimously voted against a proposal to disallow the importation of goods from Great Britain.4 Ten months after his appointment, the Earl of Dunmore arrived in New York on October 18. He served as New York's governor for less than a year, when he moved on to become the governor of Virginia in 1771. When Dunmore arrived, Colden retired to Spring Hill. Colden left with, what was for him, a relatively unique sense of appreciation by the city's merchants and ministers and members of the established church.

  The issue of Colden's salary and perquisites during the period that he served as lieutenant governor while awaiting Dunmore's arrival was the genesis of Colden's final contentious encounter. For Colden, this represented the recurrence of a situation that was addressed and argued during General Monckton's gubernatorial tenure.

  In November 1770, John Tabor Kempe, the attorney general of New York, filed a bill in Chancery, on behalf of the Crown, against Colden.5 The specific point of contention was whether Colden, as lieutenant governor was entitled to a “Moiety” (half) of the “Perquisites and Emoluments” of the office of the leader of the province during the period of absence of the governor. Lengthy, detailed notes by Colden provide evidence of his step-by-step rebuttals of his opponents', namely, the Crown's and Lord Dunmore's, arguments.6

  In reference to his opponents' invocation of a related declaration, which was made by King William in 1698, Colden insisted that the declaration died with the king, and was, therefore, null and void. Colden also contended that it was absurd to draw any conclusion from that royal declaration because the current salary of the governor and lieutenant governor were appropriated and bestowed by the provincial Assembly rather than the Crown or Parliament. Colden asserted that nothing specified that he, as lieutenant governor, was to receive a proportion of his salary, perquisites, and emoluments for the use of the king. Nor was a lieutenant governor accountable for his salary, bonds, bills and lands, which he had taken. Colden pointed out that there was no evidence that the king had given Lord Dunmore authority to execute any claim. Similarly, there was no authority, which had been granted to the attorney general to institute a suit in Chancery. Colden also contended that nothing related to the king's revenue or debts could be determined in Chancery, where Lord Dunmore was the sole judge.

  Colden stressed that any and all the monies and profits, which he might have received, could be discovered in a court of common law. Once again, as was the case during a previous and similar disagreement at the time of Monckton's tenure, Colden insisted that the lieutenant governor, when acting in lieu of an absent governor, was entitled to one half of the Salary and of all Perquisites and Emoluments of Government. It had been assumed that the insertion of the word “of” before “all Perquisites and Emoluments” was a clerical error.

  Colden agreed that “one half of the salary” was appropriate because it flowed from a royal bounty and the king could direct it to be paid in any proportion that he saw fit. By contrast, he argued that “Perquisites and Emoluments” were paid by individuals for services performed and, consequently, not under the king's purview. Colden proceeded to support his argument by parsing the specifics of the Declaration of King William, which had been invoked by his opponents. Colden pointed out that the declaration “reserves to the King the disposal of the other Moiety of the said Salary.” No mention is made of “a Moiety of Perquisites and Emoluments.” This was offered as enforcement of Colden's contention that the interpolated “of” was not meant to be.

  The paper trail concerning the issue of Colden's perquisites continued in 1771 with a petition written by Colden's nemesis, William Smith, Jr., in his role as counsel for Lord Dunmore, who had assumed the position of governor of Virginia. The letter was addressed to Dunmore's replacement, Governor William Tryon.7 Dunmore's counsel indicated that the king had the right to regulate and disperse the receipts of perquisites and emoluments, and that his client should receive half the perquisites and emoluments that Colden had collected during the period between Dunmore's commission and his arrival to assume the post in New York. In order to strengthen his case, Dunmore asked the justices of the Supreme Court for an opinion. They declared that Colden's argument was well-founded, and the case was dropped.8

  William Tryon, who had been serving as the governor of North Carolina, was commissioned to change venues and replace Dunmore as the governor of New York, where he arrived on July 8, 1771. Prior to his arrival, Colden, in the role of lieutenant governor, presented a petition to establish a hospital in the city by favoring the incorporation of “The Society of the Hospital in the City of New-York in America” to the Council. The event brought together the actions of Samuel Bard and Colden, who had established a relationship fifteen years previously when a boyhood Bard recuperated from an illness at Coldengham in 1754. King's College had been established as a medical school in 1767 with Bard as the professor of the theory and practice of medicine. At the graduation of the first class in 1769, Bard inaugurated a campaign for the building of a hospital.9 In 1771, King George III granted the charter and Colden, as lieutenant governor, signed the charter for what would become the second oldest hospital in the United States.

  Between the time of Tryon's arrival and his departure for a temporary visit to England, Colden remained in Spring Hill, where he was detached from political activities. In 1772, he was elected as an honorary member of the Marine Society of New York, a charitable and educational organization that had been chartered by King George III in 1770 to “improve maritime knowledge and relieve indigent and distressed shipmasters, their widows and orphans….” Colden's certificate reads,

  The Marine Society of this City which owes to you its Existence Impressed with the Warmest Gratitude for their Founder,—and Remembering also the Protection and Countenance, you have always shewn them, both in your publick and private Character, Think it their duty to give some lasting Testimony of these their Sentiments—this the Society could not be better effected than by the Unanimous Choice of you as a member of that Charitable Institution, which was formed under your Wise and benevolent Administration; a Choice, which at the same time that affords some Proof of their great respect for Lieutenant Governor Colden, reflects also particular Honour on themselves, by the addition of a Person of your Rank and Experience to their Society.10

  Sometime in 1771 and 1772, Matthew Pratt painted two full-length portraits of Cadwallader Colden as an octogenarian, one standing alone (fig. 10) and the other with his grandson, Warren Delancey (fig. 11). In 1773, a third generation of the Colden family assumed the position of surveyor general of New York when Lord North, in response to a request from Colden coupled with an endorsement by Tryon, directed the appointment of Richard Nicholls Colden to succeed his father, Alexander.11

  In his first demonstration of leadership, Governor Tryon succeeded in having the Assembly appropriate funds for quartering British troops in the province, and also established a militia. A period of relative calm in New York was altered by Parliament's passage of the Tea Act, which was signed by the king on May 10, 1773. It was designed to improve the financial status of the East India Company. Tea was to be shipped directly to the colonies and sold at a bargain price. Although a new tax was not imposed, the Townshend Duties were still in place, and the colonists regarded the Tea Act as an emphasis of the right of Parliament to tax without representation. The act granted the East India Company the right to directly ship its tea to the colonies as a duty-free export. The direct sale would effectively undercut the business of the local merchants.

  Tryon planned to have the tea stored at Fort George but the Sons of Liberty, led by Alexander McDougall, vehemently objected to landing any tea. When Tryon learned of the Boston Tea Party, which had taken place on December 16, he informed London that he would not be able to bring the tea ashore without military protection and that it would not be purchased by the colonists. Coincidentally, the Governor's Mansion was destroyed by
fire on December 29.

  In April 1774, Colden wrote the Earl of Dartmouth, who was secretary of state for the colonies and head of the Board of Trade at the time, his final letter related to Lord Dunmore's suit against him. Colden pointed out that it was the unanimous judgment of the four judges of the Supreme Court that he had sole right to all the salary and perquisites and emoluments, which he had received. Colden also indicated that he had learned that Dunmore was engaged in efforts to remove him from his position as lieutenant governor.12 There is no record of an answer.

  Figure 10. Cadwallader Colden (1688–1776) by Matthew Pratt. Painted in 1771–1772. Courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce, State of New York.

  Figure 11. Cadwallader Colden and his grandson, Warren Delancey. Matthew Pratt, painted in 1771–1772. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  That year a description of Colden's appearance indicated that “the Governor is the best real Picture of an Old Man that I ever saw. He is 87 years old, has his hearing & sences [sic] as well as ever he had without marks of Age, except in his Eyes which are grown dim & his Head covered with strong white hair. His mind is excellent and he is no churl, indeed he pushed me so hard that I was obliged to shear off.”13

  Tryon departed for England on April 7, 1774, and once again Colden became the acting governor. On April 19, a shipment of tea reached the New York harbor. Three days later, a group dressed as Mohawks boarded the London and threw the tea overboard. A second ship bearing tea turned about before anchoring and returned to England. In May the Committee of Fifty One was formed by the Assembly in protest of the Tea Act. That committee became the first public body to suggest a continental Congress.14 The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The eight representatives from New York had specific instructions to pursue a resolution with Great Britain. They did sign the Congress's resolution that prohibited importation from Great Britain. On January 20, 1775, the New York Assembly created a committee to protest the Tea Act. In May a Committee of Sixty, which had replaced the Committee of Fifty One, was, in turn, replaced by the Committee of One Hundred. The members expressed loyalty to the Crown but opposition to parliamentary laws that were established without colonial representation.

  While Colden remained in charge of provincial affairs, he received “A Circumstantial Account of an Attack that happened on the 19th of April, 1775” from Thomas Gage, detailing the battle that took place near Lexington, Massachusetts.15 Colden met with his Council on May 1 consequent to receipt of the information. In response to the Earl of Dartmouth's letter on March 3 calling for compliance on the part of the Assembly and restoration of public tranquility,16 the Council indicated that the recent acts of hostility precluded any immediate efforts toward reconciliation.17 The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. Eleven representatives from New York attended. The Congress issued a petition of grievances and right to the king.

  On May 18, Colden retired to Spring Hill, never to return to New York City. On May 27, he wrote to Captain Vandeput of the Asia: “When Congress and Committees had taken the entire direction of the Government, it is extremely disagreeable to me to remain a spectator of the Proceedings and confusions in town which I had it not in my power to prevent: I have therefore retired to this place on Long Island where I shall be very happy to see you whenever you can make it agreeable to yourself.”18

  On June 14, the Continental Army was established and, a day later, George Washington was named commander-in-chief. On June 17, the Battle of Bunker Hill energized the colonial movement toward independence. Tryon arrived back in New York on June 25. Ironically, he was obliged to share the city's official welcome on that date with a welcome for George Washington, who was passing through the city en route to Boston. Colden's last published letter on the affairs of the province was addressed to the Earl of Dartmouth on July 3, 1775, informing him that Washington had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.19

  While in retirement at Spring Hill, Colden would have learned that, on July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops at the current site of the New York City Hall, the equestrian statue of King George III was torn down and destroyed. On August 27, at the Battle of Long Island at Brooklyn Heights, on the same island where Colden resided, Washington and the Continental Army were emphatically defeated by British troops. On August 29 and 30, the nine thousand American troops evacuated to Manhattan. Colden died on September 20, 1776, at the age of eighty-eight years and seven months. He was buried in a private cemetery attached to his Spring Hill farm.

  Colden affixed his signature to his will on May 20, 1775. It was admitted to probate on March 15, 1779. The will stated that Colden's rights to a sixth part of the minerals and ores in a tract of 1,200 acres of land on the Mohawk River that he formerly held with James Alexander and Lewis Morris and others, and a sixth part of minerals and ores in several tracts of land on the west side of the Catskill Mountains were granted to his grandson Richard Nicolls Colden and his heirs. Colden's son David was to receive Colden's “negro slaves, Horses, Oxen & stock and cattle of all sorts, together with all Carts and Waggons and other implements of Husbandry and likewise all my Household and Table Furniture…. I give all my manuscript and printed Books to my son David.” Colden excused the debts owed him, by his sons Alexander and Cadwallader provided they made no demands on the estate. The estates' money, bonds, and notes were divided into five parts, equally between his sons Cadwallader and David, and his daughter, Elizabeth Delancey, the children of his deceased son, Alexander, and the children of his deceased daughter, Alice Willet.

  Cadwallader, Jr., was heir to the lands at Coldengham; David was the recipient of the lands at Spring Hill, Flushing, Long Island. The remaining lands that Colden owned were to be divided and distributed into the same five equal parts as the money, bonds, and notes. The instructions to the executors were that they divide these allocations as soon as possible, selling some parcels, if necessary to ensure equitable shares. Alice's children were to receive their shares on their twenty-first birthday or on the day of their marriage, whichever came first. Lastly, Colden willed that “my Body be interred in a private manner with as little expense as with common Decency may be.” His sons Cadwallader, Jr., and David and his daughter, Elizabeth Delancey, were made executors of the will.1

  Nothing remains of the Colden Estate at Spring Hill. The farm, which had been leased by Colden on May 12, 1761, from John and Thomas Willet, had been sold to “Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden” on May 12, 1772, for £2,000. Reservation was made in the deed for “a certain ancient burying Place, fenced in with a stone fence or stone Ditch (where the family of the Willets have hitherto been interred) to and for the use of the family of said Willets to bury and deposit their dead from henceforth forever.”2

  David Colden, Cadwallader's son who inherited the Spring Hill estate, remained loyal to the Crown during the American Revolution. As a consequence, the property was confiscated in 1779 and purchased on July 30, 1784, by William Conwell of Flushing, Long Island. As the property passed by sale from one owner to the next, the name “Spring Hill” was supplanted by the sequential owners' names. When viewed by Edwin R. Purple in 1873, the house stood on a small elevation on the west side of the farm near the public highway. About one hundred yards northeast of the house, the old cemetery and grave of Cadwallader Colden was located. No sign designated the precise location of Colden's grave.3

  In 1924, Alexander J. Wall, the librarian of the New York Historical Society, visited the area, and noted that the house was still standing (see fig. 9, on p. 134) and was being used as the office of the Cedar Grove Cemetery. It was known as the “Colden House.” The foundations consisted of solid thick walls and the largest of the beams were hand-hewn. The hall and rooms were spacious with high ceilings. There were four chimneys and the doors were hung with H-hinges.4

  Wall chronicled the history of the Spri
ng Hill homestead. Colden entertained the members of the Council in 1764 and General Gage in 1765 at the house. Soldiers from the artillery often dined there. In 1768, Reverend Samuel Auchmuty, rector of Trinity Church in New York City, visited. Between the time the confiscated estate was sold to William Cromwell in 1784 and April 1804 when it was purchased by the Cedar Grove Cemetery Association, the estate passed through fifteen owners.5

  The Coldengham estate, like Spring Hill, no longer exists. In 1767, Cadwallader transferred the property to his son, Cadwallader, Jr. A live descendant of the Colden's possesses a manuscript tracing of an original map of the estate (fig. 12). The tracing was made January 4, 1811. The map's written legend indicates that it is “A Map of Coldenham comprehending 2000 acres granted in the year 1719 by Letters Patent To Cadwallader Colden Esq…. Also 1000 acres of Land…released by his Excellency Govr Burnet to the said Cadwallader Colden by Indenture bearing the date 9th day of April 1728…and also 720 acres of Land granted by letters Patent to Cadwld Colden Junr & David Colden in the year 1761.” The map depicts plots allocated to Cadwallader's children: Alexander, Cadwallader, Jr, and Alice Colden, and others. It also indicated areas that had been sold off.