Historic Pelham Blog Archive
May 17, 2006

350TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION BOOK:  "THOMAS PELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE PELL TREATY OAK" -- $11.95 (PROCEEDS AFTER PRINTING COSTS WILL GO TO BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM).  CLICK HERE TO BROWSE BEFORE YOU BUY! LEARN MORE.

Benjamin Palmer was the son-in-law of Thomas Pell, Third Lord of the Manor of Pelham. In 1761, Benjamin Palmer purchased from his brother, Joseph, the island then known as Minefor's Island (known today as City Island, long a part of the Town of Pelham before its annexation by New York City). Benjamin Palmer had grand plans to build a large port City on the island intended to rival New York City as an international shipping hub.

On Tuesday, May 2, 2006, I published to the Historic Pelham Blog a posting entitled "Benjamin Palmer's Advertisement in 1756 To Raise Subscriptions To Fund a Free Bridge From Manhattan". In it I described Palmer's involvement in efforts to break the monopoly, so to speak, of the only bridge from Manhattan to the mainland -- the toll bridge known as King's Bridge. To this end, in 1756 he began efforts to raise the funds necessary to build a free bridge from Manhattan. Today's Historic Pelham Blog posting provides more information about Palmer's involvement, based on a fascinating advertisement that appeared in at least two issues of The New-York Journal, Or General Advertiser in 1767. The text of those advertisements appears immediately below.

"IT is hoped that the Gentlemen who were pleased to sign the Recommendation to the following Petition, and which was therewith presented to the last General Assembly of this Province, will excuse the Publication of their Names, as we have no other Means to clear ourselves of a Scandalous Accusation, which we are informed by Benjamin Fowler, Esq., is brought against us by Col. Frederick Philips, of having the Names of three Gentlemen who never subscribed to said Recommendation, Viz. Doct. Robert Graham, Mrs. Stephen Ward, and the Said Benjamin Fowler, Esq.; one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, inserted in the List of Subscribers to the same, which, if so, must have been forged while in our Custody.

As the Inhabitants of this Colony in general, and many others, have received great Benefit by the Erection of the Free-Bridge, which we undertook at first with as great a Regard to the public Good at our own private Advantage, and as we have hitherto, not only received no Reward for this Service, but have done it at the expense of a very large Sum of our own Property, which we have lain out of many Years, it cannot but be thought extremely hard that it should also bring upon our Characters so cruel and injurious an Aspersion - and we hope that high Regard which every honest Man ought to have for his Character, will sufficiently justify as for taking this Method to clear ours, from so scandalous an Imputation.
JACOB DEYCKMAN, Junr.
JOHN VERMILIE.

To the Honourable the GENERAL ASSEMBLY, for the Province of New-York.

The PETITION of JACOB DYCKMAN, BENJAMIN PALMER, and JOHN VERMILIE; HUMBLY SHEWETH,

THAT your Petitioners have with great Pains and Labour, erected a Bridge over Harlem River, a little to the Southward of a Place called and known by the Name of King's-Bridge, and that the said Bridge has been, and is now of great Benefit and Utility to the Public; and that for want of proper Support and Assistance, it is likely soon to come to Decay, and the Public again reduced to the Necessity of paying to the Toll-Bridge as formerly : And also that your Petitioners having expended upwards of One Thousand Pounds in erecting and repairing the same, have received no more than Two Hundred and Eighty Pounds for that Purpose; so that your Petitioners are in Arrearage upwards of Seven Hundred Pounds, as will appear by the Accounts now in the Possession of the House, attested before the Mayor of the City of New-York : Therefore your Petitioners humbly pray, that the Honourable House would take the Matter of their Petition in Consideration, and grant them such Relief in the Premises, as they in their great Wisdom shall think fit, and your Petitioners shall ever pray, &c.

The above Petition was presented to the General Assembly with a Recommendation, signifying the Truth of the Facts therein mentioned, the great public Benefit of the said Bridge, the Reasonableness of the Petition, $c and praying that the Petitioners should be allowed such Compensation, Relief and Assistance, as the General Assembly in their Wisdom should think proper. This Recommendation, was subscribed by the following Inhabitants and Gentlemen, and no others, viz.

The underwritten are the Gentlemen's Names of New-York.

The underwritten are the Gentlemen's Names of West-Chester County.

The underwritten are the Gentlemen's Names of Harlem.

Source: [Untitled] IT is hoped . . ., The New-York Journal, Or General Advertiser, Mar. 5, 1767, p. 3 (The same advertisement also appeared in the March 12, 1767 issue of the same newspaper, p. 1).

For a related advertisement, see To the consideration of the Public, The New-York Journal, Or General Advertiser, Feb. 26, 1767, p. 3.

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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 5:00 AM Comment

Click Here To View the Actual Blog Posting for May 17, 2006.

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