Thurlow Weed (1797-1882), the bitterest enemy of this coterie, and the man who gave them their name, declared of them that he "had never known a body of men who possessed so much power and used it so well." Until the election of William H. Seward (the Whig candidate) as governor in 1838, New York had usually been Democratic, largely through the predominating influence of Van Buren and the "Regency." Weed had an important share in bringing about their defeat. He owed his early political advancement to the introduction into state politics of the Anti-Masonic issue; for a time he edited the Anti-Masonic Enquirer. In 1830 he established and became editor of the Albany Evening Journal, which he controlled for thirty-five years.
The anti-rent war, precipitated by the death of Stephen van Rensselaer (1764-1839), the "last of the patroons," centered about Albany. The final settlement of this outbreak, which began with rioting and murder, and ended with the election of a governor favorable to the tenants (1846), disposed of feudal privilege in New York State which had flourished here until well into the 19th century, though it had disappeared elsewhere.
The anti-rent agitation began in the Hudson River counties during the first administration of Gov. Seward (1839). The greater part of the land in this section was comprised in vast estates such as the Rensselaerswyck, Livingston, Scarsdale, Philipse, Pelham and Van Cortlandt manors, and on these the leasehold system, with perpetual leases, and leases for 99 years (or the equivalent), had become general. Besides rents, many of the tenants were required to render certain services to the proprietor, and in case a tenant sold his interest in a farm to some one else he was required to pay the proprietor one-tenth to one-third of the amount received, as an alienation fee.
Stephen van Rensselaer had permitted his rents, especially those from poorer tenants, to fall much in arrears, and the effort of his heirs to collect them—they amounted to about $200,000—was met with armed opposition. In Rensselaer county a man was murdered, and Gov. Seward was forced to call out the militia. The tenants, however, formed anti-rent associations in all the affected counties, and in 1844 began a reign of terror, in which, disguised as Indians, they resorted to flogging, tarring and feathering, and boycotting, as weapons against all who dealt with the landlords. This culminated in the murder of a deputy sheriff in Delaware county. In 1846 the anti-rent associations secured the election of Gov. John Young as well as several legislators favorable to their cause, and promoted the adoption of a new constitution abolishing feudal tenures and limiting future agricultural leases to twelve years. Under the pressure of public opinion the great landlords rapidly sold their farms.
Stephen van Rensselaer was the 8th patroon and 5th in descent from Killiaen, the first lord of the manor. He was lieutenant-governor of New York, an ardent promoter of the Erie canal, a major-general in the War of 1812 (during which he was defeated at the battle of Queenstown Heights) and represented New York in congress from 1822 to 1829. In 1824 he founded a school in Troy which was incorporated two years later as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Ancient Dutch Church, Albany (1714)
(From an old print in the N.Y. Public Library)
This church, built of bricks brought from Holland, stood for about 92 years in the open area formed by the angle of State, Market and Court streets. It was erected in less than four weeks. The early Dutch felt that without the church they could not hope to prosper. The old church was of Gothic style, one story high, and the glass of its antique windows was richly ornamented with coats of arms. In 1806 the church was taken down and its brick employed in the erection of the South Dutch Church, between Hudson and Beaver streets, which in turn was later replaced by a newer structure.
Comparatively few ancient landmarks remain in Albany, though there are some fine specimens of the Dutch and later colonial architecture still standing. Of these the best known is the Schuyler mansion,* built by Gen. Philip Schuyler, in 1760, which, after serving for many years as an orphan asylum, was recently purchased by the state and converted into a museum.
Having served in the French and Indian wars, Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) was chosen one of the four major-generals in the Continental service at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and was placed in command of the northern department of New York with headquarters at Albany. The necessary withdrawal of the army from Crown Point in 1776 and the evacuation of Ticonderoga in 1777 were magnified by his enemies into a disgraceful retreat, and he was tried by court martial but acquitted on every charge. He was a delegate from N.Y. to the Continental Congress in 1779, and later joined his son-in-law, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and others in the movement for the ratification by New York of the Federal constitution. In 1790 he was elected to the U.S. senate. "For bravery and generosity" says John Fiske, "he was like the paladin of some mediæval romance."