Old Taverns of New York

by W. Harrison Bayles

“A message was sent to this House from the Council, that a Conference is desired by the Council, with a committee of this House at 3 of the Clock in the Afternoon, at Gabriel Thompson’s, at the White Lion,

Which was agreed to and,

Ordered, That Capt. Provoost, Col. Rutsen, Mr. Hanjen, Mr. Sebring and Mr. Veghte, be a Committee of this House, to confer with a Committee of Council this Afternoon.”

A deed bearing date November 23, 1701, shows that Gabriel Thompson, tavern-keeper, purchased from Nicholas Bayard and Abraham De Peyster the lot on the northwest corner of the present Wall and William Streets, but whether or not he ever kept a tavern here we have not been able to determine. Maps of this locality, of subsequent date, show no building between the City Hall and Bayard’s sugar house. Thompson’s house was undoubtedly in this neighborhood and probably not far from the City Hall, where the assembly held their sessions.

It has been stated by some writers that the King’s Head, the house of Roger Baker, was at the corner of Pearl Street and Maiden Lane. Henry Coleman, butcher, mortgaged this property in February, 1701, to Roger Baker, vintner, for a loan of £348 10s. Baker may have eventually come into possession of it, and he may have kept a tavern here, but we can find no evidence of it. In the mortgage deed it is described as lying without the fortifications on the north side of a street called Queen Street and bounded on the east side by a street which leads to Green Lane.

After the death of Bellomont, during the brief rule of Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan, who was a relative of the Earl, the political agitation was active and aggressive. As soon as it became known in New York that Lord Cornbury had been appointed to succeed the Earl of Bellomont as governor of the province, measures were taken to secure the favor of that corrupt individual by the anti-Leislerian party. In this procedure Nicholas Bayard took the lead, and procured addresses to be signed to the King, to parliament and to Cornbury. To Cornbury, a man very susceptible to flattery, they were profuse in their congratulations and in assertions calculated to prejudice him against those who had supported Bellomont and to gain his favor for themselves, that they might again become the dominant party. Not only were reflections freely cast on the Earl of Bellomont, but Nanfan, the lieutenant-governor, was accused of bribing members of the house of assembly.

The Addresses Signed at the Coffee House

The addresses were signed at the Coffee House, kept by John Hutchins, and as soon as it was known, Hutchins was summoned to appear before the lieutenant-governor and the council and ordered to produce the addresses. This he could not or would not do, and on the 19th of January, 1702, was arrested and committed to jail. Two days after, Bayard was also arrested and committed to prison on a warrant as a traitor. Nanfan was aware that Bayard had dug a pit for others that might be used for his own destruction. He had procured the passage of a law in 1691, when he was striving and hoping for the ruin of Leisler and his friends, by which, “whatsoever person or persons shall, by any manner of ways, or upon any pretence whatsoever, endeavor, by force of arms or otherwise, to disturb the peace, good and quiet of their majesties’ government, as it is now established, shall be deemed and esteemed as rebels and traitors unto their majesties, and incur the pains, penalties and forfeitures as the laws of England have for such offences, made and provided.” The trial of Bayard was hastened that it might be concluded before the arrival of Cornbury. The prisoners petitioned that they might not be tried until the usual sitting of the Supreme Court. This, of course, was refused. All objections were overruled and Bayard was ordered for trial on Monday, the 2d of March. He was convicted and sentenced to death, and Hutchins was tried and condemned in like manner. Bayard was granted a reprieve until her majesty’s pleasure might be known. Hutchins was released on bail. Bayard was held in confinement until the arrival of Cornbury, when all was reversed. Not very long after, by order of the government, Bayard and Hutchins were reinstated in all honor and estate, “as if no such trial had been.”

THE BAYARD PUNCH BOWL