David William Voorhees
America’s Forgotten 1689 Revolution and New ...
Michael Lorenzini
Revolutionary New York
Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz
“My World Stopped”: Joan Nestle Thanks Mayor ...
NYC Municipal Archives
Juneteenth
NYC Municipal Archives
The Knicks!

America’s Forgotten 1689 Revolution and New York City’s First Mayoral Election

Leisler leaving the fort. Illustration by F. T. Merrill in Edwin Lasstter Bynner, The Begum’s Daughter (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1890), facing page 236. Jacob Leisler Institute.

On May 16, 1691, in a drizzling rain, two middle-aged men climbed gallows erected at present-day One Pace Plaza near the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. Before the largest crowd yet gathered in the small city of 5,000 inhabitants, Jacob Leisler and his newly wed son-in-law, Jacob Milborne, were hung until half-dead then beheaded. Their alleged crimes were “levying war” against King William and Queen Mary, counterfeiting their Majesties’ great seal, murdering one Josiah Browne, and “other high misdemeanors.” The executions traumatized the onlookers. The “shrieks of the people were dreadful, some were carried away lifeless, and some rushing forwards, almost ere the life of their beloved ruler was extinct.” The political repercussions reverberated throughout New York’s colonial period and still echo today. Historians focus on Jacob Leisler as the central figure of the turmoil. Yet, the events that came to be known as “Leisler’s Rebellion” were a result of broader international and local circumstances.

The Miller Plan of 1695 shows New York City close to the time of Leisler’s Rebellion. It was made by John Miller, the chaplain of the fort from 1692-1695. Although the legal boundary of the city was approximately at Chambers Street, much of the population still lived south of the wall (Wall Street). Lithograph by George Hayward for D.T. Valentine’s Manual of 1852. Courtesy the Jacob Leisler Institute.

Charter of Liberties and Privileges. Common Council minutes October 31, 1683. REC0081, vol 1. p. 175, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Municipal Archives opens a window into these events. Following England’s final acquisition of New Netherland in 1674, New York City underwent rapid economic development. Agricultural and tobacco exports replaced the fur trade as economic drivers as city merchants also expanded into transporting enslaved Africans and finished European goods into the West Indies and the Chesapeake in exchange for rum, salt, and sugar. Population growth increased social stratification. In 1683 a representative assembly passed the Charter of Liberties and Privileges, which established self-government, declared that no taxes could be levied without the consent of a general assembly, trial by jury of one’s peers, and tolerance for all who “professe ffaith in God by Jesus Christ” (see REC0081, vol 1, pp. 175-176, 265). On April 27, 1686, Governor Thomas Dongan issued a patent that incorporated New York City, granted control of surrounding underwater lands, and formally created municipal offices including mayor, recorder, sheriff, aldermen, and assistants (inserted in REC0081, vol 2, p.7). 

A law restricting the slave trade to members of the Royal African Company. Common Council minutes August 5, 1685. REC0081, vol 1. p. 278, NYC Municipal Archives. 

A law restricting trade in the East Indies to members of the East India Company. Common Council minutes August 5, 1685. REC0081, vol 1. p. 275, NYC Municipal Archives.  

New York in 1689 remained very much a part of the European world. For a century and a half, religious wars had torn Europe apart. Theological disputes further divided congregations. In February 1685, the openly Roman Catholic James II replaced his brother Charles II on England’s throne. Particularly irksome to New Yorkers were James’s interference in New York’s economic development. In August 1685 the king banned New York City merchants from participating in the East Indies and slave trades by granting monopolies to the East India Company and Royal Africa Company (REC0081, pp. 275-282).

A Proclamation for dissolving the assembly by Governour Thomas Dongan. Common Council minutes August 13, 1685. REC0081, vol 1. p. 283, NYC Municipal Archives. 

These acts were immediately followed by James’s disallowance of New York’s Charter of Liberties (REC 0081, pp. 284-285). In October 1685, James’s cousin King Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes granting religious toleration and instituted a violent persecution of French Protestants, known as Huguenots, in his realms. French West Indian Protestants sought sanctuary in New York, accelerating fear of a Catholic French-Canadian invasion. In 1686, James incorporated New York into the megacolony of the Dominion of New England, with Boston as capital. Now, all official business was to be conducted there. The rapid competitive rise of the new city of Philadelphia added economic stress. As the council minutes relate, on August 11, 1688, Dominion Governor Sir Edmond Andros officially annexed New York to New England (REC0081, p. 329). 

Annexation of New York to the Dominion of New England. Common Council minutes April 19, 1688. NYC Municipal Archives.

James’s actions created a fuse for an explosion. It was anticipated the king’s Protestant daughter Mary, wed to Dutch stadholder William III, prince of Orange, would be heir. On June 10, 1688, however, Queen Mary of Modena gave birth to a Roman Catholic male heir. Andros ordered August 24 as a day of thanksgiving in New York for the prince’s birth (REC0081, vol 1, pp.330-331). In England, Protestant notables, fearing a Roman Catholic dynasty, invited James’s daughter and son-in-law to seize the throne. In the wake of England’s Glorious Revolution, Boston revolted in April 1689 against James II’s government. The uprising rapidly spread across New England and into the east end of Long Island. The Suffolk County militia resolved to seize New York City’s fort. Militias of other towns joined them on their march toward the city. Alarmed by these events, New York Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson appointed the city’s militia captains to his expanded council (See, New-York Historical Society Collections (1868) 1: 272-290). 

Governor Andros ordered August 24, 1688 as a day of thanksgiving for the birth of an heir to the Catholic King James II. Common Council minutes June 22, 1688. REC0081, p. 330-331, NYC Municipal Archives.

The city’s militia captains took turns guarding Fort James. But confrontations between local militiamen and English regulars resulted in the militia seizing the fort on behalf of the new king and queen, William and Mary. When militia Colonel Nicholas Bayard refused to assume control, the rebels turned to second in command, Jacob Leisler. The collapse of the Dominion of New England government with the Boston uprising and Francis Nicholson’s flight from New York on June 11 left the provincial government in a vacuum. Believing they did not have “a title to govern” without the “Peoples Resolutions,” the militia captains decided to follow Massachusetts’ precedent and call for a convention of the provincial towns. The New York militia captains sent a circular to the counties asking them to send two delegates to New York City on June 26 to consult “for the welfare of the country & the protestant religion.” The provincial Committee of Safety began deliberations on June 27. The following day, the convention reorganized the militia with Leisler as captain of the fort (PRO: CO5/1081, p. 69). 

Nicholson’s councilors Philipse, Van Cortlandt and Bayard trying to quiet the rebellion. Art by Alfred Fredericks; Engraved by Albert Bobbett for History of the City of New York: Its Origin, Rise and Progress. NYC Municipal Library. 

Leisler, a son of the Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, French Reformed church pastor Jacob Victorian Leisler, was among New York’s wealthiest inhabitants. His ancestors had served as chaplains to the House of Nassau, family of the Prince of Orange, and were active in the European Reformed movement. Following their example, Leisler was active in New York’s Reformed communities and, after 1685, in the settlement of Huguenot refugees. Appointed captain of the fort, Leisler managed militia correspondence, strengthened defenses, and took responsibility in administering to four-hundred men a loyalty oath to the “Prince of Orange and protestant interest.” Meanwhile, the Committee of Safety took immediate steps to coordinate provincial hegemony. On August 16, the committee appointed Leisler commander in chief of the province with full civil and military powers (NHi BV Sect. L “No. 7,” 1-3).

“The trainbands signing Leisler’s declaration.” Courtesy The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library.

To remove opposition, throughout late summer and fall of 1689 the Committee of Safety ordered elections by male “protestant freeholders.” Particularly irksome was that Andros’s common council continued to meet in New York City. On October 7, the Committee of Safety ordered the mayor, sheriff, clerk, and common council “be chosen By the Major vote of the freeholders.” (REC 0081, pp. 340). On October 14, Leisler, following the form of government as established by the 1686 Dongan patent, confirmed the new council with Peter Delanoy as mayor, Johannes Johnson as sheriff, and Abraham Gouverneur as clerk (REC0081, p. 344). Forty-year-old Delanoy, born in the Huguenot refugee community in Harlem, Netherlands, was a prominent figure in the city government, serving as alderman, bookkeeper of the port, and city treasurer (REC0081, p. 267 ff). In 1689 he became the first and only elected mayor of New York City prior to 1834.  

Leisler’s confirmation of the new council with Peter Delanoy as mayor, Johannes Johnson as sheriff, and Abraham Gouverneur as clerk. Common Council minutes October 14, 1689. REC0081, p. 344, NYC Municipal Archives.

Confirmed in their offices, the new city government ordered the former magistrates to deliver up all city and county books and papers in their custody. While most complied, former Mayor Stephen van Cortlandt was nowhere to be found. When Van Cortlandt’s wife, Gertrude Schuyler, received the order, the council minutes state she threw it away and retorted, “take it with force in Caise they would have it” (REC0081, p. 347). In desperation to obtain the necessary records to operate the city, the council petitioned Leisler to invest them in their offices. Meanwhile, Van Cortlandt had fled to Albany, which had formed its own convention at the outbreak of the disorders. Dominated by the relations of Leisler’s wife’s stepsisters, who had battled Leisler in an acrimonious inheritance dispute for over a decade, the former New York City officials cast themselves as a government in exile and organized a campaign to subvert his government.

In mid-December, a royal letter arrived addressed to “whomever was taking care of the government.” The Committee of Safety voted Leisler the correct recipient and disbanded. Leisler, aware of the legal situation of his lacking personal royal designation, named himself “lieutenant governor.” Believing that James II had illegally revoked the 1686 Charter of Liberties, he reestablished the provincial government according to the Charter, including an elected provincial assembly. According to a 1683 “Act of Assembly entitled An Act to Settle Courts of Justice,” Leisler instituted a four-tier system: town courts for minor issues, county courts for civil and minor criminal cases, a court of oyer and terminer for treason and major criminal cases, and the Court of Chancery to oversee matters of equity (N. 36: 14265). Records were kept in separate books, of which fragments survive.

Extant pages of Leisler’s administration reveal that the city government and its courts continued to operate in 1690. For example, loose pages of council minutes for April 26 confirmed the court resolution of a dispute between Albert Bosch and Adolf Pieterse (NNMA); those of August 9 dealt with the nuisance of a tar pit and selling of liquors (NNMA); and those of October 11, address the repairing of the Bowery Road to Fresh Water Pond (NHi: NY Misc. Mss. Box 2, No. 25). City court records during Leisler’s administration are found scattered throughout numerous archives such as in the Municipal Archives, New York Historical, Pennsylvania Historical, and the State Archives. 

“From hence begins what is acted in Governor Sloughters time March 1691.” Common Council minutes, REC0081, p. 352, NYC Municipal Archives.

Leisler’s administration created several firsts. His erection of a battery in front of the fort, known as “Leisler’s Half-Moon” or “Leisler’s Battery,” is the origin of greatly expanded Battery Park. In reaction to a French and Indian raid of the frontier community of Schenectady in February 1690, Leisler called for the first intercolonial conference independent of British authority. On May 1, 1690, representatives from New York, Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut met in New York City for the first inter-colonial congress in American history (Maryland representatives arrived late, while Pennsylvania and Virginia refused to send delegates). At this gathering, the first military action independent of European authority was organized against French Canada with a two-pronged attack by sea and land (N. 36: 42; RPAB. Ms. 4822; Ct. Colonial; M-SS. 36: 47).  

Jacob Leisler funded much of his administration out of his own pocket. But economic stress and the failure of the Canadian campaign caused him to become increasingly paranoid and erratic. The arrival of Leisler’s opponents’ lobby in England before his case was heard— his initial packets captured by the French—resulted in the crown’s appointment of a governor favorable to the opposition. Unfortunately for Leisler, the governor departed just as the crown heard Leisler’s version. The arrival in January 1691 of royal troops without official papers caused Leisler to refuse to turn over the government. His supporters flocked to his defense, resulting in armed conflict between the parties. Leisler’s subsequent refusal to immediately turn over the government upon Governor Richard Sloughter’s arrival in March 1691 due to the military practice of waiting until daylight resulted in his government’s arrest.

Governor Sloughter signing Leisler’s Death Warrant, Howard Pyle, 1901. Harper’s Magazine.

Thirty-seven members of Leisler’s government were confined and brought to trial for treason. But it was Lesler’s in-laws who most actively urged for his execution. Only Leisler and Milborne were condemned to “be severall[y] hanged by the Neck and being Alive their bodys be Cutt Downe to the Earth that their Bowells be taken out and they being Alive burnt before their faces that their heads shall be struck off and their Bodys Cutt in four parts and which shall be Deposed of as their Majties’ Shall Assigne.” It is this verdict that elicits the most attention. Governor Sloughter, however, commuted the sentence to hanging and beheading. Eight months later the crown repealed the charges and in May 1695 the king and Parliament overturned the treason sentences against Leisler and Milborne and restored their properties to their heirs.

Leisler is best understood in the context of a Calvinist political ideology emanating from the Dutch Republic and applied to English law. An ideology that emphasized decentralized government as the “ultimate way to safeguard civic liberties and economic freedoms.” Leisler thus emerged as a proponent of a unique form of populism at a time when New York was undergoing rapid change. The contest between those favoring a strong centralized government versus Leisler’s decentralized popular form subsequently evolved into a sharp political difference that has remained a characteristic in America culture ever since. 

David William Voorhees (Ph.D., New York University, 1988) is Director of both the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History and of the Jacob Leisler Papers Project, and is also Managing Editor of de Halve Maen, a scholarly journal devoted to New Netherland studies published by The Holland Society of New York.

Sources: 

  • Common Council records, circa 1670-1831; REC0081; vol. 1 & 2; Municipal Archives, City of New York. 

  • Lamb, Martha J. History of the City of New York: Its Origin, Rise and Progress. 

  • Jacob Leisler Papers Collection, Jacob Leisler Institute, Hudson, NY. 

  • New York State Archives’ colonial records series, Albany. 

  • The New York Historical, Manuscripts. 

Revolutionary New York

Saturday, July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, Philadelphia, and to a similar degree, Boston, have woven their roles as centers of the American Revolution into a strong civic identity. In contrast, New York City has preferred to look forward and downplay its history during that tumultuous period. However, the fact is that New York City played a decisive role in the formation of a new country. This week, For the Record tells the story of New York during the Revolution.

“American Troops and Civilians tearing down the Gilt Statue of George III on Bowling Green.” [July 9th, 1776.] From a painting by F.C. Yohn, published in Father Knickerbocker Rebels: New York during the Revolution. NYC Municipal Library.

Before 1776, New York was sharply divided between Loyalists and Patriots, but revolutionary fervor was high. It was in the Merchant’s Coffee House at Wall Street and Water Street that New York’s merchants expressed their opposition to British taxes such as the Sugar Act of 1764. Even wealthy New Yorkers made their own homespun wool clothing rather than purchase British goods. In 1765, word of a new tax, the Stamp Act, infuriated New Yorkers. In October, the Stamp Act Congress met in New York’s City Hall (then on Wall and Broad Street) to develop a unified colonial objection to the Act. Some two thousand New Yorkers tried to prevent British boats containing the stamps from landing at the Battery. They were unsuccessful, and the stamps were delivered to Lt. Governor Cadwaller Colden at Fort George. On November 1, a crowd marched down Broadway and gathered outside the Fort. Colden and his family retreated to a British warship leaving Major Thomas James in charge. While James threatened to unleash his cannons, the mob burned a gallows with an effigy of Colden in Bowling Green Park. A faction marched north to the Vauxhall estate, the home of Major James. They trashed his belongings, made a bonfire of the furniture, drank his liquor and destroyed the gardens.

“A Plan of the City of New-York & its Environs to Greenwich, on the North or Hudsons River, and to Crown Point, on the East or Sound River, Shewing the Several Streets, Publick Buildings, Docks, Fort & Battery with the true Form & Course of the Commanding Grounds, with and without the Town. Surveyed in the Winter, 1775.” Reprinted for D.T. Valentine’s Manual of 1855. Courtesy Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library.

“Reading of the Declaration of Independence to the Troops in New York. [July 9th, 1776] Each brigade in Washington’s army assembled on the Common, for the reading. Old St. Paul’s appears in the background.” From a painting by H.A. Oden, published in Father Knickerbocker Rebels. NYC Municipal Library.

The Stamp Act was eventually repealed in April 1766, and the Sons of Liberty erected a “Liberty Pole” in the Commons (now City Hall Park) on May 21, 1766. A sign on top read: “George 3rd, Pitt – and Liberty.” This thank you to the King and British Prime Minister William Pitt for repealing the Stamp Act was seen differently by British soldiers barracked nearby. That August a group of redcoats tore down the pole. Another pole was soon erected, which was again torn down. These back-and-forth actions culminated with a violent bloody clash on January 19, 1770, six weeks before the Boston Massacre, when redcoats armed with sabers fought the radical Liberty Boys led by Isaac Sears in what was called the Battle of Golden Hill. Soon after the fourth pole was dismantled by the British. A fifth pole was erected in February on a small plot of land purchased by Sears; it lasted until October 28, 1776, after the British army seized Manhattan.[1]

After 1775, the City’s population dropped precipitously as many Loyalists fled Manhattan to avoid harassment by Patriots. In the spring of 1776, after they drove the British out of Boston, General George Washington and the Continental Army moved into New York City. They intended to defend it against an anticipated British invasion led by General William Howe. New York Mayor David Matthews was arrested in May 1776, accused of participating in a plot to assassinate Washington.[2]

“The Phoenix and the Rose engaged by the Enemy’s Fire Ships & Galleys on the 16th August 1776.” George Hayward for D.T. Valentine’s Manual of 1864. NYC Municipal Library. On July 12th, the British Ships the Pheonix and the Rose ran the American batteries on Governor’s Island and Fort George and sailed up the Hudson to Tarrytown.

On June 29, 1776, 45 British troop ships anchored off Staten Island. Within a week there were 130 ships. On July 3, they landed on Staten Island without a shot being fired. On July 9, Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence read to his troops and the public in the Commons. Some citizens and soldiers took it upon themselves to rush down to Bowling Green where they pulled down the gilt lead statue of King George. Pieces of the statue were sent to Connecticut to be melted down for musket balls. By August, more than 400 British ships had arrived in New York Harbor, and some had made it up the Hudson to secure Tarrytown.

“Map of Brooklyn at the time of the Revolutionary War drawn by Gen. Jeremiah Jonson.” Lithograph by Geo. Hayward for D.T. Valentine’s Manual for 1858. Courtesy Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library.

“A Topographical Map of the Northern Part of New York Island, Exhibiting the Plan of Fort Washington, now Fort Knyphausen with the Rebels Lines to the Southward, which were forced by the Troops under the Command of the Right Honerable Earl Percy on the 16th of Nov. 1776 and Surveyed immediately after by Order of his Lordship, by Claude Joseph Sauthier. To which is added the Attack made to the North by the Hessians. Surveyed by order of Lt. Generl Knyphausen.” Published 1777. Republished for D.T. Valentine’s Manual for 1859. Courtesy The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. 

On August 22, 15,000 British troops left Staten Island and landed on Long Island, joined by 5,000 Hessians two days later. The Battle of Long Island, the largest battle in the Revolutionary War, was fought in present day Brooklyn from August 26-28, 1776. The Continental Army was routed, suffering heavy losses before falling back to Brooklyn Heights. Through the night of August 29, and the foggy morning of the 30th Washington saved the revolution by ferrying 9,000 troops across the East River to Manhattan.[3] Although his troops were safely back in Manhattan, Washington knew his position was untenable and he led the bulk of them to the northern part of the island. On September 15, British and Hessian troops landed at Kip’s Bay on the East River, quickly dislodging the American troops forming the rear guard. Washington then led a fighting retreat up to Harlem Heights (now called Morningside Heights) where he successfully repelled the overextended British troops the following day. After a month of little engagement, Washington grew concerned that the British were planning to outflank him and began a retreat to the north, leaving 1,200 men behind in Fort Washington. On October 18th the Continental Army engaged with a British landing party in the area of what is now Pelham Bay Park while the main force retreated to White Plains. Fort Washington was captured on November 16, 1776, by the Hessian commander Lt. General Knyphausen and renamed in his honor.

“Attacks of Fort Washington by His Majesty’s forces under the command of Gen. Sir William Howe K.B., 16 Nov. 1776.” For D.T. Valentine’s Manual of 1861. Courtesy Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library.

New York City was now completely under British military control and would remain so until 1783. The Continental Congress vetoed Washington’s plan to burn the City in his retreat. Nonetheless, on September 20-21, 1776, a quarter of the City burned in the Great Fire, probably set by Patriot spies or allies, perhaps by British soldiers. Although never connected with the fire, Nathan Hale, one of Washington’s spies, was arrested on the 21st and hung the following day.

Map of the Great Fire, 1776. For D.T. Valentine’s Manual, 1866. Courtesy The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library.

“This view of the Ruins of Trinity Church after the Great Fire of 1776 taken by Thomas Barrow is respectfully presented to the Corporation of Trinity Church by their obedient Servant, James Barrow, 1841.”  George Hayward Lithographer for D.T. Valentine’s Manual of 1861. NYC Municipal Library.

As a British stronghold, New York now became a haven for Loyalists from other colonies. Additionally, the British advertised freedom to any enslaved person who fled from a Patriot and could make their way to British lines.[4] The population boomed. Many of the refugees set up tent cities in the rubble left from the fire.

The “Jersey” prison ship moored at Wallabout, from “The Album of American History.” Published in Father Knickerbocker Rebels: New York during the Revolution. NYC Municipal Library.

Although never again the site of a battle, the war was still omnipresent.[5] Most of the American troops captured in the war were imprisoned in New York, many in the infamous prison ships anchored in Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn. More than 10,000 prisoners died, more than died in battle throughout the entire war. Ordinary New Yorkers also suffered during the occupation, as British troops seized food, cut down trees and broke up furniture for fires. Loyalty began to wane and Washington’s spy ring infiltrated officer’s households and reported on troop and ship movements.

Page from a record of property seized from Loyalists and resold by New York State in 1784. Commissioners of Forfeiture 1784-1787. NYC Municipal Archives.

All this ended on Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783, when the last British troops and Loyalists left the City and General Washington triumphantly returned. Amongst the Loyalists that left that day was Mayor David Matthews. Under the Confiscation Act, passed in 1779 by the New York Legislature, he was subject to summary execution if found in New York. The war had longer lasting effects. Throughout 1784 and 1785, properties “forfeited” by Loyalists were resold and subdivided, changing the face of the City and creating some of the neighborhoods we know today such as the Lower East Side. New York then became the nation’s first capital. From 1785-1790, Congress met at New York’s City Hall, renamed Federal Hall, and George Washington took the oath of office on its balcony in 1789.[6] Washington lived in Manhattan during these years at Franklin House on Pearl and Cherry Street.

In many ways the revolution began here and ended here. Since 1784, New Yorkers have been celebrating on July 4th, as revealed in Grog, Punch and Wine: New Yorkers Celebrate Independence Day. We hope you do the same this weekend.

“Federal Hall, Inauguration of General George Washington, the First President of the United States, on the 30th of April 1789.” H.R. Robinson for D.T. Valentine’s Manual, 1849. NYC Municipal Library.

[1] A flagpole to the west of City Hall commemorates the Liberty Poles, with this marker: “Here in the ancient commons of the city, where before the time of our national independence five liberty poles were successively set up, this flag pole of 1921 is placed in grateful remembrance of all lovers of our country who have died that the liberty won on these shores might be the heritage of the world.” For more on Liberty Poles see: https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/monuments-roundtable-george-iii-and-liberty-poles

[2] Although Matthews later escaped captivity, the British had by then placed the City under military rule, and the Common Council disbanded. For more on Matthews see: https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/7/3/the-missing-common-council-records-of-the-revolutionary-war

[3] Although some accounts say Washington had planned to use the fog to aid the evacuation, it seems to have been a matter of luck that a heavy fog rolled in on the morning of the 30th concealing the small boats still evacuating the Heights. See: https://archive.org/details/ldpd_11290380_000/page/n243/mode/2up?q=fog

[4] In the waning days of the occupation, from May to August of 1783, a joint British and American Commission headed by Brigadier General Samuel Birch reviewed the claims of Black Loyalists. Over 3,000 were granted freedom and allowed to emigrate to British lands.  https://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/birch-trials-at-fraunces-tavern

[5] The Battle of Van Cortlandt’s Woods occurred on August 31, 1778, in what is now The Bronx, but it was not then part of New York City. It was a devastating defeat for the Stockbridge Militia, an Indigenous infantry unit made up of Mohican, Wappinger, and Munsee men from Stockbridge, Mass.

[6] The 2nd City Hall of New York was torn down in 1812. The current building, Federal Hall National Memorial, was built in 1842 as a customs house. A topic previously explored in “The Dutch & the English Part 5: The Return of the Dutch and What Became of the Wall.”

Sources:

“Dining Room, Fraunces Tavern, corner of Pearl & Broad Streets: Representing the scene of George Washington taking leave of his officers.” A. Weingertner’s Lithographers for D.T. Valentine’s Manual of 1857. NYC Municipal Library.

“My World Stopped”: Joan Nestle Thanks Mayor Mamdani

“As we celebrate Pride, we also celebrate all those who came before us, the power they built, the sacrifices they made, the first steps they took when a day like today never seemed possible.” Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani spoke these words to hundreds of community members on June 9th, 2026, at his first ever Pride event. Whereas recent June community celebratory events have been held at Gracie Mansion, such as the Puerto Rican celebration or Juneteenth, the Pride Event was held in the Surrogate’s Courthouse, 31 Chambers street, also home and headquarters to the Department of Records and Information Services, which houses the Municipal Library and Municipal Archives. Aptly aligned, his speech included a focus on the significance of the archival imprints that the queer community has insisted permeates across generations through decades of community archiving.

In his community remarks, he told the story of Joan Nestle and her close companion, Mabel Hampton. Nestle is a Jewish fiction writer and co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, a non-profit, volunteer-led community archive in New York City. Hampton is a Black lesbian dancer and entertainer, who had met Joan as her employed caretaker. By the end of Hampton’s life, in addition to being her dear friend, Nestle acted in many ways as Hampton’s biographer: capturing her life through oral histories, leading to film and writing. The archive reveals Hampton as holding court for younger dykes to learn about lesbian life in 1920s Harlem, or for her cataloguing of the pulp fiction collection, affectionately branded as “survival literature.” Mayor Mamdani illustrated the impact of their connection: 

I think of a story told by Joan Nestle, an archivist of queer history in New York City. In the 1950s, her mother had briefly employed a woman named Mabel Hampton. Mabel was an activist, a domestic worker, and a dancer during the Harlem Renaissance. One day, Joan's mother approached Mabel and said, “I don’t know what to do.” She suspected that her daughter was gay.... Mabel turned to Joan’s mother and said, “So what?” Mabel was a lesbian, too. She took Joan under her wing as a second mother.

In his retelling, the mayor referred to Joan and Mabel’s home in the upper west side, at 215 West 92nd Street, now otherwise occupied, and earmarked as an LGBT historic site. This site later became the home to the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the largest and oldest lesbian archive in the world. The organization is now located in Brooklyn, at 484 14th Street, also designated as an historic site.

215 West 92nd Street, ca. 1985. From 1974-1992 the Lesbian Herstory Archives was located in Joan Nestle’s apartment, #13A. 1980s Tax Photo Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Mayor Mamdani ends his story of Nestle and Hampton with:  

I cannot help but think of how many acts of protection and guidance, like Mabel to Joan, have taken place throughout New York City history in the apartments, the dance halls, the ballrooms, the bars where queer New Yorkers gathered. I think too of Joan’s commitment to preserving queer history, of keeping Mabel’s memory alive.

Currently residing in Australia, Joan Nestle learned of this storytelling and was overjoyed. She was happy to share her excitement with For the Record:  

My world stopped, I could not believe what I was hearing, the Mayor of New York, Mayor Mandani speaking in a caring voice about the importance of Ms. Mabel Hampton and our friendship in the rich tapestry of New York history, said Joan Nestle as a response to hearing Mamdani’s June 9th Pride speech. “At 86 [years old], I heard respectful words that I never believed would be said by a powerful person. Ms. Hampton is truly a New York legend, and how she would have loved our new Mayor. I thank him so much.

For the Record is thankful that Pride has encapsulated the archive, and that we can use our historic markers in place and time, to share the history of this celebratory moment of NYC history.

To learn more about what we hold in the Municipal Library and Archives related to Pride, check out the many blogs on the history of pride:

We also have videos and additional mechanisms for finding out about being queer in NYC in the 1980s and 1990s. Searching “gay” “lesbian” or “AIDS” within the WNYC-TV Video collection will yield a lot of content.

Some stand outs include:

And there are so many others! The Hotline Episodes about Arts + Obscenity, Gay Bashing, and Gay Greenwich Village are also rich.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The date marks June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved people in Texas were freed by the Union Army under the Emancipation Proclamation. However, it was not until the following December, when the 13th Amendment was ratified, that all enslaved people in the United States were freed. 

Town of Flatlands Slaves: Birth Register, Manumissions; Records of Personal Mortgages, 1799-1838, volume 4054, page 16. Kings County Old Town Records Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

For 200 years, from 1627 (when the Dutch West India Company warship Bruynvisch arrived in Manhattan carrying 22 enslaved Africans), until 1827, slavery was very much a fact of life in New York. By the 1790s, New York City’s population of enslaved people was second only to Charleston, South Carolina. New York had the largest number of enslaved people of any state in the North and was the second-to-last to abolish slavery (New Jersey was the last state). Even after 1827, when slavery ended in New York, free Blacks were not safe on its streets. Runaways from the south and even free Black New Yorkers could be kidnapped by marshals and sent to a slave state using the Fugitive Slave Clause as cover.  

Not only do Municipal Archives records document this dark history, the Hall of Records (now the Surrogate’s Courthouse and DORIS headquarters) was built on the edge of what was the African Burial Ground. After rediscovery of the Burial Ground in 1991 during construction of a new federal office building, New York City’s Percent for Art program commissioned artist Lorenzo Pace’s monument “Triumph of the Human Spirit” in Foley Square. The Mayor’s Office of Communications recently interviewed Pace about the project in this short film that includes references to the Municipal Archives’ records. 

Lorenzo Pace: Triumph of the Human Spirit. NYC Mayor’s Office.

The Knicks!

New Yorkers have been on a roller coaster ride with the New York Knicks in their bid for the NBA championship. This prompted research in Municipal Library and Archives collections for Knicks-related information, memorabilia, and photographs.   

Last week, For the Record informed readers that “Father Knickerbocker” dribbling a basketball was the team logo from 1946 to 1964, and told the story of who was the real Father Knickerbocker. 

Research in the collections also yielded ten historical images that featured the team stars of an earlier era. This week, For the Record posts the press release DORIS issued on Wednesday promoting the archival photographs and the opportunity to purchase copies from the Municipal Archives, or postcard versions of the pictures that are available in the CityStore.  

For Immediate Release: June 10, 2026  

Archival New York Knicks Photos Now Available 

Madison Square Garden, 1961. Mayor Robert Wagner Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

New York, NY – Walt Frazier, Patrick Ewing, Dave DeBusschere. While these basketball legends may no longer spend their time on the courts, their names live on in both sports and New York City history as celebrated players for the New York Knicks.  

As the New York Knicks prepare to take on the San Antonio Spurs for Game 4 of the NBA championship tonight at Madison Square Garden, the NYC Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) is taking a look back at previous Knicks victories through a collection of archival photos. The pictures feature celebrated players, mayors, and communities throughout New York City—the story of both a team and the city they represent.   

“These photos capture something every New Yorker knows: sports bring us together in ways few things can. No matter what borough you’re from or which baseball team you root for—Go Mets—we’re united when we’re cheering for the Knicks,” said Mayor Mamdani. “For generations, this team has created moments that have connected neighbors and strangers, reminding us that our city is strongest when we come together. Thanks to DORIS, New Yorkers can revisit that history and celebrate the stories that belong to all of us.”

“This project will allow New Yorkers to celebrate the legacy of the Knicks who have shaped our city for decades,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson. Through the creative and dedicated work from DORIS, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to look back at the teams that paved the way and call a small piece of this city’s history their own.”  

“Sifting through images directly from the Municipal Archives allows New Yorkers and other connoisseurs of New York City history an opportunity to explore from the comfort of their homes a repository of timeless moments where sports has shaped government,” said Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, Commissioner of the Department of Records and Information Services. “We’re excited to offer the opportunity to purchase a glossy print, to sit on your wall or to gift a loved one.”   

 “Knicks history is New York City history and this limited-edition collaboration is a small token of our admiration for the home team,” said Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Yume Kitasei. “These postcards, created in-house by our talented designers and available only at CityStore, are historic one-of-a-kind pieces—a must-have for any true fan.”

New York Knicks Point Guard Greg Anthony at the podium with Mayor David N. Dinkins, announcing the Safe City Safe Streets Lottery Game, February 1992. David Dinkins Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

The full collection of archival New York Knicks photographs is available to view online and will be available as postcards starting Thursday in the NYC CityStore, located at 1 Centre St, New York, NY 10007. To order digital or print  copies to ship worldwide, please visit DORIS’ online order page and add the image record number or title.

The “Real” Father Knickerbocker

If you are a Knicks fan you might know that the original and still official corporate name of the basketball team is the New York Knickerbockers. You might even know that “Father Knickerbocker” dribbling a basketball was the team logo from 1946 to 1964. But who was the real Father Knickerbocker?

Original 1946 logo for the New York Knickerbockers, by sports cartoonist Willard Mullin.

Herman Knickerbocker was from an old Dutch New York family. As a young lawyer, he befriended the struggling writer Washington Irving. In 1809, Irving pulled off the 19th Century equivalent of a viral media stunt. Borrowing the name of his friend, he placed several missing persons advertisements in New York newspapers saying he was looking for Diedrick Knickerbocker, whom he described as a Dutch historian missing from a Manhattan hotel. Posing as the hotel proprietor he said Knickerbocker had left behind a manuscript, which he would publish if the man did not come forward. The story of the missing historian created a buzz. On December 6, 1809, Irving published A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker. The book was a satirical look at the history and politics of New York and America, and it was an instant success.

The fictional “Diedrich Knickerbocker” from the frontispiece of Washington Irving’s A History of New-York, drawn by Felix O.C. Darley in 1809.

The name Knickerbocker, and the character of an old Dutchman from the frontispiece, caught the 19th Century public’s imagination. Soon after “Knickerbocker” became shorthand for a resident of Manhattan and was adopted as the name of an Albany newspaper, a New York literary magazine, a publishing house, a hotel built by the Astors, the baggy short trousers popular with young men, golfers and liberated women, a baseball franchise, a posh club, a beer brand and any number of other businesses. Washington Irving later marveled:

“When I find after a lapse of nearly forty years the haphazard production of my youth still cherished among them [New Yorkers]—when I find its very name become a ‘household word’ and used to give the home stamp to everything recommended for popular acceptance, such as Knickerbocker societies, Knickerbocker insurance companies, Knickerbocker steamboats, Knickerbocker omnibuses, Knickerbocker bread and Knickerbocker ice—and when I find New Yorkers of Dutch descent priding themselves upon being ‘genuine Knickerbockers’—I please myself with the persuasion that I have struck the right chord.’[1]

“Father Knickerbocker’s Fight for a Sensible Sunday Law.” Puck Magazine, November 27, 1901. Courtesy Library of Congress.

In 1877, Puck magazine first published a cartoon featuring the character “Father Knickerbocker” as a symbol of New York City in the way that Uncle Sam is used to represent the United States. By the 1900s, Father Knickerbocker was a familiar character used in editorial cartoons, sheet music, and in NYC government publications. The Department of Health published a weekly series of articles “Dr. Knickerbocker Says” to inform New Yorkers in the 1930s and 40s.

“Father Knickerbocker March.” Jerome H. Remick & Co., 1911. The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, Johns Hopkins Library.

“Father Knickerbocker, A New York Rag.” Jos. W. Stern & Co., 1907. https://lets-rag.com/father-knickerbocker

“Dr. Knickerbocker Says,” NYC Department of Health, 1942. NYC Municipal Library.

“Dr. Knickerbocker Says,” NYC Department of Health, 1941. NYC Municipal Library.

So, in 1946, when Ned Irish was looking for a name for his new basketball franchise, the “Knickerbockers” won the vote. The Father Knickerbocker logo was drafted by sports cartoonist Willard Mullin.

“Father Knickerbocker on Rockefeller Center terrace overlooking midtown,” March 25, 1952. Official Mayoral Photographs, NYC Municipal Archives.

But soon a walking talking Father Knickerbocker appeared. His name was James J. O’Brien, a professor of modern languages at Fordham University. O’Brien started working for Mayor O’Dwyer in 1947 as an assistant and then became secretary to the Department of Public Works. In 1949, he adopted the colonial garb of Father Knickerbocker and embarked on a 17-day global trip to promote “World Trade Week,” and New York City as a trading capital. His return was captured in an interview by the newly formed WNYC Film Unit.

Through the early 1950s he continued to make public appearances as Father Knickerbocker, including on February 1, 1953, when New York marked the 300th anniversary of the incorporation of New Amsterdam. O’Brien went on to become the Deputy Chairman of the Mayor’s Reception Committee (1954-1955), Manager - Business Government Liaison of the Department of Commerce and Public Events (1955-1961), and then Deputy Commissioner of Commerce and Public Events (1962-1968). He gave tours of City Hall, handed out “keys to the city” and greeted distinguished guests under four mayors, William O’Dwyer, Vincent R. Impellitteri, Robert F. Wagner and John V. Lindsay.

REC0047_1_0016: “Father Knickerbocker’s Return,” April 16, 1949. WNYC-TV collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

According to a 1952 New York Times article, the City never purchased an outfit for O’Brien, they rented one from a costumer. “Dr. O’Brien still rents, either from Brooks, or from Eaves, at $15 a rental. He gets his gray periwig from Birnstein & Migliore, and he owns two pairs of square-rimmed spectacles done to his prescription by Schoenig & Co.”[2] The article also mentioned that there was another Father Knickerbocker “who poses for beer ads—actor chap named O’Neill...” O’Brien was dismissive of this rival, “He’s a commercial Knickerbocker.... We don’t recognize him down here at City Hall.”

“Father Knickerbocker (James J. O’Brien) on ABC Zeke Manners Show,” June 1950. Official Mayoral Photographs, NYC Municipal Archives.

O’Brien (aged 65) died in Ireland in 1968, while on vacation. His correspondence from 1946 to 1961 is preserved in the Municipal Archives and consists of thousands of letters to and from civic and trade groups, congress members, presidents, and prime ministers. A few bulging folders are correspondence with soldiers from New York stationed in Korea whom, upon request, he would send a New York State Flag to. He is usually addressed in the letters by his official title, but some of the letter writers added “Father Knickerbocker.”

Letter to “Father Knickerbocker” from Robert A. Geier, Secretary to Congressman James B. Utt, 1953. James J. O’Brien correspondence from 1946 to 1961, NYC Municipal Archives.

Letter from a New York serviceman requesting a New York State flag for his post in Korea, 1952. James J. O’Brien correspondence from 1946 to 1961, NYC Municipal Archives.

Father Knickerbocker in City Hall, March 25, 1952. Official Mayoral Photographs, NYC Municipal Archives.

[1] Landmarks Preservation Commission, Designation List 127, Knickerbocker Club Building, 1979.

[2] About New York; Father Knickerbocker Puffing in Rented Rig https://www.nytimes.com/1953/05/29/archives/about-new-york-father-knickerbocker-puffing-in-rented-rig-city.html