Old Taverns of New York. Bayles William Harrison
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Название: Old Taverns of New York
Автор: Bayles William Harrison
Издательство: Public Domain
Жанр: Зарубежная классика
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On the 15th of February, 1703, the treasurer of the city was ordered to repay to the mayor £9 10s 3d, which he had expended for a bonfire, beer and wine, on her majesty’s birthday, the 6th of February, and on the 24th of this same month the common council ordered that a public bonfire be made at the usual place, and that ten gallons of wine and a barrel of beer be provided, at the expense of the city, to celebrate the success of her majesty’s arms at Vigo and in Flanders, and the housekeepers were ordered to illuminate.
Much more deference was paid to the dignity of office two hundred years ago than at the present time. Not only were governors received with great honor at their appearance to assume the office, but often, when they left the city to visit Albany or New Jersey, they were, on their return, entertained by the corporation. In November, 1704, Lord Cornbury, on his return from his other government of New Jersey, was entertained at a dinner given by the corporation at the house of Richard Harris, which cost the city £10 18s 6d. This is the bill rendered, and which was ordered paid:
Richard Harris married the widow of Roger Baker, who had been the landlord of the well known King’s Head, not long after the latter’s death, which occurred in 1702, and he may have continued this tavern, which is very likely, as it was probably being conducted by the widow when he married her. The year after his marriage, he was elected assistant alderman, and his house for many years was patronized by the officials of the province and the city. He was assistant alderman for several years. In 1707 he was one of a committee for leasing the Long Island ferry. On the 10th of October, of that year, the committee met at his house for that purpose, and for their expenses he was paid by the city £1 12s. Five years after this, when he was no longer a member of the common council, the lease being about to expire, the committee for leasing the ferry met at his house on the 17th of December, 1712, and this time he charged the corporation £7 10s 9d. Conference committees from the council and assembly met at his house several times in November, 1710, and in 1712. On the 6th of October, 1714, the governor gave notice of the death of Queen Anne, and on the 11th, King George was proclaimed in the city. The common council ordered seven or eight cords of wood for a bonfire and twenty gallons of wine for the people. The expenses of the common council on this occasion at the house of Richard Harris amounted to £8 4s, which was ordered to be paid.
On November 7, 1717, the council requested a conference at the house of John Parmyter on the subject matter of the bill for letting to farm the excise, and on October 20th of the same year a bonfire was ordered and a dinner was given by the corporation at his house in celebration of the anniversary of his majesty’s coronation. The aldermen seem to have been ever ready to celebrate any of the usual anniversaries by eating a good dinner and drinking good wine. The bill for this dinner was as follows:
As on most occasions a large portion consisted of liquor exhilarants.
John Parmyter had been a resident of New York since the time of Bellomont and probably had been a tavern-keeper for some years previous to the date of this dinner. His house was on or near the corner of Beaver and New Streets. In 1712 an act was passed by the legislature of the province prohibiting all but John Parmyter to make lamp-black, for five years, “this to encourage the first to set up that manufacture.” He no doubt continued to keep tavern and had the monopoly of the manufacture of lamp-black until his death, and it also appears that his widow continued to carry on both lines of business. An act to prohibit all persons but Susannah Parmyter, widow, and her assigns, to make lamp-black during the space of ten years, was passed by the legislature in 1724. She continued to keep the tavern and rendered a bill to the authorities in August, 1727, for the “board of the Governor of Canada (sic) and fourteen men and wine.”
The custom of meeting in conference at the taverns continued and the names of the keepers of these houses are given in the journal of the assembly. In 1713 conference committees met several times at the house of Bernard Hardenbrook and in 1718, at the house of Elizabeth Jourdain, who was the widow of Henry Jourdain, captain of the sloop Dolphin, who died at sea in the latter part of the year 1702. The Dolphin was probably a slaver, for Henry Jourdain, in his will, evidently made at sea, directs that sixty-one elephants’ teeth marked H. J., and some gold in bulk should be delivered to his wife in New York, which indicates that he had visited the African coast. His entire estate amounted to £426, which enabled his widow to set up a public house, where she entertained the committees from the council and assembly and “lodged his majesty’s soldiers.”
The house of the widow Post appears to have been a favorite place for members of assembly, where according to Mr. Isaac Robin, secretary of council, they discussed matters of state over their wine, and committees met on business of various kinds. The popularity of her house seems to have continued for several years. In November, 1721, we have record of the examination of Vincent Pelow before the council at the house of the widow Post, in relation to the small pox raging in Boston, and on November 9, 1726, the assembly, “taking in Consideration the Conveniency and Accommodation, which the Members of this House have every Sessions, as well at the Meeting of Committees as otherwise, at the House of the Widow Post, and that the Trouble and Expense, which is occasioned to her on such Occasions far exceeds her Gains. It is the Opinion of this House that she ought to be exempted from paying any Excise, from this Time until the first Day of November next,” and it was ordered that the commissioners for letting to farm the excise take notice thereof accordingly.
Obadiah Hunt was a tavern-keeper whose house seems to have been used both by the provincial and city officers as a place for conference on consultation. He was a member of the common council for several years, which may have been one cause of his house being used by that body. It was situated on Dock Street between Whitehall and Broad Street, next door to the custom house. He owned the house and appears to have been a man of some property, but of little education. He was a popular landlord. In January, 1718, the corporation paid Obadiah Hunt £4 6s 9d, for expenses at his house by the corporation on the anniversary of the coronation, October 26th last, and on the anniversary of Gunpowder Treason Day, November 5th. The dinner, wine, beer, cider and other expenses at the house of Obadiah Hunt on the occasion of the entertainment given to Governor Burnet, on September 20, 1720, shortly after his arrival in the province, cost the corporation £21 8s 6d. Meetings were held at his house for the transaction of business of various kinds connected with the city, such as auditing accounts, leasing the ferry, leasing the docks and slips, etc., and on the arrival of a new governor, in April, 1728, his house was again the scene of an entertainment in his honor, which cost the city £15 6s 6d.
IV
The Black Horse
In the early part of the eighteenth century, there stood on the southern corner of Smith and Garden Streets, the present William Street and Exchange Place, the Black Horse Tavern, kept by John DeHoneur, who seems to have been its landlord for many years. John or Johannes DeHoneur was recommended for the office of captain of militia in June, 1709. Whether he was a tavern-keeper at this time, or how soon after he became one, we do not know, but on October 18, 1727, the assembly directed that the Committee on Grievances meet every Tuesday and Friday, during the sessions, at five o’clock in the afternoon, at the house СКАЧАТЬ