A LOVELY VIEW – Part three: Andries GRAVERAET AND the Captain Kidd connection

Pirates in New York

In Part Two we learned about Gerrit Graveraet’s great grandfather, Isaac Graveraet. Continuing with this family, we will now explore a few of Isaac’s family ties and how they may have impacted and shaped the lives of his two sons, Andries and Hendrick Graveraet. In the late 17th century the Graveraet family surname was spelled Grevenraedt. For simplicity I have chosen to use the spelling of Graveraet unless the surname is used within a quote. I would also like to note that Andries is at times referred to as Andrew. [1]

Rensselaerswyck to Albany

While Isaac Graveraet was living in New Amsterdam, the community outside of the city known as Rensselaerswyck was flourishing. By 1652, the area became known as Beverwyck.[2] As the community grew, a new settlement developed to the west of this city. By 1663 the locals called it Schenectady.[3]

Also in 1663, Isaac Graveraet lost his wife, Lysbeth. This left him with two young sons to raise. In less than two months, he married Marritje Jans.[4] According to Dutch law, Isaac was required to post a bond for the security of his two young sons before the Orphan Chamber of New Amsterdam after he remarried. The chamber had been established in 1656 to help guard the welfare and estates of children who lost their parents. Although Isaac was a surviving parent and should have been considered a guardian for his boys, Dutch law demanded he post the bond and have a guardian appointed. In most cases, a family member or close relation was appointed to protect the bond for the minors.[5] When Isaac filed his bond of 2,000 guilders per child with the orphan chamber in June of 1663, his stepfather in law, Thomas Lambersz, and Jacques Cousseau were appointed guardians.[6]

The English Takeover

Around the same time that Isaac posted his bond, the second Anglo-Dutch War was taking place in Europe, and Charles II, the King of England, asserted his country’s claim to New Amsterdam. He granted his brother, James, the Duke of York, a patent to the colony. James sent over ships in the fall of 1664 commanded by Richard Nicholl to seize control of New Amsterdam from Director General, Petrus Stuyvesant, and act as Governor. Overwhelmed by the English fleet, the Dutch surrendered immediately, and the colony was renamed New York. Beverwyck became known as Albany.[7]

When the British arrived, Isaac Graveraet was an active schepen (alderman) in the community.  In correlation with the burgomasters (mayors), the schepens (aldermen) served on a council under the Director General. This council acted as the executive and administrative head of the city, but they also served as members of a court of general jurisdiction for civil and criminal trials. The judgments of the council would then be enforced by the local schouts (sheriffs).[8]

Since Isaac was an active part of the local government, he was one of seven men who signed his name to a letter written to the Directors of the West Indian Company in Amsterdam detailing the events of the surrender to England. The letter was dated September 16, 1664. In its final paragraph, the Dutchmen offered their apology to the WIC: “Meanwhile since we no longer to depend on your Honours’ promises of protection, we, with all the poor, sorrowing and abandoned Commonalty here must fly for refuge to the Almighty God, not doubting but he will stand by us in this sorely afflicting conjuncture and no more depart from us; and we remain your sorrowful and abandoned subjects.” The letter was signed by Isaac, Pieter Tonneman, Paulus Leeederzen Van der Grift, Cornelis Steenwyck, Jacob Backer, Tymotheus Gabry, and Nicolaas De Meyer.[9]

The Articles of Surrender offered by the English guaranteed the inhabitants their liberty and property as well as the ability to keep their Dutch customs. It also allowed the men currently acting as burgomasters and schepens to continue in their role as if “Sir Richard Nicolls and his English followers had never succeeded to Director General Peter Stuyvesant.” On October 14, Governor Nicolls called the acting burgomasters and schepens, and other prominent men in the community to swear an oath of allegiance to the English crown. Isaac was in attendance and took the oath. On October 22, 1664, Governor Nicolls called other prominent men in the community to swear their oath of allegiance. The men who took the oath that day were: Piter Tonneman, Paulus Leenderts Van der Grift, Cornelis Steenwyck, Tyotheus Gabry, Nicolaas de Meyer, Allard Anthony, Johannes VanBrugh, Joannes de Peister, Hendrick Janzen Vander Vin, Jacob Kip, Hendrick Kip, The Elder, Jacques Cousseau, Jeronimus Ebbinck, Govert Loockermans, Isaack de Foreest, and Jan Vinge. Isaac was also present.[10]

Revealing Clues

In researching the personal histories of people, it can sometimes be hard to put together a full picture of their time on this planet. However, if you cannot find information on them, looking into the lives of the people they associated with will usually help you get a better picture of your subject. In the case of Isaac Gravenraet, I decided to take a closer look at the men who swore an oath with him. And in doing so, I found a few worthy relationships to note. One of the men who signed the oath was Cornelis Steenwyck.

It turns out Cornelis was married to Isaac’s niece, Margareta de Riemer. Margareta was the daughter of Isaac’s sister, Elizabeth Graveraet, and Isaac de Riemer. Elizabeth was married three times: first to Isaac de Riemer, second to Elbert Elbertsen, and third to Domine Samuel Drisius. Since she only had children with her first husband, Elizabeth is considered the ancestress of the DeRiemer family in New York.[11]

Another daughter of Elizabeth Graveraet, Machtelt DeRiemer, was married to Nicholas Gouverneur. While Nicholas was not present at the oath signing, he also had connections with Cornelis Steenwyck. Machtelt and Nicholas were married in 1670, but no authority is given for this definite statement as to the year. Nicholas was a prominent merchant in Amsterdam, Holland, who engaged in trade with New Netherland. In pursuance of his business, it is believed he spent a good amount of his time in Holland, France, and the Island of Curacao, where his family had large interests. He was of French and Huguenot blood, and his family was associated with France and Holland before he came to New Amsterdam. It is believed he was the son of Pierre Nicholas Gouverneur, a native of France. His father, Pierre, was said to have been a soldier under Henry of Navarre, the great Huguenot King of France. After King Henry’s death, Pierre fled France and took refuge in Delft, Flanders because of his religious beliefs. According to Totten, there is strong evidence to show that Nicholas’ mother was related to Hendrick Cuyler, who came to Albany in 1664 from Amsterdam. Nicholas Pierre Gouverneur is said to have been born in 1635 and that he went to the Island of Curacao in 1650 for his maternal grandfather (i.e. Cuyler) who had established business on the island. In 1663, he came to New Amsterdam and joined the Dutch Church. In August of 1664, he made an appearance in Albany as an attorney for Cornelis Steenwyck. Perhaps he met Machtelt through Cornelis, who was married to her sister Margarieta. [12]

In 1664, when New Amsterdam was surrendered to the British, the colony was known to have about 20 large international traders with strong ties to Holland. Cornelis Steenwyck and Jacques Cousseau were two of the colony’s top ten traders. They imported large quantities of dry goods from Holland and exported most of the area’s furs. They re-exported sugar, tobacco and cotton from the British Caribbean and had extensive trade networks with Amsterdam, Curacao, St. Christopher, Barbados and coastal British ports. When the British came in, both Steenwyck and Cousseau worried the British would overtake their international trade and confine them to petty trading with only New Haven, Hartford, Boston and various Chesapeake Bay inlets. What they found is that they had to make a few adaptions to their trade routes, but their economic patterns of trade were not affected. The Dutch trading and kinship networks in the Americas held steady and strong until about the time Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) ended. However, some prominent Dutch trading networks with kinship ties in both the Dutch and American empires survived well into the 1750s.[13]

While I could not find any trade records that associate Jacques Cousseau and Isaac Graveraet in business together, I feel confident they shared a trade network and association. In my research, I found numerous instances where Jacques was involved or associated with a Graveraet. In addition to being an oath signer with Isaac, Jacques was also appointed as his sons’ guardian. He was highly involved in international trading with Isaac’s nephew, Cornelis Steenwyk. In another guardianship case to which Jacques was appointed as guardian to orphaned children, the court record identified Metje Grevenaet as the person who boarded and cared for his wards. This Metje was Isaac’s sister.[14]

Cousseau was either of Walloon or French Huguenot descent and very well connected in New Amsterdam. Some of his business dealings revealed he was networked with other French traders in the colony. In 1662, a debt he was owed was paid to the Deacons of the Walloon church at his request. He often made trips to the island of St. Christopher in the Caribbean with Kiliaen Van Rensselaer’s French cousin and associate, Jacques L’Hermite.[15] In a 1669 court record, a certificate was written out by Jacques to ensure Elizabeth Graveraet’s son, Huybert de Riemer was given safe passage under the King’s protection against pirates when he left New York bound for Barbados. A portion of the certificate reads: “that the mariners listed were inhabitants of New York and at liberty to go and come to trade and traffic into any of his Majesties dominions, colonies, or plantations, and to enjoy all privileges.”[16]

According to J.F. Bosher, it was not uncommon for French Huguenot merchants to flee France to Protestant parts of Europe and the colonies of North America, as religious conflict was widespread in the country following the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Amsterdam and North America were a natural fit for displaced French Huguenots in the late 1670s. However, Canada was off limits to them after 1685 when King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes. The King would allow no business in New France with anyone who was not Catholic.[17]

Exactly how Jacques was principally involved with Isaac in business has not been revealed, but I have a feeling Jacques and his partners looked after Isaac’s sons after he passed away given their chosen professions. I have been unable to determine Isaac’s exact date of death, but I believe it was sometime between 1675 and 1687. In May of 1687, his boys sold his house on Pearl Street to Aeltje Schepmoes, a widow.[18] Since I wrote my first story on the Graveraet and Harsen families, I have learned that the maiden name of Hendrick Cuyler’s wife was Anna Schepmoes. [19]  At the time of the sale, Hendrick and Anna were both alive and living in Albany. Learning this information made me wonder if the widow was related to Anna Cuyler. [20]

Early on in my research I discovered Gerrit Graveraet had an issue with Abraham Cuyler from Albany after the American Revolution.[21] Abraham was a former Mayor of Albany, a Loyalist, and the son of Cornelius Cuyler and Cathalina Schuyler, prominent citizens of Albany.[22] This information prompted me to do a little research on the Cuyler line. What I discovered is that through Cornelius, Hendrick and Anna Cuyler were Abraham’s great grandparents. After this revelation, I have kept a closer eye on the surname and will continue to do so. If you consider the possible Cuyler family relationship to Isaac’s nephew, Nicholas Gouverneur, and the widow’s surname it seems likely the widow who bought Isaac’s house was related to the Cuylers. [23]

Anna Van Brugh

On July 2, 1684, Andries Graveraet married Anna Van Brugh. Anna was the daughter of Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh and Catharine Roeloffe Jans. Catherine was the daughter of Anneke Jans Bogardus.[24] If you do not know who Anneke Jans Bogardus is, a quick Google search will acquaint you with her and the longstanding land dispute her heirs had with the Trinity Church in New York. From 1738 until 1930, various heirs brought their best arguments before the New York Courts, but each time they lost. In one of the cases brought in 1784, Balthhazar De Hart (an employee of Alexander Hamilton) is said to have caused the heirs a serious setback. While doing some research in the city archives on another matter, he came across a deed from Anneke Jans to Governor Lovelace concerning the land in question that had been signed by her in 1670. He disclosed this information to Trinity Church officials in 1785 and received a fine silver tankard in gratitude.[25]

Anna’s father, Johannes Van Brugh, signed the oath of allegiance to England alongside Isaac in 1664. Johannes Van Brugh was from the Netherlands and a prominent trader with the Dutch West Indian Company. He had a home in the Financial District of Manhattan between Wall and William Streets on the west side of Pearl Street. While Johannes was a big fish in early New York, he is probably best remembered as the father who made good marriages for his children.[26] His 2nd daughter, Catharina, married Hendrick Van Rensselaer (1667-1740) in 1689. [27] Henrick was the son of Jeremias Van Rensselaer (1632-1674) and Maria Van Cortlandt. [28] His grandfather Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1586-1643) was the original patroon of Rensselaerwyck.[29]

Johannes’ son Pieter Van Brugh (1666-1740) married Sara Cuyler (1670-1742). Pieter served as Mayor of Albany in 1699.[30] Sara was the daughter of Henrick and Anna Cuyler (another Cuyler mention).[31] During their marriage, Pieter and Sara only had one daughter, Catharina Van Brugh (1689-1756). She married Philip Livingston (1686-1749). At the time of her marriage, Catharina Van Brugh Livingston was said to be a very wealthy woman. [32] Philip Livingston was the son of Philip Livingston, the Elder (1654-1728).[33] Pieter and Sara’s son and Johannes Van Brugh’s grandson was Philip Livingston, the younger (1716-1778). Philip graduated from Yale College in 1737. He married Christina Ten Broeck in 1740, and he and his family lived in Manhattan and had a farm in Brooklyn. Philip was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774. He served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, where he was a signor of the Declaration of Independence.[34]

Sara Cuyler’s siblings also married into some prominent New York families. Her sister, Sarah, married Captain Myndert Schuyler, son of David Pieterse Schuyler. Her sister Maria married John Cruger. John Cruger was a famous Albany merchant who was a known slave trader in the West Indies. He sent his son, Tileman to the West Indies to manage his business there. His son Henry was sent to England to manage his business at that port. John’s Crugers grandson was Nicholas Cruger [35] Nicholas, who was in the business firm Beekman and Cruger in St. Croix, employed a young Alexander Hamilton as his bookkeeper. The money Hamilton earned in this position allowed him to migrate to New York to attend college.[36]

Sara Sanders

In 1686, Hendrick Graveraet married Sara Sanders in New York. Sara was the daughter of Robert Sanders and Elsje Barents. Robert Sanders was the son of Thomas Sanders and Sara Cornelia Van Gorcum. Robert settled in Albany, NY as early as 1665. Robert worked hard during his lifetime. In 1667, he was employed as a blacksmith. By 1692, he was an Albany merchant. In 1691, he and Hermanus Myndertse Van der Bogart received a patent for a mile square of land in Dutchess County, including the site of the present City of Poughkeepsie.[37]

Robert purchased this land from Pieter Schuyler, who had acquired it from Governor Thomas Dongan on June 2, 1688. Robert also served as an Indian interpreter and frontier diplomat. Robert’s father, Thomas Sanders, was an early resident of New Amsterdam (New York) and came to Rensselaerwyck about July 13, 1650. Thomas Sanders worked as a blacksmith. He later settled in Beverwyck (Albany), New York. By 1653, he owned a houselot on James and State Street.[38] Robert Sanders was a close friend of Pieter Schuyler. Not only did Pieter sell him the land that would make him rich, but Pieter also served as the first Mayor of Albany. Robert often attended councils acting as Pieter’s interpreter with local Indigenous tribes.[39]

Sara Sanders had six siblings. Her sister Maria married Gerrit Roseboom in 1689. Gerrit was the son of Hendrick Janse Roseboom and Gysbertje Lansing.[40] Gerrit’s uncle, Johannes Roseboom, was a fur trader. He led the first expedition from Albany to Mackinac in 1685 to do trade with the Indigenous tribes of northern Michigan. He reached Mackinac in June of 1686. His expedition was successful, and he was welcomed by the tribes.[41]

When the Governor General of New France found out about the Roseboom expedition, he ordered Daniel Greysolon Duluth to build a fort in the vicinity of the Detroit River. The Governor General wanted to keep English competition out of his backyard.[42] Duluth built the fort in what is known today as Port Huron, Michigan. It was called Fort St. Joseph and is known as being the first white settlement in the area. The fort was abandoned two years after it was built. [43] In 1701, another frenchman, Cadillac, established Fort Pontchartrain at Detroit, thirteen years after Fort St. Joseph was built.[44]

Sara’s brother, Barent Sanders, married Maria Wendell in 1704. At the time of her marriage, Maria’s father and mother, Johannes Wendell and Maritje Jillis Meyer were deceased. Maria’s mother died when she was very young. She was raised by her stepmother, Elizabeth Staats. When Maria’s father died, her stepmother married Johannes Philipse Schuyler. Johannes was Pieter’s brother who was discussed earlier. In 1704, when Maria married Barent, they were married in the Schuyler home.[45] Johannes Philipse Schuyler (1668-1747) was the son of Philip Pieterse Schuyler (1628-1683) and Margaretta Van Slichtenhorst. Margarette Van Slichtenhorst was the daughter of Brant Artz Van Slichtenhorst, who was the first Director of Rensselaerwyck. He held the office until 1652, when he was succeeded by Kiliaen’s son, Jan Baptist Van Rensselaer.[46]

Philip Pieterse Schuyler is known as the progenitor of the famous Schuyler line in America. [47] His brother was David Pieterse Schuyler, who died with his wife during the Schenectady Massacre of 1690.[48] The Schuyler family will come up again in a future blog as this family also ties to the Harsen family. Some of the Schuyler family offspring will also be important in a future story concerning Gerrit Graveraet’s children with Sarah Harsen. Philip’s wife, Margarette Van Slichtenhorst, was the daughter of Brant Artz Van Slichtenhorst, who was the first Director of Rensselaerwyck. He held the office until 1652, when he was succeeded by Kiliaen’s son, Jan Baptist Van Rensselaer.[49]

Sara’s sister, Helen, married Johannes Lansing in 1704. Johannes was a fur trader. Their family lived a modest life. Their son, Johannes Lansing, Jr. married Geertuy Schuyler, the daughter of Pieter Schuyler and Maria Van Rensselaer. Their daughter, Elizabeth Lansing, married Stephanus Groesbeck. Their second daughter, Geertruy Lansing, married Ryer Gerritse. Ryer was the brother of Elbert Gerritse, who married Maria Pruyn and had Gerrit Graveraet’s mother, Alida Gerritse. Alida’s family also ties into the Goosen Van Schaick family of early Albany.[50]

Andries and Hendrick Gravenraet

With all their familial connections to the fur and international trade business, it is no great surprise that both of Isaac’s sons became seafaring men. Andries worked as a sea captain. In 1701, he was listed on a New York arrival list as the captain of the sloop Catherine, arriving from Newcastle.[51]

Hendrick, on the other hand, appeared to be involved in transatlantic trading as either a member of a crew or acting as an agent for an Albany mercantile firm in the British West Indies. Of course, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, pirating was at its height on the high seas, so it is possible he was a pirate. Was he working for Jacques Cousseau, John Cruger, Johannes Van Brugh in the British West Indies? No records have been found to give a true picture of his seafaring life. What I can tell you is Hendrick Graveraet died in March of 1699 in Bluefields Bay, on the southwest coast of Jamaica, near Savannah La Mar. He wrote out a will that was signed March 11, 1699. He was only 37 years old. The fact that he drew up a will in Jamaica indicates he was living on borrowed time. Reading the will brings to light that Hendrick and his wife were not on the best of terms when he died. In it he stated: “My dear I hope as our love was tinted while we was together that you will be kind to my children and not rouge them but do by them as thy will answer to God almighty.” Regardless of the trouble between them, Hendrick left all his property to her for the benefit of his minor children. He also left a specific bequest to his only son, Isaac, of a “seal ring with black stone marked H.G.”[52]

Unbeknownst to Hendrick, Isaac was not his only son. For Sara gave birth to a boy, Henricus, in July of 1699, four months after Hendrick passed away.[53] This gives us another clue to Hendrick’s story. From this information we can deduce Hendrick was away from home for an extended period, and Sara was alone in New York for the duration of her last pregnancy. In his family Bible, her son, Isaac Graveraet attributed a great amount of sympathy towards his mother in her old age. I wonder if he felt a special need to take care of her because he understood and shared her loss. Isaac grew up without a father. Sara never remarried after Henrick’s death. She lived out her days with Isaac and his family in Albany. [54] Isaac bought a home in the city in 1729. They lived on the Hudson River near the corner of Broadway and Steuben Streets today. This was also the home where Gerrit Graveraet grew up. Ironically, Johannes Cuyler, Abraham Cuyler’s grandfather was their neighbor.[55]

In 1699, Hendrick’s brother, Andries, was also experiencing some trouble of his own. In June, he was held in port overnight by the Governor of Maryland, being suspected in the Captain Kidd affair. After I discovered the next part of this story, I wondered if Hendrick was involved with the Kidd affair as well. It is possible he defected from his crew and made his way to Bluefields Bay. At the time, it was a known pitstop for pirates.[56]

Robert Livingston, Captain Kidd & Andries Graveraet

Pirating was prevalent in the British West Indies during the latter half of the seventeenth century. In 1692, Benjamin Fletcher came to New York and replaced Henry Sloughter as Governor. Fletcher was known to reward his pirate friends and gave them free reign in his port.[57] In the early 1690s, King William’s War was dragging on in Europe because of the Glorius Revolution of 1688. In English history, the disposition of James II and the accession of his daughter, Mary II and her husband, William III, Prince of Orange to the English throne, is called the Glorious Revolution or the Revolution of 1688. In February of 1665, Charles II of England died. His brother, the Duke of York, succeeded him as James II. James was a Catholic. Even though his religion made most of the population nervous, at first it did not present a problem.[58]

In April of 1688, James issued a Declaration of Indulgence to be read from every pulpit in the kingdom. This prompted criticism from William Sancroft, the archbishop of Canterbury, and six other bishops. They petitioned the King not to follow through with the declaration. The King responded by jailing them for seditious libel. They were acquitted in June of 1688. The trial and acquittal took place at the same time the King’s wife gave birth to a son. Feeling threatened that the continuance of a Catholic monarchy would be secured by the birth of his new son, seven prominent men, one a bishop and six members of parliament, decided to write a letter to William of Orange inviting him to come with an army and take the English throne. William accepted their invitation and landed at Brixham on Tory Bay on November 5, 1688. As he made a slow advance on London, support fell away from James II. James fled to France, and William and Mary succeeded to the throne of England.[59]

On July 1, 1689, when news reached Albany that William and Mary succeeded James II, Pieter Schuyler, the acting Mayor of Albany. called a meeting of the city council to vote and proclaim their majesties without delay. War was proclaimed between Engand and France in August. Robert Sanders was selected to enlist Iroquois warriors to help the Albany troops along the Hudson River fight off the French coming to fight them from Montreal, Canada (New France).[60] On February 8, 1690, the Schenectady Massacre took place. A party of about 200 Frenchmen and allied Mohawk and Algonquin warriors attacked the community, setting fire to homes and killing or capturing the townspeople. In total, about 60 residents were killed.[61] Later that year, Robert Sanders and Pieter Schuyler were commissioned to attend an important council of the Five Nations to discuss the return of New York prisoners who had been taken to Canada by the French.[62]

During King Williams War, both England and France used privateers, which were privately owned warships empowered by “letters of marque” to bolster their regular navies and despoil enemy shipping. Under the English law, captured ships and cargoes known as “prizes” were to be recorded and disposed of by the courts. Some pirates chose to ignore the formalities of the law and attacked vessels from any country, including their own. The trick was to avoid being captured and hanged for the offense and to dispose of the loot.[63]  

For a mere one hundred Spanish dollars, Governor Fletcher would allow pirates to enter New York and dispose of their treasures illegally. Residents Frederick Phillipse, Nicholas Bayard, William Nicoll, Stephanus Van Cortlant, and Pieter Schuyler all financed and provisioned pirate expeditions under Governor Fletcher’s watch. They invested in the illegal trade between New York and Madagascar, where goods were sold at fantastic prices. In fact, pirating boosted the New York economy. Tavernkeepers, retailers and whorehouses flourished as buccaneers swaggered into town with purses full of money to spend.[64]

New York was not the only North American city getting in on the action. Complicity between the American colonies and the pirates was widespread. According to authors Mark P. Donnelly and Daniel Diehl, “Colonial governors from New England to the Carolinas colluded with the pirates. Boston, New York and Philadelphia became pirate depots. In fact, the Pennsylvania surveyor of customs reported that the pirates seem so brazen in their activities as to have believed themselves almost beyond reproach.”[65] Pirating was not all hijinks and high riches. It was also a very hard lifestyle. Many pirates faced dying in a battle, contracting a disease found on the high seas, and hanging if caught. The life expectancy of these men was on average three to five years.[66]

In 1695, Robert Livingston, the Elder, made a voyage from Albany to England. Robert, having established himself in Albany as its town clerk and secretary to the Commissioners for Indian Affairs. He worked hard and saved his money. His goal was wealth. During King William’s War, he made various loans to the New York government totaling 4,221 pounds. He had made these loans to the late Governor Dongan for expeditions into Canada to fight the French. Governor Fletcher refused repayment, so Livingston made his way to England in January of 1695 to ask the Board of Trade to reimburse him.[67] While in London, Livingston met Captain William Kidd, whom he already knew from New York. At the time English commence was being threathen by piracy in the Indian Ocean, so he came up with a pirating money-market scheme to send Kidd out to loot the pirates and save England. Kidd liked his plan and agreed to undertake the scheme. With the agreement with Kidd in place, Robert set out to find financial backing while he was in London.[68]

Robert decided to approach Richard Cotte, the 1st Earl of Bellomont and see if he had interest in backing the scheme. They met and discussed the Kidd proposal.[69] Bellomont liked the idea and brought in four of his friends, some of the most powerful men in England to invest in the scheme: Edward Russel, the 1st Earl of Orford, Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, Charles Talbot, 1^st Duke of Shrewsbury, and Sir John Somers. All of the investors agreed to cover four-fifths of the venture costs. These men were also members of government who had each signed their names to the 1688 invitation addressed to William of Orange to come and take the English throne.[70]

On August 28, 1695, Livingston was finally allowed to make his claim to the Board of Trade. Captain Kidd served as one of his witnesses at the hearing. The Board sat on his claim without decision. Unable to delay his stay in London waiting for a decision from the board, Livingston made plans to return home. Before he left, Livingston had two meetings of consequence to the Kidd affair. On October 3, 1695, he disclosed in his journal: “The other matter of Kidd, has also given me much trouble and at last, this evening, I discussed this matter with two great personages and satisfied them. They take the Earl of R. into partnership, and they are now 4 in number and the business is to proceed. I hope by this means my affairs may have a happy ending.” [71] On October 10, 1695, Livingston, Bellomont, and Captain Kidd signed the piracy agreement before Livingston departed home. Bellomont signed on behalf of the 4 investors. [72]

The agreement gave Kidd and Livingston a ten percent share of the profits, the crown a ten percent share, the British Admiralty a third share, and the remainder was to be split between the investors, Russel, Sydney, Talbot and Somers. Bellomont also negotiated “letters of marque” signed by King William III that authorized Kidd to act as a privateer for the English government.[73] King William III enthusiastically supported the scheme for two reasons: first, it would curb the pirates who were sabotaging English commerce in the Indian Ocean; and second, because it would make him a profit.[74] The “letters of marque” authorized Kidd to “apprehend pirates, free-booters, and sea-rovers, being our subjects or of other nations associated with them and to take pirates of any nationality.” It also authorized him to seize them and their vessels wherever he found them using any force necessary.[75]

Before Kidd sailed out of New York, he met with Livingston and a merchant by the name of Richard Blackburn. The three men signed a secret agreement unbeknownst to the King or Bellomont. This agreement gave Blackburn a third of their share in the profits for relieving Kidd of his debts and paying to outfit his new sloop, the Adventure Galley.[76]

After Kidd left port, he experienced a bout of hard luck and did not encounter any ship he could exploit. By February of 1697, he worried he might not be able to deliver a prize ship. Fearing failure, he turned to piracy himself. In August of 1697, he made an unsuccessful attack on ships sailing from Yemen that contained coffee, but shortly thereafter he managed to take a few small ships. A few months later, Kidd refused to attack a Dutch ship, which brought his crew close to mutiny. In an angry exchange Kidd killed his gunner, William Moore. [77]

Under admiralty law murder was not permitted, but Kidd seemed unconcerned about retribution. Some of his crew deserted, and those who stayed behind continued to openly threaten Kidd with mutiny.[78] Kidd took an Armenian ship with “letters of marque” from France, the Quedagh Merchant, in January of 1698. After Kidd realized the captain was an Englishman, he tried to talk his crew into giving the ship back to the Armenians. They refused, stating the exchange was legal. To alleviate some of the tension between himself and the crew, Kidd decided to keep the ship.[79]

When he sailed to Anguilla, in the West Indies in April of 1699, Kidd learned he had been denounced as a pirate and was being hunted by British naval commanders. In a panic, he left the Quedagh Merchant at the island of Hispaniola and purchased a new ship, the Antonio, to hide from authorities as he made his way to New York.[80] Many false reports circulated in the North American colonies stating they had spotted Kidd only to prove false. But when two ex-pirates by the names of Stretcher and Lewis informed the collector of customs for the eastern shore that they had been aboard Kidd’s ship and had taken leave of him with some other crew members, he decided to follow up on the story. Their statements contained details the others had not. They explained that when the ship arrived in the Chesapeake, some of the crew that deserted split up. Half of them went on a boat bound for Philadelphia and the other half boarded a ship captained by Andrew Gravenrod, bound for Maryland. They claimed the men were “heavily laden with plunder and booty” as Kidd’s ship contained “30 tons of gold and silver aboard.”[81]

One of the men who boarded Andrew’s ship was Theophilus Turner, Kidd’s right-hand man. Authors Donnelly and Diehl state that Turner boarded Andrew’s ship with the intention of taking his booty and quietly settling in the Tidewater area.[82] While Gravenraet’s ship was anchored in the Severn River, an agent sent by the Governor of Maryland came onboard the ship in pursuit of Turner. They arrested him and Andrew, and confiscated Turner’s treasure. Turner gave a deposition to the colonial governor on June 8, 1699, while Andrew was released.[83]

In 1698, Richard Cotte, the 1^st Earl of Bellomont, replaced Fletcher as Governor of New York. He was also appointed to act as the Governor of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire. When Kidd made his way home in the summer of 1699, he felt secure Bellomont would help protect him.[84] What Kidd did not know was that as word spread of his suspected piracy, the King had ordered his arrest. There were also rumors circulating that key members of parliament were doing all they could to keep the Kidd agreement under wraps. The Tories had recently won control of parliament with the key investors being members of the Whig party, the Tories were ready and willing to incriminate them in the Kid scheme. In New York, both Bellomont and Livingston feared they woud be implicated too.[85]

So what did Bellomont do? He did what most cowards do. To protect himself, he offered Kidd up in chains to the English. To get Kidd to come into the port of Boston, he made him a false promise he would be spared. But on July 6, 1699, when he came into port, Bellomont had him arrested and placed in prison. Bellomont also arrested his wife, Sarah, and held her in jail for a brief period.[86]

When Kidd was imprisoned, he refused to name names as to whom his financial backers were. Knowing there was no way New York would try and convict Kidd and being afraid of the power of the Tory parliment, Bellomont had Kidd shipped to London to be tried by the Court of Admiralty. He was charged with murder and five counts of piracy. He was convicted and sentenced to death. He was publicly executed by hanging on May 23, 1701.[87] Enough evidence was also gathered to convince Bellomont that Theophilus Turner, who had been arrested on Andrew Graveraet’s boat, was an accomplice to Kidd’s piratical acts. He was also sent to London and made to stand trial before the Court of Admiralty. He was found guilty and hanged.[88] While Kidd was in London awaiting trial, Bellomont wrote a letter to one of the investors, Sir John Somers, that discussed Livingston’s state of mind as Kidd waited to be tried in London. “Mr. Livingston has fallen into a fit of melancholy and has removed from Albany to a farm he has between that and New York, resolving to meddle no more with business and that because he, his wife, and his relations are frightened out of their wits at his bond’s lying for Kidd (March 7, 1700).[89]

While historical documentation has survived to allow us the opportunity to understand how terrified Livingston and Bellomont felt over the Kidd scheme and execution, nothing exists to give us an indication of how Andries Graveraet felt being jailed and having one of Kidd’s crew members arrested on his boat. I often think people like Robert Livingston, the Elder are so well known because they were lucky enough to leave behind the right kind of documentation, while others who did not can be historically lost to us. Every time I review this story, I imagine how scared and terrified Andries Graveraet must have felt standing before that council in Maryland on June 8, 1699, alongside Theo Turner. Was he trembling as he waited for the council to begin? We will never know, as the meeting minutes that day simply state “it is ordered that the pirate Turner be safely secured, but that Mr. Gravenraet on good security may be at liberty.”[90] What we do know is that by taking Turner onto his ship, Andries Graveraet likely engaged in piracy himself and knew the real Captain Kidd, not the fabled legend we know today.

References:

[1] Williams, B., (2022). A Lovely View: The History of the Graveraet and Harsen Families of Harsens Island, Michigan Part I, accessed August 27, 2023, https://tappingroots.com/2022/01/20/a-lovely-view-the-history-of-the-graveraet-and-harsen-families-of-harsens-island-michigan-part-one/

[2] J. Munsell, 1871. History of Albany, Vol. IV.

[3] Wikitree, 2023. Arent Van Curler, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Van_Coller-166, accessed December 6, 2023.

[4] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2 (April 1930), 131

[5] Van Zwieten, Adriana E., 1996. The Orphan Chamber of New Amsterdam, The William and Mary Quarterly, Apr. 1996, Vol. 53, No. 2.

[6] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2 (April 1930), 131

[7] James II, King of England 1633-1701, Historical Society of the New York Courts, accessed August 27, 2023, https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/james-duke-york/#:~:text=A%20Roman%20Catholic%2C%20James%20advocated,promulgated%20the%20Declaration%20of%20Indulgence

[8] Herman, E, Nicolls, R. & Friedman, L.M., (1902). The Changes in the Allegiance and Laws of Colonial New York, Harvard Law Review, Jun. 1902, Vol. 15, No. 10; Harvard Law Review Association, 810.

[9] Ibid, 814.

[10] Ibid, 815-816.

[11] Totten, John Reynolds (1929). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 60, (July 1929), 207-214.

[12] Totten, John Reynolds (1929). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 60, (July 1929), 222-224.

[13] Four Centuries of Dutch American Relations, 101-102.

[14] The Fulkerson Family Pages, accessed September 11, 2023, http://www.fulkersonfamilypages.org/New-Am–NY–pg-8.html

[15] Hoffman, William J., 1953. Random Notes Concerning Settlers of Dutch Descent, Part II, The American Genealogist Volume 29, No. 2 (April 1953), accessed September 11, 2023, https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wynkoop/genealogy/webdocs/tag2.htm.

[16] The Family of Dirck Janszen Woertman of Brooklyn Ferry, NYG&B Record, Vol. 132, Issue 4, (Oct. 2001), 163-164.

[17] Bosher, J.F., 1995. Huguenot Merchants and the Protestant International In the Seventeenth Century, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan. 1995), 77-82.

[18] Williams, B., (2022). A Lovely View: The History of the Graveraet and Harsen Families of Harsens Island, Michigan Part I, accessed August 27, 2023, https://tappingroots.com/2022/01/20/a-lovely-view-the-history-of-the-graveraet-and-harsen-families-of-harsens-island-michigan-part-one/

[19] Nicoll, Maud Churchill, 1912. The Earliest Cuylers in Holland and America; New York; Tobias A. Wright, Printer and Publisher, 12.

[20] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023, Abraham C. Cuyler, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/c/abccuyler359.html

[21] Burton, Clarence M., ed., 1922. The City of Detroit Michigan 1701-1922, Volume 1; Detroit-Chicago, The SJ Clarke Publishing Company, 208.

[22] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023, Abraham C. Cuyler, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/c/abccuyler359.html

[23] Pearson, Jonathan, 1872. Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany from 1630 to 1800; Albany, NY, J. Munsell, p. 81-82.

[24] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2 (April 1930), 135

[25] Parry, William J., 1994. The “Heirs of Anneke Jans Bogardus” Versus Trinity Church: A Chronicle of New York’s Most Prolonged Legal Dispute, NYG&B Record, Vol. 125, No. 2, (April 1994), 67-72.

[26] Wikipedia, 2023. Johannes Pieterse VanBrugh, accessed August 7, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Pieterse_van_Brugh

[27] Geni.com, Caterina “Katie” Annetje Van Rensselaer (Van Brugh), accessed August 22, 2023, https://www.geni.com/people/Caterina-Van-Rensselaer/6000000000954141245

[28] Wikipedia, 2023. Hendrick Van Rensselaer, accessed August 22, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrick_van_Rensselaer.

[29] Wikipedia, 2023. Jeremias Van Rensselaer, accessed August 22, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremias_van_Rensselaer

[30] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023. Pieter Van Brugh, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/vb/pvbrugh.html

[31] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023. Sara Cuyer Van Brugh, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/c/sacuyler609.html

[32] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023. Catharina Van Brugh Livingston, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/vb/cavbrugh8628.html

[33] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023, Philip Livingston, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/l/phlivingston86.html

[34] Bielinski, Stefan, 2023. Philip Livingston, New York State Education Department, accessed December 6, 2023, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/l/phlivingston.html

[35] Wikipedia, 2023. John Cruger, accessed December 7, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cruger

[36] Letter to Nicholas Cruger from Alexander Hamilton dated October 31, 1771. Founders Online, accessed December 7, 2023, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-01-02-0006

[37] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2 (April 1930), 137

[38] Munsell, J., 1871. Collections of the History of Albany Vol. IV, Diagrams of the Home Lots of the Village of Beverwyck; Albany, New York, J. Munsell, 203.

[39] Wikipedia, 2023. Pieter Schuyler, accessed August 22, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Schuyler

[40] Albany County New York Gen Web. Surnames beginning with R. Genealogies of the First Settlers of Albany, January 3, 2022, https://albany.nygenweb.net/gene-r.htm

[41] Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 2003-2023. Johannes Roseboom, accessed December 7, 2023, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/roseboom_johannes_3E.html

[42] Farrand, Mrs. B.C., 1872. St. Clair County, Early History of St. Clair County, Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Volume V, p. 494.

[43] Michigan State University, History of Land Use in the St. Clair Flats, author unknown. Retrieved February 4, 2020, no longer available online.

[44] Farrand, Mrs. B.C., 1872. St. Clair County, Early History of St. Clair County, Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Volume V, p. 494.

[45] Richie, Marcia Ward & Andersen, Anne Ware Freehafter, 1999. Genealogical Clues in the Letters of John Wendell (1708-1772) of Stone Arabia (Lansingburg, New York) and Boston, NYG&B Record, Vol. 130, Issue 4 (Oct. 1999), 244-246.

[46] Van Laer, A.J.F., 1908. Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscript; Albany, University of the State of New York, 30, 838.

[47] Wikipedia, 2023. Johannes Schuyler, accessed August 23, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Schuyler

[48] Wikipedia, 2023. Philip Pieterse Schuyler, accessed August 23, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Pieterse_Schuyler

[49] Van Laer, A.J.F., 1908. Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscript; Albany, University of the State of New York, 30, 838.

[50] Pearson, Jonathan, 1872. Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany from 1630 to 1800; Albany, NY, J. Munsell, p. 53-54, 56, 70, 130-133.

[51] Valentine’s Manual of old New York, 1925. Early Shipping in New York; Gracie Mansion, New York, 297-298.

[52] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2 (April 1930), 136-137.

[53] Ibid.

[54] Talcott, Sebastian Visscher, 1883. Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families, The Bible of Hendrick Grevenradt; Albany, NY, 430-433.

[55] Munsell, J., 1871. Diagrams of Lots in Beverwyck, History of Albany, Vol. IV, 192.

[56] Siegel, Benjamin, D., 2011. The Impact of Empire: The Effects of British Imperial Culture on Colonial Maritime Landscape Bluefields Bay, Jamaica, Abstract of Thesis for the Department of History, East Carolina University.

[57] Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike, 1999. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898; New York, Oxford University Press, 105-107.

[58] Wikipedia, 2023, James II of England, accessed September 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England

[59] Glorious Revolution, 2023. Britannica Online Encyclopedia, accessed September 1, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/event/Glorious-Revolution

[60] Reynolds, Cuyler, ed., 1911. Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Sanders; New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 50-55.

[61] Wikipedia, 2023. Schenectady Massacre, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenectady_massacre, accessed October 25, 2022.

[62] Reynolds, Cuyler, ed., 1911. Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Sanders; New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 50-55.

[63] Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike, 1999. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898; New York, Oxford University Press, 105-107.

[64] Ibid.

[65] Donnelly, Mark P. & Diehl, Daniel, 2012. Pirates of Maryland: Plunder and High Adventure in the Chesapeake Bay; Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 1-2.

[66] Ibid, 1-4.

[67] Leder, Lawrence, R., 1955. Robert Livingston’s Voyage to England, 1695, New York History, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan. 1955), 16-17.

[68] Ibid, 19.

[69] Ibid, 29.

[70] Wikipedia, 2023, Edward Russell, 1^st Earl of Orford, accessed December 8, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Russell,_1st_Earl_of_Orford, Wikipedia, 2023, Charles Tablot, 1^st Duke of Shrewsbury, accessed December 8, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Talbot,_1st_Duke_of_Shrewsbury, Wikipedia, 2023, Henry Sydney, 1^st Earl of Romney, accessed December 8, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Sydney,_1st_Earl_of_Romney

[71] Leder, Lawrence, R., 1955. Robert Livingston’s Voyage to England, 1695, New York History, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan. 1955), 33.

[72] Ibid, 33-34.

[73] Wikipedia, 2023. William Kidd, accessed August 23, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kidd

[74] Donnelly, Mark P. & Diehl, Daniel, 2012. Pirates of Maryland: Plunder and High Adventure in the Chesapeake Bay; Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 33.

[75] Ibid. 34.

[76] The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2023. A Secret Agreement Between Pirate Hunters, 1696, accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/secret-agreement-between-pirate-hunters-1696

[77] Britannica, 2023. William Kidd, accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Kidd

[78] Donnelly, Mark P. & Diehl, Daniel, 2012. Pirates of Maryland: Plunder and High Adventure in the Chesapeake Bay; Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 33-34.

[79] Ibid, 34.

[80] Britannica, 2023. William Kidd, accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Kidd

[81] Donnelly, Mark P. & Diehl, Daniel, 2012. Pirates of Maryland: Plunder and High Adventure in the Chesapeake Bay; Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 35.

[82] Ibid, 35.

[83] Jameson, John Franklin, ed., 1923. Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents, The Case of Captain Kidd, Examination of Edard Buckmaster, June 6, 1699, 197-200, Examination of Theophilus Turner, June 8, 1699, 201; New York, The MacMillian Company.

[84] Wikipedia, 2023. Richard Cotte, 1^st Earl of Bellomont, accessed August 25, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Coote,_1st_Earl_of_Bellomont

[85] The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2023. A Secret Agreement Between Pirate Hunters, 1696, accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/secret-agreement-between-pirate-hunters-1696

[86] Wikipedia, 2023. William Kidd, accessed August 23, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kidd

[87] Ibid.

[88] Donnelly, Mark P. & Diehl, Daniel, 2012. Pirates of Maryland: Plunder and High Adventure in the Chesapeake Bay; Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 36-37.

[89] Leder, Lawrence, R., 1955. Robert Livingston’s Voyage to England, 1695, New York History, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan. 1955), 35.

[90] Browne, William Hand, ed., Proceedings of the Council of Maryland; Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society, 1905, 77.