November 2, 2012, Friday, 306

User:ARudy

From The Peopling of New York City

Contents

Introduction/ Notes

Welcome to my personal page. There isn't much about me you don't already know. So let's get right to it: I'm researching 5 individuals who were tangentially involved in the 1741 "slave conspiracy" in New York City. My goal is to put together a narrative of each of their lives based on whatever historical information I can uncover. I anticipate that it will be difficult to find much information about these people, being that Census records weren't taken prior to the year 1790, however I will try to make use of whatever data still exists.

The Search

That Paragraph

It should be noted that I was coerced by Jennifer into writing this paragraph in about sixty seconds.

This paragraph is brought to you by *corporate sponsor*. *catchy corporate slogan here*. In searching for elusive immigrants, I"ve learned a thing or two about elusive immigrants: mainly, they're elusive. Even the complete attention-whore of the mid 1700's is difficult to track (reference Judah Hayes, a man who felt compelled to post an advertisement in the Gazette every time he sneezed, yet whose birth date remains a question mark, and whose burial spot is a mystery).

All things considered, it's a nice experience in using the library computers, and it is sort of an adventure: following a story from beginning to end, just as you would a book or movie. I was actually somewhat saddened when, after hours of reading through advertisements and other pieces of data about Judah Hays' life, I finally came across documentation of his death. It's really just interesting to try and put together a decent narrative of these peoples' lives based on the historical footprints they've left behind.

Note to all students regarding research

Folks, I've noticed that NYU's Library's website has links to most, if not all of the databases that are available at the New York Public Library (including my personal favorite, America's Historical Newspapers). Therefore, if you have a friend at NYU who doesn't mind sharing his or her NYU ID with you, you can save yourself the hassle of getting out of bed and do your research remotely.

Note from Prof. Wills

Hi Abraham,

Where's your research proposal?

We miss you today, and hope you're well. It's raining cats and dogs tomorrow, plus the weather people promise FREEZING temps, so we're doing our walking tour next Friday (April 4th) instead--same place, same time.


Note Regarding the Burial Place of Judah Hays

It is worth noting that conflicting information exists regarding Judah Hays' burial. Ancestry.com lists his resting place as 6th avenue and 22nd street(the 3rd cemetery of Congregation Shearith Israel), however it is unlikely he was interred there, as that plot of land had not been used as a cemetery at the time of his death. It is more likely that he is buried in the first cemetery of the synagogue, located near Chatham square.

Note Regarding Coenradt Ten Eyck

One of the immigrants I was assigned, listed in Professor Wills' email as Conrad Ten Eyck, is actually listed in New York Burningas having spelled his name "Coenradt", which explains why I have had absolutely no luck tracking him down. I shall proceed to search for him under the correct spelling.

Dead Ends and Search Updates

Of the five individuals I've been assigned, only Judah Hays has yielded substantial information. Surprisingly, I've actually had a lot of trouble finding passenger records for the rest of the people I"m researching.

Most of my research was done using online databases, both at the New York Public Library, and on the NYU LIbrary's website. I've relied heavily on America's Historical Newspapers for two main reasons: The first: it's very easy to search- you can index names by years and locations. The second: Newspapers are typed and written in full sentences, making the information much more easily understandable.

Israel Horsefield and Coenradt Ten Eyck have not yielded any search results in that database. Anthony Duane and Samuel Myers Cohen have yielded only one or two advertisements each. I have also been manually scanning through hundreds of other other databases on NYU and Brooklyn College's Library websites to see if there might be any other source of information. I've come across a few databases that contain information about the time period, but Eighteenth Century Collections Online was the only one that actually had useful data.

The only other tool I've been able to make use of to find information on birth dates, immigration dates, and death dates is Ancerstry.com's family tree section. However, I'm uncomfortable relying on that, because any ancestry.com user can post information, and there's rarely a way to verify whether or not it's correct.

Footnotes

I've also noticed that my footnotes don't actually link to any citation information. I'm not really sure what to do about that, and the only solution I've come up with is to copy-paste the citations into a "references" section.

DRAFT PROPOSAL (Thank you, Prof. Wills)

I have chosen to examine the lives of 5 former slave-owners from New York Burning. I was fascinated by the story of the slave “conspiracy”, and I believe that in doing this research, I will gather some interesting information about colonial New York: an era that has been long buried under the skyscrapers and streets of modern-day New York. New York’s colonial history is of great interest to me because I don’t have a lot of background knowledge about it. The New York State High School American History curriculum deals primarily with Philadelphia and Massachusetts during the Revolutionary era, and focuses on New York more towards the Industrial Revolution.

Another reason why I wish to examine the lives of former slave-owners is to gain an understanding for the economics of the colonial era: how ordinary people made money, how often they stayed in one business etc… I hope that by following a few of these men, I’ll be able to paint a picture of the life of a 18th-century family-man.

There are four specific slave-owners whose lives I wish to examine: Mordecai Gomez, Lewis Gomes, Judah Hay (also known as Hayes) and Samuel Myers Cohen. I’m interested in them primarily because they’re Jewish, and I hope that by following their lives, I might gain some knowledge of early American-Jewish history. Specifically, I’m curious as to how a second-class citizen might have viewed slaves and slavery, and I hope that through this research – and perhaps through supplemental research on Jews in Colonial America- I’ll be able learn something about the subject. I’ll also throw in Israel Horsefield as my fifth subject of interest. He’s listed in the appendix as English, but it’s possible that, with a first name like “Israel”, he’s at least half-Jewish (for which he probably caught his fair share of flak).

Finally, my interest in New York burning is a function of my desire to understand a totally different world. By the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, New York was already one of the world’s largest, busiest cities. The triangle fire occurred just a few years before my grandfather was born in New York. Thus, the mystique that surrounds 18th century New York isn’t really a factor in 20th century New York: Indeed, I’ve heard my grandparents tell many a story about life in pre WWII New York. Therefore, I’ve chosen New York Burning: Not necessarily because of the time difference, but because of the life-style difference associated with it.


Assignment

NOTE TO READERS: The following immigrants were assigned to me. The information listed next to their names was copied from Professor Wills' email, and is based on information provided in New York Burning.

Samuel Myers Cohen (Jewish; no wealth listed; Country Party; merchant; no ward listed; Hereford discharged & Windsor transported)

Anthony Duane (English; 110 pounds wealth; Court Party; merchant/slave trader; East Ward; Prince hanged)

Judah Hays (Jewish; no wealth listed; no party affiliation; merchant; no ward listed; Jack discharged)

Israel Horsefield (English; no wealth listed; Country Party; butcher; Dock Ward; Caesar transported)

Coenradt Ten Eyck (Dutch; 80 pounds wealth; no party affiliation; bolter; Dock Ward; Dick transported)