Cadwallader Colden (10 page)

Three members of the governor's opposition and critics of Colden were also early members of the American Philosophical
Society. The first, James Delancey, whose brother, Peter, had married Colden's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, in 1737/38, was a Cambridge and Lincoln's Inn educated lawyer. He was a member of the Council of New York since 1729 and a justice of the colony's supreme court. As chief justice presiding over the trial of John Peter Zenger, Delancey held Zenger's attorneys in contempt. Delancey openly broke with Governor Clinton in 1744. Strengthened by his relationships with his old college friend Thomas Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury; his brother-in-law Admiral Sir Peter Warren; and his wife's cousin, Sir John Heathcote, a member of Parliament, Delancey was appointed lieutenant governor of New York in October 1747 in spite of Clinton's expressed desire that the position be awarded to Colden.

The second, Daniel Horsmanden, was also an English-educated lawyer who, on his arrival in New York, was befriended by Colden but later joined the Delancey faction in opposition to Clinton and Colden. On September 17, 1747, Clinton suspended Hormsmanden from the Council, and shortly thereafter removed him from the position of recorder and from the supreme court. He was restored to his positions in the 1750s. The third, Joseph Murray, was a London-educated, able, and respected lawyer.

In response to the personal attack, Colden dispatched a long letter of rebuttal to Governor Clinton, who was unswervingly supportive of Colden throughout a lengthy period of contention. Although Colden would not dismiss his personal characteristic of vanity, as he indicated it was manifested by many colonials, he explained that he presented himself at the Albany conference as the individual next to the governor in the administration in order to provide evidence of the governor's respect for his Indian allies.
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In the third week of March 1747, the Assembly met and the governor requested funding to supply presents to their Indian allies for an expedition to reduce the French fort at Crow Point and for the funding of one hundred scouts. The members of the
Assembly refused the request. Colden offered strong support for the governor and traced the greed of the opposition back to the administration of Governor Burnet. This led to Colden being referred to as “a person obnoxious to the house.”
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In May, Colden, while in New York City, was made aware of a mutiny by the troops at Albany. This prompted correspondence with his wife at Coldengham, suggesting that she move the family that was in residence to one of her son's homes, because of the fear of reprisals.
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Governor Clinton went to Albany without Colden to assuage the troops. In May 1747, Clinton wrote Thomas Pelham, Duke of Newcastle, who was in charge of colonial affairs in the ministry of Sir Robert Walpole, recommending that Colden be appointed lieutenant governor of New York.
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In 1747, a second edition of Colden's
The History of the Five Indian Nations
was published by Thomas Osborne in London. It included the material, ending with Denonnville's attack on the Senecas in 1689, that was included in the 1727 edition, to which was added a history of the Indians that extended to 1697 coincident with the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick. The map found in the 1747 edition is a reduced copy of Colden's original 1724 “Map of the Country of the Five Indian Nations.” Within the 283-page publication, the first appended section following Part II is a reprint of Colden's
Papers relating to the Indian Trade
of New York, 1724. The second edition also includes Colden's
Papers Relating to the Indian Trade
as an appendix. In the
Papers
, Colden expressed concern with the mistreatment of the Indians by the colonists and the failure of the colonists and of Great Britain to appreciate the value of a positive relationship with the Indians in the process of expansion of the empire and trade.

Among Colden's papers, there is a draft in his handwriting of a
Continuation of Colden's History of the Five Indian Nations for the years 1707 through 1720.
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No manuscript has been found covering the years from 1697 to 1707. The extant manuscript chronicles a
meeting between Lieutenant Governor Richard Ingoldesby and the Indians in July 1709, at which time the Indians were invited to join in an expedition against Canada. It also reports that in August 1710, Governor Robert Hunter met with the Five Nations at Albany and returned for another meeting a year later. Hunter is credited with maintaining a constant concern for his allies, the Five Nations, as evidenced by another with them in Albany in September 1719.
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The final year, 1748, of the decade in question opened with a disappointment for Colden. At the end of January, he was informed by Governor Clinton that Chief Justice Delancey had been appointed lieutenant governor by the Duke of Newcastle.
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This occasioned a letter from Colden to the duke. Colden informed the duke that there was a faction in New York attempting to wrest control from the governor and as a consequence the Crown. The group, by authority of the Assembly, had made false attacks on the governor's character. In the letter the only mention made of Colden's own conflict with the opposition referred to the insinuation that he had participated in the Rebellion against the Crown in 1715, a point that he rebutted.
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Colden perceived Delancey to be his arch enemy. In a letter to the governor, Colden refers to him by position rather than name in characterizing the chief justice as “a person in this province of such insatiable Ambition and thirst after power…entirely directed by him as to curb & embroil your administration at pleasure & to have it in his power to do the same to any other administration…. His love of money On many occasions is as remarkable as his ambition & it is therefor most likely he will never be content with a half while he can hope to have the whole.”
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The Assembly, which was convened in 1748, offered no support for the governor. Clinton became concerned that the heated arguments between Colden and Delancey might lead to his own recall to England or the termination of his appointment.
Therefore he dismissed Colden from the Council and as a prime advisor, replacing him with Alexander.
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Colden was reinstated in September, allowing a continuance of the heated argument between him and Delancey. That year, from his Ulster home, Colden issued “His Address to the Freeholders and Freemen of the Cities & Counties of the Province of New York by a Freeholder.” He attacked the opposition's practice of making assertions without proof. He pointed out that their attempt to wrest authority from the king and parliament would engender resentment and adverse effects. Colden also attacked the personal interests and the desire of the wealthy members of the Council and Assembly who dominated the opposition to expand their estates.
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In late October, Colden first met Peter Kalm, who had been sent by Linnaeus to America to study the flora and fauna. Kalm wrote in his journal, “In the afternoon I called on Mr. C. Colden, who was then living in the town. He was minister in the government. He wielded great influence over the present governor, Clinton, so much that the latter almost always followed Mr. Colden's advice. On the other hand the majority of the people were very dissatisfied with Mr. Colden, whom they accused of all sorts of things.”
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Despite his disappointment, Colden continued his activities in support of the governor. He petitioned for the appointment of his son John to the post of store keeper at Fort George. From April 24 through 26, Colden engaged in a conference with the Five Nations at Onondaga to retain their friendship.
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Toward the end of the year, he received word from Franklin, who had put his printing business in the hands of David Hall, that Franklin had turned down the position of assemblyman in Philadelphia to allow for more time to read, study, experiment, and maintain his association with correspondents, particularly Colden.
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The decade, in which Cadwallader Colden lived the life of sexagenarian, was characterized by the continuance of a life spent mainly on his estate, with sporadic interjections of activities related to his roles as surveyor general and a member of the provincial Council. He remained a polarizing figure in the ever-expanding antipathy between the two competing political factions in New York. The one, which included Colden, sided with the governor and the Crown's control. The other, led by James Delancey and including the majority of the Assembly, favored more control by the colonists. Colden continued in his unswerving advocacy of Britain's imperialism and also in his attempts to gain personal recognition and appreciation in that regard. He used his long period of service without compensation as a platform for advancing the careers of his sons. The major change in the political arena was that the decade would become dominated by involvement of the province as a battleground during the early stages of the French and Indian War.

Colden's leisure time was continuously occupied by his attempts to gain recognition for what he perceived to be significant personal contributions to an understanding of the action of matter, the causes of gravitation, the principles of vital motion, and the transmission and reflection of light. By contrast, there was an apparent and expressed decrease in his interest in botany that was somewhat
compensated for by the contributions of his daughter, whose expertise was a direct consequence of his deliberate direction. Although he had not practiced as a physician for the previous three decades, he maintained an interest in medicine as evidenced by his correspondence and the publication of articles on the subject.

At the onset of 1749, Colden wrote Governor Clinton in reference to the continuance of the opposition's publication of scandalous libels and their overt lack of respect for the king's authority as exercised by the governor.
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Colden was comfortable in requesting that the governor appoint his son John clerk of the peace & of the common pleas for the city and county of Albany, as replacement for the recently deceased Philip Livingstone.
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The affidavit for the appointment was executed in May with the stated provision that the profits, which accrue from the office, would be paid to Cadwallader.
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Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts was supportive of Governor Clinton and Colden, and served as a sympathetic sounding board for Colden's catharsis of his political concerns. In a long letter written to Shirley, Colden detailed the influence of Chief Justice Delancey, perhaps exceeding that of the governor. Colden indicated that the faction led by Delancey was desirous of a tyrannical government. Colden felt that he personally was in danger of a physical attack. Because the Assembly, controlled by Delancey's cohorts, blocked the financing required to protect the interests of the English colonists and allied Indians, Colden called upon Shirley to support Clinton and himself during Shirley's forthcoming trip to England.
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The Delancey-led faction relied on public opinion and the control of finances by the Assembly, which they dominated, to subvert the king's representative, the governor, and, consequently, the king's control. Colden's concern with political status in the Province of New York at that time was summarized in a letter to John Catherwood, the governor's secretary. According to Colden,
the opposition continually acted to dissuade those who supported the kings prerogative and authority in theprovince. Colden wrote:

I shall observe in general that the method they have taken to asperse Gov
^rs
Character is such as the Greatest Villain would take to asperse the honestest man breathing & the only means that a villain can take…. It not only concerns the Ministry to discourage those Artifices which tend to destroy all Governm
^t
& to bring every thing into confusion but likewise concerns every honest man who desires to enjoy his estate & liberty in safety. For if such principles be encouraged by success who can be safe. The greatest rogue the most abandon'd villain will be the greatest & most valued man where such attempts meet with success or publick approbation.
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Colden went on to point out that the governor had no power over the militia or the building and provisioning of the forts required to prevent incursions by the French Canadians and their allied Indians. The lack of financing had already precluded taking of the French fort at Crown Point on Lake Champlain and Fort Niagara on the Niagara River. Colden suggested that part of the solution was to have England directly appoint and salary the colonies' chief justices.

The year 1749 witnessed the publication the large “Map of Pensilvania, New-Jersey, New-York, and the Three Delaware Counties” by Lewis Evans (
fig. 7
) on which it is stated that “the greatest Part of New York Province is owing to the honourable Cadwallader Colden Esq.” Coldengham is identified on the map and an inscription borrows from Benjamin Franklin's discovery for the statement “The Sea Clouds coming freightened with Electricity and inciting others less so, the Equilibrium is restored by Snaps of Lightning….” The map is one of few to specifically locate Coldengham.

In 1750, John, the first Colden child to be born at Coldengham, died at age twenty-one. At age seventeen, he began running the farm when his parents were away. He served as the clerk of the city and county of Albany from March 1749. Cadwallader was in New York City when he learned of his son's death. He had insufficient funds with him to pay the legacy and funeral expenses and he sent home for forty pounds.
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Figure 7. Lewis Evans, “A Map of Pensilvania, New-Jersey, New-York, and the Three Delaware Counties,” 1749. Engraved (3
^rd
state 1752), 64 x 48 cm. Courtesy Private Collector. The first map to depict the location of Coldengham. The material for the geography of New York and its boundaries was provided by Cadwallader Colden.

Colden, after serving over thirty years as surveyor general for the province, informed Governor Clinton that age had become a limiting factor. Colden requested that his son Alexander be appointed as his replacement. Colden expressed concern related to the “malice” against “myself tho' it may be restrain'd yet never ceases & only waits for a proper opportunity to exert itself.”
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In 1737, Alexander had been appointed ranger of Ulster County, where he operated a country store. In 1751, Alexander was appointed joint surveyor general of New York and became acting surveyor general when his father became acting governor in 1761. He was also post master of New York until his death in 1774.

Colden's continuous concern for his children's future is manifest in a 1755 letter to Peter Collinson.

I am under concern that all the care and trouble which I have taken should turn out so little advantage of my children & so very far short of what I might have done had I turn my thoughts as others commonly do to the advanceing my private fortune without any regard to the public weal. I now have seven children alive grown up to the state of men & woemen and twenty grand children. My children I am confident are allowed by all who know them to be deserving & my grand children promise as well as any children in the Country….”
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Throughout the remainder of Governor Clinton's tenure political animosities and polarization between his supporters and the faction led by Chief Justice Delancey continued. There was a move to suspend Delancey's appointment as lieutenant governor and appoint another. It was deemed more tactful to apply to the king and have him personally recall the commission.
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John Catherwood, secretary to Governor Clinton, also endorsed the removal of Delancey from the post of lieutenant governor.
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Delancey's influence persisted. When the governor's spokesmen addressed the Assembly made up of Delancey's cronies and relatives, they deliberately articulated messages that “were least calculated to kindle the party fires which Mr. Colden's incautious, luxuriant compositions and high principles had so often exasperated, to the advancement of the popularity of the person he meant to pull down.”
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Clinton, who would be recalled and become a member of Parliament, continued to support Colden as evidenced by the last letter to Colden just six months before transferring the governorship to Sir Danvers Osborn.
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During this period, in appreciation of his aging, Colden evidenced concern with his finances. He desired that a salary be attached to the office of surveyor general, and that the salary come from the king in view of the attitude of the Assembly.
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Colden also addressed his two main correspondents in England requesting that they act on his behalf regarding the recently vacated position of deputy post master general of America. To Collinson, Colden wrote that the salary of 300 pounds sterling was particularly attractive because it required little effort and would therefore allow him to continue to pursue his intellectual interests. Colden indicated that he was particularly deserving, because, unlike the two previous predecessors who lived in Virginia, his location in New York placed him in the center of business. In addition, his long-term public service unaccompanied by any allowance from the Crown merited consideration.
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At the same time, Colden wrote John Mitchell soliciting his assistance in obtaining the position of deputy post master general. Colden, once again stressed that he had served the government for about thirty years without salary, and confessed that “I never had any talent at getting or saving money tho' I never was expensive but I have had a large family to support & I wish to be usefull to them before I leave them.”
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This was an embarrassment for Mitchell, who had applied for the post himself.
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Colden was informed of this by John Rutherfurd, who wrote that he thought that Mitchell would be appointed.
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After a long period of consideration, on August 10, 1753, Benjamin Franklin received the appointment.

In May 1753, a letter from George Montagu Dunk, the Second Earl of Halifax, who was president of the Board of Trade from 1748–1761, written in response to a letter from Colden, added to Colden's disappointment. Although the earl informed Colden that there was no reason to suppose that there was any disapprobation of Colden's character or performance, he affirmed the appointment
of Delancey as lieutenant governor. He also indicated that it was not appropriate to remove Delancey from his seat on the Council. The earl added that the Crown could not provide a salary for the position of surveyor general. He went on to report that Sir Danvers Osborn would soon assume the governorship of the province of New York, and concluded with “My earnest wish is that even the Remembrance of former animosities would no longer remain, and that the only Contention for the future may be who shall most effectually promote the welfare Peace and Tranquillity of the Province.”
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On October 7, 1753, Osborn arrived in New York City to take up his post as governor. The last act of Clinton's administration was the delivery to Delancey of his commission to be lieutenant governor. This was performed at a meeting of the Council immediately after presenting the seal of office to Osborn. On October 11, the new governor convened the Council. The next morning between seven and eight, he was found dead, hanging in the garden of the home where he had been staying.
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As lieutenant governor, Delancey assumed control of the administration, a situation that would persist for two years. Regaled with the adulation of his faction, he convened the strongly supportive Assembly, which extolled his abilities and virtues. This was followed by an overt focus on what they defined as the malicious “mal-administration” of Governor Clinton. The Assembly listed nine specific instances of Clinton's activities that generated deep dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, Colden had retired to his country estate, a disheartened man who had witnessed passage of a commission of lieutenant governor, which he had desired, to his enemy, Delancey. His plan to neutralize the enemy had failed.
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