The Hempstead Convention was a ten-day assembly where 34 delegates met starting on February 28, 1665, "to settle good and known laws" according to a letter by newly appointed Governor
Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province.
Early life
Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls (1 ...
, the first
English colonial
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
governor of the
Province of New York
The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...
.
Towns were invited to send two delegates who were "the most sober, able and discrete persons" chosen by taxpayers at their respective Town meetings.
History
Nicoll opened the Convention by reading the Duke's Patent and his own commission. He then announced laws similar to those in New England, with one critical difference. They were less severe "in matters of conscience and of Religion." Blasphemy and witchcraft, for instance, were not included among the eleven capital crimes. Other provisions included equal taxation, trial by jury, establishment of land tenure with land being held from the Duke, and old patents were recalled and new ones required. Significant for future settlement, was that no land purchases from the Indians were to be made without consent. Every parish was required to build and maintain a church, and no minister was to officiate, who "had not received ordination from some Bishop or Minister" of the Anglican Church. Prayers for the English royal family were required and services were to be held on the historic days of Nov. 5th, January 30, and May 29. Other laws were enacted to guide the manners of the time and actions of daily life.
These laws were met by some resistance for the conferees, who had hoped for freedom equal or greater than in the new England colonies. They desired all civil officers be chosen by the freemen, all military officers by the soldiers, and that no magistrate "should have any yearly maintenance." One request that would gain strength nearly a century later was that no tax should be imposed only with the consent of deputies to the General Court. This might be considered an early expression of the concept,
no taxation without representation
"No taxation without representation" is a political slogan that originated in the American Revolution, and which expressed one of the primary grievances of the American colonists for Great Britain. In short, many colonists believed that as they ...
.
Some compromises were made, though for others Nicolls recommended if delegates wanted a greater share in government than his instructions allowed, they "must go to the King for it."
The Judiciary was also formed at this meeting. The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was to yearly appoint a Deputy for each Riding. Two Justices holding office at the Governor's pleasure, were given to each town. The towns were allowed yearly, on the first day of April, to elect a constable and eight overseers (later reduced to four). Two of the overseers were chosen to "make a rate" for maintenance of the church and clergyman, and support of the poor. From the overseers the Constable selected jurors to attend the Courts of Sessions and Assize. The Court of Assize was the highest tribunal, subordinate only to the Governor and Duke. The Governor, his Council, and the Magistrates of several towns met yearly in New York. The court held jurisdiction in suits of over twenty pounds, and appellate to lesser amounts.
At the close of the Convention, Governor Nicoll appointed William Wells of Southold as High Sheriff,
Captain John Underhill
John Underhill (7 October 1597 – 21 July 1672) was an early English settler and soldier in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, where he also served as governor; the New Haven Colony, New Netherland, and later the Pro ...
as High Constable and Surveyor-General, and the following as Justices: Daniel Denton of Jamaica, John Hicks of Hempstead, Jonas Wood of Huntington, and James Hubbard of Gravesend.
High Sheriffs of Yorkshire would continue to be appointed, until counties were organized in 1683. High Sheriffs that followed included William Wells (1665–69), Robert Coe (1669–72), John Manning (1672–75), Sylvester Salisbury (1675–76), Thomas Willet (1676-79), Richard Betts, (1679–81), and John Youngs (1681-1683).
Early Long Island: a colonial study
by Martha Bockée Flint, p. 303.
Delegates to the Hempstead Convention
* Nieuw Utrecht - Jacques Cortelyou
Jacques Cortelyou (ca 1625–1693) was an influential early citizen of New Amsterdam (later New York City) who was Surveyor General of the early Dutch colony. Cortelyou's main accomplishment was the so-called Cortelyou Survey, the first map of New ...
, (unnamed) Fosse
* Nieuw Amersfoordt - Elbert Elbertsen, Roeleff Martense
* Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
- James Hubbard, John Bowne
John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English immigrant residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty.
Background
Born i ...
* Flatbasch - Jan Stryker, Hendrick Jorassen
* Boswyck - John Stealman, Guisbert Teunis
* Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
- Daniel Denton Daniel Denton (c. 1626 – 1703) was an early American colonist. Denton led an expedition into the interior of northern New Jersey. He was one of the purchasers of what is known as the Elizabethtown Tract in 1664, in the area of (and surrounding) ...
, Thomas Benedict
Thomas Benedict, Sr. (1617 – February 28, 1689) was an early settler in colonial New York, and Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Isla ...
* Hempstead - John Hicks
Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...
, Robert Jackson
* Oyster Bay - Captain John Underhill
John Underhill (7 October 1597 – 21 July 1672) was an early English settler and soldier in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, where he also served as governor; the New Haven Colony, New Netherland, and later the Pro ...
, Matthias Harvey
* Huntington - Jonas Wood
Jonas may refer to:
Geography
* Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands
* Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States
* Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States
People with the name
* Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas
* Jonas, one of t ...
, John Ketchum
* Brookhaven - Daniel Lane, Roger Barton
* Southold - William Wells, John Youngs
* Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
- Thomas Topping The Hempstead Convention was a ten-day assembly where 34 delegates met starting on February 28, 1665, "to settle good and known laws" according to a letter by newly appointed Governor Richard Nicolls, the first English colonial governor of the Provi ...
, John Howell
* East Hampton - Thos. Baker, John Stratton
* Westchester - John Quinby, Edward Jessup
Edward Jessup (December24, 1735February3, 1816), together with his brother Ebenezer Jessup (July 1739 – 1818), was a large landowner in present-day New York State before the American Revolution, and later a soldier and political figure in Upp ...
References
{{reflist
History of the Thirteen Colonies
Legal history of the United Kingdom
Legal history of New York (state)