Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-10-03

How did Trinity acquire its extraordinary
wealth! The story, which involves even more
litigation than Dickens celebrated case of
Jarndyce and Jarndyce, begins ten years
after Peter Minuit, governor or director gen
eral of the colony known as New Netherland,
on behalf of the West India company, bought
the site of New York, AL 900 morgens,n or
1900 acres, from the Indians for beads
and trinkets which cost sixty guilders, or
about S24
In the year 1850 a sturdy Dutchman named
Roeloff Jansen, landed at New Amsterdam,
now the city of New York. He had been
somebody in his native town, Maasland, and
he meant TO be somebody in the new country
to which he had come, and he was More
than that, he is somebody still, In history
He lived six years at Rensslaerswyck, on the
Hudson, and then in 1886 came with his
family to New Amsterdam, and obtained
from Director Van Twiller ground brief or
patent for the farm or "Bouwery" of sixty
two acres, which has been for nearly POO
years bone Of bitter contention. This was
the original conveyance of the valuable estate
since known as Trinity church property 1t
begins south of Warren street, thence north
westerly a mile and a half to Christopher
street, thus forming sort of unequal triangle
with its base upon tie North river.
Roeloff Jansen did not long remain in the
enjoyment of his new possessions. A year
later he embarked for another world, that
world whose boundaries no mortal man has
defined Behind him he left five sturdy chill
dren and handsome widow Women, par
ticularly rich and good looking ones, were
scarce in the little colony, while men were
plenty. She, who has since been known to so
wide circle as Mrs. Anneke JAMS, ceased
her weeping early, and within year took a
husband, in the person OF dominic,
Everardus Bogardus, the second established
clergyman in the settlement He was a man
OF education and intellect, as well as great
force and independence of spirit. He held
his trust directly from the directors of the
company in Holland, and wasn't afraid to
differ from the local government and say 50
in plain and vigorous language.
Human nature in that primitive day seems
to have been quite as far from perfection as
it is now. History has recorded acts of
malice, envy, cowariice and malevOlence on
the part of the cOlOnists, quite equal TO any
thing perpetrated in this unregenerate day.
The first families, too, were the culpable
ones. There was bad blood between Dominic
Bogardus and Director Van Twiller. They
called each other opprobious names, charged
each other with reprehensible conduct, and
finally brought up in the courts with an
affair which was only settled by the inter
ference of mutual friends. They undoubtedly
had warm times.
Director Kieft Jared no better The dominic
frequently let drive at him from the pulpit
In, nfh ha cail. aIThat . tba
great men of the country, but vessels of
wrath and fountains Of woe and troubled
They think of nothing but TO plunder the
property of others, to dismiss, to Danish, to
transport to Holland" Everybody in the
congregation knew that that shaft was
aimed at the director, and after services there
was much whispering, shoulder struggling,
speculation as to consequences, and secret en-
joyment of the battle between the two most
eminent men in the colony.
The courageous dominic, however, met
with a cruel fate. He went to visit the vader-
land, and perished by shipwreck on the rocks
off the coast of Wales His widow died in the
year 1868, leaving four children by her first
marriage and four by her second. The de-
scendants of these children are the people who
have vainly fought Trinity church for their
claims through two centuries.
The farm, which now represents millions,
and which has been the subject of so much
contention, was called the Domnie's Bouwery.
The original grant of 1896 was confirmed in
1864 by Director Stuyvesant, by patent to
Mrs. Anneke ans, as widow of Everardus
Bogardus. In 1867, three years after the oc-
cupation by the English, Governor Nichols
made confrmatory patent to the heirs of
Mrs. Bosardus, reciting the original grant
from Van Twiller The heirs sold it in 1911
to Col. Lovelace, but their deed did not con-
yey the share of Cornelis Bogardus, and who
at that time was deceased. Two years after
this deed was given the Dutch recovered pos
session of New Amsterdam from the English
and held it a year On its restoration to the
Enulish in 1874 under the treaty of West