The Portland daily press., 1898-12-24
CAPTAIN KIDD AND HIS FRIgNrs.
His House in New York and His Re-
spectacle Neighbors.


spectacle Neishbors.
At the last meeting of the New York
Historical society William S. Pelletreau
read a paper on the subject of where
Captain Kidd lived and who his neigh
bors were. The captain, according to Mr..
Pelletreau, had very respectable neigh
bors, some of the best people of the city
of New York living close TO him in Wall
/ street and it's vicinity. In fact Mr.. Pei
/ letreau was rather panied to note that
among modern New Workers some of the
very respectable people of older days of
the city are not so we'll remembered as
the pirate captain who DIV cit among
them. AS an instance, he cited an expe
rience at the time the statue of Recorder
John Watts was put up in Trinity church
yard. OF five young fellows who stood
looking on. all of whom presumably had
had the benefits of common school edu-
cation in the CITY, three when asked who
John Watts was, answered: you've
got me, zone said that he was the. hymn
writer. and another that he invented the
steam engine. ANY of these would have
been able to tell who Captain Kidd
was" said Mr.. Pslletreau. The Incl
dent may have suggested itself through
| the connection of the name of General De
Puyster. who erected the statue, with the
history of Captain Kids New York res
idence
| Colonel A braham De Pnyster was the
most Important nejghbor the pirate cap
tain had, Mr. Pelletreau said. Captain
Kidd lived at what is now No. Sc Wall
street, and, although nearly all the lots. of
that neighborhood have undergone chang
es in the last two centuries, that lot re-
mains as is was laid out at the time Kidd
lived on it. 1t seemed a bit curious, with
all the stor les of Kidd's wealth in mind,
to hearssthe speaker say that Captain kidd
never bought lot. never built house,
and never owned one. Kidd came in to
his Wall street house by marriage. After
the need for the wall which gave Wall
street its name had disappeared the prop
erty on the north side of the street was
bought In palt on speculation. In 1859
George Brown, malster, sold O lot there
to William Cox for ECO. Cox was
drowned in August of that year off Staten
Island, and in 1891 his widow married
Captain Kidd. Mr.. Penetreau said that
| the only person who seems to have sal a
good word for Captain Kidd that has
come down to us was brother in law,
Samuel Bradley, who praised him in a
will whise he made in $685.
| Bradley. however, outliyed Kidd. Cox
had left his property in such shape that
his wife inherited the Wall street b ouse.
She did not, MIR. Pelletreau said, from
| the evidence that is attainable, lose any
social standing by marrying Kidd.
Colonel De Puyster owned the property all
along William street, near Wall, and the
grounds were known as De Puy S
Gardens. The land remained in the De
Puyster's family for many years. There
were plenty of neighbors on the east,
toward Pearl street. The Kidds held
property in the neighborhood of No. 81
pine street, and some authorities say that
Fit was the captains intention to build on
those lots, but on July 8. 1898, he and his
wife sold them to Captain Thomas Clark,
who. in February, 1895, sold them at
good profit In 1893 the Kids sold some
Hand to Robert Livingston, who built
two houses on it, He lived until l72S.
i Another important neighbor of Kidd was
James Graham, an alderman, who one
night was stabbed with sword by Cap
tain James Baxter. Many witnesses were
examined, bu they proved as blind as
the proverbial bat. They all knew that
the alderman had been stabbed, and that
the captain had had something to say to
him privately, but none saw the thrust.
Dierck Wander Cliff, proprietor OF the
/ we'll known house of entertainment on
the north side of Maiden Lane, near Col.
den street, was one of the blind witnesses.
The gentlemen had been drinking wine
land cider at his place.
Kidd came to his end on May IL, l7Ol,
when he was hanged in England. His
| wife soon afterward MARI ed again and
outliyed herl third husband. Mr.. Pelle-
treau said that Captain Kidd, as ne
walked about the city in three-cornereo
sented very respectable and dignineo
appearance. Mr.. Pelletreau asked
whether he was justly or unjustly con-
!. demned, and said that If he was innocent
question was pertinent, Chow did he ac-
oumulate all his property? The truth
was" he continued s'that in England at
that time the laws were barbarous and
the administration OF them more SO. If
man was charged with felony there
was little chance for him to escape; there
were no courts Of appeal, and if he was
tried and condemned one day of a week,
the following Friday saw him hanged. !"