Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Upon the full organization of the State government the city of Albany became the capital, and the Colonial and Provincial records - other than those relating to the municipality of the metropolis - which had formerly been kept in new-york, were removed thither. The pressing concerns of a new and impoverished Commonwealth for a long time prevented much thought being given to those silent and fading memorials which recorded the events of the earlier days of the State. Yet, there were many who looked upon historical inquiry in its true light, as an incentive to progress and an aid to patriotism. They felt that too little was known of the olden times of new-york, and that especially the half century during which it was a distant dependency of Holland was the dark period in its history.

Upon the full organization of the State government the city of Albany became the capital, and the Colonial and Provincial records — other than those relating to the municipality of the metropolis — which had formerly been kept in new-york, were removed thither. The pressing concerns of a new and impoverished Commonwealth for a long time prevented much thought being given to those silent and fading memorials which recorded the events of the earlier days of the State. Yet, there were many who looked upon historical inquiry in its true light, as an incentive to progress and an aid to patriotism. They felt that too little was known of the olden times of new-york, and that especially the half century during which it was a distant dependency of Holland was the dark period in its history.