It Happened Here -- From Alps, to Berne, to Andes

the Anti-Rent Wars Continue

The year 1845 began with the inauguration of a new governor.  The democrats had dumped William C. Bouck, a farmer from Schoharie county who had shown sympathy for the anti-renters,  in favor of Silas Wright who edged out his Whig opponent in the fall elections. Wright who had made overtures to the anti-renters, nevertheless came to believe the Calico Indians needed to be brought to heel.

Lutheran Church,  NYS443, Berne

That same month, an Anti-rent Convention was held in Berne.  In the dead of winter, 150 delegates from 11 counties crowded in the Lutheran Church in Berne to rally and write an anti-rent platform for political action.  They demanded that the special rights landlords had to draw up eviction papers without any government oversight be revoked. They asserted their right to challenge the landlords' title to their land and they demanded landlord's rents and other exemptions be taxed. In an effort to lend respectability to their movement, they passed a resolution calling for individual anti-rent associations to suspend the activities and tactics of their "Indian" organizations. That spring,
accompanied by 25,000 signatures, they presented their petition to the legislature.

NYS 443 & Co. Rte 1, Westerlo

Ignoring the resolutions of the Anti-rent Convention,  on January 28th Silas Wright asked for, and got from the legislature a law making it a crime for persons to appear in public armed and in disguise, or to fail to assist a law officer in discharging his duty.  Though technically misdemeanors, these laws carried with them jail penalties.

In the spring and summer of 1845 landlords and sheriff departments, working for them, encouraged by the new laws,  began a new round of attempts to serve papers and apprehend "Indians", especially in Ulster, Schoharie and Delaware Counties. In Delaware county, Under-sheriff Osman N. Steele made it his personal crusade to break the power of the Anti-Renters and bring the "Indians" to justice.

On Dingle Hill Rd, south of Andes

In August,  Sheriff Green More, Under-sheriffs  Steele and Edgerton and Peter Wright, the Landlord's Agent came to collect back rent from Moses Earle, a farmer from outskirts of Andes, in Delaware County. When Earle refused to pay, the Sheriff's men  began to round up several of Earle's cattle, to satisfy the rent due.  Cut off by a large group of "Indians", Deputy Edgerton declared he would shoot dead the first man who tried to stop him. As is often the case, what happened next is not clear.  A quick exchange of shots occurred and Steele, who was one of those firing, went down, mortally wounded.

                                An outdoor exhibit of Characters in the Anti-War drama that played out in Andes, NY

Under-sheriiff Osman Steele and  Landlord's Agent

 Indians, Moses Earl & his Adopted daughter

Calico Indians

According to legend, when Earl began to waver in his resolve not to pay the rent, Parthenia, his daughter snatched his money pouch from him and stuffed it in her blouse.






Following Steele's death a firestorm of reaction swept through Delaware county. Within twenty days nearly 150 anti-rent farmers were jailed in special windowless log structures thrown up  in the county seat, Delhi, for the emergency. Governor Wright declared the county in a state of rebellion and ordered 300 troops into the county. Mainstream city newspapers screamed for revenge. (Throughout the whole of the Anti-rent conflicts mainstream newspapers ranged from unsympathetic to viciously hostile to the farmers cause, often misrepresenting the facts and even fabricating outright lies. The farmers countered with half a dozen of their own agrarian and anti-rent papers, of various political persuasions.)

Steele's death galvanized Governor Wright's desire to prosecute Smith Broughton, to both remove him as a leader of the Anti-rent forces, and to make an example of him.  By September 1st Broughton was back in custody, facing a second trial.  Wright appointed John W. Edmonds, a close personal friend and political ally of the Governor.  For weeks potential jurors were examined until a group free of any sympathy for the anti-rent cause was found. In his charge to the jury, Edmonds instructed them  to stand firm and bring the guilty to justice. The jury complied and found Broughton guilty. In a sentencing panel of county judges and Hudson city officials Edmonds steadfastly pressed for the maximum sentence until one of the judges agreed with him, giving him a plurality of votes. Broughton would receive life imprisonment for the theft of a handful of court papers!

In Delhi, the Delaware county seat, trials proceeded against the first two of the 150 accused.  As in Hudson the Delhi jury was carefully screened to prevent anyone with anti-rent sympathies from being seated. And to further guard against anyone among the jury from being uninformed,  Judge Parker lectured the jury on the evils that the anti-rent movement had visited upon society. Finally, after the prosecution's testimony linking the selected defendants to the scene and establishing them as "Indians," Judge Parker came with a remarkable charge to the Jury. Any defendant found to have been armed and disguised was guilty of violating Wright's Anti-disguise law and subject to a year in state prison. Any crime punishable by state imprisonment was defined as a felony. Any death that resulted resulted during the commission of a felony was murder!  The jury was appalled, but given the judge's instructions could do little but convict and petition Judge Parker for leniency.  Parker chose to ignore their petition but declared that the ends of justice had been served. The two were sentenced to hang.  Facing likely death sentences, thirteen others plea bargained for manslaughter, receiving sentences of "life" to two years; fifty one paid fines or received suspended sentences and the rest avoided prosecution  by promising to cease all anti-rent activities.

Though the trials had been a tactical victory for Silas Wright and the "Up-Rent" forces,  their outrageous proceedings and draconian sentences turned many thoughtful people into supporters of the anti-rent movement. At the polls, in November, the Anti-Renters made their strongest showing ever.
Two weeks before their execution, at the end of November, Wright yielded to pressure and commuted sentences of the two condemned "Indians" to life imprisonment. In January, Wright did an unabashed about face, announcing it was time to examine the leasehold system in New York, and appointed a commission. At the same time a coalition of forces was pushing for a convention to revise the state's Constitution. From it came amendments prohibiting feudal style leases; restricting agricultural leases to 12 years; and outlawing "quarter sales" and fines that made it difficult or unprofitable for farmers to sell their properties. In addition many judges and top officials (including Attorney Generals) would now be elected, rather than appointed.  It would now be harder for a Governor to place his men within a court proceeding to insure things went "his way. "

By the election of 1846 Whigs and Democrats were closely matched in strength. Holding the balance of power were the anti-rent voters. Silas Wright came begging to Mary Broughton with an offer of pardon for her husband if Smith, and her father, anti-rent leader Amasa Bailey would support him. He also went to Clinton Prison to make the same offer to the Delhi defendants held there. John Young, the Whig candidate for Governor appealed directly to members of the 2nd Anti-Rent Convention, meeting in Albany. The overwhelming number of Anti-Renters threw their support to John Young and the Whigs.  Young swept into power. The new governor attempted to equivocate on his promise, but a quickly assembled petition with 11,000 signatures forcefully reminded him of his commitment. Broughton and the Delhi defendants were pardoned and released.

In the next few weeks we will conclude this series with a final post on the Anti-Rent wars.

Marker of the Week -- Honorable ?    Well, it was a rough and tumble political era.
                                                      (There is nothing like a little history to give us some
                                                       perspective on our own lives and times.)    
                                                    

US 4, across from Maple Street, Hudson Falls