Essex Street is a north–south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan . North of Houston Street , the street becomes Avenue A , which goes north to 14th Street . South of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street , the southern end of which is at South Street .
35-619: Essex Street was laid out by James Delancey just before the American Revolution as the east side of a "Delancey Square" intended for a genteel ownership. Delancey named the street after the county of Essex in England. Delancey returned to England as a Loyalist in 1775, and the square was developed as building lots. Long a part of the Lower East Side Jewish enclave, many Jewish-owned stores still operate on
70-677: A horse bearing the Dulany colors came in ahead of his entry. It is significant that one of the earliest resolves of the Continental Congress was one urging that, in view of the approaching conflict, horse-racing be discontinued. When De Lancey left America in 1775 he sold out his entire stable. Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became
105-525: A special tax to raise funds to implement the Quartering Act . The De Lanceys were aware that by passing the tax they would probably lose their earlier artisan support, but trade had declined to an alarming point and there was little available currency. James De Lancey was a member of the New York committee of correspondence, which in 1774 sent a letter to Edmund Burke protesting against the acts of
140-555: Is often regarded as a classic illustration of the democratic effects of the Revolution, as his East Side property alone was repurchased from the Commissioners by some 275 owners. On First Street stood De Lancey's stables, on Second Street a paddock for the horses, and nearby a private track to train them. From Wildair, Lath, and Cub Mare, imported by De Lancey, were descended most of the great race horses of America prior to
175-571: Is opened to the public. During the French and Indian War , the French commander, General Montcalm , arrived in August with 3,000 men. His force included three regiments of regulars, several companies of Canadian militia , and numerous Indians . He first captured Fort Ontario, then began the assault on Fort Oswego. Oswego was the stronger fortification, but it was now downhill from 120 cannons in
210-561: Is operated and managed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). In September 2013 it was announced that the market would be integrated into Essex Crossing , a $ 1.1 billion development which began construction in 2015, and which will feature 1,000 low-, moderate- and middle-income apartments, a movie theater, a bowling alley and cultural space. It is expected to be completed in 2024. The old market closed May 5, 2019, and
245-549: Is recorded in The Gentleman's Magazine for April 8, 1800. James De Lancey built himself a mansion north of Broadway and Thames Street, a large brick edifice with a semicircular driveway leading through a row of magnificent shade trees, an outstanding feature of his extensive estate. The house fronted the Bowery and stood near the present site of Christie Street between De Lancey and Rivington Streets. The interior of
280-467: The Loyalist cause in England. Throughout his later days, De Lancey continued to frequent the highest social circles abroad. As late as 1791, James Rivington addressed him "at Lord Southampton 's, Westminster". On August 19, 1771, De Lancey was married to Margaret Allen, daughter of Chief Justice Allen of Pennsylvania . Together, they were the parents of five children who survived him: None of
315-524: The M14A+ Select Bus runs on Essex Street north of Grand Street . No bus runs on Rutgers Street but the M22 crosses it on Madison Street. The Essex Street Market , constructed in the 1940s, is an indoor retail market that was one of a number of such facilities built in the 1930s under the administration of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at 120 Essex Street, at Delancey Street. The Essex Street Market
350-745: The Minisink Patent , a grant so worded as to extend far into New Jersey , and considerable acreage in Northampton County, Pennsylvania . He also had extensive properties in the Cherry Valley area and at other points in Albany County , notably Canajoharie and Hosack, and in Tryon County , including Mohawk Valley lands. Some of these he conveyed to his brother-in-law, John Watts , in 1765. The estate of James De Lancey
385-476: The 50th and 51st regiments were easily defeated by a combined French and Native American force. More than one hundred British soldiers were killed, many of them after the fort had been formally surrendered. The French took a further 1,500 British prisoners, and destroyed the fort itself. The site is now included in the city of Oswego, New York . Many historic references to Fort Oswego actually refer to other forts that existed simultaneously or later. The terrain at
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#1732776875490420-580: The Assembly elections in 1761, the Livingstons triumphed, but only temporarily, for in the decade following James De Lancey skillfully strengthened his own influence and that of his party. Although a leader of the court party, James De Lancey won favor with the general public by his opposition to the Stamp Act , but he was opposed to the use of mob violence to protest British measures and alarmed at
455-686: The British Law: non-importation and a boycott of violators of the non-importation agreement. The De Lancey's thus sided with the prevailing merchant desire to keep the artisans from developing the clout they had wielded in the Stamp Act crisis. However, in October 1769 De Lancey's faction came under attack from the artisan community. The De Lanceys' support declined even more when the De Lancey-controlled Assembly passed
490-550: The British government. De Lancey acknowledged the authority of the acts of Parliament not contrary to the rights of Englishmen, but he denied the right to tax without consent. As late as April 1, 1775, he was put on a committee to correspond with other colonies, but by this time the masses had little confidence in the De Lancey controlled Assembly. Realizing that his influence in the province had been virtually destroyed, he left
525-715: The British, and caused the Oneida and the Seneca tribes to switch to the French side. The site was used for shore batteries in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 (when it was subjected to a British raid ), but was never again fortified. Revolutionary War references to Fort Oswego are actually referring to Fort Ontario . The original site is commemorated at West First and Lake Street in Oswego, New York. Fort George
560-721: The Civil War. De Lancey was not content with entering his racers at the local tracks—at the Church Farm, or the Newmarket on Hempstead Plain, and at Harlem—although in these local contests he faced stiff competition from Lewis Morris. In 1769 his horse Lath came in the winner of the £100 purse at the Center Course at Philadelphia, and on another occasion, in a race in Maryland, he lost a half-bushel of silver dollars when
595-613: The Fort of the Six Nations or the East Fort. The French knew Fort Oswego as Fort Chouaguen. Some references to Fort Oswego refer to the entire complex. Except for the marker in Oswego, nothing is left of Fort Oswego itself. Fort Ontario has been rebuilt several times on or around the original fort and was given up by the U.S. Army in the 1940s. The fort is currently being taken care of by New York State Parks and Historic Preservation and
630-465: The abandoned Fort Ontario. Montcalm swept the fort with cannon fire, killing the British commander, Colonel Mercer, in the bombardment. British forces were forced to surrender on August 15, 1756. Montcalm gave much of the British supplies to his Indian allies , and destroyed the fort. He returned to Quebec in triumph with 1,700 prisoners . His actions made a strong impression on the Indian allies of
665-616: The acquisition of numerous other parcels of real estate. Fifteen years of accumulation added to his holdings a thirty-acre farm at Bloomingdale, running from the southern boundary of Central Park to the North River . With his boyhood friend James Duane , he was one of the Socialborough Proprietors, holding an area obtained by grant in 1771 and located on both sides of Otter Creek in the present towns of Pittsford and Rutland, Vermont . He had large holdings in
700-459: The area of Fort Oswego on the north west side of the river along a sidewalk). Besides these expansions, Fort Ontario was started in 1755 as a palisade on the high ground on the north east side of the river, and Fort George was added to the bluff located a half mile (800 m) to the southwest from Fort Oswego. Fort George was also called Fort Rascal or the West Fort. Fort Ontario was also known as
735-650: The colony in April of that year, following the Battle of Lexington ; journeying via Fort Stanwix to Canada, he sailed for England in May 1775. Until the evacuation of the city , he could still live in comfort from the rents his Lower East Side tenants continued to pay. De Lancey took steps at once to realize as much money as he could from his holdings while the British still held New York. In 1780, he appointed his brother-in-law and his attorneys to sell his New York holdings. From
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#1732776875490770-456: The family comprehended not only the development of the extensive De Lancey estates and the conduct of the family mercantile business, but also the continuation of the political influence of the De Lancey interest. At first, the political fortunes of the De Lancey family suffered a decline under James Jr., who lacked his father's dominant official position and his powerful influence in London . At
805-551: The first English race-horses, or thoroughbreds ever brought to New York. After a few years he assembled the largest and most select stud and stable of running horses in the colony if not the whole country. He was said to have been the "Father of the New York Turf." His chief opponent in racing and politics was Lewis Morris Jr. , who was later a signer of the Declaration of Independence . His responsibilities as head of
840-515: The five had children. There are speculations with supporting evidence of tombstone inscriptions that De Lancey had a previous union with a connection of the Livingston family . Only her Christian name, Mary, is known. She died in 1770 leaving three children: John, James, and Mary. Through funds believed to have been indirectly provided by De Lancey from his London exile, these children were reared and educated. De Lancey's death at Bath, England ,
875-587: The house compared in lavishness of appointment with the residences of wealthy Londoners of the day and the more costly Williamsburg, Virginia mansions. To the rear, the house looked out upon a formal garden—a showplace of the town. The East and West De Lancey Farms ran from the Bowery, facing the Bayard Estates, to the East River and from Division Street north to Stanton Street , where they bordered
910-468: The increasing activity of the unenfranchised. Apparently, De Lancey's position at the time of the Stamp Act left him in good standing with the masses. The De Lancey party won the city delegation to the Assembly in 1768, James receiving the second highest number of votes of the group, which defeated the Whig lawyer combination. The De Lancey's preferred the more conservative, traditional methods of opposition to
945-404: The lands of Pierre Van Cortlandt , Peter Stuyvesant , and Messrs Bayard, Watts, and Rutgers. When, in 1765 his sister Ann married the judge and Loyalist historian, Thomas Jones , James De Lancey gave them a two-acre estate known as "Mount Pitt", at the highest part of Grand Street . The rentals from this lower East Side property made up the chief part of De Lancey's income, which he invested in
980-531: The new location was open by May 13. Notes James DeLancey (politician) James De Lancey Jr. (1732 – April 8, 1800) was a colonial politician, turfman, and the son of Lieutenant Governor James De Lancey and Anne Heathcote. He was born in 1732 in New York City in a house built by his grandfather, Stephen De Lancey . This house later became famous and known as Fraunces Tavern . He had two sisters, Martha and Susan De Lancey. James
1015-591: The responsibilities of the headship of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families of the provincial aristocracy. De Lancey was, with the possible exception of Frederick Philipse , the wealthiest man in the Province of New York , and for a number of years devoted himself to increasing his landed properties. During his young manhood in England , he acquired the sporting tastes of the period. After obtaining his great property he imported what are said to have been
1050-519: The site explains this. The original fort was built around the trading post on the lower ground on the north west side of the mouth of the Oswego River . This was convenient to canoe and bateaux traffic. A stone blockhouse was added in 1727, and was called Fort Burnet. A triangular stone wall, ten feet (3 m ) high and three feet (1 m ) wide was added in 1741, and the entire enclosure was called Fort Pepperrell (a marker can be found designating
1085-407: The site of a battle between French and British forces in 1756 during the French and Indian War . The fort was established in 1727, on the orders of New York governor William Burnet , adjacent to a 1722 blockhouse that had originally been a way station for French traders. The log palisade fort established a British presence on the Great Lakes . In 1756, the fort's garrison of British soldiers from
Essex Street - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-795: The street, including a pickle shop and many Judaica shops. During the late 19th and early 20th century it was sometimes referred to colloquially as 'Pickle Alley'. It is also home to the Essex Street Market. South of Hester Street , Essex Street is bordered on the east by Seward Park . The Sixth Avenue/Rutgers Street Line of the New York City Subway runs under Essex Street and has stations at Delancey Street ( F , <F> , J , M , and Z trains) and East Broadway ( F and <F> trains). The M9 serves Essex Street for its entire length while
1155-500: The university he entered the army, reaching the rank of captain. He is said to have served aide to James Abercrombie in the Lake George campaign of 1758 and was involved in the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759. His military activities ended with the death of his father. The news of his father's death on July 30, 1760, reached him after he had left Oswego in the vanguard of the army headed for Crown Point. This left James with
1190-515: The year of the passage of the Act of Attainder, De Lancey's income, now greatly curtailed, was supplemented by a grant of £200 a year from the British Treasury. Of total claims for compensation amounting to £56,781, De Lancey was finally paid £29,842, second only to Frederick Philipse in awards made to New Yorkers. De Lancey's impressive social connections stamped him as a natural leader of
1225-543: Was sent abroad for his education, first to Eton , and, in 1750, to his father's college, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge . Following the footsteps of his father, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1753, where he pursued his studies in law in company with other wealthy provincials who found this method of legal education more attractive than a pedestrian apprenticeship to a colonial attorney at home. However, he never practiced law. The French and Indian War broke out immediately upon his return to America, so upon leaving
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