Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born politician and colonial administrator in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the North American fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known as Leisler's Rebellion following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, he took control of the city, and ultimately the entire province, from appointees of deposed King James II, in the name of the Protestant accession of William III and Mary II.

Beginning in 1689, Leisler led an insurrection and seized control of the city by taking over Fort James at the lower end of Manhattan. He took over control of the entire province, appointing himself as acting Lieutenant Governor of the Province of New York, which he retained until March 1691, refusing to yield power until the newly appointed governor himself finally arrived. While Leisler claimed to have acted to support the Protestant accession against Jacobite officeholders in New York, he was arrested by the newly appointed governor of New York in March 1691. With opponents active against him, he was condemned and executed in New York City for treason against the Crown. His estate was forfeited to the Crown.

During his period of control, Leisler completed a major purchase of property from Sir John Pell, Lord of Pelham Manor, to set up a French Huguenot settlement north of Manhattan. This developed as the city of New Rochelle, New York. Leisler's son and supporters found the trial and conviction most unjust; it was mounted by his enemies. They worked to clear the names of Leisler and Jacob Milborne (his son-in-law) and for the restoration of their estates to their heirs. They gained an act of Parliament in 1695 to achieve this. Remains of the two men were reinterred with honors at the Dutch Reformed Church in Manhattan.

Early life

Leisler was born in the village of Bockenheim (now a part of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, then the Holy Roman Empire), in March 1640, the son of Calvinist French Reformed minister Jacob Victorian Leisler. After his father's death in 1651, Leisler was sent to military school.

He went to New Amsterdam (later New York) in 1660 as a soldier in the service of the Dutch West India Company. Leaving the company's employ soon after his arrival, Leisler engaged in the lucrative fur trade and tobacco trade and became a wealthy man. New York tax records from 1676 list Leisler as the third wealthiest man in the city.

In 1674, Leisler was one of the administrators of a forced loan imposed by Anthony Colve. While on a voyage to Europe in 1678, Leisler was captured by Moorish pirates. He was forced to pay a ransom of 2,050 pieces of eight to obtain his freedom.

Under authority of a letter from the home government addressed to Nicholson "or in his absence, to such as for the time being takes care for preserving the peace and administering the laws in His Majesty's province of New York," Leisler had assumed the title of lieutenant-governor in December 1689. He dissolved the committee of safety, appointed a council, and took charge of the government of the entire province. He appointed Jacob Milborne as Clerk to the Council, Attorney-General, Advocate General and his Secretary. Milborne married Leisler's daughter Mary.

Leisler summoned the first Intercolonial Congress in America, which met in New York on May 1, 1690, to plan concerted action against the French and Native Americans in the ongoing conflict in North America. In addition to the purchase money, Leisler and his heirs and assigns were to yield and pay unto John Pell and his heirs and assigns (Lords of the Pelham Manor) one "Fat Calf" yearly, as acknowledgment of their feudal obligation to the Manor. This settlement developed as the city of New Rochelle, New York. The court had sentenced them to be hanged "by the Neck and being Alive their bodyes be Cutt downe to Earth and Their Bowells to be taken out and they being Alive, burnt before their faces...." As was the common law punishment for treason, their estates were forfeited to the Crown. Leisler's son and other supporters appealed for justice from the committee of the Privy Council. It reported that although the trial was in conformity to the forms of law, they recommended the restoration of the estates to their heirs.

Restitution

In 1695, by an act of Parliament, (6 & 7 Will. & Mar. c. 30 ), achieved through the efforts of Leisler's son and supporters, the names of Jacob Leisler and Milborne were cleared, and Leisler's estate was restored to his heirs. Three years later the Earl of Bellomont, who had been one of the most influential supporters of Leisler's son, was appointed as governor of New York. Through his influence, the assembly voted an indemnity to Leisler's heirs. They had three daughters:

  • Catharine Leisler, who in 1685 married Robert Walters (d. 1733), mayor of New York City from 1720 to 1725.
  • Susannah Leisler, who in 1687 married Michael Vaughton of Staffordshire, a half-brother of John Spragg, the colonial secretary of New York.
  • Mary Leisler, who in 1691 married Jacob Milborne (-1691), who was executed with his father-in-law.
  • Leisler was depicted by Nazi German propagandist playwright Curt Langenbeck in his play Der Hochverräter. Tragisches Schauspiel (1938) as a hero.

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • John Romeyn Brodhead, History of the State of New York (vol. 2, New York, 1871)
  • Burrows, Edwin G., and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (1999) pp. 91-102.

Wallace,

Further reading

  • The Jacob Leisler Papers Project, New York University
  • Statue of Jacob Leisler, New Rochelle, NY