John Manning

1610 - 1688  (78 years)

• Name	John Manning
  Birth	1610	, Kent, England
  Gender	Male
  Death	20 Feb 1688	Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jersey, USA
  Person ID	I23171	Master
  Last Modified	5 Mar 2016

  
  

  Father	William Manning,   b. 1592, Taunton, Chard, Somerset, England d. 1666, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Mary Elizabeth,   b. 1600, Taunton, Chard, Somerset, England d. 1634 (Age 34 years)
  Family ID	F6078	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Abigail Maverick,   b. 20 Mar 1613, Awliscombe, Devon, England d. 25 Jun 1644, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 31 years)
  Marriage	1640	Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA
  Children	1. Mary Manning,   b. 1638  [Father: Natural] + 2. Geoffrey Manning,   b. 25 Jun 1640, Piscataway, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA d. 26 Jan 1693, Piscataway, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA (Age 52 years)  [Father: Natural]   3. John Manning,   b. 25 May 1643, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA d. 1644 (Age 0 years)  [Father: Natural]   4. Mary Manning,   b. 3 Jun 1644, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA d. , , New York, USA  [Father: Natural]
  Family ID	F6077	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Dec 2023

  
  

  Family 2	Bridget Manningham,   b. 1646, , , , England d. 1673, , , New York, USA (Age 27 years)
  Marriage	1664	London, London, England
  Family ID	F6076	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Dec 2023

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 1610 - , Kent, England Marriage - 1640 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA Marriage - 1664 - London, London, England Death - 20 Feb 1688 - Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jersey, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  Capt.John Manning tried for treason and cowardice John Manning MANNING, John, soldier, born in England; died probably in New York, after 1686. He is thought by some to be the same Captain John Manning who was in Boston about 1650, and to have been of the family of William Manning, merchant, of Cambridge and Boston. His employment in New York came through the recommendation of Samuel Maverick, who, in a letter of 16 September, 1663, to the Earl of Clarendon, lord high chancellor of England, commended Manning as one "who hath many years been a commander under Major-General Morgan, who hath given him a large and ample certificate, which he will shew you He is well known and beloved in New England, and will be fit for any employment in the militia." He came to New York in 1664, and in the same year accompanied the expedition for the reduction of Fort Orange, where he attended and was a witness to the first treaty that the English concluded with the Five Nations, and after the surrender of the place was left in charge of the fort. He was high sheriff of the city of New York from 1667 till 1672, in 1669 was a member of the commission that was sent to Esopus to regulate the affairs of that district, was judge of the court for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and acted as high sheriff of Yorkshire from 1671 to 1673. He enjoyed the confidence of Governor Lovelace, served as a member of his council, and when the governor was called to any distance from the city, Fort James and public affairs were placed in Manning's charge. While he was thus in command, in 16'73, the Dutch fleet arrived and demanded the surrender of the fort, which, after some resistance, was given up. He sailed for England, waited on the king and Duke of York, and explained to them the particulars of the surrender, on hearing which the king turned to the duke and said:" Brother, the ground could not be maintained with so few men." He returned to New York with Governor Andros, and was soon afterward tried by court-martial on charges of treachery and cowardice. He was acquitted of the former but found guilty of cowardice, and on 5 February, 1675, sentenced to have his sword broken over his head and rendered incapable of again holding office under his majesty, which sentence would scarcely seem justified from the facts of the surrender. He retired to the island that had been granted to him in 1688, then called " Manning's island," but since well known as Blackwell's island, where he was accustomed to entertain his friends. JOHN MANNING, Capt., was an early resident and prominent figure in New York City. His career on land was as striking as on water. He was witness to an Indian deed in 1664; one of the commissioners of Esopus, 1669; sheriff of New York, 1667-72, and was commonly known as Captain Manning. He was in favor with Gov. Lovelace, and during the temporary absence of the latter from the city was often placed in command of Fort James. He was thus in command in 1673 when a hostile Dutch force appeared in the neighboring waters and demanded a surrender. After some parley the fort was delivered up to the enemy; a serious loss to the English. Capt. Manning soon sailed for England to explain the matter to the King. At that time he was still a sheriff, as appears by steps taken by the authorities to "pitch" upon a "a new Sheriff for Long Island East Riding." He left "divers debts and bills," and proceedings were begun to "wind up his estate." On the voyage to England his wife died. He appeared before the King and the Duke of York, who exonerated him, deciding that Fort James could not have been held with so small a force; but he did not find such clemency on his return to New York. Citizens who had suffered financial losses by reason of the surrender clamored for satisfaction, and Capt. Manning was put on trial on charges of treason and cowardice. Of the first he was acquitted, but was adjudged guilty of cowardice and sentenced to have his sword broken over his head and to be forever debarred from holding public office. Modern writers incline to pronounce the sentence severe and unjust, and agree with the royal powers that the strength of the Dutch was not to be defied. However, the citizens of that day had suffered money loss; a victim was wanted; they found one. After this Capt. Manning retired to an island owned by him and situated in the waters of the East River, where he passed his remaining years, entertaining freely and probably enjoying himself quite as well as in his days of power. He died later than 1685. It is not known that he left children of his own, and his island passed into the hands of Mary Manningham, said to have been a daughter of his wife by a former marriage. She m., 1676, Apr. 26, Robert Blackwell, whose name became permanently fixed upon the estate that had been Manning's, and which is now widely known as "Blackwell's Island," being the seat of many of the corrective institutions of New York county. An attempt has been made to connect Capt. John of New York, by inference, with Capt. John Manning of Boston. The known facts are decidedly against the theory and, indeed, seem to render it impossible. The writer who advances the theory (vide Appleton's Cyclopedia of Am. Biography) seems to base his suggestion upon a statement which may be quoted from his article on John of New York; as follows: "His employment in New York came through the recommendation of Samuel Maverick, who, in a letter of 16 Sept., 1663, to the Earl of Clarendon, lord high chancellor of England, commended Manning as one 'who hath many years been a commander under Maj-Gen. Morgan, who hath given him a large and ample certificate, which he will show you ... He is well known and beloved in New England.'" The present writer supposes this Samuel Maverick to be the same who had dwelt at Noddle's Island (East Boston), and, perhaps, the same of the name who was commissioner in New York; and his first-mentioned residence, together with the statement that Manning was "well known" in New England, might seem to bear out the inference, but all further facts are against it. According to Lamb's History of New York, Capt. John of the latter place "had formerly commanded a trading vessel between New Haven and New York." JOHN MANNING was owner and captain, as early as 1653, Nov., of a vessel in which he made trading voyages along the coast of Conn., N. Y. and Va., and probably other places. It was a time when the troubles between the English and Dutch were in full force, and trade with the latter was prohibited by royal decree of England; but when Manning brought his vessel into the harbor at Milford, Ct., in the spring of 1654, he was detained and brought before the General Court at New Haven, the vessel being left at Milford. Being formally put on trial he was charged with having traded with the Dutch at Manhatoes [New York], "and so furnishing the enimies of the comonwealth of England wth provissions;" but he defended himself so energetically that, being also favored by an influential witness, who intended going with him as a passenger, he was about to be released under bonds when news was received that Manning's men had "wth a high hand and threatening speeches, caryed away" the vessel out of Milford harbor, but had been "pursued by a shallopp well manned and armed," and the vessel recovered. Manning denied all knowledge of this defiant step, but when witnesses testified that the crew had acted under his explicit orders, the trial went on. It was shown that he had on several occasions carried cargoes of bread, tobacco, wine, etc., from Va. to N. Y. He produced papers showing that he was in good favor with Sir Henry Moody and others of Gravesend, near New York, and, in the face of strong evidence, persisted in denying [ref 13:801] that he had in any way traded with the Dutch; but the finding of the Court was against him. He was fined 20 shillings for "two lyes (at least)," and his vessel, being adjudged a lawful prize, was confiscated and ordered to "be sould at Millford on Tuesday next, at three a clocke in ye afternoone, by an inch of a candell, he that offers most to have her" (New Haven Colonial Records, 1653-1665, p. 69). [ref 13:802]