Several colonists deserted and removed to the English colonies of Maryland and Virginia and other places, leaving hardly thirty males remaining.

The government of Maryland laid claim to the lands occupied by the colony. Reports of the approach of a large armed force from that quarter, and of a possible massacre by the savages not far away, were frequent. The original force of soldiers of some fifty men had dwindled to onehalf that number, two-thirds of which were at the Horekill, so that at New Amstel there were not more than eight or ten soldiers and very few free people. Harassed, suspected, and decried, unsupported by those upon whom he had a right to rely, whether at home or abroad, it is not a matter of surprise that Alricks succumbed at last to the great mental and physical strain under which he labored. He died on December 30, 1659, doubtless of a broken heart. His remains at some time were buried in the yard of the old Draeyers Church, near Odessa, Delaware, and his grave marked with stones, which up to a recent period were still there, but have now disappeared.

He was a Hollander, and doubtless came from the province of Groningen. He was a business man, well up in business matters, and as such probably well known in the city of Amsterdam.

His correspondence shows that he was a man of education. The tone and style of his letters are in striking contrast with the communications of others of his period, whether official or otherwise.

He was keenly alive to the interests of his employers. His letters are full of wise and practical suggestions

whereby the colony might be benefited, and of measures whereby the city of Amsterdam might reap a rich reward. Had he been properly supported, the history of the colony on the South River might have been differently written.

His government was evidently good. Immediately after his death the schepens, the Town Council, and the city officers were all summoned by D'Hiniyossa, who was named as his successor in his will and assumed the office of director, and asked to attest that Alricks had governed badly, which they refused to do, and although summoned a second, third, and fourth time, they declined to appear, for which they were removed.

Director Stuyvesant, in a letter to the Board of Commissioners in Holland, under date of July 21, 1661, in which he had occasion to refer to the late director, speaks of him as a man of discreet character.

Alricks did not leave children. This we gain from a letter written by him to Director Stuyvesant after the death of his wife, dated May 23, 1659, in which, after suggesting a means for protecting the colony from a threatened hostile demonstration on the part of England, he says, “As regards me, you need not make any difficulty, for I am alone and have not the care of wife, children, or any one else."

Nothing definite is known of his family predecessors. His only known relations were two nephews, Peter Alricks and Cornelius Van Gezel, both of whom resided at New Amstel at the time of his death, and appear to have been in the service and employment of the colony. Peter was the son of a brother, whose name is unknown, but Van Gezel was the own nephew of his wife.

By his will he gave Van Gezel a portion of his estate and made him executor. He must also have mentioned his nephew in that document, as in a letter written by William Beekman, the vice-director at Altona (now Wilmington), to Stuyvesant, dated January 14, 1660, he says, "His Honor's death causes a great alteration in the colony, especially among the council and the heirs," but never in his official correspondence does the name of his own nephew appear.

In his will he expressed the desire that D'Hiniyossa, who had come over in the Prince Maurice as lieutenant of the soldiers, and who subsequently became a captain and was prominent in the colony, should be named as his successor. This seems strange, as D'Hiniyossa was antagonistic to both him and Van Gezel, with the latter of whom he was constantly quarrelling, and endeavored more than any other to undermine Alricks in the confidence of the home government and blacken his memory after death. It may be that the will was made when the parties were friendly, and through oversight was permitted to stand after their relations had become strained.

D'Hiniyossa seems, however, to have been on good terms with the nephew, Peter, as during his administration he frequently called him to the public service.

Peter Alricks came from Nykerck, in the province of Groningen, Holland, as indicated by his marriage record. There were others of the family. Lucas Alricks, of Maryland, a lineal descendant, has in his possession a manuscript hymn in the Dutch language, found among his ancestor's papers, dated 1663, signed with the names of

Harmanus Alricks and Jacobus Alricks. They were probably brothers or cousins of Peter.

In 1664 one Jacob Abrichs (Alricks), of Groningen Land, is inscribed as a student on the books of the University of Groningen in Holland. He was probably a nephew or cousin.

There is nothing to indicate that any of the family other than Jacob and Peter ever came to this country.

When, how, and why Peter came has been a matter of conjecture. It has been stated that he came over with his uncle as commissary for the colony, but that could not be, as Abraham Van Rynevelt was the commissary from the time of the arrival of the colony to October 28, 1658, when he died; G. Van Sweringen succeeded him, and served until November 26, 1659, when he resigned. Cornelius Van Gezel was appointed in his stead, and held the office until the death of Jacob. Another idea advanced is that Peter came over in 1657 as the bearer of dispatches from the burgomasters to his uncle, but for this there is no authority.

The first official mention of him is found in a statement of debts due in the colonies, made by D'Hiniyossa, December 12, 1659, and sent by him to the commissioners in Amsterdam under the cover of an insinuating letter. This statement was made in the lifetime of Jacob, and was one of the means employed by D'Hiniyossa to shake the confidence which the commissioners had in him. It contains the following item, "Peter Alricks, his nephew, four hundred guilders."

This entry establishes, first, that Peter was a nephew of

Jacob, and, second, that he was then or had been in the service of the colony in some capacity or other.

The place and character of that service is uncertain, but may be inferred from the next official mention, which is found in a letter written by Beekman, at Fort Altona, to Stuyvesant, at Fort Amsterdam, dated January 25, 1660, in which he says: "The Honble Mr. D'Hinoyossa has requested Pieter Alrichs to re-enter the service to go again to the Horekill as Commandant in the Spring."

During the administration of Jacob, D'Hiniyossa had purchased for the colony from the Indians the land on the west side of the Delaware, lying between Bombay Hook and Cape Henlopen, and at the Horekill, where Lewes now stands, a fort had been erected in 1659, which was garrisoned by a contingent of soldiers sent from Fort Casimer at New Amstel. It is probable that the former service intimated by the extract quoted was as commandant at the Horekill immediately on the erection of the fort, and that the debt due was for that service, but from which he had been relieved.

In the new service he held the rank of ensign, and may probably have been commissary also. Ferris, in a foot-note on page 127 in his “Original Settlements on the Delaware," says, "We first hear of Peter Alrichs as commissary at the fort near Cape Henlopen built in 1659.”

There is, however, an authority which, if correct, fixes the date of his coming at an earlier period.

Doctor O'Callaghan, in his "Registry of New Netherland," after mentioning the fact of Alricks having been commander at the Horekill in 1660, states in a foot-note on