Men and Things in Albany Two Centuries Ago. 38 



in one of them Gen. Philip Schuyler of the revolution is 

 said to have been born. The committee of safety held its 

 sessions here also. The street was for many years known 

 as Washintgon street. The house now remaining on that 

 corner is regarded as the oldest edifice in the city. There 

 formerly ran across the front of these two houses, under the 

 eaves, in iron letters, the words Anno Domini ; and below, 

 over the first story, thefigures, also in iron, 1667. When the 

 upper house was taken away, the word ^iO^O was left on 

 the house still standing, and remains there now conspicu- 

 ously ; and I well remember when the figures were there 

 also ; but the owner, who was proud of them for a time, 

 conceived the notion that the great age of his house tended 

 to depreciate its value, and removed tliem. 



As I am now speaking of matters pertaining to the pre- 

 sent century, I may, with propriety, mention that Gov. 

 John Tayler lived on the corner of Green street, and that 

 after his death his house was removed and a portion of 

 the lot taken to widen that street, about 1832. Gov. 

 Tayler died in 1829, aged nearly 87. He had filled a large 

 space in the political history of the state, and was the first 

 president of the State Bank, where his portrait may now 

 be seen. 



Green street was early spoken of as the Vodden markt, 

 that is, the Rag market, and later as Cheapside. It was 

 finally named Greene street, in compliment to Gen. Greene 

 of the revolution, and, raising a point in orthography it 

 should on that account be written with a final e. Some 

 of you will remember when it was a narrow street, merely 

 wide enough to allow the passage of a single vehicle ; and 

 the city then being thronged with stage coaches — for at 

 that period travelers were taken to every point of the com- 

 pass by stage, and there being then three famous taverns, 

 before they came to be called hotels, and Bement's recess 

 there also — it was often so blocked that passage could be 

 made but one way, and that was usually to the south. 



Trans. ix.~\ 5 



