Document: Declaration of George Woolsey that Fiscal van Dyck accepted a bribe from Thomas Willett to let his bark sail without inspection

At the request of the Honorable Director General Petrus Stuyvesant and the council of New Netherland G[ e ]orge Wolsey, aged about twenty-six years, from Yarmouth in Old England, attests, testifies and declares in the presence of Captain Lieutenant Nuton[1] and Jan Claessen Bol, captain of the ship De Princes, in place and with promise of a solemn oath if need be, that on Saturday last Fiscal van Dyck came on board Mr. Tomas Willit’s bark to inspect it and [ he, the deponent, ] heard the above mentioned Mr. Willit say at Mr. Isaac Allerton’s house that because he must be away he had presented the above named Fiscal van Dyck with a beaver, in order that he would not lose his time by clearing things away and in order that the fiscal would be content to let him sail unhindered; which beaver he, G[ e ]orge Wolsey, placed in the hands of the said fiscal himself. The deponent, in the presence of the aforesaid councilors, declares this to be true and offers to confirm the same on oath. Done in Fort Amsterdam in New Netherland, the 23rd of July anno 1647.

Joris Woolsy
Cornelis van Tienhoven