544 Page – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Here is the translated text as follows:

THE TRIAL OF JACOB LEISLER FOR HIGH TREASON, NEW YORK CITY, 1691

THE NARRATIVE AND TRIAL

James II of England was very unpopular in the colonies of New York and New England, and a rebellion had broken out against the governor he had sent there. This unrest coincided with news of the successful invasion of England by the Prince of Orange and the accession of William to the throne. The rebels found a leader in Jacob Leisler, a New York merchant of standing and a zealous friend of the Protestant cause. Leisler had previously suffered imprisonment by the order of Andros for opposing one of his illegal acts while governor of New York.

The immediate occasion of the revolt was a report in May 1689 that the papists intended to attack and massacre the people while at church in the Fort, and declare for James II. The people seized the Fort and appointed a committee of safety for the immediate government of the province. This committee signed an agreement to adhere to the Prince of Orange and, with their lives, to support the Protestant religion.

Bibliography

*Chandler’s American Criminal Trials.* (See 1, Am. St. Tr. 116.) Mr. Chandler notes that although the insurrection of Leisler and his adherents, which distracted the province of New York long after the principal actors in the scene had passed from the stage, forms a prominent topic of remark in the histories of the period, no detailed report of the trial was ever printed. Consequently, little can now be ascertained about the actual proceedings on that occasion.

**Andros, Sir Edmund** (1637-1714) was born on the Island of Guernsey. He served as Administrator of the Colony of New York in 1674 and as Governor of all New England from 1686. In 1689, he was imprisoned and impeached, and sent to England for trial. He later served as Governor of Virginia from 1692 to 1698, founded William and Mary College, and was Governor of the Island of Guernsey in 1704. He died in London.