LSBRARY OF CONGRESS 00DD5H35fi45 11 THE HISTORIC MANSIONS Buildings of Philadelphia, WITH SOME NOTICE OF THEIR OWNERS AND OCCUPANTS THOMPSON WESTCOTT, AUTHOR OF 'the official guide-book to PHILADELPHIA," "A HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA," ETC., ETC. "The knights are dust. And their good swords are rust ; Their souls are with the saints, we trust." PHILADELPHIA : PORTER & COATES, 822 CHESTNUT STREET. ^-•=-^6' a YT \ Copyright, 1877, by Porter & Coates. V/estcott & Thomson, Henry B. Ashmead. ^Ur€otypers and F.Uctrotypers, Philadix. Printer, Philada. CONTENTS, PENN'S COTTAGE, AFTERWARD CALLED "THE LETITIA HOUSE"... ii THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE 37 SWEDES' CHURCH (GLORL^ DEI) 56 OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE 68 CHRIST CHURCH 79 THE QUAKER ALMSHOUSE 96 INDEPENDENCE HALL: THE STATE-HOUSE 103 GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH: ST. MICHAEL'S AND ZION 129 STENTON 141 OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET 155 THE FISHING COMPANY OF THE STATE IN SCHUYLKILL 171 BARTRAM'S HOUSE 180 THE I.OXLEY HOUSE 190 CARPENTERS- HALL 200 MOUNT PLEASANT 212 CLIVEDEN (CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN 230 THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET 250 THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN 272 WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE 289 THE HOUSE WHERE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS WRITTEN 307 THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.... 318 FREE QUAKER MEETING HOUSE 321 6 CONTENTS. PAGE LANSDOWNE 333 ROBERT MORRIS'S FOLLY 351 THE HILLS 367 BELMONT 381 THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY 396 BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS 415 FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES 428 THE SOLITUDE 437 SEDGLEY 449 HARRITON 454 WALNUT GROVE 466 FAIRHILL 481 CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION 494 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE State-House in Philadelphia in 1778 Frontispiece. An Old House in Trotter's Alley, built in 1685 9 Plan of the City in 1682 12 Cherry Tree at Pennsbury, planted by William Penn 13 William Penn's House in Letitia Street 17 William Penn's Coat-of-Arms..... 21 Penn Treaty Monument , 33 Tail-Piece: The Advance of Trade 36 The Slate-Roof House 39 Penn's Proprietary Seal 43 British Coat-of-Arms 55 Old Blockhouse. 57 Old Swedes' Church (Gloria Dei) 59 Wilson Schoolhouse , 67 Old London Cofff.e-House 70 Christ Church 82 Interior of Christ Church, looking toward the Chancel 89 Franklin's Grave 94 Quaker Almshouses 97 Quaker Almshouse, Walnut Street Front 99 Old Court-House, formerly at Second and Market Streets 104 Liberty Bell 108 Independence Hall 113 Speaker's Chair, and Table on which the Declaration of Independence was Signed 119 The State-House as it appeared between 1741 and 1750 123 Interior of Independence Hall 125 Tail-Piece: American Eagle 128 7 8 ILL us TRA riONS. PAGE St. Michael's German Lutheran Church 131 Stenton 143 The "New Building," Fourth Stri;et below Arch 159 Entrance at Egglesfield , 172 Castle of The State in Schuylkili 177 Bartram's House 183 Tree planted hy Bartram 186 LoxLEY House 191 Carpenters' Hall in 1774 201 Carpenters' H ali 204 Pat Lyon 209 Mount Pleasant Mansion 215 The Procession of Arnold and the Devil 227 Chew House, Germantown 237 Door of the Chew House, showing Marks of the Battle 243 Johnson House, Germantown 249 Washington's Mansion 251 WiSTER House 275 Fort Wilson 281 Valley Forge from the Railroad 290 Washington's Head-Quarters at Valley Forge 295 House where the Declaration of Lndependence was Written 309 Office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 319 Apprentices' Lusrary, formerly Free Quaker Meeting-House 329 Lansdowne Mansion :;j4 Morris's Folly 3^7 The Hills, Robert Morris's Mansion 36S Fountain near Mineral Spring, Lemon Hill 373 Lemon Hill, Fairmount Park -77 East Terrace, Lemon Hill -yn Belmont Mansion -,§, Philadelphia Library ogn LoGANiAN Library 404 Ridgway Library ,oy Interior of the Philadelphia Library 410 Bust of Minerva, formerly over the Chair of the Speaker of Congress.. Penn's Clock , •. 411 •• ■• 412 The Bookworm , 41, Bush Hill Mansion .13 IL L USTRA TIONS. 9 PAGE Solitude 439 Cabinet belonging to John Penn 442 Monkey House, Zoological Garden 448 Sedgley 450 Harriton 461 Walnut Grove (Wharton House) 468 Association Battery 472 Fair Hill Mansion 482 Reading-Stand belonging to John Dickinson 486 Fair Hill Meeting-House 492 Plantation House.... 504 An Old House in Trotter's Alley, built in 1685. From an original sketch taken in 1825. PENN^S COTTAGE, AFTERWARD CALLED "THE LETITIA HOUSE." C'^/li ^ ^^^^ ^° settle the figure of the town so as that the streets hereafter may be uniform down to the water from the country bounds," wrote Wm. Penn, the proprietor and governor of Pennsylvania, on 30th of September, 1681, to his trusty and loving friends, Wm. Crispin, John Bezar, and Nathaniel Allen, who were his commissioners " for the settling of the present colony this year transported into the said province." " Let the place for the storehouse be on the middle of the key, which will serve for market and storehouses too. This may be ordered when I come, only let the houses built be in a line, or upon a line, as much as may be." " Pitch upon the very middle of the plat, where the town or line of houses is to be laid or run, facing the harbor in the great river, for the situation of my house ; . . . . the distance of each house from the creek or harbor should be in my judgment a measured quarter of a mile; at least two hundred paces, because of building hereafter streets downwards to the harbor." " Let every house be placed, if the person pleases, in the middle of its plat as to the breadthway of it, so that there may be ground on each side for garden or orchards or fields, that it may be a green coun- try town which will never be burnt and always be wholesome." Such was the idea of the founder in regard to the characteristics of the capital of his new settlement. His hope was that Philadelphia would prove to be a quiet, shaded, green country town, after the pattern of many English places and villages, " far from the madding crowd's ignoble HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Strife," and free from the excitements, animosities, frivolities, and vices of a metropolis. He could not anticipate the eventful future. His great town was to be situate within an English colony, governed by English policy, influenced by English habits, protected by English authority, but scarcely daring to hope for fostering care and helping assistance from the English government. Wisdom m laying out the plan of the city has been often claimed for the scheme of Penn, and FAIRE MOUNT h^ nDEnngiinnnn[:rn[;ELScrrnn» - n ujjjTnTP'^miirnTnj nnnnnnnnnnrL^cnnnnnnnnn nnnDnccGnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ,, _0[jnni^nDnnnnDn[inccra |> nnGn[:nnnGDiiji:::]nnnnnnDGBP4^' nmnnnnnnnnnnnmnnnmnl Plan of the Chy in 1682 posterity has not denied the proper acknowledgment. According to his own expectation — the anticipation of the great events of the future being beyond moral ken — his plans were philosophical and practical. He could not foresee the strong influences which would result from the sturdy spirit of freedom which was diffused among the English people during the times of the Commonwealth ; nor could he antici- pate that within a century the principles of government for which his PENN'S COTTAGE. 15 countrymen, Hampden and Sydney, contended, would be the control- ling philosophy in the American Colonies, and that his own town of Philadelphia would be the place at which a government representing the purified theories of the English constitution would be most effectively enforced. A " green country town," sweet and wholesome, was all that he could hope for; and as for his own residence, his Cherry Trke AM Tenn. desire was that it should be simple, pleasantly situate, so as to over- look the broad river, and placed in the middle of its plat, with gardens and orchards surrounding it. The commissioners selected for the Governor's lot a piece of ground which at the time was in the most conspicuous portion of the town. The Front street from the Delaware was its eastern boundary, the 14 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. High street was upon the north, the Second street upon the west. It was not the desire of the founder that the house should be large and costly. His great ambition was that his principal seat should be up the river at Pennsbury : a house in the city was necessary when he should come down to meet the assembly, to attend Friends' meeting, or to despatch business. His barge or his yacht would bring him in proper state and show, and take him away again. For, although the proprietary had adopted the simple habits and doctrines of the Society of Friends, there was within him much of the manner of his father's house. Formality and a certain degree of luxury, with attention to many worldly fashions, which were to the strictest Quaker vanities of vanities, were kept up. In truth, all that we know of the early Quakers must satisfy us that the severe simplicity which is supposed to have been characteristic of the Children of Light was the rule among the poor members rather than among those who were possessed of means. Penn himself was particular in regard to his beaver hats and his periwigs. His shoes were not allowed to disdain the meretricious pride of buckles. He resorted to leather overalls for riding or shoot- ing. His wife and daughter on his second visit, when he resided at the Slate-Roof House, held their consultations with haberdashers and mantuamakers in relation to the style of their caps and frocks. They wore buckles. Letitia rejoiced in a watch, and goldsmiths' bills, which must have been for chains or other jewelry, were paid by the great Quaker. The cellar of the governor was stored with beer, cider, sherry, madeira and claret wines. Of strong liquors, rum and brandy, he had little, and preferred them not for ordinary drinking, because, according to his own sentiment, they were " better for physic than food, for cor- dials than for common use." The proprietary's lot extended from High street, southward on Front and Second streets, halfway to Chestnut street. It was in length, east and west, 402 feet, and in depth 172 feet. Almost liter- ally was the request that the house be placed in the middle of the plat complied with. The building was a little west of the centre of the enclosure, and at nearly equal distances between the upper and lower boundaries. It must have been commenced before Penn's arrival. Gabriel Thomas, in his account of Pennsylvania, published in London in 1698, said : " I saw the first cellar when it was digging for the use of the house of our gouvernour, William Penn." Gabriel says that he PENN'S COTTAGE. 15 himself came to Pennsylvania in the first ship, the John and Sarah, of London, Henry Smith commander, in 1681. This vessel probably arrived in November. Penn came in the Welcome, which arrived at the Capes of the Delaware on the 24th of October, 1682, nearly a year after Thomas was in the colony. It might seem from this state- ment that Penn's house was the first one erected in the city, but in re- gard to that matter there is only conjecture. Thomas says it had the first cellar which was dug for a house. It is claimed that the first house was built in 1682 by Andrew Griscom, but this seems to be a matter of tradition only. In regard to the materials of Penn's house, it is stated by Watson that some of the finer fittings of the interior were im- ported in the first vessel, but most of the work, it may be presumed, was done in Pennsylvania. Concerning the bricks which form the walls, it is proper to allude to the prevalence of stories which frequently assume, in the case of old buildings, " the bricks were brought from England." No doubt there have been such houses in America, but the probability is that the greater number of mansions to which such distinction has been assigned were constructed entirely of brick manu- factured in this country. In regard to Penn's house, it is sufficient to say that if he sent out bricks from England to build it, such care was not necessary. He could have bought at his own door all the bricks re- quired. There was a brickmaker in the neighborhood, before the city was laid out, in the person of Daniel Pegg. Pegg succeeded Jurian Hartzfel- der, who obtained from the court at Upland, in the time of the Swedes, a grant of the ground between the Cohoquinoque, afterward called Pegg's Run in remembrance of Daniel himself, and the Cohocksink Creek, embracing in his estate almost entirely the district afterward known as the Northern Liberties. The soil furnished the best material for bricks, and the presence of brickmakers was spoken of at a very early period. Penn, in a letter dated July, 1683, says, "I have here the canoe of one tree y* fetches four tunns of bricks ;" which shows that bricks were a common article of transport, some of them being pro- bably brought from Burlington in West Jersey, an older place than Philadelphia. Some might have come from Chester or Newcastle. In A Further Account of Pennsylvania, published in 1685, Penn said, "Di- vers brickeries going on, many cellars already stoned or bricked, and some brick houses going up." In this paper he publishes a letter from Robert Turner at Philadelphia, which is dated 3d of 6th month, l6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 1685, in which the latter gives an account of the improvement in the country after Penn's departure. Turner says : " And since I built my brick house, the foundation of which was laid at thy going, which I did design after a good manner to encourage others, and that from building with wood it being the Jirst, many take example, and some that built wooden houses are sorry for it. Brick building is said to be as cheap ; bricks are exceeding good, and better than when I built; more makers fallen in and bricks cheaper. They were before at i6s. English per 1000, and now many b7'ave brick Jioiises are going up with good cellars." Turner then goes on to speak of the brick houses of Arthur Cook, William Frampton, John Wheeler, Samuel Carpenter, John Test and others, including the foundation of a large brick building for a meet- ing-house in Centre Square. He adds, " all these have balconies." " TJioinas Smith and Daniel Pegc (Pegg) set to making of brick this year and they are very good ; also Pastoriis, the German Friend, agent for the company at Frankfoni, with his Dutch people, are preparing to make brick next year. Samuel Carpenter is our lime-burner on his wharf Brave limestone found here as the workmen say being proved." The house erected for Penn according to his direction was plain in appearance and small. It was two stories in height, with garret room and a small back building. The doorway was in the centre, with a bracketed porch-roof above it. There were rooms on each side. The second story front had three windows. There were two windows in the first story and one in the second story on the north- ern side, and two windows in the northern wall which gave light to the garret and loft. The latter was lighted from a plain, square-headed dormer window opening in front. The eaves were heavy and plas- tered, and extended around on the north wall toward the head of the second-story window, where the eave was cut through, so that this part of the cornice was displayed on either side of the head of the second-story window which looked northward. Along the north- ern side of the house was a road or path which led toward Second street, where the Governor's Gate was established immediately oppo- site the great meeting-house. We may suppose that the grounds retained the original forest trees, that they were laid out with suf- ficient taste and comfort to be agreeable, and that the proprietor en- joyed his residence there during periods when business kept him in the town, or after he returned fatigued, wet, cold, or suffering from llliillMHIIIII PENN'S COTTAGE. 19 heat, according to the vicissitudes of the seasons, from his visits to Pennsbury. At what time this house was finished for the governor is not known. It must have been some time after the proprietary arrived in Pennsylvania. A curious bill rendered against William Penn by Thomas Fairman, the surveyor, contains items of charges for services rendered during the laying out of the city, and was re- corded at Philadelphia in Deed Book D, No. 13, in 1785, the object being to prove a release of the claim. Fairman was settled at Shakamaxon before Penn's time. He was a surveyor, and, most opportunely to suit the proprietary and his companions, he was a member of the Society of Friends. He aided in the surveys of the city and proceedings re- lating thereto by Lieutenant-Governor William Markham, the com- missioners, William Hague, Nathaniel Allen and John Bezar, and the surveyor, John Holme. From these items it appears that Mark- ham, Hague, Holme and his two sons and daughters lodged at Fairman's house on their first arrival, and there is an item, " to the leaving of my house in the winter season for the proprietor's use." No money charge is made for that accommodation, but it shows that during the winter of 1682-83, Penn resided at Shackamaxon, and justifies the inference that his house in the city was not finished at that time. The minutes of the Society of Friends state, " At a monthly meeting. Ninth month (November), 1682, at this time Gov- ernor William Penn and a multitude of Friends arrived here and erected a city called Philadelphia, about half a mile from Shaka- maxon, where meetings, etc. were established, etc. Thomas Fair- man at the request of the governor removed himself to Tacony, where there was also a meeting to be kept, and the ancient meeting of Shakamaxon removed to Philadelphia." This clearly establishes that Fairman vacated his house and that Penn took possession of it. The governor could not have occupied his house in the city until some time in 1683. According to Holme's portraiture of Philadel- phia, this lot on High street was reserved for Letitia, the daughter of William Penn, from the beginning. It is numbered 24, and shows upon the plan that there is one house upon it. Letitia was at this time in England, as was Penn's entire family, and when the proprie- tary went into the house he kept there something like " Bachelor's Hall." When he sailed from England he left two children, William and Letitia. He was married to Gulielma Maria Springett in 1672, HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and when he came to Pennsylvania Letitia must have been about eight years old. Her father had reserved for her use the lot at the south-west corner of Second and Market streets, but Lieutenant- Governor Markham, before the proprietary arrived, under some mis- apprehension, it may be supposed, granted that lot to the Society of Friends for the building of a meeting-house. Penn complained very much of that action as unauthorized. The lot upon which he built his house would probably have been considered his own if Letitia had been provided for as he intended. But the premises were marked for her use, although transfer was not made until many years afterward. The affection of the founder for his family was very warm. In his letter of farewell addressed to them just before he left England he wrote with rich expression and pathos, " My dear wife and children, my love, which neither sea, nor land, nor death it- self, can extinguish or lessen tov/ard you, most endearedly visits you with eternal embraces and will abide with you for ever. Some things are upon my spirit to leave with you in your respective capacities, as I am to one a husband and the rest a father, if I should never see you more in this world. " My dear wife, remember thou wast the love of my youth and the joy of my life, the most beloved as well as the most worthy of all my earthly comfort, and the reason of that love was more thy inward than thy outward excellencies, which were yet m.any. God knows, and thou knowest it, it was a match of Providence's making, and God's image in us both was the first thing and the most amiable and engaging orna- ment in our eyes. Now I am to leave thee, and that without knowing whether I shall ever see thee more in this world. Take my counsel into thy bosom, and let it dwell with thee in my stead while thou livest. .... And now, my dearest, let me recommend to thy care my dear children, abundantly loved of me, as the Lord's blessing and the sweet pledges of our mutual and endeared affection. Above all things, en- deavor to breed them up in the love of virtue and that holy plain way of it which we have lived in, that the world in no part of it get into my family. I would rather they were homely than finely bred as to out- ward behavior ; yet I love sweetness mixed with gravity, and cheerful- ness tempered with sobriety. Religion in the heart leads into this true solidity, teaching men and women to be mild and courteous in their be- havior — an accomplishment worthy indeed of praise." THE LETITIA HOUSE. 21 Jeffrey, the celebrated critic, in his review of Clarkson's Life of Penn, published July, i8i3,said of this letter: "There is something, we think, very touching and venerable in the affectionateness of its whole strain and the patriarchal simplicity in which it is conceived, while the lan- guage appears to us to be one of the most beautiful specimens of that soft and mellow English which, with all its cumbrous volume, has to our ear a far richer and more pathetic sweetness than the epigrams and apothegms of modern times." After a stay of about twenty-one months in Pennsylvania, Penn was re- quired to return to England in order to take care of his proprietary interests and title in Pennsylvania, which were threatened by the proceedings of Lord Baltimore. He sailed from Philadelphia on the 12th of the 6th month in the ketch Endeavor. He commissioned the Provincial Council to act in his stead, made Markham secretary, and assigned his mansion to be used during his absence for the public ser- vice. A letter to James Har- rison, his steward at Penns- bury, directs him : " Allow my cousin Markham to live in my house in Philadelphia, and that Thomas Lloyd, the deputy governor, shall have the use of my periwigs and any wines and beers that may be there left for the use of strangers." In a letter written in 1687, Penn says : " Your improvements now require some conveniency above what my cottage has afforded you in times past." This little house was therefore for some time the State House of the province. It was the place where the officers of government met. Here the Provincial Coun- cil deliberated solemnly upon subjects connected with the interests of HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. the infant colony, and into this house came at the time the most eminent among the settlers, men of grave demeanor, serious members of the Society of Friends, the pillars of the state which supported the fabric of government. Prominent among these may be named the man of many employments, William Markham. He was the very Proteus of officeholders. He was lieutenant-governor under Penn's original com- mission, and represented not only the claim of the owner of Pennsyl- vania, but in some sort the majesty of the English crown. When the proprietary arrived, Markham sank from his high estate to the position of secretary of the Council. In 1691 he was made deputy governor of the "territories" now known as the State of Delaware. In 1693, when the Crown seized upon the proprietary government and appointed Benjamin Fletcher, who was governor of New York, to be also gov- ernor of Pennsylvania, the latter appointed Markham deputy governor, and he held the office for nearly two years, until the government of Pennsylvania was restored to Penn, after which Markham continued in office till Penn's arrival in 1699. Subsequently he seems to have retired from active life, but retained several of his employments and his seat in the Council. Concerning Markham before he arrived in Pennsylvania very little is known. He is represented to have come from London, and to have been a soldier who had attained the rank of captain in the British army. In after years he was called '• colonel," but how he reached the rank is unknown. Watson says that when Markham ar- rived in Pennsylvania he was but twenty-one years of age, which, if cor- rect, would show that he had seen but little military service. He died June II, 1 704, and at that time, if he was not more than twenty-one years of age when he came to Pennsylvania, he was in his forty-fifth year. Yet he left besides his widow Joanna a daughter, Mrs. Ann Brown, who had two sons, James and William, and "a daughter-in-law," Elizabeth, who was married to J. Regnier. From this it is to be in- ferred that he was either twice married or that his wife was a widow when he married her, she having a child by a former marriage. It is possible that he might have been a grandfather before the age of forty- five, but taking all the circumstances into consideration, if it is neces- sary to carry out the theory, his daughter must have married very young. Regnier was a lawyer, and there are in the Logan papers letters which show that he had the settlement of Colonel Markham's estate, and that there was some trouble about the accounts, it beingr claimed THE LETITIA HOUSE. 23 that Markham was in debt to Penn for moneys received for various pur- poses. The widow of Markham after his death went to York, England. James Logan, writing to Jonathan Dickinson on the 12th of 4th month, 1704, says : " Poor, honest Colonel Markham this morning ended a mis- erable life by a seasonable release, in a fit of his old distemper that seized his vitals." Logan, writing to Penn shortly after, says : " I before advised of Colonel Markham's decease on the nth of last month; he died of one of his usual fits." Samuel Preston, writing on the 12th of the 4th month, 1704, says: "This morning, about two of the clock, our near neighbor and old friend, Colonel Markham, ended a sorrowful life ; a man, thou knowest, well respected, but not to be lamented by his best friends. I was a spectator of his latter end ; it was not with much hardship or struggle." Concerning the important subject of his accounts Logan wrote : " I have received all the papers from the widow, and we are to have the accounts viewed and examined, but J. Regnier, the coun- sellor, her son-in-law, stands very firm to her, and they plead debts due to them for services over and above all that can be presented against them The old gentleman made a will, but has left his own daugh- ter very little, though with him." This phrase, " old gentleman," used in relation to Colonel Markham, could scarcely have been employed in relation to a man forty-five years of age, and shows that Markham was something more than a boy when he came to Pennsylvania. Governor Evans had just undertaken to establish a militia, and the burial of the late lieutenant-governor gave an opportunity for that sort of display which attends a soldier's funeral. Logan, writing to Penn in reference to the matter, said that " he was buried very honorably like a soldier, with the militia," etc. It is somewhat remarkable that the proprietor should have chosen a soldier for his lieutenant-governor, his object seeming to be to establish a peaceful commonwealth in which should prevail the law of love. Markham had executive abilities, and a man accustomed to command was preferable in the exigencies of a new gov- ernment. There is extant in Markham's handwriting a proclamation or draft of a proclamation dated at Upland, October i, 1682, in which he requires all male persons within the Province from " 16 years of age and upward, and under y® age of 60, be ready at an hour's warning with arms and ammunition fitt for a defence, and to repaire to such place or places of rendezvous as shall be directed by me or by my order." At the time of his death Colonel Markham lived in Front street, and, it is 24 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. to be presumed, owned the house in which he resided. He was also owner of a house on the north side of Market street, at the north-east corner of an alley since known as Grindstone Alley. By his will he left all his servants and slaves to his wife, with the exception of one Indian boy, Ectus Frankson, born in i/OO, whom he directed should be set free when twenty -four years old. Connected with the Provincial Government at the time when the Penn Cottage was occupied by Markham was Thomas Lloyd, who was President of the Provincial Council. It was to him and to James Claypole, John Simcock, Christopher Taylor, and James Harrison, as members of the Friends' meetings in Pennsylvania, that Penn poured out his feelings from on board the ketch Endeavor before leaving .the Delaware : " My love and my life is to you, and with you, and no water can quench it nor distance wear it out or bring it to an end. I have been with you, cared over you, and served you with unfeigned love ; and you are beloved of me and near unto me beyond utterance." Thomas Lloyd must not be confounded with David Lloyd, who was very conspicuous and troublesome — was notorious in the affairs of Pennsylvania as a bitter opponent of the proprietary's policy. Thomas was a man of a different sort. David was fiery, aggressive, and a thorough politician. He gave great trouble to Penn, who speaks of him in his letters in a tone and manner scarcely accordant with peaceable professions. Thomas Lloyd came from Dolobran, Mont- gomeryshire, North Wales. It is stated that he was born in 1649, his father being descended from an ancient and respectable family. His brother Charles, who had been justice of the peace and high sheriff of the county of Montgomery, was " convinced of the truth " by the gospel labors of Richard Davies, who in 1662 held meetings for divine worship at the house of Cadwalader Edwards in Dolobran. Charles, with Edwards and some others, having embraced the tenets of the Society of Friends, they were summoned before Lord Herbert, baron of Cherbury, and required to take the oath of allegiance ; which they refused to do, and for their contumacy were thrown into prison at Welsh Pool. Thomas Lloyd was then a student at Oxford, and came to visit his brother while in prison. " During his intercourse with friends there," says Janney, " his understanding was opened by divine grace, so that he embraced the truth, and, taking up the cross of self-denial, became an immediate disciple of Christ." The persecution THE LETITIA HOUSE. 25 of the Quakers led to the imprisonment, or rather the arrest, of Davies, with Thomas Lloyd and Samuel Lloyd, who were held for some time. Soon the trouble of the Welsh magistrates was to know what to do with them, Davies and the two Lloyds were promised a release b}- Justice Corbet "if they would go to church and hear divine service." They agreed to this, went on a certain Sunday, listened to the Liturgy, and after the services were over made some remarks which were listened to without trouble in the congregation. Thus these men secured their liberty by the peculiar punishment, which the magis- trate must have supposed it to be, of being compelled to attend church. Thomas Lloyd was President of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania from August, 1684, to December, 1686, when, in conse- quence of the troubles of administration, Penn appointed five com- missioners, Thomas Lloyd, Nicholas More, James Claypole, Robert Turner, and John Eckley. More and Claypole never acted, and Arthur Cook and John Simcock took their places. Lloyd after a time became tired of the continual contests in which the government was involved. Penn with great reluctance gave him his dismissal. He remained in private life something over two years, was again called to the presi- dency of the Council in January, 1690, and held that position until March, 1 69 1, when he was made deputy governor of the province, and Markham deputy governor of "the territories." In April, 1693, Gov- ernor Lloyd was superseded by the seizure of the Provincial Govern- ment by the Crown, and the appearance of Benjamin Fletcher, gover- nor of New York, as the representative of the royal authority. He assumed no further high trust. He died in the early part of October of the following year, at the age of forty-five. He was well educated, a university man, talked Latin fluently on the passage over with Francis Daniel Pastorius, the classic German who was one of the founders of Germantown. Haverford Monthly Meeting gave out a testimony concerning him in which it was said, " His sound and effectual ministry, his godly conversation, meek and lamb-like spirit, great patience, temperance, humility and slowness to wrath ; his love to the brethren, his godly care in the Church of Christ that all things might be kept sweet, savory, and in good order ; his helping hand to the weak, and gentle admonitions, we are fully satisfied, have a seal and witness in the hearts of all faithful friends who knew him, both in the land of his nativity and in these American parts." 4 26 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The first wife of Thomas Lloyd was Mary Jones, daughter of Col. Roger Jones of Welsh Pool, who was governor of Dublin in the reign of James II., and who defeated the Marquis of Warming in Ireland. This marriage took place before Lloyd came to Pennsylvania, and his wife died in i68o. His second wife was Patience Story or Patience Gardner, who died while her husband was in Pennsylvania, and was the first person buried in Friends' burial-ground at Arch and Fourth streets. William Penn attended the funeral, and spoke at her grave. His children were by his first wife only, and they were seven boys and three girls. His three daughters were Hannah, Rachel, and Mary, and two of these accomplished women were foremothers of some of the principal families in Pennsylvania. Hannah married Captain John Delaval, and, being left a widow, married a second time Richard Hill. It was during Penn's second visit, 1 700-01, that these espousals took place. " Tell Hannah Delaval that to be one of her witnesses [at her marriage with Richard Hill] is not the least motive to hasten me," wrote Penn from New York at this period. Francis Daniel Pastorius, who came over with Lloyd's daughters, ad- dressed to them annually a commemorative poem on the anniversary of their arrival at Philadelphia, 20th of 6th month, 1683. Hannah had no children by John Delaval, but was the mother of five children dur- ing her marriage with Richard Hill, but they all died unmarried. Richard Hill was Provincial Councillor in 1703, member of the Assem- bly 1705-06, and Speaker; three times Mayor of the city, and Justice of the Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia 1715-24. Rachel Lloyd married Samuel Preston, who was Provincial Councillor in 1700, Mayor of Philadelphia in 171 1, and for many years Treasurer of the province. She had two children, through whom have descended the Moores, Car- penters, and other families. Hannah Shoemaker, a granddaughter of Hannah Preston, married Robert Morris, Jr., son of the eminent finan- cier. Mary, daughter of Thomas Lloyd, married Isaac Norris the first, a merchant, who was a member of the Assembly, 1699- 1703, Mayor of the city 1724, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, 1715-24. He was offered the commission of Chief-Justice of the Su- preme Court in 1731, but declined it. He died suddenly in the latter year, being seized with an apoplexy in the meeting-house in German- town. He was succeeded in public life by his son, Isaac Norris, who THE LETITIA HOUSE. 27 entered the Assembly as a representative of Philadelphia county in 1734, was elected annually for thirty-one years, being Speaker from 1750 to the end of his last term, 1765-66. He died shortly afterward. He married a daughter of James Logan, secretary and friend of William Penn. Mary, one of his daughters, married John Dickinson, author of the Farmer's Letters. Her sister Mary, who was born in 1744, died in the bloom of womanhood in 1769. Maria, daughter of John Dickin- son, married Albanus Logan, grandson of James Logan of Stenton. The families of Hill, Wells, and Morris are connected with the Norrises. The sons of Thomas Lloyd have attracted less attention than his daughters. Thomas, the third son of Thomas the second, and grand- son of Thomas the first, married Susanna Owen. Their daughter Sarah married William Moore, merchant, who was Vice-President of the Su- preme Executive Council of Pennsylvania from 1779 to 1781, when Joseph Reed was President, and succeeded the latter as President No- vember 14, 1 78 1, and held the office for a year. Susanna, a daughter of President Moore, married Thomas Wharton, Jr., who was the first President of the Supreme Executive Council. Colonel Thomas Lloyd Moore, a son, was a fine, dashing gentleman, and toward the close of the last century lived in style on Pine street, below Third, near the Stamper and Blackwell mansions. He married Sarah Stamper, and their daughter Eliza married Richard Willing. Elizabeth Moore, sister of the colonel, married the French diplomatist, M. Barbe de Marbois, who resided in Philadelphia during a portion of the Revolution as Secretary of Legation, Charge d' Affaires, and Consul-General of France until 1785. He afterward attained the rank of marquis, was senator of France, and count of the Empire. Washington gracefully wrote to M. de Marbois : " It was with great pleasure that I received from your own pen an account of the agreeable and happy connection you are about to form with Miss Moore. Though you have given many proofs of your predilection to this country, yet this last may be considered not only as a great and tender one, but as a pleasing and lasting one. The accomplishments of the lady and her connections cannot fail to make it so." A daughter of the Marquis de Marbois and Elizabeth Moore became by marriage the Duchess of Plaisance. It is curious that in the line of Thomas Lloyd, lineal and by mar- riage, occur more instances of the occupation of high office than can 28 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. be furnished in any other family in Pennsylvania. In the list of chief executive officers of the Commonwealth, President Lloyd is followed by Presidents Logan, Wharton, Moore, and Dickinson. In other offices of less dignity and importance almost every branch of the family was represented. Thomas Lloyd was keeper of the Great Seal during his presidency of the Council, and Nicholas More, William Welch, William Wood, Rob- ert Turner, and John Fxkley were commissioned as Provincial Judges. More was an eminent man in the affairs of the Province. He held many important offices. He was Speaker of the first Assembly 1682-83, and remained a member of the House until 1685-86. He was also president of the Free Society of Traders, a corporation from which highly important influences toward the prosperity of the Province were expected, but which, as the result showed, turned out a delusion. He remained on the bench as Chief-Justice 1684-85. He was a lawyer, came from London, took up large quantities of land, which were em- braced in the manor of Moreland, in the upper part of Philadelphia county. Montgomery county has since divided this tract, and there was a township of Moreland in Philadelphia, and one of the same name in Montgomery. After 1687, Nicholas More fell into a languishing con- dition of health, his pecuniary affairs were neglected, and after his death, though he had been one of the richest men in Pennsylvania, the sheriff sold his estate to satisfy his creditors. These men, with many others of reputation and influence, were occupants of the governor's cottage between 1684 and 1700, during which time the government of Pennsylvania was represented within its walls. Upon Penn's last visit — possibly before that time, as we have already shown that in 1687 he considered the cottage too small for the public use — the offices of the Provincial Government were trans- ferred to some other place. When Penn came to Pennsylvania the sec- ond time, he brought his wife and his daughter Letitia, and whilst in the city transferred the lot on Market street, between Front and Second streets, to Letitia, by patent granted 29th of the ist month, 1701. There were added to it seventy feet adjoining to the south, the whole lot being one hundred and seventy-two feet on Front street, and extending four hundred and two feet to Second street, being bounded by ground of Widow Jennet. The property south of this lot is laid down in Holme's Portraiture as having been conveyed to Charles Pickering, THE LETITIA HOUSE. 29 Thomas Bearne. and John Willard. The patents for these lots seem to have been issued in other names. Robert Ewer became, before 1700, the owner of a lot of ground nearest the Penn property, and through these premises an alley was laid out extending from Front to Second streets, which Gabriel Thomas in 1698 speaks of as Ewer's Alley, Subsequently it was called Black Horse Alley, it is believed from the name of an inn upon it. Letitia Penn was impatient to turn this property into money. She sold the lot at the south-west corner of Front and High streets, upon which was erected the building afterward known as the Old London Coffee-House, to Charles Read, July 9, 1701, executing the deed herself, from which we may infer that she was then over the age of twenty-one years. On leaving Philadelphia with her father in the latter part of the year, she appointed James Logan and Edward Pennington her attorneys to sell the " great lot " for her benefit. Either at this time or shortly afterward a court or alley was laid out halfway between Front and Second streets, which was eighteen feet wide at High street, extended that width seventy-four feet southward, where it widened to thirty-six feet. Pennington and Logan, and Carpenter, who succeeded Pennington, made sales of various lots upon these premises, and acted with fidelity to their principal until the time came when another had an interest in it. Letitia did not like Pennsylvania, and was verj'- willing to return to England. Penn, writing on the 8th of September, 1 701, to Logan, says : " I cannot prevail on my wife to stay, and still less with Tish. I know not what to do. Samuel Carpenter seems to excuse her in it, but to all that speak of it say I shall have no need to stay, and great interest to return." They set sail in the Dalmahoy, on the 3d of November, 1701, and reached Portsmouth in thirty days, after some sickness at the be- ginning, which they got rid of in less than a week. In England the charms of this young girl, together with the reputation which her father had for wealth, obtained for her a .speedy suitor. Reports came over to Philadelphia that she was engaged to be married to a certain William Aubrey, concerning whom very little is known except that he belonged to the city of London and was a merchant. The rumors created some excitement, particularly as it was believed in the city that Letitia had plighted her troth to young William Masters, with whom she was at least on friendly terms if their relations were not tender. Logan, writ- ing to Penn in 3d month (May), 1702, refers to the fact that Masters 30 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. had gone over to London with Janney, who carried the letter from which this quotation is made. Letitia, upon leaving Philadelphia, re- ceived from Friends' Meeting, as was usual at the time, a certificate of her membership and prudent deportment, accompanied with a declara- tion, common in such papers, that she was under no marriage engage- ment. The secretary delicately hinted the difficulty to the proprietary : " As duty on the one hand obligest me to hint, so prudence on the other to touch with the utmost tenderness if upon the news brought by sev- eral letters on board Guy, that in all probability my young mistress (Letitia) by this time has changed her name, though I willingly would, yet cannot, forbear informing thee of what has been since too liberally discoursed of her, and among the rest not sparingly, by some that signed her certificate, viz., that she was under some particular engage- ment to the before-mentioned W. M., the said signers having upon some unhappy information given them lately expressed so great a dissatisfac- tion at what they had done that it had been proposed among them to send over and to contradict or retract it." Logan was fearful that Mas- ters would break out in London and make some objection in Meeting which might break off the match. He recommended a delicate course of conduct with Masters, and said : " My reason of mentioning this is that if she is since engaged to W. A., but all not confirmed, such caution may be used with W. M. as to get a clearance from him the best way it may be obtained, or if all be over, lest W. M., on the disappointment, which he will bitterly resent, should be guilty of any expression that would tend to her disquiet, but that prudent endeavors may be used to soften him or stop his mouth from injuring her, either in respect to her husband or the world." The wisdom with which the secretary treats this subject is amusing. Here is a case of a jilted lover, who possibly expected to make his trip to London beneficial to his suit, and learns a short time before his embarkation that reports are abroad that his fickle mistress in six months had forgotten him and pledged herself to an- other. It would be difficult to deal with a disappointed suitor of the worldly kind in the discreet manner suggested by Logan, or to " stop his mouth " if he thought he had been shabbily treated. It was the discipline of the Society of Friends which must have made the differ- ence, so that one Quaker, writing to another Quaker, imagined it would be no difficult thing to quiet expressions of the dissatisfaction of a young member of the Society who was wounded and mortified by the faith- THE LETITIA HOUSE. 31 lessness of his soul's idol. Masters was not to be dealt with in that way. William Penn, Jr., in a letter written shortly after the marriage, said of William Masters : " Whatever grounds he had for it in Pennsylvania made a mighty noise here, but it lasted not long." Letitia was married to William Aubrey on Thursday, Fifth day. Sixth month (August) 20, 1702. Penn, writing to Logan from London in September, said : " We have brought her home where I write, a noble house for the city, and other things I hope well. But J. Pennington's, if not S. Harwood's, striving for William Masters against faith, truth, righteousness, will not be easily forgotten, though things came honorably off to his and the old envies' confusion, his father's friends nobly testifying against the actions of both," Au- brey turned out to be a very great annoyance to his father-in law, being of an avaricious, grasping disposition, and importunate for his wife's portion. William Penn, Jr., said of him, shortly after the marriage : " My sister Letitia has, I believe, a very good sort of man, that makes a good husband." In the next year Penn says, in a letter to Logan : " I am now to tell thee that I am to make my daughter's lots and lands up to two thousand sterling to William Aubrey, and what yet is want- ing, a farm in England is to supply that deficiency, though I hope her interest is better worth there." In 1704 he writes : " Be punctual in my son Aubrey's business, to keep my credit with my poor girl." A short time afterward Logan expressed himself in a letter to Penn : " This business of William Aubrey's is a heavy addition. I write this to thy- self, and cannot forbear saying he seems to be one of the keenest men living, but believe I write no news." Penn replied the same year: " Both son and daughter clamor, she to quiet him, that is a scraping man, will count interest for a guinea." In the next year Logan com- plained to Penn that in answer to his letters about Letitia's lots and lands he had received nothing " besides two very angry letters from her- self and husband, threatening to send over some person to look after it at thy (Penn's) charge." Logan, in a later letter, compared Aubrey to Philip Ford, who had robbed Penn and thrown him into Fleet Prison, and he warmly declared that in his opinion the conduct of the son-in- law toward the father-in-law seemed " barbarously unjust." Penn wrote to Logan in 1707 : " All our loves are to thee, but W. A. a tiger against thee for returns. Come not to him empty, as thou valuest thy comfort and credit." Whilst the father was struggling to pay off his undertaking on behalf of his daughter, Aubrey was charging him with interest on the 32 HISTORIC MAA'SIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. amount. Penn got tired of this at last, and in October, 1708, gave order to Logan : *' Pray stop occasion of more interest to my son Aubrey, for I will to pay no more on account of my daughter's ;i^2000." Next year Penn wrote: " Oh, whatever thou dost, let my poor daughter have some money, for great is the cry of William Aubrey and old Norton against Pennsylvania paymasters." Under the constant demands for money the " great lot " was sold to various purchasers. Eventually, Aubrey dis- pensed with his agents, and seems to have managed the business for himself The lots on Front street, except that of Charles Read on the corner, which was twenty-five feet, were twenty-four feet six inches front ; the lots on High street thirty feet front and seventy-four deep. The lots on Second street were one hundred feet deep. Ann Fell M^as the purchaser of a lot on Second street, which commenced at the dis- tance of seventy-four feet south of High street, exactly upon the line running east to where Letitia Court widens. It ran east one hundred feet to a court, which was the little court or alley still existing upon the north side of the old mansion. In the description of the bounda- ries this lot is mentioned as bounded on the east by William Eastman, and this was therefore the name of the first purchaser of the governor's house, with the lot upon which it stood. Appurtenant to the great lot was a Bank lot extending from the east side of Front street to the Delaware. Grants of portions of this lot were made at various times, beginning soon after Letitia left Penn- sylvania. At what time William Aubrey died is not now known. Letitia, in a deed of family settlement dated 22d of September, 1731, is described as "widow, daughter and only surviving child of the said William Penn," by Gulielma, his first wife. Her will is dated July 20, 1744, and she calls herself Letitia Aubrey of London, widow. At the time of her death, on or about March 31, 1746, she lived at Christ Church, Spitalsfield. The will contains sundry specific legacies. To her nephew, William Penn, son of her brother William, a silver cup and salver, silver tea-kettle, tortoise-shell cabinet, etc. ; plate and other articles are bequeathed to others, including " a broad piece of gold to Eleanor Aubrey, now Clark, niece of my late husband, William Aubrey;" to her nephew, Robert [Edward] Fell, son of her niece Gulielma Maria, who married Charles Fell, £40; to his sister, Mary Margaretta Fell, who afterward married John Barron, ;^50; THE LETITIA HOUSE. 33 to Gulielma Maria Francis Fell, daughter of her niece GuHelma Maria Penn, who afterward married John Newcomb, £^^0. She left a legacy of ^^50 " to the poor women of Devonshire House Meeting, Bishopgate street." To her nephew, William Penn, she bequeathed all her American estate during his life — after his death to his daughter, Christiana Gulielma Fell, who afterward married Peter Gaskell, in fee. The residue of her estate went to her nephew, William Penn, and his daughter, Christiana Gulielma. Indeed, Letitia seems to have been careful that none of her property should go into the line of the Callowhills. Her mother was a Springett, and none of her wealth went to the representatives of her father by his second marriage. -^^^^^■^^^ .iM£igSMiiii. Pknn Monument, Kensington. The subsequent histoiy of Penn's house cannot be accurately traced. It was occupied by Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts, widow and gentlewoman, in 1794-95. Mary Williams put it to a useful purpose as an eating-house in 1800. It fell into neglect, and in the course of time its historic character became lost altogether. In 1822, in a case tried at Philadelphia involving a title to a right of way from Letitia Court, a:s it then stood, into Black Horse Alley, Timothy Matlack, who was born in 1745, stated that "there was a famous beer- house on the west side of Letitia Court, where all the fashionables 34 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. would go ;" and this place, it is believed, was the old cottage. About 1760, as testified to by William Bradford on the same trial, a house was built across the head of the court [it must have been upon the lot which belonged to Ewer, which had its front on Black Horse Alley, as well as on Letitia Court]. Mr. Bradford testified that it was first oc- cupied by Benjamin Jackson, then by Bradford himself, and afterward by John Doyle, It had been called the Leopard Tavern, but Doyle, in honor of the location and of the fact that William Penn once owned the property adjoining, changed the name to Penn Hall, and here in 1824, some of our grave and reverend citizens who were beginning to cultivate historic tastes were beguiled into an amusing blunder. The)- had determined to celebrate the anniversary of the landing of William Penn, and seeking for his house on Letitia Court, the bold claim of Penn Hall attracted them, and led to the hasty belief that this was the house in which the founder had reposed during the first years of his residence in the city. Therefore they met in a solemn spirit of rever- ence for the past, ate their dinners, made their speeches and became enthusiastic over the sacred memories which hovered around the spot, and after a season of enjoyment retired to their homes, satisfied of having done something for history. They soon discovered, however, that they had become enthusiastic in the wrong house. They had passed the Rising Sun tavern at the corner of the lane running toward Second street, which was the real mansion of Penn, and had wasted their antiquarian fervor within the walls of a building of which the foun- dations were not laid until the original Penn house was eighty years old. They rectified the mistake on the next anniversary, and met at the right place. They created the Penn Society, erected the little monu- ment on Beach street, Kensington, commemorating the supposed treaty of Penn with the Indians, and after a few years gradually lost their interest in such affairs, until the association was dissolved. The house of Doyle maintained its false pretence long afterward. It finally was leased by Gottlieb Zimmerman, who established there between 1830 and 1840 a "free and easy," the only one perhaps known at that time in Philadelphia, There was singing* there on Saturday nights, and from that school of amateur vocalists graduated some who after- ward became professionals whose voices were heard in concerts and choirs. Zimmerman made a charge of admission to his "free and easy " — the simple sum of six and a quarter cents, expressed in the THE LETITIA HOUSE. 35 money of the time by the Httle Spanish coin commonly called a " fip." A fip gained the visitor access to this palace of delight and the right to call for refreshments. His ticket of admission was a broad copper cent, upon the face of which the letters " G. Z." were deeply incised. Frequently these tokens were not used, and got into general circulation, and many through whose hands they passed little imagined their original intention and value. Zimmerman retired from the William Penn Hotel and went to Camden, where he opened a pleasure-garden distinguished by having built therein a tun as big as, and probably big- ger than, that famous one of Heidelberg. Here in the lower story, ice cream and beverages of malt or spirit (lager beer had not then been introduced) were dispensed, whilst above, the merry strains of two or three musicians set the twinkling feet of the German girls and their Teutonic attendants in the whirling mazes of the waltz. The neighborhood in which the Letitia House stood eventually demanded a new commercial street and convenience for the ware- houses on Front street. The old Leopard Inn was removed. The line of the court was opened to Chestnut street. Letitia Court became Letitia street. But still the old house remained. It was the Rising Sun Inn in 1824, and long before. It has gone through various changes, and is now called the Woolpack Hotel. Next door to it on the south is a house which dates since 1700, which looks nearly as old as its neighbor. This building, in the spirit of fraud which must have descended from the Leopard establishment, dubs itself the " William Penn Hotel," and presents to the admiring stranger a rubicund effigy of a solid beef-eating man who wears a broad-brimmed hat, and which representation may be said to be a most excellent portrait of the great Quaker viewed from the sign-painter's standpoint. It matters little. This William Penn Hotel is not the building in which the founder of Pennsylvania enjoyed his madeira and ale. It is simply an im- postor which seeks to obtain credit for selling good lager beer under false pretences. A story is told about one of the more recent owners of the property which has a little interest. He was an emigrant who landed in the city some years ago, strange and not knowing where to go. Chance led him to the Letitia House, and there he obtained his humble lodgings for the night. It was his first night in America. Whether the peace- ful spirit of the Founder hovered over him, or whether the associations 36 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. were such as to affect his resolves, is immaterial. That stranger re- solved — if not then and there, somewhere else at a later period — that if he remained in the United States and should become rich, he would en- deavor to become the purchaser of that house — a property which was so closely associated with the history of his own fortunes. He obtained employment, was attentive, industrious, and thrifty, and in time the op- portunity came, and he was the owner of this ancient property. What did he do ? Did he — as the Penn Society was ambitious to do if funds could have been raised for the purpose — repair and restore it to some- thing like its old uses and redeem it from degradation ? No ! Per- haps he cared nothing for its history. He knew the house first when he was poor, and now he was rich. But his hopes and thoughts were connected with wealth and how to get it. So he changed the interior to suit the tenant, and the Letitia House put on a modern, garish appear- ance, and wooed the patronage of the thirsty, who judge of the quality of beer by the appearance of the place where it is sold. THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 'HE Abbe Raynal, in his Philosophical History of the East and West Indies, published in 1 770, observes in effect that the houses of Philadelphia are covered with slates, a ma- terial amply supplied from quarries in the neighborhood. Alexander Graydon, noticing this statement in Memoirs of his own time, says, " Unfortunately for the source from which the abbe derived his information, there were no such quarries near the city, that ever I heard of, and certainly but a single house in it of this kind of roof, which from that circumstance was distinguished by the name of the Slate House. It stood in Second street, at the corner of Norris Alley, and was a singular, old-fashioned structure, laid out in the style of a fortification, with abundance of an- gles, both salient and re-entring. Its two wings projected to the street in the manner of bastions, to which the main building, retreating from sixteen to eighteen feet, served for a curtain. Within, it was cut up into a number of apartments, and on that account was exceedingly well adapted to the purpose of a lodging-house, to which use it had long been appropriated. An additional convenience was a spacious yard on the back of it, extending halfway to Front street, enclosed by a high wall, and ornamented with a double row of venerable, lofty pines, which afford a very agreeable rns ijt nrbe, or rural scene in the heart of the city. The lady who had resided here and given some celebrity to the stand by the style of her accommodation, either dying or declining business, my mother was persuaded by her friends to become her suc- cessor, and accordingly obtained a lease of the premises, and took pos- session of them, to the best of my recollection, in the year 1764 or 38 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 1765." This description, so far as it likens the whole ground-plan of the building to the style of a fortification, was not correct. The front on Second street might justify the comparison, but in the rear the house was of peaceable configuration. The northern wall extended along Norris Alley some seventy or eighty feet, including on the east- ern portion a two-story back building, used as a kitchen, which was some twenty feet in breadth, and looked out into an enclosed yard, the western boundary of which was the back part of the main building, which was the full width of the bastions and curtain on the front. It was an oddly-built, rambling sort of a place to persons instructed only in the modern style of American house architecture. The bastions, so called, contained neat little chambers. Those upon the first floor were probably used for sitting-room or library. The second story bastion-rooms were furnished with odd little chimney-places in the corners, and the entrance to them was by steps from the main second-story apartment, so that the occupants of this part of the house went down into their chambers. The kitchen was made happy by an immense fireplace, which occupied a space between two rooms, being built in a very thick and wide chimney, in the construction of which, far beyond our modern ideas of size and necessity, thousands of bricks must have been wasted. The garret-rooms afforded height and space, and were well lighted. The upper stories were divided into rooms connected with each other, with entries and passages odd and embarrassing to strangers. The slate which covered the roof when the house was built may have been imported from England. The material was plenty enough near Philadelphia, but Graydon may be correct in observing that there were no quarries of this material in his time. Gabriel Thomas, in his Account of Pennsylvania, published in 1698, says : "There is a curious building-stone and paving-stone; also tile-stone, with which latter Governor Penn covered his great and stately pile, which he called Pennsbury House." It is known that Pennsbury had a slate roof, which Thomas calls tile-stone. Before 1700, therefore, it need not have been difficult to have obtained a supply of slate sufficient for the house in Philadelphia. The builder of the house is said to have been James Porteus. The period of its construction is not certainly known. It was finished some time before the year 1700. Samuel Carpenter, for whom it was erected, was an original purchaser of lands from Penn, and the owner of the lot THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 41 running from Front to Second street. He first built upon Front street, and probably one or two houses upon the alley on the north side of his lot which was subsequently called Norris Alley. Samuel Carpen- ter was one of the foremost citizens of the Province, a man of great enterprise and ability, who did more to build up Philadelphia during thirty years than any other person. When he came to Pennsylvania he was unmarried. On the 12th of December, 1684, he married Hannah Hardiman, a minister of the gospel among Friends, and a native of Haverford West in South Wales, From this worthy citizen descended in the male line the Carpenter family of New Jersey, and in the female line the Whartons, Fishbournes, Merediths, Clymers and Reads of Philadelphia. Carpenter, being a man of vigorous intellect and administrative ability, was early placed in positions of trust and responsibility. He was made member of the Provincial Council in 1687, reappointed in 1695 and in after years. He was member of the Assembly 1693-94, 1696-97 ; he was treasurer of the Province for some years — an office in which he was succeeded by his son. Besides his trade of merchandise, Carpenter bought lands and built to an extent beyond the ability of the settlers to follow him. He therefore fell into embarrassment. Besides his improvements in the city, he had extensive mill enterprises in Bucks county. In a letter written to Jonathan Dickinson in 1705, Carpenter says: "Upon the falling off of trade, and losses and disappointments in many ways, I have of late in my endeavors to sell what I can to pay off debts, and if it please God to spare my life to disencumber myself before I die, which is and hath been very burdensome to me ; so that, although I am possessed of a very considerable estate, I am very uneasy and look upon myself as very unhappy, and worse than those who are out of debt, although but mean or have but little of this world's goods " In this letter Carpenter offers to sell various pieces of property to Dickinson. Among them were a "parcel of corn-mills and saw-mills at Bristol, over against Burlington," upon a creek within a quarter of a mile of the Delaware, where a " vessel of good burthen may come to the tail of the mills to load or unload." Besides these mills, there were islands in the Delaware of about three hundred and fifty acres, land and town-lots near two thousand acres in that neighborhood. He had also five thousand acres of land on the Pennypack and Poquessing Creeks, a house and granary on his wharf 42 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. in the city, warehouses, three-sixteenths of a mine, interests in the Chester mills, the Coffee-House and Globe, and other properties. He was considered at one time the wealthiest man in the Province, but Logan said, in 1703, he had become much embarrassed. He died April 10, 1714, after an illness of two weeks, at his house in King street, now Water street, between Chestnut and Walnut, and left considerable property, having in some degree recovered from his difficulties. Friends' Meeting, shortly after his death, adopted a minute in relation to Samuel Carpenter, in which it was said : " He was a pattern of humility, patience, and self-denial ; a man fearing God and hating covetousness, much given to hospitality and good works. He was a loving, affectionate husband, tender father, and a faithful friend and brother He was ever ready to help the poor and such as were in distress His memory' is precious to the living and renowned among the just." J. Meredith Read says that an original portrait of Samuel Carpenter was for a long time in the hands of his great-granddaughter, Mrs. Isaac C. Jones, and a copy exists in the hands of Samuel Carpenter of Salem, N. J. It was in this slate-roof house of Carpenter's that William Penn, with his wife Hannah (the daughter of Thomas Callowhill) and his daughter Letitia, lived during the greater portion of his second visit to Pennsylv^ania, and in it was born his son John Penn, commonly called " the American," the only member of the family who was not born in England. On his second visit the proprietar)' arrived in the Delaware in the ship Canterbury, Captain Fryers, December i, 1699. At Chester a military salute was fired in honor of his coming — a ceremony which resulted disastrously to one of the participants, who had his hand and arm shot off, results from which he died four months afterward. This misfortune occasioned delay, so that Penn did not arrive at the city until Sunday, the 3d. From the wharf he paid a visit to Governor Markham, perhaps at the Penn Cottage, thence to Friends' Meeting, at Second and Market streets, where he " spoke on a double account to the people." Afterward, Penn, with James Logan, went to the house of Edward Shippen, in Second street above Spruce, which probably from that cir- cumstance was in after days frequently called the Governor's House, where they lodged for a month. Some time in January, 1700, the pro- prietor and family, with Logan, removed to the Slate-Roof House, which must have been already furnished, and had been probably occupied by Carpenter himself John Penn was born at this house on the 29th of THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 43 January. Here they remained until the ist of November, 1701, when the family embarked on board the ship Dalmahoy, Captain John Fitch, and sailed back to England, none of them to return except the little American, who in after years came back to sojourn for a time at his birthplace. Isaac Norris, writing in March, 1701, said :" Their little son is a comely, lovely babe, and has much of his father's grace and air, and hope he will not want a good portion of his mother's sweetness, who is a woman extremely well beloved here, exemplary in her station, and of an excellent spirit, which adds lustre to her character, and has a great place in the hearts of good people." In September, 1701, Penn very unwillingly made preparations for his return. Money was his great anxiety. He wrote to Logan : " The necessity of my going makes it absolutely necessary for me to hav^e a supply, and though I think 1000 pounds should forthwith be raised by friends at least to help me, yet while land is high and valuable, I am willing to dispose of many good patches that else I should have chosen to have kept." How to sell and whom to sell to were the principal points in this letter, together with the unwill- ingness of his wife and daughter to stay. During his occupation of the Slate-Roof House, Penn maintained a certain amount of dignity, more becoming to a nobleman than to a Quaker. In Ncn's from Pennsylvania, pub- lished in London in 1703, and said to have been written by Francis Bugg, the Quakers are abused roundly, and the following description is given of the manner in which William Penn lived : " Our present governor, William Penn, wants the sacred unction, tho' he seems not to want majesty, for the grandeur and magnificence of his mien (tho' his clothes be sordid in re- spect to his mind, being not arrayed in royal robes) is equivalent to that of the Great Mogul, and his word in many cases as absolute and binding. The gate of his house (or palace) is always guarded with a janisary armed with a var- nished club of nearly ten foot long, crowned with a large silver head, embossed and chased as an hieroglyphic of its master's pride. There Penn's Proprietary Seat,, 44 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHIIADEIPHIA. are certain days in the week appointed for audience, and as for the rest, you must keep your distance. His corps du guard generally consists of seven or eight of his chief magistrates, both ecclesiastical and civil, which always attend him, and sometimes there are more. When he perambulates the city, one bareheaded, with a long, white wand over his shoulder, in imitation of the Lord Marshal of England, marches grandly before him and his train, and sometimes proclamation is made to clear the way." This satirical rogue, who was an apostate Quaker, and was become a red-hot Churchman, had little patience with the operations of Friends, which he did not scruple to stigmatize as controlled by pretence and luxury. Hence, said he, at their meeting-houses " first Williafii leads the van like a mighty champion of war, rattling as fast the wheels of his leathern conveniency. After him follow the mighty Dons accord- ing to their several movings, and then for the Chorus the Feminine Prophets tune their Quail pipes for the space of three or four hours, and having ended as they began with bowlings and yawlings, hems and haws, gripings and graspings, they spend the remainder of the day in feasting each other, and to-morrow they go into the country, and so on from meeting-house to meeting-house till, like the Eastern armies in former times, they have devoured all the provisions both for men and beasts about the country, and then the spirit ceasing they return to their own outward homes." Before Penn left the Province he signed the great Charter of Privi- leges, granted a charter to the city of Philadelphia, and made other ar- rangements for the benefit of the people whom he left behind him. Ad- dressing Logan from on shipboard before he left the Delaware, he said: " I have left thee in an uncommon trust with a singular dependence on thy justice and care, which I expect thou will faithfully employ in advancing my honest interests.". ..." Thou may continue in the house I lived in till the year is up Give my dear love to all my friends, who I desire may labor to soften angry spirits and to reduce them to a sense of their duty ; and at thy return give a small treat in my name to the gentlemen at Philadelphia for a beginning to a better understanding, for which I pray the Lord to incline their hearts, for their own ease as well as mine and my friends." The parties to this treat were men- tioned in a subsequent letter from Logan to Penn, in which he said: " When I came to town, I made bold to give a small treat at Andrews' THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 45 to the governor [Andrew Hamilton], Richard Halliwell, Jasper Yeats, J. Moor, and some such others about a dozen, including T. Farmer and the other owners of the small yacht or vessel the family were down to Newcastle in, on thy behalf in thy name, which being very well timed and managed, was, I have reason to believe, of good service." John Penn, "the American," who was born in the Slate-Roof House, was educated in England. By the will of his father, which was proved at London November 3, 17 18, was devised all the proprietary lands in Pennsylvania, and the proprietary government to the Earl of Oxford, Earl Mortimer, and Earl Powlett, in trust for Penn's children by his wife Hannah, " in such proportion and for such estates as she should think fit." Thus the mother had full power of distribution according to her own discretion. Shortly after the will was proved she con- veyed to the trustees three-sixths — one-half of the proprietary inter- ests — to young John Penn, subject to the payment of ^i 500 to his sister Margaret. The other sons, Thomas, Richard, and Dennis, were granted three-sixths as joint tenants. Dennis died February 6, 1722, and three years afterward a new conveyance was made — one-half to John Penn, subject to payments to his sister Margaret, and the other half to Thomas and Richard as joint tenants. Margaret married Thomas Freame. Possibly the property was not considered sufficient to maintain all the children of Hannah Penn without the necessity of labor or employment. Two of them were brought up to business. This might have been prudence merely, and Hannah Penn was recognized as a sensible and practical woman. In a deed between the children of Hannah, July 5, 1727, for adjusting all disputes and controversies between them, John Penn, the American, is styled " gentleman," Thomas, his brother, merchant, Richard, woollen-draper, and Mar- garet, who afterward married Thomas Freame, spinster. John Penn visited Pennsylvania in 1734. arriving in September. Thomas had come over two years before, and was received with great ceremony, a reception at the lower ferry and an escort into town. The City Council provided "a decent collation to entertain him at the expense of the corporation." The churchwardens and vestry of Christ Church gave him a banquet, as did the Assembly, and there being chiefs of Indian nations in town, the " fire-engines played all the afternoon, and diverted the chieftains greatly." When John Penn 46 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. came he was accompanied by his sister, Margaret Freame, and her husband, and there was much ceremony — an escort from the Schuyl- kill, reception by the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen, a speech by the Recorder, a procession, firing guns, addresses, and a feast by the City Councils, which cost £^0 \2s. 2d. The "American" returned the compliment. He gave an entertainment at Shewbart's coffee-house to the Assembly, and the next day to the city corporation, and after about a year spent in the Province he returned to England in the London packet. He died October 29, 1746. unmarried, and devised his interest in Pennsylvania to his brother Thomas for natural life, and the remainder to the sons of the latter. Logan had permission to live in the Slate-Roof House until " the year was up," which must have been in January, 1702. In May, 1702, Logan writes to Penn : " I am forced to keep this house still, there being no accommodation to be had elsewhere for public business Jacob Taylor likewise tables here [the office must pay for him], and holds it in thy closet that was, the books, etc. being removed into the next room just above it." In June, Lord Cornbury came to Philadel- phia to proclaim Queen Anne. Logan entertained him in the Slate- Roof House, and writing to Penn, said : "I hasted down to make pro- vision, and in a few hours' time had a very handsome dinner, really equal, they say, to anything he had seen in America." That night Cornbury lodged at Edward Shippen's, and dined the next day there. Logan hurried off to Pennsbury, where a handsome country entertain- ment was got ready for his lordship, then on his way back to New York. Cornbury was well pleased with the house, garden, and orchards at Pennsbury. His coming created much attention and some excite- ment. Noblemen were not plentiful on this side of the Atlantic, and we can fancy the dissatisfaction and dismay of the old woman who hastened out of her house to enjoy the reception and procession to the great man, and declared that she could discover no "difference between him and other men, save that he wore leather stockings." He was the son of Henry Hyde, second Earl of Clarendon, and was at this time governor of New York and New Jersey. His aunt married the Duke of York, afterward James II., and Mary, who was queen with Prince William of Orange, and Anne, who afterward came to the throne, were his cousins. Cornbury, so nearly related to royalty, was, therefore, a man of importance, but he was of small mental capacity, wanting in THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 47 balance, who conducted himself on some occasions like a fool. At New York he ran into excesses, clothed himself in female apparel, and was guilty of many disgraceful antics. Logan remained in the Slate- Roof House until Governor John Evans, William Penn, Jr., and Judge Mompesson arrived from England, when the four young men went to- gether and kept bachelor's hall at the Clark mansion, afterward Pember- ton's, south-west corner of Third and Chestnut streets. Before Logan left the Slate-Roof House it was purchased in the latter part of 1703 by William Trent for ;^850. Trent was a native of Scotland, born at In- verness, and came to Philadelphia at an early age, where he became at manhood a merchant. He bought a large tract in the lower part of the city, lying adjacent to the road to Passyunk, about 1701, and shortly afterward built there a house which was called the Plain Pleasant House. It was situated near the intersection of Passyunk road and Broad street, and was lately standing. Trent did not remove to the Slate-Roof House immediately, and for a time he was Penn's landlord of the premises. He moved into the house after Logan left it. His wife, who was a sister of Judge Coxe, died in that house. Trent was member of the Governor's Council, being appointed in 1704, member of the Assembly 1710-11, also 1716-17-18, when he was elected Speaker; Justice of the Supreme Court 17 15. He became interested in property near the Assanpink Creek, New Jersey, where he bought 800 acres in 17 14. Here he set up mills and other improve- ments, and a settlement was commenced to which was given the name of Trentstown or Trentown, which finally became Trenton. Gradually his New Jersey interests carried him to that Province, where he finally settled and became Speaker of the House and Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, dying on Christmas Day, 1724. His second wife was Mary Burge, daughter of Samuel Eckley of Philadelphia. The family has been brought down to the present time in the Trents of South Carolina and Tennessee, and the Rossel family of Trenton. In 1709, Logan apprised Penn that Trent was about to sell out the Slate-Roof House, " with the improvement of a beautiful garden. I wish it could be made thine, as nothing in this town is so well fitting for a governor; his price at ^^"900 of our money, which it is hard thou canst not spare. I would give ;^20 to ^30 out of my own pocket that it were thine — nobody's but thine." But Penn did not buy it. It fell into the possession of the first Isaac Norris, who lived in it until he removed to 48 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. his country-seat at Fairhill in 17 1/. The ownership continued in the Norris family down to 1868, when it was sold by Sally Norris Dickin- son, a descendant of Isaac Norris, to the Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia, which erected thereon the Corn Exchange Building, dedi- cated March i, 1869, burned December 7 of the same year, and rebuilt and put in service as the Commercial Exchange in the year 1870. Concerning the history of this house between 1717, when Isaac Nor- ris removed from it, and 1764, when Mrs. Graydon became the lessee, little is known. It became a fashionable boarding-house, and had a va- riety of occupants. Brigadier-General John Forbes, who had been sent over in 1758 by the British government to superintend the military ope- rations in Pennsylvania against Fort Du Quesne, died in Philadelphia, upon his return from his expedition, in March, 1759. He was boardmg at Mrs. Howell's in Second street, and Mrs. Howell was the lady who was then living in the Slate-Roof House. There were important mili- tary ceremonies on the occasion. It was the first time that a brigadier- general of the British army had died in Philadelphia, and all that could be done for a soldier's funeral was faithfully carried out. The Seven- teenth regiment and two companies of Colonel Montgomery's regiment attended the funeral with two pieces of cannon. The governor, mem- bers of the Council, judges, magistrates, and gentlemen marched two by two. A led horse, with the usual accompaniment of empty boots, pistols, cocked hat, etc., attracted much attention. The funeral proces- sion passed up Second street to Christ Church, where, after appropriate religious ceremonies, the body was buried in the chancel. Graydon, in his Memoirs, does not state how long his mother remained in the Slate-Roof House, and there is no means of judging from his narrative whether the persons whom he speaks of lodged at the old house in Second street, or the still " more commodious one " in the upper part of Front street to which he some years afterward removed. Mrs. Graydon had a succession of notable and agreeable lodgers. Her son said of them : " Among these were persons of distinction, and some of no distinction; many real gentlemen, and some, no doubt, who were really pretenders to the appellation ; some attended by servants in gay liveries, some with servants in plain clothes, and some with no servants at all." British officers particularly liked boarding in Mrs. Graydon's house. The Highlanders and the Royal Irish displayed their uniforms in its parlor. The Baron de Kalb, who, Graydon says, visited America THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 40 about 1768 or 1769, was a lodger. He was at that time an officer of the French army, and had been sent during the Seven Years' war to America as the civil agent of the French government in order to ascertain the sen- timents of the colonists toward Great Britain, the French court even at that time perceiving how England could be weakened if the American Colonies were separated from her. De Kalb during this visit was ar- rested — not in Philadelphia, however — as a suspicious person. Nothing was found upon him, and he was discharged. Subsequently he went to Canada and returned to France. He came back to the United States in 1777, offered his services to Congress, was made a major-general, and fell gallantly at the battle of Camden, S. C, whilst fighting on foot and commanding the right wing under Gates. He was a native of Alsace, German by descent, but made a Frenchman by the conquest of that province. " The steady and composed demeanor of the baron," said Graydon, " bespoke the soldier and philosopher — the man who had calmly estimated life and death, and, though not prodigal of the one, had no unmanly dread of the other." A person called Badourin, who " wore a white cockade, and gave himself out as a general in the Aus- trian service," but who eventually decamped without paying his board bill, and was possibly an impostor, was for a time a member of Mrs. Graydon's family. Major George Ethrington of the Royal Americans, on the recruiting service, who had risen from a drummer to rank as a commander of a battalion, was a man of the world who had a large knowledge of human nature and employed it shrewdly for the benefit of His Majesty's service; General John Reid, who died 1807 in his 87th year, the oldest officer in the service, was a fine performer on the German flute; Captain Wallace, of the Royal Navy, an officer, but not a gentleman; and other military and notable people were lodged in this house. Sir William Draper, general in the English service, brigadier at Belle Isle in 1761, and leader of the land-forces at Manilla in 1763, Knight of the Bath, and, after he left the Slate-Roof House, lieutenant-governor of Minorca, was among the inmates of Mrs. Graydon's family. His character as a soldier is one of which he had a right to be proud, but unluckily he got himself mixed up in the " Junius " controversy by an act of unnecessary gallantry. When the Great Unknown in 1769 attacked the Marquis of Granby, Draper boldly came forward under his own signature in defence of the nobleman. " Junius " turned at once upon the unlucky friend, against whom he aimed several epistles sharp 4 50 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and full of polished invective, which Draper with all his skill was unable to parry successfully. What the knight came to America for maybe conjectured. He was not on this side of the water more than a year, but during the time married the rich Miss Delancey. Rivington, the printer, who carried on business in Philadelphia before he went to New York, and celebrated afterward as the printer of that atrocious Tory sheet, the New York Gazette, during the British occupation of the city, ate and slept at the Slate-Roof House, and was chiefly distin- guished for the volubility with which he spouted poetry. Greater than these guests of Mrs. Graydon were John Hancock and George Washington, the latter, probably, during the early weeks of the session of the Congress of 1775, before he was appointed commander-in-chief. In contrast to the men of war who submitted to the regulation of Mrs. Graydon's family, her son mentions with admiration a few of the ladies who enlivened the family. Among these were Lady Moore, wife of Sir Henry Moore, the last British governor of New York, and her pretty daughter, a " sprightly miss, not far advanced in her teens," and who had apparently no dislike to be seen. Graydon flattered himself that " she was condescendingly courteous." But it was not for him, the son of a boarding-house keeper, to aspire in those ante-Revolutionary days to the daughter of a baronet and one of his mother's chief boarders. Lady Susanna Maria Louisa O'Brien, commonly called Lady Susan O'Brien, with her husband, was an occupant of the mansion. She was a daughter of Stephen Fox, first Earl of Ilchester, and a niece of the first Lord Holland. She was painted with her two sisters — Lady Lucy, who afterward married Hon. Stephen Digby, and Lady Christian Harriet Caroline, who afterward married Colonel Ackland of the British army — in the famous picture of the Beauties of Holland House. Her father employed as a teacher in elocution a gay and gallant actor, William O'Brien, who had figured on the London stage during the time of Garrick, Barry, and Woodward. Churchill in the Rosciad charged O'Brien with being an imitator of Woodward : " Shadows behind of Foote and Woodward came — Wilkinson this, O'Brien was that name. Strange to relate, but wonderfully true, That even shadows have their shadows too ! With not a single comic power endued. The first a mere mere mimic's mimic stood. THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. The last, by Nature formed to please, who shows In Johnson's Stephen wliich way genius grows ; Self quite put off, affects with too much art To put on Woodward in each mangled part — Adopt his shrug, his wink, his stare : nay. more. His voice, and croaks ; for Woodward croaked before. When the dull copier simple grace neglects, And rests his imitation in defects, We readily forgive ; but such vile arts Are double guilt in men of real parts." Lady Susanna was young and susceptible. O'Brien was handsome, graceful, and easy. Admiration soon ripened into love, and the actor in 1764 married the earl's daughter, greatly to the horror of the family. Lady O'Brien with her husband came to New York in April, 1765. By recommendation of the young wife's uncle, the first Lord Holland, the couple became the guests of Sir William Johnson, the great friend of the Indians of the Six Nations, who possessed much influence with that confederacy. They went to Johnson Hall on the Mohawk, where they were guests for some time, and Lord Adam Gordon, afterward commander-in-chief of the army in Scotland, who met Lady Susan and her husband, took a strong liking to him. He wrote to Lord Holland and recommended a reconciliation, saying that O'Brien seemed to be a " worthy young man, possessing in the highest degree the affections of his wife." Sir Henry Moore and his wife and daughter were guests at Johnson Hall in 1766, and it is possible that an acquaintance commenced there which brought Lady O'Brien and her husband to Philadelphia, The latter, it is said, held some office in the Colonies under the government through the influence of his wife's family, but it is not known what the office was if it ever had existence. Lady Harriet Fox, sister of Lady Susan, married Major John Dyke Ackland of the Twentieth British regiment of foot, and attended him during a long and perilous campaign in America. It is said that she became a widow and married a chaplain in Burgoyne's army. But the latter part of this story lacks confirmation. Wilkinson in his Memoirs says that Major Ackland fell in a duel, and that his wife bceame insane through much suffering and privation. Here, at the Slate-Roof House, Rivington and one Rumsey, with Doctor Kearsley, doubtless the younger, perpetrated, as Graydon tells us, a " howl," to the annoyance of the other boarders, in which the 52 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. " doctor, mounted on horseback, rode into the back parlor, and even up stairs, to the great disturbance and terror of the family ; for it may- well be supposed there was a direful clatter." Kearsley scarcely imagined while engaged in this prank that the day would come when he would be ridden through the town in such a fashion as created no amusement either to himself or others. He became a violent Tory at the outbreak of the Revolution. He was of fiery temper and saucy impulse, and gave much umbrage to the Whigs. He lacked prudence also, and was not skilled in the art of holding his tongue. In July, 1775, Isaac Hunt, a lawyer, father of the celebrated English author, Leigh Hunt, undertook to apply a little of King George III.'s law to the Committee of Inspection and Observation of the city of Philadelphia, a Revolutionary body, the existence of which was in entire subversion of the order of things which remained in the city before the news was received of the battle of Lexington. Hunt determined to put the old-fashioned remedy of a writ of replevin in force to test the legality of the proceedings of the committee, and the committee gave Mr. Hunt a taste of the new code. They put him in a cart, formed a procession, playing the Rogue's March as they proceeded, took a circuit of the city, and stopped in front of the house of Dr. John Kearsley, Jr. The latter could not restrain his anger at witnessing the insult to his fellow-Tory. Throwing up the window of his house with pistol in hand, he snapped the weapon twice in the face of the crowd, fortunately without effect. This foolish proceeding was resented. Hunt was released and escorted home. Kearsley 's house was entered, and the doctor, despite resistance, during which he was wounded in the hand, was carried out and put in the place of Hunt in the cart. Graydon tells the story thus : •* He was seized at his own door by a party of the militia, and in the attempt to resist them received a wound in his hand from a bayonet. Being overpowered, he was placed in a cart provided for the purpose, and amidst a multitude of boys and idlers paraded through the streets to the tune of the Rogue's March. I happened to be at the Coffee-House when the concourse arrived there. They made a halt, while the doctor, foaming with rage and indignation, without his hat, his wig dishevelled, and bloody from his wounded hand, stood up in the cart and called for a bowl of punch. It was quickly handed to him, when, so vehement was his thirst, that he drained it of its contents before he took it from THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 53 his lips. What were the feelings of others on this lawless proceeding, I know not ; but mine, I must confess, revolted at the spectacle." They let the doctor off with the carting, and did not tar and feather him, as had been proposed, very much to the disappointment of that interesting portion of the population who liked to see sights. The part which Dr. Kearsley took against the Whigs was the cause of great misfortune. He was arrested shortly after he was carted, having been detected in sending a letter to England giving an account of his sufferings, and containing, according to Christopher Marshall's state- ment, " cruel invectives against the liberties and calculated by wicked men to inflame the minds of the people of England against the Colo- nies in general." Kearsley, with Leonard Snowden and James Brooks, together with Rev. Jonathan Odell, minister of the Church of England at Burlington, who had also written letters, were taken into custody and confined in the State-House. The epistles were found sewed up in a garment belonging to a woman who was with Carter, a passenger, who was to carry the letters. They were addressed to Lord Dartmouth and other ministers in the care of Thomas Corbin and Mrs. McCauley. In Kearsley's letters he asked that five thousand regulars should be sent over, on the landing of which force he would raise five thousand more if he was appointed to bear the royal standard, and boasted that he made five thousand men run by snapping his pistols. A drawing accompanied the letter representing Kearsley in the cart with a halter around his neck, which it was designed should be engraved in London to influence the royal cause. Plans of the Delaware bay and river were also in the collection, and the intention was to injure the patriot move- ment. This was too much. The party was tried before the Committee of Safety in the lodge-room in Lodge Alley. The society of Englishmen called the Sons of St. George, of which Dr. Kearsley was a member, forthwith expelled him. Toward the end of October, Kearsley was sent to Lancaster as a prisoner, where he became a maniac, and died in 1777. Meanwhile, he was attainted of treason and his estates confiscated. He was a nephew of Dr. John Kearsley, the founder of Christ Church Hospital, the architect of Christ Church building, and to whom has been occasionally but erroneously ascribed the distinction of having been the architect of the State-House building. Upon the heels of the British army after their departure from Phila- delphia, besides Arnold, came Steuben with Peter S. Duponceau, his 54 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. aide-de-camp. They became temporary occupants of the Slate-Roof House, of which his reminiscences are these : " The first observation I made on entering Philadelphia was that the city had been left by the British and Hessians in the most filthy con- dition. I joined Baron Steuben at the Slate-House in Second street, the celebrated boarding-house so much spoken of in Graydon's Memoirs. Such was the filth of the city that it was impossible for us to drink a comfortable dish of tea that evening. As fast as our cups were filled myriads of flies took possession of them, and served us as the harpies did the poor Trojans in the Aineid. Some said they were Hessian flies, and various other jokes were cracked on the occasion, for the evacuation of the city had put us all in good spirits, and we enjoyed ourselves very well, the filth notwithstanding. The next day a house was provided for us in New street, where we stayed but a few days, being anxious to join the army. That quarter of the city was inhabited almost entirely by Germans ; hardly any other language but the German was heard in the streets or seen on the signs in front of the shops, so that Baron Steuben fancied himself again in his native country, A great number of the inns in town and country bore the sign of the king of Prussia, who was very popular, particularly among the Germans. We were, however, not captivated with the delights of Capua ; we bade adieu to Philadelphia and all its German attractions, and joined General Washington's army in New Jersey." After the departure of Mrs. Graydon the occupancy of the Slate- Roof House was generally by undistinguished persons. A Madame Berdeau kept a boarding-school there toward the end of the last century, who tradition says was the widow of the well-known Dr. Dodd, somewhat notorious as the first person in England who was executed for forgery. It might have been. Dr. William Dodd was executed July 27, 1777. He was then forty-eight years old. His well-known poems, Tlwughts on Death and Rcfiections o?i Death, writ- ten in better years, were not indications by their sentiment and morality of the shameful end of the life of the author upon the scaffold. Afterward the building became a workshop, a place of business, a tenement-house. In time it came to be numbered 87 South Second street. Thomas Billington, tailor, lived in it in 1795. In 1801, William Carr, engraver, John Draper, engraver, John Webb, tailor, and Patrick THE SLATE-ROOF HOUSE. 55 Kennedy, watchmaker, were tenants of the old mansion. About that time it is a fair presumption that the space between the bastions, as Graydon calls them, was filled up by a frame building two stories in height at the garret, which was divided into two shops. These apartments ran through a great variety of uses. Joseph Marshall and Robert Tempest became tenants of the bastion wings at the corner of Norris Alley as early as 18 12. They were goldsmiths and silversmiths, and remained upon the premises nearly half a century, until it ceased to be available for business purposes. In latter times their establishment looked old and seedy enough, and the casual passer-by must have wondered how the establishment got business enough to support it. But when the young proprietors opened their shop at that place they occupied the best stand in town, exactly in the centre of business and fashion. In fact, everything going on in Philadelphia worth seeing was visible in the neighborhood. In times still later there was a famous oyster-cellar opened in the south bastion, to which the merchants and bankers adjourned from the mart of busi- ness opposite and ate their oysters and drank their gin and brandy, bought out of the very cellars in which a century and a half before the proprietor had stored his madeira and his beer. The shops in the first story were in time degraded to the sale of second-hand clothes, fruits, shells, and curiosities, and in the upper stories carpenters sawed and hammered and painters daubed window-shutters and sashes in the most sacred of the chambers. Practically, there was no reverence for the old house, and it was time that it should fall. British Coat-of-Arms. SWEDES' CHURCH (GLORIA DEI). HE famous Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, in his charter to the first West India Company of 1626, declared that there Iu\ was a duty in relation to the heathen people inhabiting rich lands in America, and said, the " hope strengthens of bring- ing such people easily, through the setting on foot of commer- ^ cial intercourse, to a better civil state and to the truths of the Christian religion ;" and he declared that the company should be instituted for the " spread of the Holy Gospel and the prosperity of our subjects." Twelve years afterward the first party of Swedish emigrants arrived upon the Delaware, bringing with them a clergyman, Rev. Reorus Torkillus. Governor John Printz brought another clergy- man, Rev. John Campanius, in 1643. A church was established at Tinicum in 1646, and when Rev. John Campanius began to officiate and preach according to the Swedish Lutheran service, the Indians who came to hear him became strangely suspicious. They greatly wondered that he had so much to say, and that he talked so much, and stood alone, while the rest were in silence. " They thought every- thing was not right, and that some conspiracy was going forward amongst us." The Rev. Jacobus Fabritius was the first minister of the church at Wicaco, where he began to preach on Trinity Sunday in 1677. He was a Dutchman, and was unable to preach in Swedish according to the wants of his congregation, but it is supposed that by the intercourse between the Dutch and Swedes on the Delaware, and the similarity of dialects, there was not much difficulty on the part of the congregation in understanding him. This, at all events, was the best the Swedes could do, and Fabritius remained pastor of the SWEDES' CHURCH {GLORIA DEI). 57 Wicaco Church for fourteen years, during nine of which he was bHnd. The estabh'shment of this the first church in the hmits of what was afterward Philadelphia county was in a blockhouse erected for defence against the Indians, and situate near the Delaware River in what sub- sequently turned out to be the district of South wark. The block- house is supposed to have been a small square building of logs with An Old Block- House. From Annals of the Swedes on the Delaware, by Rev. Jehu C. Clay. Philadelphia, 1858. loopholes for defence, which was built in 1669. The court at New- castle, in 1675, directed that a church or place of meeting should be built at Wicaco, to be paid for by general tax — a very early exempli- fication in America of the principle of Church and State. It is be- lieved that this direction was not carried out, for which reason the old blockhouse became convenient as a place of worship. Fabritius died probably about 1691-92. The congregation was then without a pastor. The church was supplied by Andrew Bengsten or Bankson, a 58 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. layman and member of the congregation, for five or six years. The king of Sweden sent out a new delegation of clergymen, who arrived in 1696 or 1697. Among them was the Rev. Andrew Rudman, who was destined to take charge of the church at Wicaco. About this time a glebe was bought for the Wicaco church in Passyunk. Rud- man wrote : " The minister's garden and mansion-house are at a distance of four English miles from Philadelphia, a clever town built by Quakers." This ground was eighty acres in extent, situate at Point Breeze, exactly where the lower road running from the road to Penrose Ferry strikes the Schuylkill, proceeding up the bank past Port Gibson to the Gas-Works. The glebe was afterward enlarged by a purchase of sixteen acres more, and the whole tract of ninety-six acres cost £'jO. The glebe-house was erected shortly afterward, and was in turn the residence of Rev. Andrew Rudman, Rev. Andrew Sandel, Rev. Jonas Lidman, and J. Eneberg. The glebe-house was burned down in 17 17, but immediately rebuilt. About 1727 it was abandoned as a place of residence for the clergyman, a nearer and more eligible site having been procured at Wicaco, adjoining the church. Mr. Rudman and the Rev. Eric Bjork, who had taken charge of the lower church at Christiana, were anxious, as were the members of the congregation at Wicaco, to obtain a better place of meeting than that afforded by the blockhouse. Then there sprang up a warm controversy as to where the new church should be located. A large number of the Swedes were settled on the west side of the Schuylkill, and many along the Dela- ware. The western and southern party were in favor of the church being near the Schuylkill. The residents of Wicaco and Moyamen- sing, and the Swedes of Kensington, desired that the building should be erected near the site of the old blockhouse church. The disputes were long and warm, and neither party would give way. Finally, it was recommended to leave the matter to be settled by lot, which was agreed to. There were religious services, singing and prayer, in which the blessing of God was invoked on the undertaking, and His wisdom sought to direct the impending choice. Upon a piece of paper was written the word " Wicaco," upon another " Passyunk." These were folded up, shaken in a hat, and emptied on the ground, and the first one picked up bore the word '' Wicaco." Immediately all opposition ceased, a hymn of praise was sung, and those present by their signatures rati- fied the choice. Even then the matter was not settled. The church SWEDES' CHURCH {GLORIA DEI). 59 lot at Wicaco did not extend to the river Delaware. New dissensions arose from those who professed to fear danger from shipbuilding and other operations in the neighborhood. The project was nearly aban- doned. But better counsels at length prevailed. Subscriptions were obtained, and the ground in front of the church was purchased. The new building was commenced by the workmen who had just finished the Swedes' church at Christiana, now known as Wilmington, Delaware, shortly after the thirteenth Sunday after Trinity in 1698, and the site chosen was very near, or perhaps upon the identical ground occupied by, the blockhouse church. Joseph Yard was mason, bricklayer, Old Swedes' Church (Gloria Dei), present appearaiNce. plasterer, and laid the floor. John Smart and John Brett, carpenters, prepared the woodwork, doors, framework, windows, pews, and the woodwork and ironwork of the interior and exterior, except the pulpit, banisters, and pews, which were made by John Harrison. The founda- tion was of stone, upon which was placed walls of brick. The interior was sixty feet in length, thirty in breadth, and twenty in height, and was of the same size as the church at Christiana ; " Only," said Mr. Bjork in a letter to Sweden, " that one of the corners is shortened in order to make a belfry or steeple, which has been begun at the west 6o HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. end, but which must remain some time unfinished in order to see whether God will bless us so far that we may have a bell, and in what manner we can procure it." The building cost, when finished, about twenty thousand Swedish dollars, of which fifteen thousand dollars had already been collected at the time of dedication. That ceremony took place on the first Sunday after Trinity, 2d of July, 1700. On this occasion Rev. Mr. Bjork preached from Second Samuel, v. 29: "There- fore let it please Thee to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may continue for ever before Thee ; for Thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it, and with Thy blessing let the house of Thy servant be blessed for ever." The building was the handsomest church in the Province, and at the dedication there were present many from Philadelphia, to whom Mr. Bjork afterward delivered a summaiy of his discourse in the English language. At the time of the dedication the church was called " Gloria Dei." There was no steeple then. The porches on the north and south sides were not a portion of the original church, but were built in 1702 as supports of the walls, which at that time were consid- ered in danger of falling down. A bell was procured, at what time is unknown ; the present bell bears the inscription : "Cast for the Swedish Church in Philadelphia STYLED ' Gloria Dei,' Partly from the Old Bell, dated 1643. G. Hcdderly, Fecit, 1806. I to tlie church the living call, And to the grave do summon all." The old bell from which this was cast, dated 1646, must have been from the old Tinicum church. Hedderly was a bell-founder and coppersmith, who in 1806 kept his establishment at 63 South Fifth street. The cupola was erected upon the west tower after the bell was procured. An antique font of marble is still in possession of the church, and is believed to have been used either in the Tinicum church or the blockhouse church at Wicaco. On the front of the west gallery is an antique representation of two cherubs, with their wings spread over what is intended to represent the Holy Bible, on one of the open pages of which is the following passage from Isaiah in the Swedish language : " The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light," etc.; and on the other page, also in Swedish characters. SWEDES' CHURCH {GLORIA DEI). 6 1 that passage at which the angels on the birth of our Saviour are spo- ken of as celebrating the event in the anthem of " Glory to God in the highest," etc. A small organ was one of the acquisitions of the church, but it is not known when it was procured. The ground on which the church stands, an acre and a half and five perches, was given to the congregation by Catherine Swenson, daughter of Swen Swen- son, and by the daughters of Swen Swenson and their husbands — to wit: Swen and Bridgitta Boon, Hans and Barbara Boon, and Peter and Cathe- rine Bankson. Additions were made to the grounds at various times. An acre on the north was given by Hans and Margaret Boon his wife, and here was built the old parsonage about 1733, which stood till 1832, when it was replaced by a more commodious house. Twenty-five acres lying at Wicaco near the church were bought from Martha Cock, a granddaughter of Swen Swenson, in 17 19. This ground, it is said, extended west of the church beyond Tenth street. The church really owned at one time a considerable part of what was afterward called the districts of Southwark and Moyamensing. But how the property was parted with is not known by the modern church authorities. There is no evidence of its having been sold, nor was there effort to prevent " squatters " from taking possession of it and holding it. At all events, the church treasury realized nothing from this most valuable estate. During the eighteenth and part of the nineteenth century the suc- cession of ministers from Sweden continued. The names of Fabritius, Rudman, Bjork, Sandel. Lidman, and Eneberg have already been mentioned. Rudman in 1702 relinquished his charge, and became pastor of the Dutch church at Albany, N. Y. He did not remain there more than three years, when he returned in the character of mis- sionary of the British Society for Propagating the Gospel, commonly called the Venerable Society. He was pastor of Trinity Church, Oxford, and Christ Church in the city, in communion with the Church of England. He died in 1708, at the age of only forty, and was buried at Wicaco, where his tombstone still attests his labor and virtues. Rev. Gabriel Falck came in 1732, and remained a year. Rev. John Dylander succeeded, and preached from November 25, 1737, to November 2, 1742, when he died, aged thirty-two years. Tradition says that he had a fine voice, which was constantly heard in the church services. On his tombstone beneath the chancel at Wicaco is this inscription : 62 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. " While here he sang his Maker's praise ; The listening angels heard his song, And called their consort soul away, Pleased with a strain so like their own. " His soul, attentive to the call, And quickly listening to obey, Soared to ethereal scenes of bliss, Too pure to dwell in grosser clay." Rev. Gabriel Nesman, who arrived in 1743, held the pulpit for nearly seven years. The Rev. Olof Parlin, who succeeded Nesman, died December 22, 1757, aged forty-one years. He was buried at Wicaco by the side of his predecessors, Rudman and Dylander, and over his stone is the Latin inscription which commences, " Siste, viator, quisque et mortalis, funde lachrymas in hoc corruptionis domicilio." To this is added an English inscription setting forth the virtues of the deceased as a father, husband, and friend, and as a valiant and faithful soldier of Jesus Christ. Rev. Mr. Norderlind, who was an eloquent man and drew crowds whenever he preached, not only of Swedes but of English, succeeded for a time, but gave way to Rev. Charles Magnus von Wrangel, who came in 1759, remained till 1768, and returned to Sweden, where he was made a bishop. Rev. Andreas Goranson, sent from Sweden in 1766, took charge of Gloria Dei in 1768, and remained until the end of 1779. During the rectorship of Rev. Mr. von Wrangel, Gov. John Penn on the 25th of September, 1765, by charter united the Swedish Lutheran churches of Gloria Dei at Wicaco, St. James at Kingsessing, and Christ Church at Upper Merion. Rev. Mathias Hultzgren became pastor in January, 1780, and officiated until the spring of 1786, when he was succeeded by Rev. Nicholas Collin, the last of the Swedish pastors. He had been sent over from Sweden in 1770, and was stationed at Swedesboro', New Jersey, where he remained sixteen years. During the early portion of his term he was anxious to return to Sweden. The war was active and the situation was not tranquil. Permission was given him by the king of Sweden to return to his native country in 1783. By that time the establish- ment of peace had changed the condition of affairs, and Mr. Collin resolved to remain. The great difficulty by this time in conducting these churches was that in the ordinary pursuits of life in Philadelphia the Swedish tongue was superseded by the English, and the children of SWEDES' CHURCH {GLORIA DEI). 63 the communicants were ignorant of the language of their fathers. This was found to be an obstacle as early as 1722, when the subject of pro- viding a Swedish school was considered at a church meeting, and it was concluded that they themselves would instruct their children after they had learned to read English. In 1758 the congregation requested of the archbishop and consistory of Upsala in Sweden that their pastor might be allowed to preach occasionally in English, the Swedes and English becoming so mixed that it was necessary to render religious instruction in both languages. Rev. Nicholas Collin found this condi- tion of things an impediment, and the king of Sweden in 1785, noting the fact that the congregations " had nearly lost the language of their ancestors," which was a principal tie of their connection with Sweden, therefore ordered that congregations could not in future obtain any ministers from Sweden without formal stipulations to defray the whole expenses of the voyage coming and returning, and afford them decent support during their continuance in the ministry. And so in time the Swedish missions in Pennsylvania and Delaware all went out. Rev. Mr. Collin for forty-five years remained in charge of Glo- ria Dei, and was rector and provost of all the Swedish churches in Penn- sylvania. He became as well versed in the English as he was in his na- tive language. He was prominent in good works. He became a member of the American Philosophical Society. His taste inclined to mechanical inventions, and there are extant a few papers from his pen suggesting improvements in the simple machinery which then prevailed, for the wonderful days of intricate design and fulfilment by minds, nerves, and muscles of brass, steel, and iron had not yet come. He translated into English, for the New York Historical Society, Acrelius's description of New Sweden. The Philosophical Society elected him vice-president. He was member of the society to commemorate the landing of William Penn. Simple in habits, peculiar if not eccentric in manner, he was greatly beloved, and during half a century was known and respected by every resident of Philadelphia. He was called away on the 7th of October, 1831, in the 87th year of his age, and died calmly at the old parsonage at Wicaco. Good luck, it was believed, attended the nuptial unions of those who were married by this old Swedish minister. This was the reputation which obtained not only in Southwark, but in the city and neighboring counties. His assistance in tying the marriage knot was therefore above premium. The books of Gloria Dei show 64 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. that during Mr. Collin's ministry of that church he solemnized matrimony to the satisfaction — at the time, at least — of three thou- sand three hundred and seventy-five couples, an average of eighty- four couples a year. In the early part of his pastorship the average was much greater. He married one hundred and ninety-nine couples in 1795, and in the following year one hundred and seventy-nine. His record, still extant, states particularly all the circumstances connected with these marriages — on some occasions what he said to the parties, and what they said to him, and how much they paid for the minister's fee. Instances are recorded where parties on the wings of love came to be married at unseemly hours of the night, and how he — night-cap on head, it may be supposed — raised the window, spoke to them, and made them wretched by declaring that he could not perform the cere- mony until the morrow. Instances are given in which he refused alto- gether to officiate on account of obstacles which impressed his con- science. After the death of Mr. Collin there was a contest in the church as to what should become of it. All interest in the Swedish origin of the congregation had ceased. Some members preferred to remain in com- munion with the Lutheran churches ; others preferred the Protestant Episcopal. There were dissensions and a lawsuit or two, but the Church party triumphed, and in 183 1 Rev. Jehu Curtis Clay was elected rector of the Protestant Episcopal church of Gloria Dei. In defence of this change it is said in Rev. Jesse Y. Burk's sermon on the one hundred and seventieth anniversary of the old church that during Rev. Mr. Collin's rectorship he constantly used the Prayer-Book of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and that the Bishop of Pennsylva- nia regularly visited and confirmed in the Swedish churches. Mr. Clay, indeed, had been assistant minister to Dr. Collin, and officiated at Gloria Dei for one year before the death of Collin. He remained in this charge with much acceptation until his death. During his rectorship a move- ment was made to build a new church, but by his counsels and influence it was prevented, and measures were taken to alter the interior so as to make it more comfortable for modern use. This change was made in 1846. Rev. Snyder B. Simes, describing the condition of the church at that time, says : " Before the pews were altered and the galleries put in there was in the east end of the church an old-fashioned, octagon- shaped pulpit, with a small window behind, a large window originally 5 WEDES' CHUR CH ( GL OR I A DEI ) . 65 there having been boarded up outside, and bricked and plastered inside, and a small one placed in the centre. Over the pulpit was a sounding- board, and in the chancel a small reading-desk. There was an aisle leading from the west door up the middle of the church, and another across it from the south door to the north side of the church. The pews were high and uncomfortable ; but when in 1 846 the alterations were made, the church assumed the appearance it now presents " Rev. Mr. Clay died in 1863, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Leadenham, who had been his assistant in the last year of his life. The Rev. J. Sanders Reed was the next rector, and remained three years. He was succeeded in 1868 by Rev. Snyder B. Simes, who still (in 1877) holds the pulpit. Mr. Simes is a grandson of John Binns, once famous as political leader and editor of an influential newspaper in Pennsylvania, Mr. Binns made and unmade governors and other officers. He was a great friend of Simon Snyder and Joseph Findlay his successor. He turned against the latter before the conclusion of his term, and defeated his re-election. Governors Heister and Schulze were indebted to his powerful aid. His journal, the Democratic Pirss, superseded Duane's Aurora in influence in American politics. But at length the good for- tune of Mr. Binns departed with the advent of Andrew Jackson as a candidate for the Presidency. In 1824 the Democratic Press was in favor of William H. Crawford of Georgia for President, and opposed to the other principal candidates, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay. Crawford was the nominee of the Congressional caucus, and, according to every precedent, was entitled to the support of the Democratic party. But a feeling against caucus dictation had arisen, which commenced in Pennsylvania and worked itself into na- tional politics. The division in the Democratic party threw the elec- tion into the House of Representatives, and John Quincy Adams was chosen. During the campaign Mr. Binns had been extremely active against General Jackson, and originated and published the celebrated " Cofiin Handbills," which created great excitement. After the elec- tion of Adams the Democratic Press went over to the support of the administration. In 1828, General Jackson again came before the people as a candidate for the Presidency, with better prospects than before. The Democratic Press opposed him bitterly, and a new set of coffin handbills and " Monumental inscriptions " were issued. The tide was too strong. It swept General Jackson into the Presidential chair and the 66 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Democratic Press out of existence. It was sold to the Pennsylvania Inquirer. Mr. Binns, who during his days of power was appointed an alderman, withdrew to the magistracy and performed its duties with credit and dignity. He was a native of Ireland, born at Dublin De- cember 22, 1772. At the time of the political excitements in Ireland in 1792, Mr. Binns became interested on the patriot side, and soon was so active and energetic that his proceedings attracted the attention of the British government. He was accused of sedition, arrested at Bir- mingham in England in 1797, charged with seditious and inflamma- tory language, and convicted. In 1798 he was arrested and tried for high treason at Maidstone with James Coigley, Arthur O'Connor, James Allen, and Jeremiah O'Leary. Binns was sent to the Tower, and con- fined in the room once occupied by Lord Balmerino, a Scotch noble- man active in the rebellion of 1745, and afterward by Lord Ferrars. Binns was acquitted, but Coigley was convicted. After his discharge and a short respite, during which he was in business, he was again ar- rested, and put in Clerkenwell prison in 1798, where he remained until 1801, when he came to the United States, landed at Baltimore, and set- tled at Northumberland in Pennsylvania, where he established the Re- publican Argus early in 1802. He was induced to come to Philadel- phia, and on the 27th of March, 1807, published the first number of the Democratic Press. His life was active, and his services in many in- stances of advantage to public affairs. The ground adjoining Gloria Dei has been used for burial purposes since the church was built. Most of the old tomb- stones are obliterated : the oldest in the graveyard is in memory of Peter, the son of Andreas Sandel, minister of the church, who died 1708, aged two years and four months. The remains of Alexander Wilson the ornithologist lie in this yard, and the tomb is conspicuous near the western entrance of the church. Wilson, who was born at Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland, on July 6, 1766, came to America in 1794. He was by trade a weaver, and worked at that occupation in this country. But in 1800 he was induced to take charge of the Union school-house, Kingsessing. This was near the residence of the cele- brated naturalist, William Bartram. From the conversations of Bar tram, Wilson became an enthusiast in the study of ornithology. He left the school in 1804, held communion with Nature in the woodj and fields; and when he died in 181 3 seven volumes of the Americah 5 WEDES' CHUR CH ( GL ORIA DEI ) . 67 Ornithology, splendidly illustrated and written in an attractive style, had been brought out. Another prominent tombstone in this ground is erected to the memory of Joseph Blewer, a patriot of the Revolution, whose name is scarcely known at the present time, even in the neighborhood where his services were most prom- inent. He was of English parents, but was born in Pennsylvania in 1734, took to the sea, and became cap- tain of a vessel. He was an original member of the Society of Sons of St. George. He was a mem- Wilson School-house. ber of the Committee of Inspection and Observation in 1775 ; delegate to the Provincial Convention at Carpenters' Hall, June, 1776; mem- ber of the Council of Safety, July 23, 1776; member of the Penn- sylvania Navy Board in 1777. He was warden of the port in 1781, and died August 7, 1789. He was a citizen of worth and energy, and was well known to every patriot in " the times that tried men's souls." OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE. O sooner had William Penn granted to his daughter Letitia the large lot of ground upon Market street from Front to Second, upon which his cottage was built, than she showed great anxiety to realize on the investment. Four months after the transfer was made by her father she sold to Charles Read, merchant, by deed of 9th of 5th month (July), 1701, the finest piece of ground in the property at that time. It was situate at the south-west corner of Front and Market streets, with a breadth of twenty-five feet on Front street and a depth of one hundred feet on Market street. The purchase-money was one hun- dred and fifty pounds. Upon this lot Read shortly afterward built a house, which was probably finished in 1702. It is a house of two prin- cipal stones upon Front and Market streets. Above the eaves on each street springs a gable sufficiently high to accommodate two garret- rooms, the upper one perhaps too low to be used as a bed-room, so that the house may be said to be four stories high, or, prudently speak- ing, of three stories and an attic. It is of the width of twenty-five feet on Front street and probably of forty feet on Market street. There is a heavy eave from the second stor}', and the gables are timbered and squared near the apex, so that the building presents a quaint appear- ance. West of it, during Charles Read's time, there is every reason to suppose, there was a yard or garden, which was subsequently built upon until the whole lot became occupied. Charles Read was a per- son of considerable importance in the young Province. Logarv writes of him to Penn in 1702, in relation to some trans- actions in which he acted as appraiser, that he took him, " with the OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE. 69 most here, to be a truly honest man." He held several important offices. He was a member of the Assembly from the city in 1704-05 and 1722-23. He was a Common Councilman in 17 16, Alderman 1726, and Mayor of the city 1726-27. He was Sheriff of the county 1729-31 ; Justice of the Peace in 17 18 and until his death. He was clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions and Orphans' Court for some time before his death, which happened in 1737; member of the Governor's Council 1733, and judge of Admiralty under the king, appointed 1735. All these were highly important positions, showing that Mr. Read was a man of most excellent character, trustworthy in all respects. Two years after Read's death his widow conveyed the house and lot at Front and Market streets to Israel Pemberton, son of Phineas, who was a weighty man in the councils of the Society of Friends, a leader of great influence in Pennsylvania politics, whose counsels guided the Quaker party in its constant opposition to the policy of the proprietary family and their officers. Pemberton went into Common Council in 1718, and was alderman in 1722. He was elected to the Assembly in 1731, and was re-elected every session until 1750-51, when he declined a re-election from conscientious reasons. Pemberton, it is safe to assume, lived in this house for five or six years, and until he removed to Clarke Hall. By his will it became the prop- erty of his son John, and it was during the ownership of the latter that the house became appropriated to public uses. It is sufficient, in tra- cing out the title, to say that the property afterward belonged to the Pleasants, and to James Stokes. The latter bought it in 1796, the lot being then lessened to the depth of eighty-two feet, for the astonish- ingly large sum of ^8216 \->^s. A^d. Pennsylvania currency, at the rate of ;$2.66 per pound. The idea of establishing a coffee-house at this place originated in 1754. In Bradford's Journal of April ii of that year there is a notice that the " subscribers to a public coffee-house are invited to meet at the Court-house on Friday, the 19th instant, at 3 o'clock, to choose trustees agreeably to the plan of subscriptions." In 1755 the London Coffee-House trustees were George Okill, William Grant, William Fisher, and Joseph Richardson. They had collected at that time thirty shillings each from two hundred and thirty- two subscribers, and two at twenty shillings, making three hundred and forty-eight pounds. They had paid to William Bradford his account of the expense of opening said house, £<) 6s., and had lent him in 70 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Old London Coffee- House. cash, "pursuant to the plan of subscription," ;^259 6s. \ a balance of £(^o \AfS. was held in trust. Bradford made application to the Governor and Council for a license, in which he said : " Having been advised to keep a coffee-house for the benefit of merchants and traders, and as some people may at times be desirous to be furnished with other liquors besides coffee, your petitioner apprehends OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE. 7 1 that it is necessary to have the government Hcense." The term coffee-house had by this time ceased to distinguish a place in which coffee only was sold. The English coffee houses when first estab- lished were for the purposes of refreshment with a decoction of the fragrant berry, and were somewhat more respectable than the ordinary taverns. In time, however, tavern customs and manners invaded the coffee-house, until it became nothing more than a tavern under a more respectable name. William Bradford was grandson of that William Bradford who was the first printer in Pennsylvania, the latter being himself a son of William and Anne Bradford of Leicester, where he was born in 1658. William Bradford the first, being a Quaker, came over in 1682, and remained for about ten or eleven years, when, becoming involved in the political and religious controversies attending the schism of Robert Keith, he was imprisoned and punished as the author of a seditious paper, which induced him to remove to New York, where he became printer to the government. His son Andrew came back from New York in 17 12, and established the business of printing and bookselling, and in December, 17 19, together with John Copson, started the American Mercury, the first paper printed in Pennsylvania. William Bradford of the coffee-house was the son of William, Jr., and grandson of the first William Bradford. He was adopted by his uncle Andrew in Philadelphia when young, and instructed in the art of printing. In consequence of the second marriage of his uncle he lost his position in his regard and affections, the new wife being inimical to him. He had been partner with his uncle in the publication of the Mercury in 1739-40, but the connection was dissolved, and in the next year he went to England for a stock of books and printing materials, came back, and set up as a bookseller in Second street, between Market and Chestnut. Here he commenced a new paper, the Pennsylvania yournal, which was published without change up to 1800. He sold books at the sign of "The Bible" at Second and Black Horse Alley in 1743. After the coffee-house was opened the publication of the Penn- sylvania Journal was removed to an adjoining house on Market street. Mr. Bradford became interested in military matters as early as 1755, under the provincial militia law so called, which was really an act allowing of the formation of companies of volunteers, and did not compel military service or contribution toward it. The Association which had 72 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. been established in 1747 was also a voluntary force, set up by a move- ment among the people who were in favor of defence, assisted by the countenance and support of the proprietary government The militia of 1755 was really a volunteer force, as the Association was. William Bradford was elected captain of the company for Chestnut and Walnut wards before the end of December, 1754, and retained his connection with the military until and during the Revolution. He was a member of the committee with Robert Morris, Charles Thomson, and others which waited upon John Hughes, the stamp-agent in 1765, and requested him to resign. He signed the non-importation agreement in the same year, and on the day the Stamp Act was to go into effect brought out the Journal with ghastly emblems — skull, crossbones, pickaxe, coffin, etc. — and said in relation to the necessity of using the stamps or breaking the law: "The publisher of this paper, unable to bear the burden, has thought it expedient to stop a while, in order to deliberate whether any method can be found to elude the chains forged for us and escape the insupportable burden." When the Revolution broke out promotion had reached Bradford, and he held the commission of major. He served with a detachment of Philadelphia militia sent to the assistance of Washington in the bat- tle of Princeton in December, 1776. He was wounded on that occa- sion, and came back to Philadelphia with the rank of colonel. Colonel Bradford was active in connection with measures for the fortification of the Delaware at Fort Mifflin, Red Bank, and Billingsport. He was ap- pointed a member of the State Navy Board in February, 1777, and served in that important body with constant attention, intelligence, and patriotism as long as it remained in existence, a period of about eight months. He was appointed by the Supreme Executive Council, Sep- tember I, 1777, chairman of the committee to arrest "such persons as are inimical to the cause of American liberty." Under the authority of this committee a number of Quakers and Tories were arrested, some of whom were sent to Virginia. He remained in Philadelphia until near the time of the British occupation, when he removed to Mud Fort, afterward called Fort Mifflin, and was in that work during the whole of its terrible siege and bombardment by the British fleet and army, evacu- ating the fortress when the last commander withdrew. William Brad- ford, a son of Colonel Bradford, studied law and obtained high position. He was Captain and Deputy Muster-Master-General, with the rank of OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE. 73 colonel, in the Continental army. He was a graduate of Nassau Hall, Princeton; was appointed Attorney-General of Pennsylvania in 1780, appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1791, and in 1794 declined the commission of Federal Judge. Immediately af- terward he was appointed by Washington Attorney-General of the United States. His memoir, published in 1793, entitled An Inquiry hozv far the Punishment of Death is necessary in Pennsylvania, was one of the first essays which drew attention to the evil of capital punishment for inferior crimes, which was at the time a weakness in the administra- tion of the criminal law in America, England, and Europe. Attorney- General Bradford died August 22, 1795, ending a brilliant career in the fortieth year of his age. He married Susan Bergeman Boudinot, only daughter of Hon. Elias Boudinot, at one time member of Congress from New Jersey, and director of the United States Mint in 1796. The mother of Hon. William Bradford was Rachel, a daughter of Thomas Budd. William Bradford the elder lived with her forty-nine years, and died September 25, 1791. Besides his son William, he had two other sons, Thomas, and Schuyler, who died in the East Indies. One of his daughters married Elisha Boudinot of Newark, N. J. ; another married Joshua Wallace of the same state, and another Captain Thomas Huston, who commanded the gunboat flotilla in the Delaware during the Revolution. Thomas Bradford graduated at the College of Philadelphia ; became partner with his father in the publication of the Pennsylvania yoiirnal in 1762; was captain and lieutenant-colonel during the Revolution ; and published the True American after the Pennsylvania jfoiirnal was discontinued in 1801. In 1 8 19 the Tnie American was merged into the United States Gazette. One of his sons was Thomas Bradford, a prominent lawyer of Phila- delphia from 1799 until 185 1. He was nominated by President John Tyler Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, after the death of Judge Hopkinson. The Senate refused to ratify the nomination on political grounds, the defection of Tyler from the Whig party, which had elected him, having commenced. William Bradford, lawyer, and Vincent L. Bradford, also a member of the bar, and for some time President of the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad Company, were sons of Thomas Bradford. Judge T. Bradford Dwight of the Orphans' Court of Phila- delphia is a grandson. The wife of Thomas Bradford the lawyer, who 74 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. was grandson of Col. William Bradford, was Elizabeth, eldest daugh- ter of Vincent Loockerman, of Dover, Delaware. She was married to him April, 1805, and died April, 1842. Upon the retirement of the British army Col. Bradford in 1778 came back to the city, opened the Coffee-house, and re-established the Pennsylvania jfoitrnal. He found a change in the public mind as regarded the famous old place of resort. The City Tavern, a much larger and finer house, which had been built and opened shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution, in Second street above Walnut, had superseded the Coffee-house as the principal place of resort. Colonel Bradford relinquished the lease in 1780, and Gifford Dally rented the property of John Pemberton, who then owned it, on the strict covenant that Dally should " exert his endeavors as a Christian to preserve decency and order in said house;" that he would not allow cursing and swearing in it, or the playing of any games of cards, dice, or backgammon ; and that he would not keep the place open on the first day of the week. Dally did not remain in the establishment very long. James Stokes succeeded him in the occupation, but changed the business, so that the house was now used as a place of merchandise. He was in business there as early as 1790, and was probably estab- lished two years earlier. He remained at that corner for many years. Subsequently, the property passed through many hands. It was always used for business purposes. Samuel Croft, manufacturer, is or was lately owner, and has taken great pride and interest in an endeavor to maintain the old property as near as can be in a condition conforming to its original architecture and style. There had been coffee-houses and taverns before this one was established, which were places of resort for various classes of citizens. But there were none which might be conceded to be superior to all others as a central point for news and intercourse among leading citizens. The London Coffee-house satisfied this necessity. The respectability of Bradford and his long connection with the leading journal gave him a position and influence which insured success at the beginning to an enterprise which in other hands might have been a failure. The Coffee-house became at once a place of resort for the best people. Here merchants greatly did congregate ; captains repaired to the Coffee-house to make their reports and to discuss with consignees or consignors, as the case might be, the incidents of the last and the OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE. 75 expectations of the coming voyage. Strangers resorted to the Coffee- house for news. Provincial dignitaries, officers under the Crown and of the army and nav>', frequented the estabHshment in the colonial day;; and gave way in turn to rebel militiamen, Continental colonels and majors, and captains of the State and Continental flotillas and fleets. It was the head-quarters of life and action, the pulsating heart of excitement, enterprise, and patriotism as the exigencies of the times might demand. In front of the building public auctions were held ; many a slave, .stood up there on bench or box, was exhibited to the bystanders, and after strenuous efforts on the part of the auctioneer to obtain an exorbitant price was knocked down to the highest bidder. Here frequently the Sheriff was seen exposing to sale the real estate of some unfortunate debtor or putting up under proceedings in parti- tion property the proceeds of which were to be divided among anxious and expectant heirs. All Philadelphia ranged round this old building for a quarter of a century, and it was the scene of many excitements. Here in front of the central place of popular resort many curious scenes were enacted. In the street before the house in 1765 a harm- less newspaper published at Barbadoes, bearing a stamp according to the provisions of the Stamp Act, was publicly burned amidst the cheers of the bystanders ; and shortly afterward three nine-penny stamps, found in the possession of a certain Captain Malone of Halifax, and a sheet of stamped parchment, were subjected to the same ordeal. Some months afterward similar bonfires were made. Here, too, in May, 1766, Captain Wise of the brig Minerva, from Pool, England, who brought news of the repeal of the Stamp Act, was sent for by the gratified crowd, which escorted him from the wharf to the Coffee-house with colors flying and loud huzzas, and ordered to be prepared for him a foaming bowl of punch, in which he drank deeply to the sentiment " Prosperity to America !" after which he was com- plimented with the present of a gold-laced cocked hat, and gifts were made to his crew, lucky in being the bearers of such happy news. Here on the 3d of May, 1774, were burned in effigy figures repre- senting Thomas Hutchinson Governor of Massachusetts, and Alex- ander Wedderburn, British Solicitor-General, whose gross insults to Dr. Franklin, the agent of Massachusetts, when the cases of Hutchin- son and Oliver were before the Privy Council, had created great 76 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. excitement throughout America. The figures were covered with inscriptions pinned to the clothing; Hutchinson was represented with two faces. The placard upon the effigy of the solicitor commenced as follows : The Infamous Wedderburn. A pert prime prater of a scabby race, Guilt in his heart and famine in his face. Churchill (altered). Similis Proteo, niutet ut fallacior, Catalina Hunc vis Britanni Cavete. After being drawn through the principal streets, exposed to the hootings and jeers of the people, these figures were hung on a gallows in front of the Coffee-house. Faggots were piled around which were sprinkled with powder. By an ingenious and appropriate arrangement a train was laid from the pile, so that it was set on fire by an electric battery which probably belonged to Dr. Franklin himself The flames flashed up high around the effigies, and soon they fell into the fire — a consummation which the concourse gathered around hailed with loud cheers. A more significant bonfire took place in front of this house on the 8th of July, 1776, the day on which the Declaration of Independence was read in the State-House Yard by John Nixon. On that occasion a committee of Associators took down the king's arms, which had for years remained in the chamber of Supreme Court in the State-House, west room, first floor. These emblems of an authority which was no longer to be maintained in Pennsylvania were carried in procession to the London Coffee-house, and there burned in the open street. In 1775, Isaac Hunt, a Tory lawyer, father of the famous English author Leigh Hunt, who was carted, accompanied by a procession, to the tune of the " Rogue's March," in consequence of his attempting to stem the popular current, stood up in front of the Coffee-house, humbly acknowledged that he did wrong, and put himself under the protection of the Associators to shield him from the mob. To the same place on the same day was carted Dr. Kearsley, who afterward became involved in the same proceeding, and there drank down a bowl of punch to quench the thirst created by excitement and anger. Charles Stewart, Cashier and Paymaster, writing from New York Dec. I, 1778, to Joseph Galloway, the traitor, then in London, said: OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE. yj " Great dissensions have arose among the leading people in Philadel- phia, insomuch that General Thompson laid his stick over Chief- Justice McKean's head in the Coffee-room at Philadelphia, calling him and many of the Congress rascals, for which he has been taken before a committee of Congress, where it still rests. He is supported by Generals Mifflin, St. Clair, and Arnold, and many of the citizens." Brigadier-General William Thompson was a man with a grievance. He raised a rifle regiment of several hundred men in Pennsylvania early in the war, and marched with it to Cambridge. He was commis- sioned brigadier-general on the 1st of March, 1776, and succeeded Lee in command at New York a few days afterward. The next month he was sent on the Canadian expedition under Arnold, and was made prisoner at Trois Rivieres. After four months' imprisonment he was released on parole, and he came to Pennsylvania, where for two years and a half he remained, no exchange being effected for him, while other officers had been released and went into the army again. The long delay embittered his spirit, and for some reason he blamed McKean for the manner in which he had been treated. At the time the parties met in the Coffee-house McKean was about to congratulate Thompson that Gen. Clinton had consented to his exchange. Thomp- son was not in a good humor, and said that he had been treated in a " rascally manner by Congress," and particularly by McKean, and that he ought to have been exchanged long ago. He sneeringly said, "Some who were taken sleeping in their beds [alluding to the capture of Gen. Lee] were exchanged, whilst he who was taken fighting in the field was not exchanged." If he was to be free, he was obliged to Gen. Clinton, and not to Congress. High words ensued and blows were given. McKean complained to Congress of Thompson's con- duct as a breach of privilege. The latter was discharged on making an acknowledgment. He subsequently published a card abusing McKean, and sent him a challenge to fight a duel. Upon this provo- cation Chief-Justice McKean responded in a card to the public in the following sensible and judicious manner : " The brigadier is unfortu- nately a prisoner of war; and, as the chief-justice of a new republic, nothing shall shake the steady purpose of my soul by my precepts and example to maintain peace, order, the laws, and the dignity of my station. The honorable offices I hold were freely conferred upon me without the least solicitation on my part, and without my pre\'ious 78 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. knowledge. It was greatly against my interest and inclination to ac- cept them ; but private opinion and private interest were overruled by public considerations. It is well known that office is no new thing to me, and that none of the insolence sometimes attending the possessors ever appeared in any part of my conduct. I shall take no further notice of the vile epithets contained in this publication than to inform the author and printer that both are equally punishable and criminal, and that I cannot set the precedent obliging a member of Congress or a magistrate to subject himself to a duel with every person against whose opinion he gives his vote or judgment." Thompson could scarcely have had chance to fight a duel, for, instead of being released, as McKean said he would be, he was called to return to New York on parole, and he remained there for some months, being finally exchanged together with Col. Webb for the British generals Phillips and Reide- sel and their aide-de-camp Captain Watterson of the 2ist regiment. Thompson did not obtain an opportunity for further service. He died at his home near Carlisle on the 4th of September, 1781. Meanwhile, McKean had sued him as well as Dunlap, the printer of the Packet, in which Thompson's card was published, for libel. Dunlap confessed judgment, but against Thompson, in the spring of 1781, McKean re- covered a v:rdict of ,^5700 damages. He released all claims in both cases, " as he only wanted to see the law and the facts settled." This occurrence was about the last of any great importance with which the Old London Coffee-house was associated. After Bradford gave it up its short remaining history as a place of public resort was monotonous and uninteresting. CHRIST CHURCH. HE Quakers and the Swedish Lutherans were the only rehgious sects embodied in congregations in Pennsyl- vania during five years succeeding the settlement of the city under William Penn. The Baptists established a church at Pennypack, the first of that denomination in the Province, in 1687. In the city the Baptist congre- gation was established about April, 1695. The Presby- terians attempted the formation of a small congregation as early as 1692, and the two sects occupied the Barba- does store at the north-west corner of Second and Chestnut streets until 1698, when the Baptists left the building and met at Anthony Morris's brew-house, under the Bank and near the dock. At what time the Church of England was established by the formation of a congregation is not exactly known. Gabriel Thomas, in his Account of Pennsylvania, printed in 1698, said, " The Church of England .... built a very fine church in the city of Philadelphia in the year 1695 ;" which is a mistake. An address by members of the Church in Philadelphia, dated January 18, 1696-97, to Governor Francis Nicholson of Maryland, signed by thirty-six persons, thanks him for his extraordinary bounty and liberality " in assisting us to build our church, which being nozv fin- ished, your kindness and favor rested not here, but Your Excellency was pleased, without our knowledge (after a most gracious manner), to apply yourself to His Majesty and Council not only for a settlement for main- tenance and support of a good ministry among us, but also for a school." The earliest date at which it can be discovered that the Church in Philadelphia was established is the year 1695. Although the church 8o HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. building was not completed until 1697, it is not unreasonable to sup- pose that the congregation was formed at an earlier period. Who was first in charge is in doubt. It has been assumed that the Rev. Thomas Clayton was the first rector, and was appointed by the Bishop of London, through the influence of Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray, commissary of the Bishop of London to Maryland But Dr. Bray did not come to America until 1696. Robert Suder, writing to Governor Nicholson from Philadelphia in November, 1698, said that he came from Phila- delphia to Jamaica in the year 1694-95. He says, in reference to the Church of England, " I finding none settled here, nor so much as any lawful one, here being a considerable number of the Church of England, we agreed to petition Our Sacred Majesty that we might have the free access of our religion and arms for our defence The Quaker magistrates no sooner heard of it but sent for me and the person that mentioned it by a Constable to their Session. I told them we were Petitioning His Majesty that we might have a Minister of the Church of England for the exercise of our Religion, and make use of our arms as a Militia to defend our estates from enemies. Edward Shippen, one of the Quaker Justices, turning to the other of his fellows, say'd, ' Now they have discovered themselves. They are bringing the priest and the sword amongst us, but God forbid ; we will prevent them.' Edward Portlock, writing from Philadelphia July 4, 1700, to the Archbishop of Canterbur>% said that in less than four years from a very small number the community of the Church of England in and about the city consisted of more than five hundred sober and devout souls. These references support the probability that although the church was completed in 1696-97, the Rev. Mr. Clayton did not as- sume charge as rector before 1696, so that the history of the congre- gation for a year or two is incomplete. Where the first church building was erected is now a matter of doubt. It has been usual to suppose that the location of Christ Church was always upon the lot on the west side of Second street above Market, which has certainly been occupied by the congregation since the year 1702. But it now appears from the record of a memo- randa of brief of title quoted in the Life of Rev. William Smith, D. D. (page 80), that the congregation did not come into ownership of the lot on Second street until the year 1702. The property was originally taken up by Lawrence Cock by patent of December i, 1688, and CHRIST CHURCH. conveyed by him to Griffith Jones October 4 of the succeeding year. Jones conveyed the property to Joshua Carpenter April 4, 1702, and the latter in the succeeding July made a deed " describing the uses of the deed between him and Griffith Jones for the church-ground." This must have been a declaration of trust, stating, in the terms usual in such instruments, that the conveyance by Jones to Carpenter was really for the benefit of the church, and that he. Carpenter, held the property for such uses. It might have been that the congregation had the use of the lot while it belonged to Griffith Jones under an arrange- ment for a subsequent sale, and that the church was built upon the ground held by lease or otherwise. This is a matter of conjecture, and as the records of deeds do not contain the conveyances spoken of in the memorandum of title given in the Life of Smith, the matter must remain in a state of obscurity. It appears that on the ist of January, 1704-05, a lot adjoining the church was conveyed by Thom- as Peart to Joshua Carpenter. Carpenter made an acknowledgment of this trust nearly five years afterward. Watson says that the original church was of wood. Rev. Dr. Dorr in his Histoiy of Christ Church, gives his reasons for his belief that it was of brick. It was enlarged in 171 1 and in 1720, and yet being too small the necessity of erecting a more spacious building was agreed upon. The vestry resolved in April of that year that the church was too small to accommodate the congregation, and resolved that an addition or enlargement of thirty-three feet should be added to the w^est, with foundation for a steeple or tower adjoining the west end. Dr. John Kearsley undertook to superintend the digging in order to lay the foundation, and himself, Thomas Tresse, Robert Ellis, and Thomas Leech were appointed overseers of the work. The corner- stone of this addition, which was in reality the commencement of the present building, was laid on the 27th of April, 1727, by Honorable Patrick Gordon, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, with the Mayor, Charles Read, and the Recorder, Andrew Hamilton, Rev. Mr. Cummings, and others. The addition was nearly finished in Septem- ber, 1730, and was considered complete in the middle of July, 1731. It was then resolved to remove the eastern end of the building and erect a more permanent part. The church was not considered as com- plete until August, 1744, although the tower and steeple were not yet built. An organ was ordered to be imported from London in 1728, HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. which was to cost ;^200. It was in use thirty-eight years, and was replaced in 1766 by a new organ, built in Philadelphia by Philip Firing, for ;^500. The latter, after seventy years, gave place to a magnificent instrument having over sixteen hundred pipes. It was built by Henry Erben of New York in 1837. A chandelier which cost ^56 was Christ Chlkch received from London in 1744. Dr. John Kearsley was credited with the reputation of being the architect of the new church building, and the vestry voted that the " uniformity and beauty of the structure, so far as it appears now finishing, is greatly owing to the assiduity, care, pains, and labor of him, the said Doctor John Kearsley." In 1753-54 the tower and steeple were completed, and a ring of eight bells was CHRIST CHURCH. 83 procured from London at a cost of ^^560 sterling. Captain Budden of the ship Myrtilla brought over the bells without charge of freight, specifying only that they should be muffled and rung when his funeral should take place — a contract more than carried out, for the bells were also rung at the death of his wife, and it is said that whenever his vessel arrived in port, he being engaged in the regular trade between London and Philadelphia, the bells were sounded in his honor. Over the eastern window of the wall on Second street, at the time of the Revolution, was a profile bust in alto-rilievo of George II., above which was a crown, all being carved in wood. They remained there during the Revolution and until the year 1796, when they were taken down, it is said by order of John Wilcocks, member of the vestry, and thrown into the street. They were picked up by Zaccheus Collins and taken to the Philadelphia Library, in possession of the directors of which institution they remained until within a few years, when they were restored to the vestry of Christ Church. The church plate is rich in antique tokens. There are a flagon and a chalice presented to the vestry by Queen Anne in 1708; a flagon and two plates given in 17 12 by Col. Robert Quarry; and a silver basin, for the font, weighing over sixty-three ounces, presented by the same gentleman at the same time. There is a deep cup on which is engraved the figures of six of the apostles, marked St. Petrus, St. Paulus, St. Joannes, St. Jacobus, St. Matthaeus, and St. Thomas. There are three other cups, paten and spoon, with some modern pieces lately presented. The exterior of the church building stands as it was finished, with scarcely any change from its appearance a century and a quarter ago. The interior has been subjected to some alterations, and was recon- structed in 1836-37, according to the plan of Thomas U. Walter, architect. The object was to secure the comforts to the minister and congregation in warming, lighting, and ventilation which had been introduced into churches built in recent times, and which were unknown to those churches constructed after the old fashion. The changes were made with skill for the attainment of those objects, whilst as nearly as possible the ancient peculiarities of architecture and arrangement were preserved. The dimensions of the church are sixty-one feet in breadth, ninety feet in length, and the tower at the west end is twenty-eight feet square, making the length of the building, HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. including the tower, one hundred and eighteen feet. The walls of the tower are of stone four feet thick, but cased on the outside with brick, to correspond with the main building. The steeple is one hundred and ninety-six feet nine inches from the base to the mitre, and about two hundred feet to the top of the lightning-rod. It was built by Robert Smith between 175 1 and 1755, and cost ;!^3000. After the Revolution and the establishment of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, the spire was topped with a mitre in allusion to the episcopal office held by Right Rev. William White, Bishop of Pennsylvania, who was then officiating as rector of the church. During the long life of that venerable prelate Christ Church was con- sidered the cathedral church. With this building many events of historical value and interest are connected. Before the Revolution it was the principal church in Phil- adelphia. All the lieutenant-governors under the proprietaries, except William Markham, and the proprietaries themselves after William Penn, were members of the Church of England, and attended this church. The royal officers, with scarcely an exception, were attached to the congregation. There was a governor's pew, rather more ornamental than those in use by ordinary worshippers. When things changed and the Continental Congress and the Federal government came to Philadelphia, the same pew was appropriated for the use of Presidents of Congress and the Presidents of the United States. Washington and Adams occupied that pew, and some of the Presidents of the Continental Congress during their terms of office. During the early part of the Revolution, immediately after the battle of Lexington, several patriotic sermons were preached in this church. Rev. Dr, William Smith on the 23d of June, 1775. delivered a discourse to the Third battalion of Associators, which was afterward published under the title of A Sermon on the Present Situation of American Affairs. Rev. Dr. Jacob Duche preached July 7 to the First bat- talion of Associators on The Duty of Standing Fast to our Spiritual and Temporal Liberties. On the 20th of July, being the day of fast recommended by the Continental Congress, he preached a sermon Xalled the American Vine. Rev. Thomas Coombe, associate minister of Christ and St. Peter's, preached at the latter, July 20, from Second Chronicles, chap, xx., verses 11, 12, 13. Notwithstanding this early patriotism, all of these clergymen afterward fell into suspicion of dis- CHRIST CHURCH. 85 affection to the American cause. In Christ Church, September, 1785, assembled a convention of the churches formerly attached to the com- munion of the Church of England belonging to the United States. They represented seven States, and there they resolved that the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States should be organized. The next year Rev. William White was elected Bishop of Pennsylva- nia. Together with Samuel Provoost he sailed to England, where, Feb. 4, 1787, Messrs. White and Provoost were consecrated bishops by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York, assisted by the Bishop of Peterborough and the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The succession of ministers of Christ Church from 1785 to 1876 embraces the names of twelve rectors and about eighteen assistant ministers, some of whom afterward became rectors. Among these have been several eminent men. From this church, with the associate church of St. Peter, have gone out Bishop William White of Penn- sylvania, Jackson Kemper of Missouri and Indiana, afterward of Wis- consin, William Heathcote De Lancey of western New York, William Henry Odenheimer of New Jersey. Within the walls of Christ Church were consecrated Bishop Robert Smith of South Carolina, 1795; Theodore Dehon of South Carolina, 181 2; Nathaniel Bowen of South Carolina, 1818; Edward Bass of Massachusetts, 1796; Henry Ustick Onderdonk of Pennsylvania, 1827; James Hervey Otey of Tennessee, 1834; Nicholas Hanmer Cobb of Alabama, 1844; Cicero Stephen Hawks of Missouri, 1844; Alonzo Potter of Pennsyl- vania, 1845; Samuel Bowman of Pennsylvania, 1858. The rectors and ministers of Christ Church have always held po- sitions of importance outside of their influence in the congregation. Up to the time of the Revolution, while they were not active leaders of the Church party in opposition to the Quakers, their advice was sought and their counsels frequently followed. During the Revolution, if they had been inclined to the popular cause, they could have led a large number of lay members of the persuasion to the patriotic side. But with the exception of Rev. William White, the rectors and assist- ant ministers were either openly disaffected or doubtful, and a grand opportunity was lost to the persuasion in consequence. Since the Revolution the rectors of Christ Church have been prominent in movements of a moral, philanthropic, and religious character in which the co-operation of members of all religious persuasions was required. HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Bishop White was during his Hfetime member, manager, or president of a large number of associations estabhshed for good objects, and the benefit of his name and aid was sought whenever any new phil- anthropy was proposed in order to give it strength. Rev. Thomas Clayton, the first rector, died in 1699, probably from the effects of the yellow fever. He was succeeded by Rev. Evan Evans, a Welshman, who was sent over by Henry Compton, Bishop of London, and was very successful in his ministration in bringing over to the communion of the Church of England many of the Keith- ian schismatics, who had fallen away from the Quakers, and making of them useful church members. Mr. Evans had a long and comfort- able connection of twenty years with Christ Church, after which he left its pulpit and went to Maryland. But returning to Philadelphia on a visit, and preaching on the 8th of October, 1721, at Christ Church, he was struck by the hand of death in the midst of the af- ternoon service, and being carried from the church speechless, died two days afterward. His body was buried in the chancel. The in- scription upon the stone, as well as upon other stones in the neighbor- hood, has long since been worn away by the feet of constant worship- pers, so that the exact spot cannot now be determined. Rev. Richard Welton, who claimed to be a bishop, having been con- secrated to that office by the English non-juring bishops who had re- fused to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, became rector of Christ Church by invitation of the vestry in 1724, the mem- bers of the latter being ignorant of the circumstance or that Welton claimed the episcopacy. After he took possession of the church his principles began to show themselves. Sir William Keith complained of him and others, alluding, no doubt, to Rev. Mr. Talbot of Burling- ton, claiming to be a non-juring bishop; that in Christ Church they " read prayers and speak without mentioning the king, prince, and royal family according to the rubric, so that myself and family, with such others as are of unquestioned loyalty to His present Majesty, are deprived of the benefit of going to church, least it might give encour- agement to a spirit of dissatisfaction." Welton brought over with him, according to a correspondent of the Bishop of London, " ;^300 sterling in guns and fishing-tackle, with divers copies of his famous altarpiece at Whitechapel ; he has added a scroll with words proceed- ing out of the mouth of the Bishop of Peterborough, to this effect, CHRIST CHURCH. 87 as I am told : " I am not he that betrayed X^, tho' as ready to do it as ever Judas was.' " Welton was recalled and ordered to come to England, but instead of going there, he went to Portugal, where it is said he died in 1726. Rev. Archibald Cummings, who was sent out from England, suc- ceeded Dr. Welton, and served the church for more than fourteen years with great acceptance. Two years after his arrival he married Jane Elizabeth Asheton, a lady connected with an influential family in the Province. Rev. Robert Jennings, Doctor of Laws, succeeded Mr. Cummings, and was rector of Christ Church for twenty years. He died in January, 1 762, at the advanced age of seventy-five years, fifty- two of which had been spent in the ministry. The Rev. Richard Peters succeeded Mr. Jennings as rector. He had been assistant min- ister to Rev. Archibald Cummings for a short time on his coming to Philadelphia in 1735, but only held that position for a few months. Mr. Peters had studied common law in the Temple, and devoted two years to the study of the civil law, and was college bred. But having contracted an unfortunate marriage with a servant girl when he was fourteen years of age, he left her shortly afterward and refused to own her. Fourteen years afterward, upon a rumor of his first wife's death, he married a lady of Lancashire, with whom he lived some time. But subsequently hearing that his first wife was living, he was compelled to abandon her and came to Pennsylvania. Besides being a lawyer, Peters was qualified as a theologian and took holy orders. He preached for some time in England, but on coming to Pennsylvania seemed to be willing to assume official service. He officiated in Christ Church as an assistant to Mr. Cummings for more than two years, but becoming involved in disputes with the rector, he withdrew and found no difficulty in obtaining employment in civil life. He became secretary to the proprietaries almost as soon as he left the church, and after nearly six years' service was made Provincial Secretary and Clerk of the Council. In 1749 he was made a member of that important body. He resigned those offices in September, 1762, when, after twenty-five years' absence from the pulpit of Christ Church, he was made rector — a charge which he held until his resignation in 1775. He lived long enough to witness the overthrow of the British domina- tion. On the tenth of July, 1776, two days after the Declaration of Independence adopted on the 4th was read to the people in the State- HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. House yard, Dr. Peters died, and escaped the troubles and anxieties of the six following years of war. His brother, William Peters, must have come to Pennsylvania about the same time as himself or shortly after. He was a man of wealth, and acquired large landed estates in Blockley township. During the third quarter of the last century three young men, all natives of Philadelphia, were preparing for the ministry. They were Jacob Duche, Thomas Coombe, and William White. All of these gentlemen were destined to occupy prominent positions in connection with the church. Jacob Duche was educated at the College of Phila- delphia, and was sent by his father to Cambridge, where he finished his education. Upon the recommendation of the vestry of the church he v/as ordained and licensed in 1759, and upon returning to his native city became assistant minister under Dr. Jennings. When Dr. Peters succeeded as rector, Duche remained as assistant minister, and is un- derstood to have had principal charge of St. Peter's Church. He suc- ceeded Rev. Richard Peters as rector in 1775. He was a fine writer and a man of taste. In 1774 he published at Philadelphia the Letters of Tamoc Caspipina, a name framed in acrostic from his title, " The assistant minister of Christ Church and St. Peter's in Philadelphia in North America." These essays were afterward published in England (in 1777). He was an easy writer, and occupied an important position. At the beginning of the American Revolution he sided with the pa- triots. He was called upon to open with prayer the session of the first Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall in 1774, on which occa- sion, in addition to the regular services of the Episcopal Church, " he unexpectedly to everybody," said John Adams, " struck out into an extemporary prayer which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer or one so well pro- nounced." Mr. Adams was warm in his expressions of admiration of the " earnestness and pathos " and the language " elegant and sub- lime " which Dr. Duche used on that occasion. During the course of the contest Duche's opinions must have been gradually changing, but his defection could not have been suspected. He was chosen chaplain to Congress on the 9th of July, 1776. An approval of inde- pendency being at that time the great test of patriotism, he could not have been honored with such a mark of confidence if his vacilla- tion had been known. He did not hold the position very long. CHRIST CHURCH. having resigned in about three months. He remained quiet, appar- ently engaged in the discharge of his clerical duties, until the British army took possession of the city in September, 1777. On the Sun- day succeeding the occupation he officiated at Christ Church, restor- X ^^^^. lllll .^-^ P) fiT^lW Intfrior of Christ Church, -_ looking toward the chancel. ing the prayer for the king and royal army, instead of reading the prayer for the American States, which had been in use from the 4th of July, 1776, at which time the vestry, knowing of the passage of the resolution of Independence on July 2, declared that the prayers for the king and royal family should be omitted. General Howe ordered Dr. Duche to be ar- rested, and it is said that he was taken into custody after leav- incf the church. Throueh the intercession of friends he was re- 90 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. leased after only one day's detention. Eight days afterward (October 8, 1777) he addressed to General Washington a remarkable let- ter, which is said to have produced in the mind of that patriot violent feelings of anger. In this epistle Duche said to the com- mander-in chief, " Represent to Congress the indispensable necessity of rescinding the hasty and ill-advised declaration of independence." " If this is not done," said he, " you have an infallible resource still left ; negotiate for America at the head of your army." This letter was delivered to Washington by the celebrated Mrs. Elizabeth Fer- guson, daughter of Dr. Thomas Graeme and granddaughter of Sir William Keith — the same lady who was alleged to have been the bearer of the proposal from Governor George Johnstone to Joseph Reed that the latter should sell himself to the British Crown. Wash- ington transmitted it to Congress. Duche remained in the city until near the evacuation, took passage in the fleet, and went to England, where he became chaplain to an orphan asylum at Lambeth. His house in Philadelphia — a large and splendid mansion in the Eliza- bethan style at the north-east corner of Third and Pine streets — was confiscated and bought by Thomas McKean, Signer of the Declara- tion of Independence, and afterward chief-justice and governor of Pennsylvania. Duche remained in England for some years, and, being a proclaimed traitor in Pennsylvania, did not dare to come back till long after the close of the war. He found things much changed. Washington, whom he had advised to abandon a wretched cause, was President of the United States, the Confederacy had given way to the Federal government, and all who sided with the political opin- ions of Duche after he became a Tory were still unpopular and with- out influence. There was no employment for him. He died January 3, 1798, and was buried in St. Peter's churchyard. He had married Sophia, the daughter of Thomas Hopkinson, who was sister of Fran- cis Hopkinson, the Signer of the Declaration of Independence. This lady died a year before her husband, having been killed in March, 1797, by the falling of a sandbag on her head while opening a window. Jacob Spence Duche, a son of Dr. Duche, was born in Philadelphia about 1766, and became an artist, receiving instructions, it is said, in England from Benjamin West. Portraits of Bishop Provoost of New York and Bishop Seabury of Connecticut were painted by him. The CHRIST CHURCH. 91 latter received the honor of being engraved at London by Sharpe. Some other small pieces are known to have been painted by him. He died young. Sophia, a daughter of Dr. Duche, married John Henry, the author of the " John Henry Plot," so called in American politics and connected with the incidents of the war of 181 2. Rev. Thomas Coombe was considered a patriot in the early part of the Revolution, but subsequent events proved that he only floated with the tide. He had begun to talk strongly against the existing state of things before the British had entered the city. He was arrested in September, 1777, among others, the majority of whom were Quakers, and ordered to be sent to Virginia. The vestry endeavored to obtain a reversal of the sentence of banishment, with- out effect. A subsequent application in his favor by Col. Lambert Cadwalader and the Rev. William White received more consideration, and Mr. Coombe was enlarged upon parole. He was in charge of the churches as long as the British army was in possession of the city, and remained until 1778, when he obtained permission to go through the enemy's lines to New York, where he embarked for England. Sub- sequently, he went to Ireland, became chaplain to Lord Carlisle, was made prebendary of Canterbury and chaplain to the king. Trinity College, Dublin, conferred upon him the degree of D. D. He was one of the few loyalists who can be said to have obtained in England anything like recompense for their sacrifices in the cause of the king. Rev. William White might have had as many reasons for adopting loyalty as his colleagues, but he seems to have lacked the disposition. He was educated at the College of Philadelphia, licensed by the Bish- op of London, and entered upon his duties as assistant minister in November, 1772. He was a son of Colonel Thomas White, an Eng- lish gentleman who upon coming to America settled in Maryland, from which he removed to Philadelphia before the birth of his son William, which occurred on April 4 (new style), 1748. He was ordained in England in 1772. During the Revolution, Bishop White was firm in his adherence to the patriot side. He took the oath of allegiance to the United States shortly after the 4th of July, 1776, and in connection with that important act the following anecdote is related by Rev. Dr. Bird Wilson : " When he went to the court-house for the purpose, a gentleman of his acquaintance standing there, observing his design, intimated to him, by a gesture, the danger to which he would HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. expose himself. After having taken the oath he remarked, before leav- ing the court-house, to the gentleman alluded to, ' I perceived by your gesture that you thought I was exposing my neck to great danger by the step which I have taken. But I have not taken it without full deliberation. I know my danger, and that it is the greater on account of my being a clergyman of the Church of England. But I trust in Providence. The cause is a just one, and I am persuaded will be protected.' " He was chaplain of Congress during the Revolution, and after the Federal government was organized in Philadelphia was chaplain of the United States Senate until the removal of the seat of government to Washington City. After the Revolution the condition of the congregations in America which followed the worship of the Church of England was embarrass- ing. They had been under the control of the dignitaries of the Church in the old country : they could not submit longer to such authority ; neither the political nor social feelings of the American people would have allowed it. Mr. White, even before the war had closed, perceived the difficulty, and published in 1782 a pamphlet entitled the Case of the Episcopal CJmrclies considered, in which he advised union and the adoption of such measures as might eventually bring about the crea- tion of an American episcopacy. The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States was in fact founded in Christ Church in 1 785 in two conventions — the first of clergy of the State of Pennsylvania; the second of representatives of seven States. They recommended the election of American bishops, and asked for their consecration in England. An act of Parliament was in the way, but by the advice of the House of Bishops this law was repealed, and in 1787 the Rev. Samuel Provoost, who had been elected Bishop of New York, and the Rev. William White, chosen Bishop of Pennsylvania, were consecrated at Lambeth by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishops of Bath and Wells and of Peterborough. The Rev. Samuel Seabury of Connecticut had obtained consecration three years and a half before them — not from the English bishops, however, but from Scottish Episcopal Bishops, who were more independent in action. Although Bishop of Pennsylvania and for forty years senior Bishop of the United States, Right Rev. William White remained rector of Christ Church and St. Peter's, and subsequently of St. James's, from CHRIST CHURCH. 93 1779 until his death, which occurred July 17, 1836. He was then in the eighty-ninth year of his age, and had been connected with Christ Church as assistant minister and rector for over sixty-five years. His end was gentle, as his life was. There was no pain, no violent suffer- ing. His mind was " unclouded, tranquil, and serene." The decay of his natural powers brought on the closing scene. It was on a Sunday morning, shortly after the bells in Christ Church, which had so often summoned him to his sacred duty, had ceased to chime, that his spirit passed away. He was buried on the 20th of July in the family vault in Christ churchyard, amidst the testimonials of respect and affection of multitudes of mourning citizens. The remains were deposited in the White and Morris family vault, in which already reposed the body of Robert Morris, the patriot financier of the Revolution. The mother of Bishop White was a widow when his father married her. Her maiden name was Esther Hewlings. She was the widow of John Newman, and was the second wife of Colonel White. Her family came from Burlington, N. J. By that wife there were two children, William and Mary. The latter married Robert Morris. In February, 1773, Rev. William White married Miss Mary Harrison, daughter of a sea-cap- tain and merchant, who before the Revolution was an alderman and for some time Mayor of Philadelphia. They lived together in great hap- piness until her death, which occurred on the 13th of December, 1797. He never married again. There were five children by this marriage ; Elizabeth, who was born in 1776, married General John Macpherson, commander of the fine military legion during the time when the Federal government was in Philadelphia known as " Macpherson's Blues." He was an officer in the British army at the outbreak of the Revolution. He resigned from that service as soon as he could be released, came back to America, and was commissioned by Washing- ton. He was Surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia, Inspector of Revenue, and Naval Officer under Adams, Jefferson, and Madison; colonel and brigadier-general of the State militia. Mary, another daughter of Bishop White, married Enos Bronson, who was at one time editor and publisher of the United States Gazette. Their son, the Rev. William White Bronson, a grandson of Bishop White, was at one time assistant minister of St. Peter's Church. Thomas Harrison White, son of the bishop, became a merchant. Two of the children, Matthias and William, died young. Thomas H. 94 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. White married Mary Key Heath, daughter of the Revolutionary patriot general Richard Heath of Baltimore. A daughter of Enos and Mary Bronson married the Rev. Alfred A. Miller. Bishop White was succeeded in the church as rector by Rev. John Waller James, who had been assistant minister. He held his position but four weeks. He died at an early age. Rev. Benjamin Dorr succeeded Mr. James as rector in 1837, and officiated twenty-two years. He was born in Salisbury, Mass., in 1796, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 18 17. His original intention was to study law, but he abandoned the design for the- ology. He was elected Bishop of Maryland in 1839, but declined the honor. For some time after the foundation of Christ Church burials were made in the church and in the lot adjoining. The increasing number of interments soon made it necessary to provide a burial-ground, and in 17 19 a lot of ground at the south-east corner of Fifth and Arch streets was pur- chased, and since that time has been used for purposes of interment. Within that enclosure rest the remains of many eminent men who were buried there, but the precise place of interment of some of them is now unknown. Among the lat ter may be mentioned Peyton Randolph, Presi- dent of the First Conti- nental Congress, who was buried here in 1775 ; and Francis Hopkinson, Signer of the Declara- tion of Independence, Judge of Admiralty of Pennsylvania, who died in 1 79 1. The grave of Benjamin Franklin, marked by a flat stone with the simple inscription, " Benjamin and Deborah Franklin," is at the north-west corner, and visible from the street. There are monu- Franklin's Grave. CHRIST CHURCH. 95 ments in the graveyard to the memory of Revolutionary patriots — Commodore Richard Dale, General Jacob Morgan, General James Irvine, Major William Jackson, Dr. Benjamin Rush. Eminent men of a later time are buried there ; among them, Commodore William Bainbridge, General Thomas Cadvvalader, Dr. Philip Syng Physick, Henry Pratt, the eminent merchant, Chief-Justice William Tilghman, Rev. Bird Wilson, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Divinity, who practised as a lawyer, and after being for seventeen years president of the Court of Common Pleas of the Seventh District of Pennsylvania, became rector of St. John's at Norristown, and afterward professor of systematic divinity in the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church at New York. THE QUAKER ALMSHOUSE. CCORDING to tradition, the ground upon which the Friends' Almshouses, on the south side of Walnut street between Third and Fourth streets, were erected was given to the Society by John Martin in 171 3, upon condition that __ they would support him for the remainder of his days. Tra- j(^ dition is very often at fault, and not careful about its dates, so that by trusting to it ideas frequently get much mixed and lead astray those who trust to legend. John Martin was a tailor, and there are deeds on record which show that he was possessed of valuable lots of ground on Chestnut street and Walnut between Third and Fourth streets and else- where, so that it was not likely that he was in such a condition of poverty as to justify the story that he gave the property on Walnut street to the Society of Friends with the stipulation that they should take care of him. In fact, the property was held by him during his life, and only came into the possession of the Quakers through an implied trust in his will. He must have owned three or four lots on the south side of Walnut street between Third and Fourth, being together of the width of one hundred and forty-eight feet six inches and two hundred and twenty feet in depth. There is a conveyance on record by Thomas Cros::;, wheelv'Tight, to John Martin for a lot on the south side of Walnut street between Third and Fourth, forty-nine and a half feet front and two hundred and twenty feet deep, and for an adjoining lot of the same width, but not of the same depth, making the front on Walnut street ninety-nine feet. The consideration was ^30, current silver money, and the deed is dated December 11, 1697. Two other lots of the same dimensions must have been acquired by Martin from some other owner. On the 14th of September, 1702, Martin granted the lot forty-nine and one- half by two hundred and twenty feet to John Budd for ^15. He THE QUAKER ALMSHOUSE. 97 died shortly afterward, his will being dated in November, 1702. By that instrument he bequeathed his whole property, real and personal, to Thomas Chalkley, Ralph Jackson, and John Michener for their own use. They were leading members of the Society of Friends, Chalkley and Jackson being eminent preachers. The will makes no reservations, and seems to be entirely for the benefit of Chalkley, Jackson, and Michener. Per- haps a portion of the bequest might have been for their own benefit, but as for two of the three lots on Walnut street which were still Martin's prop- erty, there can be little doubt but that they were intended for charitable uses. This is evident from the minutes oi the Monthly Meeting of the .Society of Friends held 27th of 9th month (November), 1702, from which it appears that there was an understand- ing that Martin intended that " his estate should be dis- posed of for the use of poor Friends, according to this Meeting's directions ;" and " ^ /?^TE\" *'- accordingly, Thomas Story Quaker Almshouses, destroyed in 1S76. and David Lloyd were desired to draw the necessary papers fo ■ the executors to sign to declare the trust thereof to Edward Shippen, Samuel Carpenter, and Anthony Morris for Friends' service, according to the said John Martin's intent. It is not known whether this decla- ration was made. In 17 14 the executors made a declaration in which they declared to William Hudson, John Warder, and Anthony Morris, Jr., that they held the two lots of ground for the use of the Society, " for the habitation and succor of such and so many poor and unfor- tunate persons of the people called Quakers as the members of the Monthly Meeting at Philadelphia should nominate and appoint, and for want of such poor to inhabit said premises, that the said messuage and 98 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. messuages, or such part or parts thereof happening to be vacant, should be let and rented to others, and that the rent and profits thereof, as well as the surplusage of said estate, should be applied for the relief and maintenance of the poor of the said people called Quakers in such manner as the said Monthly Meeting should order and direct," etc. When this deed was executed the property had come into use, small buildings for almshouse purposes having been erected during the previous year, and the dimensions of the premises were increased by the purchase of a strip of ground three feet two inches in width adjoining on the west. Morris in 1724 was the surviving person to whom this declaration was made, and was considered by the Quakers as trustee. He was ordered to make over the trust to William Hudson, John Warder, and Anthony Morris, Jr. Although the equitable title was in the Society, there was no actual conveyance made at that time. This was done in 175 1 by Rebecca James, who was the surviving child and heir of Thomas Chalkley, who was the surviving executor and devisee of John Martin. Abel James, her husband, joined in the conveyance with her. They made the deed to Edward Cathrall, John Reynell, John Armit, Israel Pemberton, John Smith, John Emlen, and John Morris, in trust for the use of the Society of Friends. Since that time various conveyances have been made from trustees to trus- tees, and in time this property was included in the general convey- ances of all the property of the Society. In later years such trusteeship is traceable. On the 22d of 4th month, 1809, the Society of Friends put all its property, including the Mulberry street Meeting-house and the Almshouse on Walnut street, in the names of Samuel Sansom, John Field, and others, trustees of the Monthly Meeting of the " Religious Society common- ly called Friends of Philadelphia." Another deed was made in 18 17, creating a new set of trustees ; another in 1828 ; another in 1843. Upon this property in 17 13 the Society of Friends erected a few small houses for the accommodation of its poor members. They were one story in height, with a garret room and a great tall chimney, and each sufficient for the accommodation of one or two inmates. The steep overhang roof was of a style common in the early part of the last century, but which soon went out of fashion. The situation was secluded and peaceful. Trees and shrubbery ornamented the grounds, THE QUAKER ALMSHOUSE. 99 and the inmates devoted themselves to the cultivation of flowers and medicinal plants. It was a place of calm seclusion, partitioned off from the noise and bustle of a city, and it afforded to the inmates opportunities for study and meditation, while at the same time they could follow such light occupations as were suited to their age and weakness. In 1729 an odd-looking building was erected upon the Friends' Almshouse, Walnut Street Front. Tom down in 1S41. From drawings by the late John Skirving and William L. Breton. Walnut street front, and took up the whole width of the lot. The central portion rose above a simply ornamented doorway to an open arched entrance, which led from the street by steps to the garden and buildings in the rear. The ground was naturally higher than the level of the street. The central building rose above the wings, which were HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. two stories in height, one of them being of a basement character. The garrets were under a steep-pitched roof The centre had a third story and garrets. Four chimneys were conspicuous from the street. The eaves were heavy and the roofs pitched sharp and high. The entire appearance of the structure was quaint, and unhke anything else to be seen in the city. There was a fitting accompaniment to the oddity of the structure in a h'ttle one-story building with steep garret-room on the west, which in modern times was known as the Wigmore House, in which lived at one time Joseph A. Wigmore, a bottler, who was succeeded in the occupation by his widow, famous for many years among the young population as a fabricator of molasses candy. Far different in appearance were the two houses on the east of the Alms- house, which were high, broad, and grand. They were numbered 68 and 70 in 1795. The one nearest Third street was occupied by Ben- jamin Chew, attorney-at-law, and that next door to the Almshouse by Edward Stiles, gentleman, who is said to have made much money during the Revolutionary war as the owner of lucky privateers. His country-seat was at Green Hill, far out on the Ridge road, occupying a piece of ground of several acres in the neighborhood of the present Girard Avenue. Concerning the occupants of the old Quaker Alms- house, there is nothing in the shape of song or story. They were reputable people whom fortune had treated unkindly, but who were not suffered by the richer members of the persuasion to want. There is no veritable incident to add point to the " Short and simple annals of the poor." The Friends' Almshouse was the first constructed in the city, but, being intended entirely for poor members of the Society, the necessi- ties of the public required some addition to this class of institutions. As early as 17 12 the City Council minutes note the fact that "the poor of this city is daily increasing," and it was resolved to hire a workhouse " to employ poor p'sons." The mayor, two grave and rev- erend aldermen, and three Common Councilmen had charge of the arrangements, but do not appear to have perfected anything at that time. Seventeen years went by without further movement, but in 1729 the Assembly, in an act directing the emission of bills of cred- it, provided that ;{^iOOO should be loaned the city for the purpose of erecting an almshouse. The money was paid over in the sue- THE QUAKER ALMSHOUSE. ceeding year, and was put in the hands of trustees. In 1731 a lot of ground was purchased of Aldran Allen, which comprised the entire square bounded by Third, Fourth, Spruce, and Pine streets. It was then a pleasant green meadow. The structure occupied a position nearer to Third than to Fourth street. There was a great gate on Spruce street, and an entrance by an X stile on Third street. There were outbuildings. The principal building had a piazza around it, and in style presented much the same appearance as the Friends' Alms- house. Here commenced the Philadelphia Hospital in connection with the Almshouse about 1732, being the first hospital established in the American Colonies. The municipal care of this almshouse was superseded by the creation of the Corporation for the Relief and Employment of the Poor in 1766. That institution was supported by contributors. The new almshouse was built on a lot between Spruce and Pine and Tenth and Eleventh streets, and opened to poor persons in October, 1767. The old almshouse property at Spruce and Third streets was then abandoned, and the premises were sold, and Union street opened through the centre of the lot. In modern times the publication of Longfellow's poem of Evan- geline has led persons whose imaginations are vivid to attempt to iden- tify the Friends' Almshouse with the closing scene of that idyl. It would be delightful if Fact could thus be brought to the assistance of Fancy. But, if the best must be told, it may be said that although the poet may have had recollections of a visit years ago to the Friends' Almshouse upon which he based the description of the place where Evangeline met Gabriel, there could be no other point of resemblance in truth and in fact, as the lawyers say. The passages in Evangeline which relate to this subject are these : " In that delightful land which is washed by the Delaware's waters, Guarding in sylvan shades the name of Penn the apostle, Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream the city he founded. There all the air is balm, and the peach is the emblem of beauty, And the streets still re-echo the names of the trees of the forest, As if they feign would appease the dryads whose haunts ihey molested There from the troubled sea had Evangeline landed in exile. Finding among the children of Penn a home and a country." ********* " Then it came to pass that a pestilence fell on the city, Presaged by wondrous signs, and mostly by flocks of wild pigeons, HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Darkening the sun in their flight, with naught in their craws but an acorn." " Wealth had no power to bribe, nor beauty to charm the oppressor ; But all perished alike beneath the scourge of his anger; — Only, alas ! the poor, who had neither friends nor attendants, Crept away to die in the almshouse, home of the homeless. Then in the suburbs it stood, in the midst of meadows and woodlands; Now the city surrounds it ; but still with its gateway and wicket Meek, in the midst of splendor, its humble walls seem to echo Softly the words of the Lord — ' The poor ye always have with you.'" According to the poet, Evangeline, after years of separation from Ga- briel, devoted herself to assuaging the sufferings of the sick and poor. The almshouse was crowded with sufferers, and it was in this place that Gabriel was met. Except for the use of the word " now " in the line which describes the almshouse as still existing when the poem was written, it might apply as well to the old city almshouse at Fourth and Spruce as to the Quaker Almshouse. Evangeline was published in 1847. The quaint front building of the Quaker Almshouse was torn down in 1841, and the ground utilized for the construction of modern offices, the income of which adds greatly to the available amount of funds for charitable purposes which remained in the hands of the Society of Friends. Back of this building two or three one-story houses remained, which was all that was left of the establishment. The Friends' Almshouse was really a community for the support of the old and feeble. It was not a hospital for the sick, so that if Gabriel the stranger had been found prostrate and dying in the streets of the city, he would have been taken to the City Hospital, which was in operation long before the French neutrals were sent to Philadelphia from Acadia. There was room for sick strangers at Fourth and Spruce streets, but there was none at Walnut and Fourth. Still, Fancy is so earnest in some people that in time not only was the story of Evangeline determined to refer to the Quaker Almshouse, but there were persons ready to show exactly where in the garden the bodies of Gabriel and Evangeline were buried. INDEPENDENCE HALL: THE STATE-HOUSE. /HE construction of a State-house in the city of Philadel- phia was a necessity which the proprietary government and the General Assembly of the Province endeavored to postpone as long as possible. Forty-seven years went by after the city was founded before this want was provided for. The Assembly meanwhile had occupied various places for its sessions — rooms in private houses, school- rooms, and the great Quaker meeting-house. After the county court- house was built in the middle of Market street at Second street in 1709, the Assembly and the Supreme Court of the Province, it is supposed, held their sessions there. On the ist of May, 1729, the Assembly of Pennsylvania made an appropriation of i^2000, inserted as an item in a paper-money bill for the issue of ;^30,ooo, for the building of " a house for the Assembly of this Province to meet in." The bill was finally passed on the loth of May, and the Speaker, Andrew Hamilton, with Thomas Lawrence and John Kearsley, members of the House, were appointed trustees of this appropriation. The money was not in the treasury, but had to be raised by the preparation and issuing of paper currency. So it happened that for sixteen months after the bill was passed no movement was made toward carrying out the design. A lot on Chestnut street was bought by William Allen in 1730, and other lots between that time and the summer of 1732, extending from P^ifth to Sixth street halfway to Walnut street. The State-House was commenced immediately thereafter. Andrew Hamilton, the Speaker, prepared the plan of the building and was the architect, and not Dr. John Kearsley, as has been erroneously stated by Watson. This is HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Old Court-House, formkrly at Second and Market streets. shown by a complaint made by Hamilton to the House in August, 1732, that Dr. Kearsley would not act with him, and opposed the place where the House was to be built and " the manner and form of the work." The Speaker was very much in earnest, and was deter- mined that his position in relation to the work should be settled. Not only was he thwarted by Dr. Kearsley, but his colleague, John Law- rence, who made no pretence of being an architect, had done but little to help him. " Mr. Speaker desired to know the sentiments of the House there- upon ; and the said John Kearsley, being present as a member, stood OLD INDEPENDENCE HALL: THE STATE HOUSE. 105 up in his Place, and having offered to the House his Reasons and Allegations touching the Premises, which were fully heard, Mr. Speaker moved the House would resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House, that he might have an opportunity of answering the said John Kearsley " Mr. Speaker produced a draught of the State-House, containing the plan and elevation of that building, which being examined by the several members was approved by the House." After this Mr. Hamilton preferred a request to be relieved from the care of conducting said building, which " had hitherto almost entirely rested upon himself," and requested that some skilful person be appointed to superintend the work. But the House resolved that " Mr. Speaker be the person appointed by this House, with the advice of the two gentlemen before nominated, to superintend and govern the building of the State-House, and that for his trouble therein the House will make him compensation." Even after this Kearsley's objections were again brought up. Kearsley and Hamilton debated the question upon Kearsley's complaint that the House of Representatives " had never agreed it [the State-House] should be erected in the place where it now stands, and that the form of the said building was liable to great exceptions." But the House, after hearing both parties, resolved " that Mr. Speaker, both in regard of the place whereon the building of the State-House is fixed and his manner of conducting the said Building, has behaved himself agreeable to the mind and intention of the House." Very stubborn was Dr. John Kearsley on this subject. His efforts at Christ Church, the western end of which had been com- menced in 1729 and finished in 1731, seem to have made him vain of his architectural accomplishments, and he could see no merit in the plan of Hamilton. Nevertheless, the work went on, and without the assistance of Kearsley or Lawrence. Of this Hamilton complained in a petition to the Assembly in January, 1734, in which he said that he was embarrassed by Kearsley and Lawrence, each of whom held one- third of the fund of ;^2000, and that several plans or elevations for the house or building had been prepared, " one or more of which were pro- duced by one of the gentlemen joined in the said undertaking, and compared with the plan or elevation adopted, and that the latter was agreed upon, not only as the least expensive, but as the most neat and commodious, by the persons entrusted to build the same, and was I06 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. likewise approved by the then House of Representatives." He com- plained that many persons made it their business "to unjustly charge the said Andrew Hamilton with being the sole projector of building a house for the purposes aforesaid, and of his own head running the county into a much greater charge than was necessary." But the Assembly did not release him, and the work went on gradually and with no haste. Two offices were ordered to be built adjoining the State-House in March. 1733. They were square buildings, two stories in height, with a hip roof, and the second story was entered by stair- ways leading from an open arcade adjoining. It is probable that the State-House was first occupied by the Assem- bly in 1735, and that the adjoining buildings, called Province Hall, were finished at the beginning of 1736. The Register-General of Wills, the Recorder of Deeds, and the Master of the Rolls were provided for in those buildings. The title to the lot and buildings, which had been in Hamilton and Allen, was directed to be conveyed by act of February 21, 1736, to John Kinsey, Joseph Kirkbride, Caleb Copeland, and Thomas Edwards, " in trust to and for the use of the representatives of the free- men of the Province, which now are and from time to time hereafter shall be duly elected by the freemen aforesaid," etc. A proviso to this act declared that no part of the said ground lying south of the State- House " should be made use of for erecting any sort of building there- on, but the said ground shall be enclosed and remain a public green and walk for ever." The conveyances to the trustees were not promptly made. Hamilton made none, but by his will ordered his heirs to execute the trust. Allen made some conveyances. New trus- tees were appointed from time to time as the old ones died, and as soon as the State declared its independence of Great Britain the property was considered as vested in the Commonwealth without further ceremony. For some years the building remained in an unfinished condition — so much so that in 1741 the Assembly became impatient and appointed a committee of inquiry to know why after nine years of work upon the structure it was not completed. At that time the As- sembly chamber, east room, first floor — now known as Independence Hall — needed plastering, glazing, and finishing. In 1743 the west room was ordered to be finished as soon as possible, and in November of that year a plan for finishing the court-room and the piazzas between the main building and the offices was laid before the House and ap- OLD INDEPENDENCE HALL: THE STATE-HOUSE. lo/ proved. It is supposed that the building was finished by the end of 1744, including the central building and the ofifices and piazzas. Low wooden sheds of an oblong shape were erected on the Fifth and Sixth streets sides of the State-House lot at Chestnut street for the accom- modation of the Indian deputations which often visited the city in large numbers. These buildings were appropriated to storehouse pur- poses, and became arsenals in which were lodged cannon, cannon-balls, and muskets during the Revolution. There was no steeple to the State-House as originally finished. In February, 1750, the Assembly ordered that "a building should be erected on the south side of the State-House to contain a staircase, with suitable place for hanging a bell." The building was a tower, and when the plan was adopted a wooden steeple was added. It was some time before this work was done. In October, 175 1, the steeple project must have been well advanced, as the superintendents of the work were directed to get a bell of such dimensions and weight as they should think suitable. Under this authority Isaac Norris, Thomas Leech, and Edward Warner wrote to Robert Charles of London, asking his friendly services to get a good bell of about two thousand pounds weight for the use of the Province, which they presumed would cost ;i^ioo sterling or perhaps more. They wanted the bell by the end of the summer or beginning of the fall of 175 1, before which time the steeple would not be finished, and they directed that the following words, well shaped in large letters, should be cast round the bell : " By Order of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania, for the State- House in the City of Philadelphia, 1752." and underneath — " Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land, to all the Inhabitants thereof." Levit xxv. 10. The bell was cast at Whitechapel ; by whom is not now known. It was received in August, 1752 ; but when it was brought on shore and hung up to try the sound, it was cracked by a stroke of the clapper. The superintendents Avere about to send it back to England to be re- cast, when they were prevented by the offer of a firm of brass-founders in Philadelphia, Pass & Stow, who undertook to recast the bell, and made an excellent mould, the letters being better than those on the io8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Liberty Bell. English bell. Though it was handsome, this bell was deficient in tone. The founders made a new mould, broke up the bell, altered the proportion of materials, and cast it again. The original inscriptions were upon it, and it was raised in the steeple of the State-House about the beginning of June, 1753. A clock was finished about the same time ; it was made in Philadelphia by Peter Stretch, and cost nearly iJ"500. The English bell cost ^198, but Pass & Stow, for recasting it, received in September, 1753, Ldo 13^". and 5S Fourth street. From this movement originated St. John's English Lutheran Church, which was built in Race street between Fifth and Sixth, and opened in 1809. In 18 14 the same question was again agi- tated in Zion and St. Michael's by a new English party, which num- bered about one-fourth of the congregation. After three years of trial, not succeeding in overcoming the steady adherence of the Germans to the ancient method of worship, this party also separated and went to the Academy in 1817, where they established C. F. Cruse as pastor. The congregation adopted the title of the church of St. Matthew. The resistance to the introduction of English finally came to a limited compromise. It was resolved that within the schools the English lan- guage might be taught, but that the German language in the church should not be given up so long as fifty members were in favor of its use. On the 14th of June, 1843, the Centenary Jubilee of St. Michael's was celebrated by the members. The interior was beautifully deco- rated. Every pillar was entwined with flowers and evergreens. The door-frames, windows, gallery, choir, and organ were wreathed with the same materials, and festoons of roses filled up the open spaces in other parts of the building. The pulpit was handsomely decorated, and above it appeared upon a ground of sky-blue silk the inscription, " Peace be within thy walls." Tablets of marble were upon the north and south walls, which bore inscriptions in German of which the fol- lowing are translations : This Church, In Memory a work of faith and love of the teachers of this congregation, whose earthly tabernacles found a resting- place in front of the altar of this Church, John Dietrich Heinzelman, of our German ancestors, and the fervent zeal of their first regularly called minister, called as assistant minister the 26th of July, the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, '753 ; died the 9th of February, 1756; was Peter Brunnholz, by Divine assistance. ^^"""^ ^' '"'"'^'^'" "^ J^""'^''^' '745; died founded the 5th of April in the year 1743; John Freder^ck^Ha'ndschuh, opened for Divine service the 20th of Oct'r, called as minister in the year 1757, died the 1743; finished and dedicated the 14th of 9th of Oct'r, 1764; Aug., 1748, John Frederick Schmidt, , - J ^, ,. called as minister the i8th of Sept'r, 1786, and received the contrregation 1 > / 1 ^ died the 12th of May, 1812; at the celebration of its looth Jubdee, ^^^^^^ Henry Christian Helmuth, the called as minister the 25th of May, 1799, 14th of June, 1843. died the 5th of Feb'y, 1825. [36 HISTORIC iMAXSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg may be justly considered the founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He was descended from a Saxon family which during the Thirty Years' War removed to Eimbeck in Hanover, a free city of the German Empire. His father held a judicial position in the city, and Henry Melchior, the son, was born there in the year 171 1. His father died, leaving a small estate, while the boy was young. By the kind- ness of friends he was enabled to continue his studies, and in the struggle with adversity which followed he acquired courage, energy, and determination, which were to be of the utmost advantage to him in after life. In 1735, being twenty-four years of age, he entered the University of Gottingen, which had been founded during the previous year by George H., king of England and elector of Hanover, and during his studies at that university became chaplain to Count Reuss XXIV. He made here some valuable and influential friends, among whom was Gesner the painter and poet and Count Erdman Henkel. After graduation, by the advice of the latter, he removed to Halle, where he enjoyed the friendship of Franke, Celarius, and the inspector Fabricius, men of influence in the Lutheran Church. They advised him to accept the mission to America. For this charge he was pecu- liarly fitted from his skill in languages. After his arrival in Pennsyl- vania he frequently preached not only in German, but in English and Low Dutch. His influence among the Germans was very great. He remained at Philadelphia, in charge of St. Michael's, preaching also at Germantown, New Hanover, and Providence, until the opening of Zion Church in 1767. He resigned in 1774, and went to the church of Augustus at the Trappe, where he remained until his death in 1787. Muhlenberg married, shortly after he came to America, Anna, the daughter of Conrad Weiser, a man of great ability and activity, and of influence with the Indians. The records and archives of Pennsyl- vania are full of accounts of the transactions of Conrad Weiser with the Indians and his reports of internal affairs. By this wife Mr. Muhlenberg had three sons. John Peter Gabriel, the eldest, born in 1746 at the Trappe, was sent to Germany for his education, and while at Halle ran away and enlisted in a regiment of dragoons as a private. Being discovered and reclaimed, he finished his studies, and was or- dained to the ministry in 1772. At the commencement of the Revo- lution he beat the drum ecclesiastic, and, declaring to his congregation GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH: ST. MICHAEL'S AND ZION. 137 that there was a time to preach and a time to fight, appeared in the pulpit in mihtary uniform covered by the minister's gown, which after a stirring patriotic sermon he stripped off, disclosing the soldier's garb and announcing his intention to recruit. He already held the com- mission of colonel, and he raised the Eighth Virginia, commonly called the German regiment. He rose rapidly in the Continental army, and became finally major-general. He fought at Brandy wine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Stony Point, and was next in command to La Fayette at the capture of Yorktown in 1780. Afterward returning to Penn- sylvania, he became Vice-President of the State, member of Congress, United States Senator, and finally collector of the port of Philadelphia, to which position he was appointed in 1803, and which he held till his death in 1807. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, second son of the founder of the Lutheran Church, born at the Trappe in 1750, was ordained to the ministry, officiated in Philadelphia and New York, was member of the Continental Congress, and Speaker of the first and third Federal Con- gresses. He was President of the Council of Censors of Pennsylva- nia, State Treasurer, President of the State convention which ratified the United States Constitution, and Receiver-General of the Land Office under the Federal government. It was his casting vote as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives which carried the bill that provided for the fulfilment of some of the stipulations of Jay's treaty — an instrument exceedingly unpopular among the hot Democrats in the last decade of the last century. Gotthilf Henry Ernst, the third son, was also educated at Halle, and returning to America was ordained in 1774 third minister and assistant in the Philadelphia congregation. In 1780 he removed to Lancaster, and took charge of the Lutheran church in that town, holding it for thirty- five years, until his death. He had botanical tastes, and was a member of the American Philosophical Society and of scientific associations in Berlin and Gottingen. He published some works on botany, and left in manuscript a treatise on the flora of Lancaster county. Henry Augustus Muhlenberg, clergyman and statesman, born at Lancaster in 1782, was his son. He served as pastor of the Lutheran church at Reading for twenty-six years, was member of Congress from 1829 to 1838, and was supported as Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania by the anti-Wolf branch of that organization ; the result 138 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of which was that both Wolf and Muhlenberg were defeated and Joseph Ritner elected. He was minister to Austria in 1838-40. One of his sons, Henry A., third in descent from Henry Melchior, was member of Congress in 1853-54, and died in the latter year. Rev. William A. Muhlenberg, a great-grandson of the Lutheran founder, became an Episcopal minister, was rector of St. James's, Lancaster, of the Holy Communion, New York ; founder of St. Luke's Hospital, New York, and of the Matthias Industrial Community of St. Johnland. He was the author of that well-known hymn, " I would not live alway." He died in New York City April 8, 1877, aged eighty years. Concerning John Dietrich Heinzelman, who was assistant minister of St. Michael's a little over two years and a half, scarcely anything is known. He was probably sent over from Halle. He was very earnest in the school-work of the congregation during his ministry. The Rev. Peter Brunnholz, a native of Schleswig, ordained April 12, 1744, was sent over from Germany, and sailed for America near the close of 1744. Messrs. Schaum and Kurtz, afterward most excellent and earn- est Lutheran ministers in Pennsylvania, came with him. The voyage was long and the winds contrary. They reached the city on the 25th of January, 1745. They probably landed at some distance from the built- up portions of the town. After they reached the shore, and were walking to the city, they met a German who came out of a piece of woods near the road. Observing that they had just come from a vessel lying in the Delaware, this man accosted them with the ques- tion, " Are there any Lutheran ministers on board ?" On learning their character he leaped for joy ; he took them to the house of a German merchant known for hospitality. The elders, the deacons, many members of the church, soon gathered around them ; an express was sent off to Providence to convey the intelligence to Muhlenberg ; and upon that day they all united to " thank God and to take courage." They found immediate service. Schaum opened his school in Phila- delphia, and Kurtz took the school at New Hanover. Brunnholz officiated at St. Michael's, part of the time at Germantown. Pastor John Frederick Handschuh arrived from Germany in 1748; was sent by Muhlenberg to Lancaster, but returned to Philadelphia, where he first became permanently attached to the church of St. Michael's, Germantown, and in 1756 became permanently attached to St. Michael's, Philadelphia, where he remained eight years. GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH: ST. MICHAEUS AND ZTON. 139 Rev. Johann Frederick Schmidt filled the pulpit of St. Michael's for twenty-six years. He was born in Germany on the 9th of January, 1746, and was nearly twenty-three years old when he came to America in 1769. He was educated at Halle, and had charge of the Germantown congregation for sixteen years, including the Revolu- tionary period. In memory he remains with a fragrant odor of piety. He was earnest, industrious, simple and kindly in his manners, and held in universal respect. Rev. Justus Henry Christian Helmuth came over with Schmidt in 1769, and was shortly afterward elected pastor of the Lutheran church at Lancaster. He came to Philadelphia in 1779, and was first associated in the service of Zion. He was a man of more than ordinary ability. " He always preached with surprising unction, with great fervor and pathos. He was able not merely to hold an audience subdued under the charm of his eloquence, but at times to electrify them. The minds of those who heard him could not wander : they were chained. Their feelings seemed to be completely under the control of the speaker. His commanding, impassioned manner gave to his words a power which was felt by all — an effect which was truly astonishing." Dr. Helmuth was a fine scholar and linguist. He was professor of the German and Oriental languages in the University of Pennsylvania for eighteen years, and for twenty years he was principal of the theo- logical seminary for the preparation of candidates for the ministry. In the fevers of 1793 and 1800 he remained with his flock, in the midst of which the effects of the pestilence were terrible. He lost no occa- sion for the performance of his duty at the bedsides of the sick and dying, and was earnest and devoted throughout his service. The German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania was present at the centennial celebration of St. Michael's Church in 1843, and several of the descendants of Father Muhlenberg. The exercises were deeply interesting, and the spirit then manifested ought to have been sufficient to preserve the church as a venerable memorial of the past. In twenty years the interest in the old building had entirely died out in the congregation. Zion had left its position at Fourth and Cherry, and erected a grand edifice on Franklin street above Race. St. Michael's had fallen into disuse. The churchwardens and vestrymen were divided as to the use of the property. Some of them joined in the erection of a new St. Michael's, corner of Trenton avenue and 140 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Cumberland street, which they claimed was truly the mother-church. Others abandoned all interest in the estate. Acts of Assembly were passed in 1853 and 1 871, giving authority to the rector, vestry, and wardens to sell the church property. An attempt was made to prevent this consummation by an application to the Court of Common Pleas for an injunction. The effort failed. During the course of that year the church and lot at Fifth and Appletree alley were sold. The mouldering remains of the founders of the church were removed from the burying-ground by such of their descendants as lived and who cared for the memory of their ancestors. The bones of others, in in- distinguishable confusion, were transferred to a corporation cemetery. The weather-stained walls, the curious low, round-arched windows, and all the distinguishing features of this old landmark were removed from sight, and the history of St. Michael's, after more than a century and a quarter of usefulness in Philadelphia, ceased. STENTON -^5^F an ancient Scotch family, the Logans of Restalrig, James Logan, the secretary and confidential friend of William Penn, was, by what is sometimes called the "accident of birth," an Irishman. His ancestors were Scottish lairds whose personal history can be traced through several generations in the chronicles of the kingdom. Two of the Logans were compan- ions of the Douglas and the flower of Scottish chivalry when the heart of Bruce was carried toward the Holy Sepulchre. They never reached the sacred goal, but fell under the walls of Granada in battle with the Moors — a bravely-contested fight in which the Christians were vanquished and the great object of the expedition was lost. The heart of Bruce was rescued, and brought back to Scotland by the sur- viving companions of the Logans, and buried in the monastery at Melrose. A Logan of Restalrig was Lord Admiral of Scotland in the year 1400, and defeated an English fleet in the Firth of Forth. The family was active in public affairs, and the last Logan, Baron of Restalrig, who died in 1600, was accused of participation in the Gowrie Conspiracy, and was tried for complicity in that affair eight years after his death. It was easy to obtain a verdict of guilty against a dead man when power was to be gratified and confiscation to follow. The Logan estates in Scotland were forfeited, and the sons of Sir Robert Logan by the change in their circumstances were induced to settle in Ireland. They took up their residence at Lurgan. Patrick Logan was the son of Robert, who was the son of Sir Robert of Restalrig. Patrick was educated in the University of Edinburgh, and was intended for the clerical profession. He was ordained, and was for some time a chaplain of the Established Church. In time he became T42 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. impressed with the principles of the Society of Friends, and connected himself with the followers of George Fox. His wife was Isabel Hume, of the Scotch family of Dundas and Panure. There were several chil- dren, but two only, William and James, attained manhood. William went to Bristol, England, where he settled and practised as a physician. James, who was born at Lurgan on the 28th of October, 1674 (old style), was precocious. He had attained some proficiency in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew before he was thirteen years of age, and made himself skilful in mathematics at sixteen in consequence of having come across a treatise on that subject. He added French, Italian, and some Spanish to his accomplishments. The condition of the affairs of the family would not admit of the Logans being brought up to idleness or elegant leisure : it was neces- sary that they should follow some occupation. James was apprenticed to a linen-draper in Dublin, but the indentures being broken, he went with his father and mother to Edinburgh, London, and Bristol. In 1698, being twenty-four years of age, he commenced trade between Dublin and Bristol, and was getting along with success when William Penn, who was in want of a bright, active young man as his secretary, and who must have come across Logan by reason of his father's con- nection with the Quakers, invited him to go to America. Against the advice of friends he sailed in the Canterbury, which arrived in the Del- aware in the latter part of 1699. He was immediately inducted to office, and without any delay plunged into work for the proprietary. He soon showed such talent for business that his services were indis- pensable. After Penn's departure he became a man of important offices. He was in the course of his life Secretary of the Province, Commissioner of Property, member of the Provincial Council, and for some time President of the Council and Chief-Justice of Pennsylvania. He was a student of literature and science, corresponded with the learned men of the time, and accumulated a fine collection of valuable books, classic and scientific, composed of rare editions, which formed the foundation of the Loganian Library. Into his hands more especial- ly Penn entrusted his interests when he left the colony in 1701 for England. " I have left thee in an uncommon trust," said he, " with a singular dependence on thy justice and care, which I expect thou wilt faithfully employ in advancing my honest interests For thy own services I shall allow thee what is just and reasonable, either by a com- stenton: 143 mission or a salary. But my dependence is on thy care and honesty. Serve me faithfully, as thou expectest a blessing from God or my favor, and I shall support thee to the utmost as thy true friend." As years f^^ ^V^I^^aV ^ SiiNfON, STILL Standing. rolled on, the burdens became heavier on Logan, but he sustained them with strength and resolution. After the departure of Penn, and after his death, and for some years subse- quent, during the disputes in the proprietary family, he may be said to have had absolute control of the Province in affairs of a private nature, and in public matters where the lieu- tenant-governors were deficient in devotion to the family. After the settlement of the proprietary affairs and the assumption of author- ity by the proprietaries themselves, Logan's task was lighter, and he <-=~^^ ^j ^ 144 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. had time to devote himself to seeking benefit for the people of the Province. The places of Logan's residence during the early part of his career in Pennsylvania are not entirely known. He had permission to live in the Slate-Roof House until Penn's lease was up. The time expired in 1702, but finding the premises comfortable, and believing that he should, as representative of the proprietary, maintain a certain degree of state, he exceeded the time, and was there in October, 1702, when he wrote : " I, finding things bear too hard upon me, design speedily to go, table myself and man abroad, and shorten my charges, which I have hitherto been at chiefly for public considerations." In 1704, Logan mentions to Penn in a letter that he requested to be excused from building a lodge at Fairmount. When Governor John Evans, William Penn, Jr., and Judge Mompesson came over in 1704, they rented Clarke Hall, a very pretty property, rural in situation, quite out of town, with walks and gardens and forest trees, at the south-west corner of Third and Chestnut streets, extending down to Dock Creek. Logan went with them to live there, and they kept bachelor's hall in a manner not agreeable, it is likely, to the young Quaker, though he re- mained with them as long as Evans was governor. There was no partic- ular reason why he should leave the establishment except an occasional unpleasantness on the part of his companions. Evans and young Penn were gay, and not given to strict obedience to the Ten Command- ments. Mompesson was probably more staid in his deportment, and with him in the house Logan managed to get along comfortably. A bachelor life was not according to his tastes, and he had hoped to change it in such manner as would contribute not only to his happi- ness, but to his personal comfort and means. An attachment for Ann Shippen, daughter of Edward, who was first Mayor of Philadelphia, gave him considerable anxiety, which was heightened by the stings of disap- pointment. The fair Ann was inclined to listen to another's vows. In a small place, as Philadelphia was at that time, the progress of the love- affair was a matter of town-talk, the burden of which even crossed the water and got to the ears of Penn. The lady preferred Thomas Story to Logan, and this was well known. " I am anxiously grieved for thy unhappy love," writes Penn to Logan in February, 1705, "for thy sake and my own. for T. S. and thy discord has been of no service here, any more than there ; and some say that come thence that thy amours STENTOy. 145 have so altered or influenced thee that thou art grown touchy and apt to give rough and short answers, which many call haughty, etc. I make no judgment, but caution thee, as in former letters, to let truth preside and bear impertinencies as patiently as thou canst." To this hint Logan responded the next month (March) : " I cannot understand that paragraph in thy letter relating to T. S. and myself; thou says our discord has done no more good there than here, and know not who carried the account of it, for I wrote to none that I know but thyself in 7ber, 1703 Before that we had lived eighteen months very good friends, without any manner of provocation, only that I had about three or four months before spoke something to Edward Ship- pen " Thomas Story proved to be the successful suitor, and his marriage with Ann Shippen took place on the loth of July, 1706. Logan, like a philosopher, became reconciled to a disappointment which he could not prevent, and resolved to let the lady go. He wrote to William Penn, Jr., in August of that year : " Thomas Story carries very well since his marriage. He and I are very great friends, for I think the whole busi- ness is not now worth a quarrel, and I believe he will be serviceable to thy father's interest here. I therefore request thee to abate of thy for- mer resentment, and look upon such as I have last mentioned." About the same time Edward Shippen, the father of Ann, taking courage from the example of his daughter, married Elizabeth James, it being his third marriage. The lady did not belong to the Society of Friends, and his alliance with her led to Mr. Shippen's withdrawal or expulsion from the sect. Thomas Story was one of the luckiest adventurers that ever visited Pennsylvania. In company with Roger Gill he came to America in 1698, upon an itinerant mission. They arrived in Virginia, and trav- elled through North Carolina and Maryland, reaching Pennsylvania in 1699. When Penn came over for the second time, he found Story in Philadelphia ready to return to England, but having great confidence in his ability and integrity, the proprietary showered upon him official favors. He was made a member of the Provincial Council, Keeper of the Great Seal, Master of the Rolls, Commissioner of Property, and Recorder of the city of Philadelphia. Add to this, the good luck of winning one of the finest and richest girls in the Province, and it must be admitted that Mr. Story's visit was by no means unprofitable. Ed- 10 146 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. ward Shippen made a liberal settlement on his daughter. Among other properties, he gave her a large brick house and lot on the west side of Second street, north of Walnut, the precise location of which is known to a later generation as the site of the Bank of Pennsylvania and afterward of the United States Appraisers' stores. It was two hundred feet deep, bounded on the south by an alley which ran from Second street to Dock Creek, and is known in modern times as Gold street. It is a curious incident connected with the grant that it con- veyed the " privilege of said alley down to the dock westward of said premises, and with the privilege of any wharf built or to be built at the end of the said alley." This wharf, if built, would have been about where the footwalk of Dock street crosses Gold street. In course of time Logan got over all his disappointments, and, being more lucky in his second choice, was married on the 9th of loth month (December), 17 14, to Sarah Read, daughter of Charles Read, merchant, a man of wealth and distinction in the Province. He was Mayor of the city 1726-27, was appointed a member of the Governor's Council in 1733, and Judge of Admiralty under the Crown in 1735. Her sis- ter was the wife of Israel Pemberton. By this marriage he had seven children, three of whom died young. Sarah, the oldest child, married Isaac Norris, Jr., one of the influential men of the Province, and for a long time leader of the Quaker party. Hannah, fourth child and second daughter, married John Smith, an enterprising merchant of Philadelphia, who exercised much influence in the Society of Friends. The sons who attained to manhood were William and James. The residence of Mr. Logan in the early part of his life is, as we have said, not well known. He owned a great deal of property in the city and county, and, it is to be presumed, lived in his own house. April 8, 1728, he bought of Thomas Story the house on Second street which was the wedding-gift of Edward Shippen to his daughter Ann. The lady had died some years before, and Story, giving up his rich possessions, went back to England. In the deed he is described as of " Inslingtown, County of Cumberland, Great Britain." About the same time James Logan commenced the building of a house upon a piece of ground which belonged to him on the Germantown road south of the village. This property was composed of several pieces which had been acquired by various titles. It was a large tract, which touched on the east side of Germantown road above Nicetown, at S TEN TON. 147 the intersection of the Township Line road, and running over to the old York road. Through the ground ran the Wingohocking, a branch of Tacony or Frankford Creek, afterward known as Logan's Run. The house was a plain two-story brick, with a pent roof and attics, suf- ficiently spacious to ensure ease and elegance. The house is believed to have been finished in 1728. Mrs. Sarah Butler Wister, in the sketch of Deborah Logan in Worthy Wojuen of Our First Century, describes Stenton with a loving minuteness which fills out a perfect picture : " Round the house there was the quiet stir and movement of a country place, with its large gardens full of old-fashioned flowers and fruits, its poultry-yard and stables. The latter were connected with the house by an underground passage which led to a concealed staircase and a door under the roof, like the ' priest's escape ' in some old English country-seats The offices surrounded the main building, con- nected with it by brick courts and covered ways. They were all at the back, and so disposed as to enhance the picturesque and dignified air of the old mansion, the interior of which is as curious to modern eyes as it is imposing. One enters by a brick hall, opposite to which is the magnificent double staircase, while right and left are lofty rooms covered with fine old-fashioned woodwork, in some of them the wainscot being carried up to the ceiling above the chimney-place, which in all the apartments was a vast opening set round with blue and white sculptured tiles of the most grotesque devices. There are corner cupboards, and in some of the rooms cupboards in arched niches over the mantelpieces, capital showcases for the rare china and magnificent old silver which adorned the dinner-table on state occasions. Half of the front of the house in the second story was taken up by one large finely-lighted room, the library of the book- loving masters of the place." The grounds were adorned with fine old trees. A splendid avenue of hemlocks — which legend would only be satisfied with declaring were planted by William Penn, although he, poor man ! was dead years before Stenton was built — led up to the house. The Wingo- hocking meandered through the plantation, lighting up the landscape with brightness wherever its placid surface was seen. Stenton was a house for the living, but the affection which the owners had for it connected with the estate in time a last resting-place for the dead. The family graveyard is romantically situated, surrounded with old 148 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. trees and with all accessories of a spot to be picked out as a beautiful garden of the dead. Well considered as were Mr. Logan's plans, circumstances prevented him from superintending the work. About the time when this mansion was building he met with a painful accident, which confined him for a long time to his house and made him a cripple for life. By a fall he broke the head of a thigh-bone near the socket, and it was several months before he could go about on crutches. During the period of recovery he remained in his house at the city, solacing himself with the pleasures of literature. In a letter dated May 17, 1729, he said : " For these twelve months past it is certain I am much weaker, yet should be very easy in my mind could I be freed from other people's business, and left to amuse myself with no other care on me than what my family absolutely requires. Having a true helpmate, children not undutiful, and a plantation within five miles of this town, to which I am retiring this summer, I believe that if I were troubled with nothing but what truly concerns me, notwithstanding I have had much greater losses since I received this hurt than in all my life before, I should be able to have my family tolerably supported and be helpful to my children in their education. For it is my greatest happiness in this condition that with the advantages already mentioned I am naturally or by long habit disposed — for which I am truly thankful — to account a solid, inward peace of mind, and the enjoyments of myself by reducing my own thoughts to bear some proportion to the beautiful order conspicuous in all the outward objects of the natural creation, to be the only basis of a real felicity. And for a variety I would amuse myself with some small entertainments from science, for in Dryden's words, which have always affected me, I take it to be true that ' Knowledge and innocence is perfect joy.' " Logan was at this time comfortable, and it may be supposed that he got rich by his connection with the proprietary family. In a letter to Thomas Penn in 1747, when he was importuned to take the presi- dency of the Province for a second time, he said that his success was owing to commerce and to the trade with the Indians for furs. Dur- ing Penn's time his salary was only i^ioo a year, and the perquisites were not sufficient to maintain a clerk and a horse. Between 17 10 and 1730 he did not receive a farthing from the Penn family, although S TEN TON. 149 he had made outlays on their account. In 1724 he received five hun- dred acres in Bucks county and five thousand acres on the Springetts- bury estate, including Bush Hill and other lands in the vicinity. He parted with one thousand acres to Andrew Hamilton for the proprie- tary's benefit, and one hundred acres to another person. The remain- der of the lands were disposed of at much better bargains for those who bought than for Logan himself. After Stenton was built, it was first occupied as a summer residence, but in time it became Logan's permanent dwelling. In deeds made in 1730 he describes himself as "James Logan of Philadelphia," but in 1732 he begins to call himself "James Logan of Stenton." Here, in consequence of his sickness, many affairs of state were transacted. From August, 1736, to August, 1738, James Logan was President of the Council, and many consultations were held at Stenton. Deputa- tions of Indians who visited Philadelphia found it convenient to seek the seat near Germantown, and accommodations which might be called permanent were made for their reception on the grounds. On some occasions there were three or four hundred sons of the forest at Sten- ton, and the deputations would remain for days enjoying the hospitality of the plantation. Cannassetego, chief of the Onondagas, in a treaty made with the Six Nations at Philadelphia in July, 1742, by Governor George Thomas and council, thus expressed himself in relation to Logan : " Brethren, we called at our friend James Logan's on our way to this city, and to our grief found him hid in the bushes and retired through infirmities from public business. We pressed him to leave his retire- ment, and prevailed with him to assist once more on our account at your council. He is a wise man and a fast friend to the Indians, and we desire when his soul goes to God you may choose in his room just such another person of the same prudence and ability in counselling, and of the same tender disposition and affection for the Indians." Be- tween 1 73 1 and 1739, Logan was Chief-Justice of the Province, and when he was not able to come to the city the consultations of himself and associates were held at Stenton. The enforced seclusion to his own house which the accident he had met with caused, had the effect of drawing his mind to the necessity of study and to indulgence in literature. He wrote in Latin scientific and philosophic treatises upon botany, the generation of plants, particularly the maize, the quadrant, lightning, optical phenomena, 150 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. radiation of light, and other subjects. In his old age he translated Cicero de Sencctutc, with notes and a preface by Dr. Franklin ; also Cato's distichs into English verses. He was never happier than when among his books, and as age crept on he seems to have regretted that his children did not inherit the tastes which would make his library useful. Writing to Thomas Story in 1734, he said: "I have four children now with me, who I think generally take more after their mother than me, which I am sure thou wilt not dislike in them ; yet if they had more of a mixture it might be of some use to bring them through the world ; and it sometimes gives me an anxious thought that my considerable collections of Greek and Roman authors, with others in various languages, will not find an heir in my family to use them as I have done, but after my decease must be sold or squandered away." These thoughts gained strength as he grew older, and led to the institution by him of the Loganian Library for the use of the citizens of Philadelphia, which he intended to endow by his will, but which he failed to legally accomplish. It is honorable to the descend- ants of James Logan that, though they were not obliged to carry out this intention, they resolved to execute not only the designs of their an- cestor, but to give to the library more than he had originally intended. • It was at Stenton that Thomas Godfrey, glazier, by accident discov ered the principle upon. which he invented his improvement on Davis's quadrant, which superseded the latter and has hardly been improved to this day. A piece of broken glass which had fallen in such a manner as to reflect the sun engaged his attention, so as to induce him to quit his work and go into Mr. Logan's library, where he took down a volume of Newton. Mr. Logan came in while he was reading, and ascertaining the object of his search, gave him so much encourage- ment that he proceeded to construct an instrument according to the plan in his mind. When completed it was found to be an important apparatus. Godfrey was a member of the Junto founded by Franklin. He made optics and mathematics his study, and learned enough Latin to render his knowledge available, for scientific works were then generally written in that language. The instrument was first tried in Delaware Bay by Joshua Fisher of Lewes, and afterward at sea ; and in London, Hadley, who pirated the invention, described it before the Royal Society and succeeded in affixing his name to the product of another's talents. STENTON. I 5 1 " In personal appearance," says Watson, " James Logan was tall and well proportioned, with a graceful yet grave demeanor. He had a good complexion, and was quite florid even in old age, nor did his hair, which was brown, turn gray in his decline of life, nor his eyes require spectacles. According to the customs of the times, he wore a powdered wig. His whole manner was dignified, so as to abash im- pertinence; yet he was kind, and strictly just in all the minor duties of acquaintance and society." James Logan died 31st of loth month, 175 1, having just entered his seventy-seventh year. He was buried in the ground of the Arch street Meeting. He was succeeded at Stenton by his eldest son, William, who was born there. He was educated in Pennsylvania and in Eng- land, and intended to be a merchant. After his father's death he removed to Stenton and gave up trade. He was chosen a member of the Governor's Council in 1 747. He devoted himself to agriculture after the elder Logan's decease, and resided at Stenton during the remain- der of his life. He imitated his father in hospitality toward the Indians and in public exertions on their behalf. He travelled extensively, and was in England during the war of the Revolution, and thereby escaped the suspicions and responsibilities of the times. He died in 1776. After the British army left Philadelphia, and before the outlying forces were withdrawn, General Howe occupied Stenton as his head- quarters. It was here that early on an October morning he received intelligence of the bold advance of Washington which led to the battle of Germantown, and to Stenton he withdrew after the Americans, hav- ing failed in the main object of their attack, marched away. William Logan the second afterward occupied Stenton, and lived in it until his death. His mother was Sarah Emlen : he married Sarah Ports- mouth. He was succeeded at the family seat by Dr. George Logan, grandson of James Logan, who was born at the mansion in 1755. He was educated principally in England. It was intended that he should be a merchant, and on his return to America he was placed in a counting- house as an apprentice. Upon attaining manhood, always having had a great liking for the study of medicine, he determined to embrace that profession. After three years' study at Edinburgh he travelled in France, Germany, Italy, and Holland, and returned home in 1779. He found family affairs in such a condition that he was unable to de- vote himself to the practice of medicine. The estate at Stenton was 152 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. in bad condition through the ravages of the war, and he determined to restore it. He became a scientific farmer, joined the Philosophical and Agricultural Societies, and wrote papers on agricultural subjects. Gradually he drifted into politics. Sympathizing with France, he be- came a fervent Democrat. He was elected to the Assembly of Penn- sylvania for the county of Philadelphia for the session of 1795-96. Dr. Logan was conspicuous during the troubles between the United States and France, and undertook, upon his own thought and without authority from the Federal government, a mission to the French Di- rectory in 1798, in hope to prevent war between the United States and France. He was successful as far as the assurances of Talleyrand and Merlin, chief of the Directory, Avere concerned, but actually accom- plished nothing. His effort created much excitement and indignation among the Federalists, who were opposed to this measure. The feeling was so high that in 1799 Congress passed a law, sometimes called the " Logan act," which declared it to be an offence for any American citi- zen to influence the course of diplomacy or to presume to make treaties with foreign nations. The obloquy to which Dr. Logan was subjected by the enemies of Mr. Jefferson did not affect his standing with his own party. He was again elected to the Assembly for the session of 1798- 99. He was appointed a Federal Senator in 1801 in place of General Peter Muhlenberg, who had resigned. The Legislature confirmed this honor, and he was United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1801 until 1807. Notwithstanding the Logan act, he endeavored at a later period to save his country from the horrors of war. In 18 10 he under- took another voluntary mission to France, in the hope that he might advise and convince English statesmen of the impolicy of their conduct toward the United States, which, if not changed, would result in war. His well-meant efforts in this direction failed, and in 1812 the storm of hostilities broke over the country. After this failure Dr. Logan re- turned to Stenton, where he remained in the prosecution of congenial studies and pursuits until his death, on the 9th of April, 1821. Dr. Logan married Deborah Norris, daughter of Charles Norris and granddaughter of Isaac Norris the elder. She was born at the old Norris mansion, on Chestnut street between Fourth and Fifth, on the 19th of October, 1761. She was married to Dr. Logan September 6, 1780. Deborah Norris received as good an education as the American Colonies could afford. She was accomplished, of a sweet disposition, and s TEN ton: 153 had literary and antiquarian tastes. After her marriage, besides faith- ful attention to her duties as a Avife and mother, she gave earnest and continued attention to subjects connected with the history of Pennsyl- vania. Connected as she was with the leading families of the Province, this taste was natural. She found much to strengthen it at Stenton. James Logan had preserved with care the letters which he had received during the entire course of his public life, with copies of many letters of his own. These furnished a mine of contemporary history, the value of which can scarcely be estimated. Mrs. Logan addressed herself to the task of copying these old letters, or at least such parts as illustrated historical matters, and she devoted to the employment many years of her life when she could spare an hour or two from other affairs. Many thousand pages were copied by her, with notes and explanations whenever obscurities were obvious. These volumes went into the possession of the American Philo- sophical Society. They are the foundation of the PcTin and Logan Papers, two volumes of which have been published by the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the interest of which has been added to by publica- tion of other letters belonging to the latter association. Probably two more volumes will be required to finish them, a delay occurring on account of the death of the lamented Edward Armstrong, an intelligent and faithful student, at one time Vice-President of the Society, who had engaged in their compilation. Mrs. Logan survived her husband nearly eighteen years, and died February 2, 1839, at Stenton. Besides her historic tastes, she possessed poetic ability, and wrote some fugitive pieces which were published in the National Gasctte. She dearly loved the repose and ease at Stenton, and spent there the happiest portion of her life. In 181 5 she wrote for her relatives, William Logan Fisher and Sarah Logan Fisher, the following : SONNET TO STENTON. (by our BKI.OVED and honored friend, DEBORAH LOGAN. Written in 1815 for her affectionate relatives, W. Logan and Sarah L. Fisher.) My peaceful home ! amidst whose dark green shades And sylvan scenes my weaning life is spent. Nor without blessings and desired content! Again the spring illumes thy verdant glades, And rose-crowned Flora calls the Ionian maids To grace with songs her revels, and prevent, By charmed spells, the nipping l)lasts which, bent 154 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. From Eurus or the stormy North, pervades Her treasures — still 'tis mine among thy groves Musing to rove, enamor'd of the fame Of him who reared these walls, whose classic lore For science brightly blazed, and left his name Indelible — by honor, too, approved. And virtue cherished by the Muses' flame. One year before her death Mrs. Logan wrote the following : LINES WRITTEN IN OLD AGE— 1838. Oh, say not Time, with ruthless wing, Damps the best feelings of the mind ; Say not his scythe, that sweeping thing, Can level thought and fancy bind. I cannot bear to see decay Usurp the place where Reason lay. Methinks it might the wizard please To stamp his ruin on the face ; To mark his grasp, the victim seize, And the fine form bow in disgrace. Were this his aim, he'd welcome be. So he would leave my mind to me. Leave me the dreams of other years ; Leave me the free, expansive thought, The courage which supports from fears, The kindness kindred feeling wrought. Then could I bear Time's spoils to see, So he would leave my ?>tind to tne. After the death of Dr. George Logan, his son, Albanus C. Logan, Hved with his mother at Stenton, and after his death some of his chil- dren, of whom there were five, occupied the property. Of late years it has fallen into disuse as a residence, and must soon yield to the unpitying progress of " improvement," which, for the benefit of the interests of the present, cherishes no sentimental reverence for the past OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. EV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, celebrated for his oratorical power and fervor, paid seven visits to America between 1738 and 1770. Fervent as a preacher, he was fluent, bold, and denunciatory. His mission was to thunder against sin and to hold forth to the view of the trembling sinner the -^ terrors of eternal punishment. A companion of the Wesleys at Oxford in the association of students for religious purposes dubbed the Holy Club, which was the foundation of the society of Christians called Methodists, Whitefield finally separated from his companions upon a question of faith. His opinions led him to Cal- vinism, and the Arminian principles of the Wesleys not agreeing with his own belief, he gradually withdrew from the communion and sought employment for his excitable disposition in apostolic labor. He first visited Philadelphia during his second trip to America, and preached at Christ Church in November, 1739. He came with a reputation. He had preached in the early part of the year in different parts of England in the open air to enormous crowds of people, addressing at one time at Moorfields sixty thousand persons, according to estimate. The fame of his wonderful eloquence and the effects which he had pro- duced preceded him, and to Christ Church members of all denomina- tions went to hear him. His style of speaking was quick, declamatory, and earnest — so different from the set preaching of the period that the novelty attracted much attention among the laity, whilst at the same time it caused doubt and dissatisfaction in the ranks of the clergy. The church accommodations were too small for the throngs which were anxious to hear the preacher. Whitefield then held forth from the balcony of the court-house at Second and Market streets to a great 156 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. crowd, extending eastward toward Front street. Franklin said of him : " He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words and sentences so perfectly that he might be heard and understood at a great distance, especially as his auditory, however numerous, observed the most exact silence." Upon one occasion Franklin practically tested the power of the voice of Whitefield, and found that it was distinct until he came near Front street. Upon that occasion he computed that more than thirty thousand people, if he had preached in an amphitheatre, could have heard him. " This reconciled me to the newspaper accounts of his having preached to twenty-five thousand people in the fields, and to the histories of generals haranguing whole armies, of which I some- times doubted." In a very short time Mr. Whitefield managed to affront or alarm the members of the Established Church and of some other sects, so that the facility with which he obtained the means of preaching in regular houses of worship was very much curtailed. Rev. Jonathan Arnold of New York, minister of the Church of Eng- land, charged him with "being against all bishops and clergymen of the Church of England," and with passing " unwarrantable sentences on men, as if he were the supreme judge." Having gone to New York and returned, Whitefield preached in Christ Church, at Germantown from a balcony to five thousand people, and from the balcony of a house on Society Hill, below Dock Creek, to ten thousand people. His suc- cess induced several young clergymen of the dissenting sects to imitate his style. Among these were the brothers Tennent, Davenport, and Blair, Presbyterians, Rowland and Jones, Baptists. The Rev. Ebenezer Kinnersley of the Baptist Church denounced those sermons as " horrid harangues " and "enthusiastic ravings designed to affect weak minds." Kinnersley _^was arraigned for this attack on his brother clergymen, and was directed to make an apology, which he refused to do, and the affair ended in his dismissal from the ministry. Through his wanderings Whitefield was attended by a faithful squire or chronicler, William Seward, a sort of Boswell. who recorded the sayings and doings of his clerical Johnson. This person records mi- nutely in his Journal, published in London in 1740, the circumstances attending the journey from Savannah to Philadelphia and from Phila- delphia to England. When they came to the city they went directly to the house on Society Hill from which Mr. Whitefield had preached his last sermon on the occasion of his previous visit. During their OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. 1 57 stay Seward and Whitefield Involved themselves in a controversy with the leading people of the city, which had a tendency to diminish their popularity and to embody opposition to their efforts. Seward under- took the bold measure of endeavoring to close the dancing-school and the dancing assembly and the concert-room, the two latter being kept up by subscription among people of wealth and fashion who aspired to be leaders of society. This invasion of their rights occasioned con- siderable indignation, and was characterized as an " unwarrantable piece of impertinence," which did not prevent the dancing from going on or the concert from being held. Seward tells the result in this way: " A friend came in and told us that some gentlemen threatened to cane me for having taken away the keys of the assembly-room, dancing- school, and music-meeting, which the owner delivered to me on my promise to pay for any damage which he might sustain thereby. May the Lord strengthen me to carry on this battle against one of Satan's strongest holds in this city, supported in part, too, by the proprietor, whose father bore a noble testimony against those devilish diversions, which shows us how dangerous a snare it is to our children to leave them licJi in this world's goods and not rich in faith f Other preachers took advantage of the feeling raised by Whitefield to preach numerous sermons in the open air. Fourteen of them were preached in five days in June and July on Society Hill by Rev. Gilbert Tennent, William Tennent of the Second Presbyterian Church, Mr. Davenport, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Blair, besides sermons at the Presbyterian and Baptist meeting-houses and exhortations in private dwellings. " The altera- tion in the state of religion here is altogether surprising," said the Gazette in July. " Never did the people show so great a willingness to attend sermons, nor the preachers greater zeal and diligence in per- forming the duties of their function. Religion is become the subject of most conversations. No books are in request but those of piety and devotion, and instead of idle songs and ballads the people are everywhere entertaining themselves with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs ; all which, under God, is owing to the successful labors of Rev. Mr. Whitefield." The sinners who were not affected by Whitefield's sermons, as well as people who went to church, byt who did not favor his eccentricities, were lively in their sarcasms. One of the opponents of the movement thus addressed Whitefield in the Mercury : 158 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. " THE CONGRATULATION : HUMBLY ADDRESSED TO ReV. Mr. WhITEFIELD ON HIS SiXTY-EIGHTH PREACHMENT IN Forty Days, with the Great and Visible Effects of Meat and Money that ensued therefrom. " Great miracle of modesty and sense ! Recount thy prayers and reckon up thy pence Secure, while these you tell and those you show, To meet your great reward — at least below. But, waiving lesser points for solid things. We find from whence thy cash and credit springs; When duly touched by corresponding tools, Loud sounds the noble symphony of FOOLS; Skeptics no more contest thy pious arts Of crazing noddles and of cobbling hearts. When such convincing prodigies arise. And sin and folly make us good and wise ; We see the holy proselytes expose Their meekness, truth, and charity in prose. While in their matchless poetry is shown Genius and sense not much unlike thy own." Many years afterward Whitefield saw through the hght of sober experience how unwise and uncharitable he had been, and with ripened opinions made the following confession : " I have carried high sail whilst running through a torrent of popularity and contempt. I may have mistaken nature for grace, imagination for revelation, and the fire of my own temper for the flame of holy zeal ; and I find I have fre- quently written and spoken in my own spirit when I thought I was as- sisted entirely by God." The popularity of Whitefield, aided by the opposition of the regular clergy, which bid fair to shut him out from all places of worship, led to the determination to erect a special building for his use large enough to accommodate the great crowds which followed him. Franklin says: " It being found inconvenient to assemble in the open air, subject to its inclemencies, the building of a house to meet in was no sooner pro- posed, and persons appointed to receive contributions, but sufficient sums were soon received to procure the ground and erect the building, which was one hundred feet long and seventy broad — about the size of Westminster Hall ; and the work was carried on with such spirit as to be finished in a much shorter time than could have been expected. OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. 159 Both house and ground were vested in trustees, expressly for the use of any preacher of any rehgious persuasion who might desire to say something to the people of Philadelphia ; the design in building not being to accommodate any particular sect, but the inhabitants in general ; so that even if the mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at The " New Building," Fourth street below Arch, afterward known as "the Academy" and occupied by the College of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, with the adjoining buildings occupied by the " Charitable Schools." (From a rare old Print.) his service." Whitefield did not understand the object of the building to be as broad and liberal as Franklin here says. In a letter dated in 1 740 he said : " I am chosen one of the trustees, and have promised to procure a master and mistress for the first scholars. I think it my duty to make what interest I can toward carrying on so good a work. l6o HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The house is intended for pubHc worship and a charity school. None but orthodox experimental ministers are to preach in it, and such are to have free liberty, of whatever denomination." The property selected for the " New Building," as it was called, was situate on the west side of Fourth street, commencing one hundred feet south of Mulberry or Arch street. It was one hundred and fifty feet front and ninety-eight feet deep. It was conveyed by Jonathan Price and wife, by deed of September 15, 1740, to Edmund Wooley, carpenter, John Coats, brickmaker, John Howell, mariner, and William Price, carpenter, subject to a quit-rent and a yearly ground- rent of fifteen dollars. On the 14th of November, 1740, Wooley, Coats, Howell, and Price conveyed the lot to George Whitefield of the Province of Georgia, clerk ; William Seward of London, in the kingdom of Great Britain ; John Stephen Benezet, merchant ; Thomas Noble of the city of New York, merchant; Samuel Hazard of the city of New York, merchant ; Robert Eastburne of Philadelphia, blacksmith ; James Read of Philadelphia, gentleman ; Edward Evans of Philadelphia, cordwainer; and Charles Brockden of Philadelphia, gentleman. The deed recited that whereas a considerable number of persons of different denominations in religion had united their endeavors to erect a large building upon the land above described, intending that the same should be appointed to the use of a charity school for the instruction of poor children gratis in useful literature and in the Christian religion, and also that the same should be used as a house of public worship, and that it was agreed that the use of the said building should be under the direction of certain trustees — viz. the persons above named, Whitefield and others — with power to appoint new trustees, etc. ; also with power " to appoint fit and able schoolmasters and schoolmistresses for the service of the said school, and to introduce such Protestant ministers to preach the gospel in the said house as they should judge to be sound in their principles, zealous and faithful in the discharge of their duty, and acquainted with the religion of the heart and experimental piety, without any regard to those distinctions or different sentiments in lesser matters which have to the scandal of religion unhappily divided real Christians." In this building, before a roof was on it, Whitefield officiated in November, 1740, sixteen times. In 1745 and 1746 he preached there, and probably for the last time. Meanwhile, the building had been OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. l6l appropriated for the purpose originally intended, as a place to be used by any religious sect which might apply for it. The Tennents (Gilbert and William), who had followed Whitefield in his vehement style of preaching, became heterodox, according to the notions of the old Pres- byterian party, particularly by their violence and denunciatory course. The Synod required suitable acknowledgment and amendment on the part of the New Lights or Tennent party, which they refused to make, and withdrew from the jurisdiction, thus splitting up Presbyterianism in North America. The congregations were divided ; some went with the New Lights and some with the Old. There was but one Presby- terian church in Philadelphia up to 1741. But the New Lights had been worshipping at the New Building under Rev. Samuel Finley and Gilbert Tennent. In 1743 this congregation offered Whitefield ;^8oo if he would remain with them six months and preach. He declined the offer, and the congregation became the Second Presbyterian Church, and was connected with the Presbytery of Londonderry and New Brunswick. The Second Church remained in this building till the end of May, 1752, when its meeting-house at the north-west corner of Third and Arch streets was finished and ready for use. One of the objects for which the building was erected was the establishment of a charity school, but no action was immediately taken in pursuance of that important matter. Some attempt was made in 1743 to carry out the plan. Benjamin Franklin drew up a proposal for the establishment of the school, and supposed that the Rev. Richard Peters, who was then out of employment, would be willing to superin- tend such an institution, but he declined, " having more profitable views in the service of the proprietaries." The project rested for some years. In 1749, Franklin wrote and published a pamphlet entitled Proposals relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania, which he distributed gratis. Afterward he set on foot a subscription for an academy, the amount to be paid in yearly quotas for five years. The proposition was so successful that ^^"5000 were subscribed. A house was hired and masters were engaged. The school was opened 1749- 50. The pupils soon became more numerous than the accommoda- tions would serve, and while the trustees were looking out for a lot on which to build a proper building, accident threw in their way the New Building erected for Whitefield. There was trouble among the trustees who represented the different sects about the election of a 11 1 62 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. successor to the Moravian trustee, who was dead. The last person of that persuasion who had held that position had made himself unpopular with his colleagues, and they resolved that there should be no more Moravians in the board. Therefore they elected Benjamin Franklin, who, as he says, was " of no sect at all." The building was in debt, and difficulty was experienced in paying what was due upon it. Franklin, being a trustee of the academy and also of the New Building, had by his position authority to make an arrangement beneficial to both. The trustees of the New Building were brought to an agreement to cede it to the trustees of the academy, the latter agreeing to pay off the debt and to keep a portion of the building for ever for occasional preachers, according to the original intention, and to maintain a free school for the instruction of poor children. On the 1st of February, 1749, Edmund Wooley and John Coats, surviving trustees, conveyed the New Building property to James Logan, Thomas Lawrence, William Allen, John Inglis, Tench Francis, William Masters, Dr. Lloyd Zachary, Samuel McCall, Jr., Joseph Turher, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Leech, Dr. William Shippen, Robert Strettell, Philip Syng, Charles Willing, Dr. Phineas Bond, Richard Peters, Abraham Taylor, Dr. Thomas Bond, Thomas Hop- kinson, William Plumstead, Joshua Maddox, Thomas White, and William Coleman. The consideration was the payment of the debts due upon the building, which were £']'J^ 185. \\d. -^f. This deed was made by Wooley and Coats, the survivors of Whitefield in the trust, " to the end that said building and appurtenances may be at length applied to the good and pious uses originally intended," etc. There was an agreement in the deed that there should be established and founded upon the ground a house or place of public worship, and also one free school for the instructing, teaching, and education of poor children or scholars, and that Logan and the others would supply " the schoolmaster or masters, usher or ushers, mistress or mistresses, to teach and instruct the said children gratis in useful literature and knowledge of the Christian religion, and likewise from time to time to introduce such preacher or preachers whom they shall judge qualified, as in the above-recited indenture is expressed, to teach and preach the word of God occasionally in said place of public worship, but yet so as that no particular sect be fixed there as a settled congregation ; and shall at all seasonable times permit and suffer in his reasonable turn OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. 1 63 any regular minister of the gospel to preach in the house or place on the premises which shall be set apart for public worship, who shall sign, or hereafter shall sign, certain articles of religion, a copy whereof is hereto annexed, and whom they shall moreover judge to be other- wise duly qualified as aforesaid ; and particularly shall permit the free and uninterrupted use of said place of worship to Rev. Mr. George Whitefield whenever he shall happen to be in this city and shall desire to preach therein." Also, that the said trustees " shall have full power to found, erect, establish, and continue in and upon the said house and premises such other school, academy, or other seminary of learning for instructing youth in the languages, arts, and sciences, and generally to improve the premises to such other use or uses for the benefit of mankind and the good of society, as to them, etc., shall seem meet, so that the same be not inconsistent with the above-declared and origi- nally-intended uses, which are bo7td fide to be always fulfilled and pre- served, and never impeded, interrupted, or discontinued." Further provision gave a right to the trustees to obtain a charter. This deed, although dated in 1749, was not acknowledged until November 23, 1753, which may be accounted for upon the supposition that the parties interested were in the mean while endeavoring to raise the money necessary for the transfer. They must have gone into posses- sion immediately. The deed is very precise and particular in relation to the furnishing and maintenance of the room for religious worship for the use of persons disposed to preach ; and there were appended to the instrument curious statements of doctrine which it was necessary that those who used the building for religious purposes should assent to. It may be called The Whitefield Creed. " We believe there is one eternal God who create(5 upholds and Governs all things Visible and Invisible who hath revealed himself to mankind by his works of Creation and Providence and also by his written Word which he hath given by divine inspiration and is con- tained in the Scriptures of the old and new Testament from whence we learn and believe that the Father is God that the Holy Spirit is God the same in Essence Power and Glory yet that there are not three Gods but one God. " That God made man upright after his own image in Knowledge and Righteousness with a power of acting agreeable thereto that 164 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. immediately after Mans creation God entered into a covenant with him in which Adam for himself and as the Representative and Father of all his Posterity Promised perfect and perpetual obedience to the will of God which he well knew and was able to perform and God upon condition of his obedience promised to him and all his Posterity Immortality and everlasting happiness and upon condition of his Disobedience threatened him and all his Posterity with Death Spiritual Temporal and Eternal. " That Man through the Temptation of the Devil broke the cove- nant which he had made with God whereby he and all his Posterity instantly fell under the Sentence of Death threatened on his Disobe- dience which awfull sentence began on the Day of his Transgression to be executed upon him in that guilty Fear that overwhelmed his Soul and caused him to hide himself from God in his loss of the divine Image whereby he perceived that he was naked in his Banishment from Paradise and the Favour and Presence of God in that Curse which was brought upon the ground for Mans sake under which the whole Creation groans and travelleth in Pain even unto this Day whereby the whole nature descending from Adam by ordinary generation is natu- rally become ignorant at enmity with him and under the Bondage of Satan and destitute both of power and Will ever to return to god and to regain its happiness in which every Child of Adam is Born under the curse of this Broken Covenant is loaded with the Guilt and defiled with the Pollution of the first Transgression in consequence of it temporal Death hath reigned and Still continues to reign over every generation of Mankind and every individual of Human Race from the very moment of its first Existence stands exposed on the account thereof to the bitter Pains of eternal Death. " That God in his infinite mercy and compassion to man and fore- seeing his Fall did in his eternal Councils decree the means of his Recovery and Salvation and in order to render it effectual the Father gave to the Son a Chosen People from among men which the Sun Accepted of and covenanted with the Father to redeem and save. " That this gracious design of God was revealed to the first Parents of Mankind soon after the Fall in that Promise that the seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent Head and was afterwards more clearly revealed at Sundry times and in diverse Manners to the Fathers by the Prophets under the old Testament Dispensation till at length in the OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. 1 65 fullness of time God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law who being very God and very Man in one Person did for Man and in his Stead fulfill all Righteousness by a Perfect obedience to that Law which Man had broken and to make Satisfaction for Man's Trans- gression of that Law did endure the Curse of it in his afflicted life and Ignominious Death and thereby according to the eternal covenant between the Father and the Son did work out and purchase a compleat Redemption for his Chosen People in Testimony whereof he rose from the Dead and is ascended into Heaven where he sits at his Father's right hand and ever lives making Intercession for them. " That in order to Man's being made partaker of this Redemption the blessed Son of God before his ascension commissioned his Disci- ples to go & Teach all Nations the Things concerning himself and has promised to be with them in so doing to the End of the World and also hath according to his Promise made to his Disciples before his Passion sent down his holy Spirit into the World to convince men of Sin and of their Fall & apostacy from God to make them feel their Misery thereby and see their utter inability to save and deliver them- selves therefrom to lead them to the knowledge of Christ and to dis- cover them his ability and Willingness to save them to persuade and enable them heartily to approve of and consent to the Way of Salvation by him and with a Deep sense of their Unworthiness and thankful acceptance of offered Mercy to give up their Souls into his Almighty Hands to be taught ruled and Saved by him. " That whosoever is enabled thus to give up himself to Christ and Trusts and reposes his Soul in his Saving Hands is made one with him and on the account of what Christ hath done and suffered is delivered from the Curse of the Law of his servile subjection to Satan his Sin is pardoned and he is accounted Righteous in the sight of God a beam of Divine light shining into his Soul dispels the natural darkness and Ignorance of his Mind a new heart is given to him his natural enmity to God is Slain, the Dominion of Sin within him is broken he is created anew in Christ Jesus & an entire change is pro- duced in the Temper & Disposition of his Soul, he is born of God and is adopted into his Family and brought into a state of Favour and Friendship with him, he is made an Heir of Eternal Glory, his title to it is infallibly secured and he sometimes enjoys the foretastes the Holy Spirit dwells in him leads and- guides him in all the ways of well 1 66 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. doing, quickens him when he is dull revives him when drooping, raises him when he falls heals his backslidings restores him from his wander- ings, resolves his doubts and makes his way plain before him succours him under all Temptations helps him to mortify his corruptions to overcome the World and vanquish the Devil. Sanctifies him Day by Day and causes him to grow in every Grace and every virtue till at length in a future life the divine Image which by the Fall was lost is compleatly restored and the Soul having obtained an entire Victory over all its enemies is thro' free Grace and meer Mercy made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternit}'. " That all those who attain to years of discretion and live under the sound of the Gospel who never see the evil of Sin and their apos- tacy and Fall from God nor feel the misery that it hath brought upon them that have no sence of their want of Jesus Christ to save them and all others that having but an imperfect sence of their Sin and Misery do either in the whole or in part trust to and depend upon some supposed good thing in them or to be done by them to intitle them to the divine Favour & either neglect or Reject the way of Salva- tion by the free Grace of God in Christ all such persons remain under the curse of the Law, the dominion of Sin and the Slavery of the Devil and the wrath of God abides upon them. " We believe that this life and only this is the Day of God's patience wherein he is waiting to be gracious to the Sons of Men that in the Gospel salvation is offered freely to all that will believe in and obey Christ Jesus that he affords his Grace and spirit to assist those in so doing who being deeply Sensible of their want of Help do earnestly and sincerely seek it that notwithstanding that universal depravity & Depth of Misery into which Mankind is fallen yet God in every age hath had a People to serve him who have been made willing in a Day of his power that when the number of the Elect are accomplished Christ will appear to Judge the Quick and Dead that he will in that great and terrible Day of Judgment render to every man according to his deeds done in the Body that the wicked shall goe into everlasting Punish- ment but the Righteous into Life eternal. " We do also give our assent and consent to the 9th, loth, i ith, 12th, 13th & 17th articles of the Church of England as explained by the Calvinists in their Litteral and Grammatical sence without any equivo- cation whatsoever. We mention these in particular because they are OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. 1 67 a summary of the foregoing articles. We believe all that are sound in faith agree in these whatever other points they may differ in." Some alterations were made in the building to fit it for the uses intended. The great and lofty hall was divided into stories, with dif- ferent rooms above and below for the schools. Additional ground was purchased, and thus the " New Building " changed its name to that of the " Academy." The school had first been opened in Allen's private house in Second street. It was removed to the New Building in 175 1, Rev. David Martin, D. D., being the rector. He died in December of that year, and was succeeded by Rev. Francis Allison as rector and master of the Latin school. In July, 1753, the trustees were incor- porated under the name of the " Trustees of the Academy and Chari- table School in the Province of Pennsylvania." The title of the cor- poration was altered and enlarged in the succeeding year, and the in- stitution was named " The College, Academy, and Charitable School of Philadelphia." William Smith, a Scotchman, who was born about 1725, and educated in the University of Aberdeen, came to America in 1753, and having shown interest in the plan of education to such a degree as to have attracted the attention of Dr. Franklin, his services were engaged for the institution, he stipulating that he should be allowed to go to England and receive holy orders. He came back deacon and priest in the Church of England in May, 1754, and be- came teacher of natural and moral philosophy to the Senior and Junior classes. Upon the reorganization of the College, Rev. William Smith supplanted Dr. Allison as provost of the institution, whilst the latter became vice-provost. The first commencement took place in May, 1757, when there were seven graduates for the degree of bachelor of arts, among whom may be named Jacob Duche and Samuel Ma- gaw, afterward ministers of the Church of England ; Francis Hopkin- son. Signer of the Declaration of Independence ; Dr. Hugh William- son, professor of Greek and Latin in the College for three years, mem- ber of the Continental Congress and of the Convention to form a Federal Constitution ; Dr. John Morgan, physician and surgeon, the founder of the medical school of the University, and professor for many years ; and Paul Jackson, who became a teacher in the College, a man of fine acquirements, who died young, much regretted. Rev. Ebenezer Kinnersley of the Baptist Church, whose discoveries in elec- tricity were second if not equal to those of Franklin, was professor of 1 68 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHIIADELPHIA. oratory and English literature for six years, after which the chairs were divided, oratory being given to Jacob Duche, and to Kinnersley English literature — a trust he held until 1773. Rev. John Ewing, D. D., a man of power and influence in the Presbyterian Church, be- came professor of natural and experimental philosophy in 1758. Among the tutors were Charles Thomson, the well-known Secretary of the Continental Congress ; David J. Dove, whose eccentricities are humorously told by Graydon ; and John Beveridge, Latin tutor, of whom Graydon says, " His acquaintance with the language he taught was, I believe, justly deemed to be very accurate and profound." Dr. Smith went to England in 1758, and received the degree of D. D. from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Oxford. In 1762 he visited England to solicit subscriptions on behalf of the col- lege, and was so successful that he raised ^6921 js. 6d., to which was added by other subscriptions ;^4200, with some other revenues. In 1762 a large building was erected on the north side of the College lot, fronting on Fourth street, which was devoted in the lower stories to the charitable school, and the upper stories were fitted up with dor- mitories for the students who had no residence in the city. A dwelling-house for Provost Smith was erected in 1760 at the south-west corner of Fourth and Arch streets. It was a fine large building, and was standing in 1877. "^he medical department of the College, although important as a branch of the institution, seems to have been at no time located in the Academy building. It was estab- lished in 1765, Dr. John Morgan being elected professor of the theory and practice of physic in May, and Dr. William Shippen, who had a private school for medical instruction three years before that time, being elected professor of anatomy and surgery in the College in September of the same year. It is believed that Dr. Shippen's lectures were delivered in his own class-rooms in rear of his father's residence, Fourth abov^e Market street, west side ; the subjects were anatomy, surgery, and midwifery. The other lectures might have been delivered in the great hall of the Academy building. Some time before 1779 a special building for the use of the medical department, called Anatomical Hall, was erected on Fifth street below Chestnut, adjoining on the south the lot on which the Philadelphia Dispensary building was erected. After this Anatomical or Surgeons' Hall was built the medical department did not use the old Academy building. OLD ACADEMY, FOURTH STREET. 169 During the American Revolution the College of Philadelphia fell into discredit upon suspicion that the majority of the trustees and some of the teachers were not well affected to the popular cause. The Assembly of Pennsylvania in February, 1779, directed an inquiry into the rise, design, and condition of the institution. Provost Smith made a long reply. President Reed and the Assembly were hostile to the provost and some of the trustees. The result was, that an act was passed annulling the charter of the College and the Academy, creating a new institution, which was called the University of Pennsylvania, and authorized to take possession of the property of the College and con- duct the institution for the benefit of education. Some of the old professors remained with a new board. Dr. William Smith, the provost, refused to have anything to do with them, and Dr. John Ewing was made provost. During ten years the College and Academy remained practically dead. But in 1789 the Council of Censors of Pennsylvania declared that the forfeiture of the charter was illegal, and the Legislature passed an act restoring the franchises of the institution. The University of Pennsylvania, thus suddenly ousted, sought new quarters, its charter being continued, but its use of the property of the old institution being declared illegal. The College was reorganized with some of the old professors, others of the latter having gone over to the University. For two years there was a rivalry between the institutions, but at length good sense prevailed over bad feeling. A union was determined upon. The Legislature gave prompt assent to the compromise, and on the 30th of September, 1 79 1, the united colleges became the University of Pennsylvania. They remained in the Academy building until the spring of 1 802, when the trustees of the University, having bought the building on Ninth street between Market and Chestnut, which had been originally erected for the accommodation of the President of the United States, transferred the University from Fourth street to that location. The property was purchased in July, 1800, for ;^4i,650, the lot extending from Market street to Chestnut street. After the transfer of the principal institution to Ninth street the old Academy structure was still appropriated to the purposes originally intended. The southern portion of the great building was sold to a Methodist congregation which took the name of the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, and was generally known as " the Academy." This 170 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. society occupied the southern part of the building, extending from the balcony south. In the second story of the northern portion of the building a large room was appropriated, according to the original in- tention, for the use of religious congregations or ministers. Several religious societies which blossomed into congregations were started there, or used the room until they had means to build church buildings elsewhere. For several years there was a classical school in the old building, kept by Rev. Samuel Crawford. The charity schools were not neglected. There was a girls' school in 1826 and for several years afterward in the north-east room of the old Academy building. Two boys' schools were in the large building north of the Academy, front- ing the Academy yard, from which it was separated by a fence or passage. During a portion of the time we have named they were under the charge of Dr. Joseph Bullock and John McKinley. The ground becoming valuable, changes were made in the character of the buildings, probably about 1839 or 1840. The Union Methodist Church tore down their part of the old structure, and erected a much larger meeting-house, and the northern portion of the Academy building and the large house north of it occupied by the charitable schools, and also as a dwelling by one of the teachers of the boys' school, were torn down and stores were erected, which bring in a considerable revenue to the University. A hall was built on the rear portion of the ground, in which a room was dedicated for the use of ministers of the gospel of religious sects, stipulated for when the New Building was erected to accommodate Whitefield in 1741. Apartments for the charity school were also prepared, and those institutions were until lately held upon the old site, so that after one hundred and thirty- six years a portion of the ground upon which the Academy was built was still devoted to its original purposes — to free education and to free speech on religious topics. THE FISHING COMPANY OF THE STATE IN SCHUYLKILL. 'HERE was a good deal of fun in our ancestors. They were not in many respects the grave and solemn people which some persons, in order to show their reverence for antiquity, would have us believe. Their amusements were not always of a sort which would find favor at the present day, but they enjoyed them, and the usual solem- nity of business and the quiet atmosphere of a plain town were in contrast to any sort of recreation and added to the pleasure of a festive occasion. The newness of the country, the abundance of fish and game which existed, and the ease with which such supplies could be obtained, made every Pennsylvanian of the sterner sex a hunter and a fisher in his boyhood, and continued in his nature a taste for the sportsman's life after he had attained manhood. The earliest society of a social character established in the city carries back its long and pleasant history to the year 1732. The founders called it the " Colony in Schuylkill," and assumed the right of eminent domain over the woods and fields and streams within the vicinity of their Castle. At the beginning they were established for fishing and sport- ing purposes on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, upon the estate of William Warner, who granted to the company the right of building on his own property, and appropriated for the use of the members about an acre of ground. For this favor the lord of the soil, who was dubbed by the citizens of the Colony in Schuylkill, Baron Warner, re- ceived annually three fresh fish, the first of the season, in full for the annual rent. And there was some ceremony upon such occasions. 171 172 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. His mansion was on the west side of the Schuylkill, a little north of the site of the present bridge at Girard Avenue. The property in after years was called Egglesfield or Eaglesfield, and was owned success- ively by Robert E. Griffith, merchant, Richard Rundle, gentleman, and John J. Borie, mer- chant. The Park has absorbed it, and the fine house at Eggles- field, which ought to have been preserved as a memorial of the past, has been demol- ished. It was here that in the spring- time of the year the members of the com- pany with great cere- mony, by a commit- tee duly appointed, carried up the hill to the porch of the mansion the annual piscatorial rent. The baron, dressed in full suit of black, looking grand and dignified, was there to receive it, and after mutual bows and compli- ments the fish were carried to the kitchen, the baron invited his tenants into the mansion to take a glass of wine with him, and after mutual compliments the ceremony ended and the fishermen withdrew. The founders of the Colony in Schuylkill were men of credit and renown. The first governor of the Colony was Thomas Stretch. The Assem- blymen were Enoch Flower, Charles Jones, Isaac Snowden, John How- ard, and Joseph Stiles. The Sheriff was James Coultas, who in 1755 was Sheriff of the county of Philadelphia, and in 1764 Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas. At one Entrance THE FISHING COMPANY OF THE STATE IN SCHUYLKILL. 173 time he was keeper of the Middle Ferry, and afterward of the Lower Ferry. He built for his own use Whitby Hall on Gray's lane, north of the Darby road. The Coroner was William Hopkins. The origi- nal members, besides the officers named, were — John Leacock, who was Coroner of the city and county from 1785 to 1802; James Logan, the friend of Penn, secretary of the proprietary for many years, Chief- Justice, President of the Council, a statesman and a scholar, a citizen of influence and public spirit, to whom we are indebted for that valu- able collection the Loganian Library, the use of which by the terms of Logan's will is ensured to the citizens of Philadelphia. Thomas Tilbury and Caleb Cash were members. The latter was Coroner of the county from 1764 to 1772; Philip Syng, the noted goldsmith, grand- father of the eminent physician, Philip Syng Physick, was a member of the Colony. So was William Plumstead, merchant, who was Mayor of the city in 1750-55. Peter Reeve owed allegiance, with William Ball, also a goldsmith, who for a long time was Grand Master of the Free Masons in Pennsylvania. William Parr, Sheriff of the county 1764-66, Recorder of Deeds and Master of the Rolls from 1767 to 1777, was associated with Daniel Williams, Isaac Stretch, Hugh Rob- erts, Samuel Neave, Joseph Wharton, Joseph Stretch, Cadwalader Evans, Samuel Garrigues, and Samuel Barge. Among the members added in 1748 were — Thomas Wharton, Jr., in after years President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania ; John Lawrence, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 1767 to 1776, Mayor of the city 1755-56; Samuel Mifflin, Common Councilman and Alderman, captain of the Association Battery at Fort Wicaco in 1758 — he was ap- pointed commodore of the Pennsylvania navy in September, 1776, but declined after eighteen days' continuance in the office ; George Gray of Gray's Ferry, conspicuous as a public man during the Revolution, member of the Committee of Safety, Chairman of the Board of War, member of the Assembly from Philadelphia county in 1772, and after- ward member of the Convention to amend the Constitution of the State, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. A Quaker by birth, he was turned out of Meeting in 1775 for taking the side of the Colonies. Captain William Dowell, commander of the Pandour pri- vateer, was elected a member in 1754, at which time also came in Thomas Lawrence, merchant, who between 1727 and 1764 was eight times Mayor of the city. Judah Foulke, who came in at this time, was 174 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Sheriff of the county 1770-72, afterward Clerk of the Market and Keeper of Standard Weights and Measures. Joseph Galloway, the lawyer, for some years Speaker of the Assembly, member of the first Continental Congress, one of the most eminent men of Pennsylvania — who might have been during the Revolution and afterward whatever his ambition demanded, but who lost everything by a timidity which carried him over to the royal side — was admitted a citizen of the Colony in 1759. Thomas Mifflin, for many years member of the Assembly, Major-General in the Continental army. President of the Supreme Executive Council, and Governor of Pennsylvania from 1788 to 1800, was elected a member in 1 760. At the same time came in Tench Fran- cis, son of Tench who was Attorney-General of Pennsylvania from 1 744 to 1752, and Recorder of the city from 1750 to 1754. The younger Tench, who was a citizen of the Colony in Schuylkill, married Anne, daughter of Charles Willing. He was the father of Thomas Willing Francis, an eminent merchant before the Revolution, who married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Willing. John, one of his sons, was the father of John Brown Francis, erst Senator of the United States and Governor of Rhode Island. His daughter Sophia was married to George Harrison, and his daughter Elizabeth Powell married Joshua Fisher, and was the mother of Joshua Francis Fisher, long well known as a citizen and an historical scholar, who died a short time ago. At this time was admitted William Bradford, printer, a patriotic and useful officer during the Revolution, and John Nixon, merchant, who read the Declaration of Independence in the State-House Yard July 8, 1776. Samuel Hassell was elected in 1761. He was Councilman, Alderman, and Mayor in 1740. There were many valuable citizens who felt it a privilege to relax from the stiffness and dignity which ruled society in the ease and pleasant intercourse of the Fish-house Club. Samuel Morris became member before the Revolution, and was active in reorganizing the company, which suspended its meetings during the greater period of the long and exciting struggle. He suc- ceeded Captain Abraham Markoe in command of the company of light- horse afterward known as the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. He was captain of the troop in the campaigns of lyyG-yy, and was in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, where his brother, Anthony Morris, also member of the Colony in Schu5dkill, was killed. He received a bayonet-wound in the neck and a bullet in the leg. Samuel THE FISHING COMPANY OF THE STATE IN SCHUYLKILL. 175 was Sheriff five times between 1752 and 1760. He was a member of the Committee of Safety during the Revolution and of the Board of War. He was appointed Register of Wills in 1777, and held the office until the time of his death. In after years, among the members of the company were — Robert Wharton, who was Major- General of the First Division after 1800, and Mayor of the city between 1798 and 1824 for ten terms; General Thomas Forrest, a Revolutionary officer and member of Congress from Philadelphia 1819-21 ; Francis Johnston, Sheriff of the city and county 1810-14; Charles Ross, captain of the City Troop during the war of 1812; John Swift, a soldier of the war of 181 2, and Mayor of Philadelphia during twelve terms between 1832 and 1849. Much more might be said in relation to the members of this ancient organization, scarcely one of whom might not have written in his honor a biography, not fulsome but true, showing great worth and valuable service, in the benefits of which the community has participated for over one hundred and forty years. It is enough to say that the society has always enjoyed the choice of gentlemen among the applicants for member- ship, and that, as the number is limited, there are more anxious to enter than can be received. Up to the year 1747 the accommodations of the company in the shape of buildings were simple and inexpensive. It was then resolved to build a court-house for the more convenient accommodation of the Governor, Assembly, and colonists. The house was of timber, proba- bly cut on the spot, and cost when finished no more than £\^ "/s. gd. During the Revolution the social operations of the company ceased. Its members, with perhaps a single exception, espoused the cause of the Colonies. Joseph Galloway, after an exhibition of patriotism in the early part of the controversy with Great Britain, weakened on the question of Independence, and went over to the royal army, which he aided while it was in possession of Philadelphia, after which he sought refuge in England. His estates in Pennsylvania were confiscated, and the pittance granted him by the Crown was a trifling recompense for the severity of his losses. The company of light-horse of the city of Phila- delphia since known as the First City Troop originated in 1774, it is believed, with members of the Colony in Schuylkill, among whom were Samuel Morris, governor of the company, William Hall, Samuel Howell, Levi Hollingsworth, Thomas Peters, and John Donaldson. 1/6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Governor Morris succeeded Abraham Markoe as captain of the troop, and served with it during the whole war. The Fishing Company of Fort St. David's, a neighbor of the Colony in Schuylkill, added several members to the light-horse, as did also the Gloucester Fox-hunting Club, of which two associations several members of the Colony were also members. During the year 1779 a meeting was held by some of the members, at which it was determined to reorganize and continue the Fishing Company, but during the two years succeeding there were no meetings. In 1781 a meeting was held at which it was resolved that the Navy, Castle, Dock-yard and out-yards should be repaired. In October, 1782, there was a highly important meeting of the Colony, which without any formal act had assumed the title of the " State in Schuylkill," at which the following most important Declaration of Independence was adopted : " Whereas, the court of Great Britain, soon after the Peace of Versailles, in the year 1763, began to oppress the inhabitants of then British America by laying restrictions on their trade and making laws to bind them in all cases whatsoever, con- trary to the original charters and just and natural rights of freemen, and in the year 1775 did with a strong fleet and army invade the same, which obliged the inhabitants thereof to unite for their mutual defence, and after frequent application to the court of Great Britain, without obtaining redress, they were necessitated to declare themselves on the 4th of July, 1776, Free and Independent States; in consequence thereof, a large military force invaded this State, and the virtuous inhabitants thereof, being unprovided for defence, were obliged to withdraw into the neighboring States, until by their assistance those ravagers were driven out ; and as from the absence of the inhabitants of this State no regular meeting could be held before the 3d day of March, 1781, which has prevented the appointment of officers regularly, and making laws for the better regulation thereof; ''Resolved, That the following be the Laws, Rules, and Regulations for governing the inhabitants in the neiv State in Schuylkill^' etc. Under the new administration there was a suitable change in other respects. Baron Isaac Warner was denobleized, and became Chief Warden of the Castle. A Legislative Executive Council was created, and the Court-house became the Castle of the State in Schuylkill. General Washington, with a number of friends, was entertained at the Castle in June, 1787. The Court-house or Castle built in 1747 had THE FISHING COMPANY OF THE STATE IN SCHUYLKILL. 177 become in the course of years decayed and inconvenient, and it was replaced in 181 2 by a new Castle, built at an expense of about ;^8oo. This building remained at Egglesfield until 1822, before which time the work of building the dam at Fairmount and the obstruction to the navigation of the Schuylkill rendered it necessary to remove the do- main of the State from its ancient boundaries. A passage-way had been left in Fairmount Dam for the removal of this venerable building. The materials were carried through on the 7th of May, and landed at Rambo's Rock, upon the east bank of the Schuylkill below Gray's Ferry, where the old Castle was re-erected, and is still standing. It is eighteen feet in width and fifty-twO feet in depth, and surmounted with a cupola with vane, in which is hung " a dinner-sounding bell." ^^77. The interior is divided into two stories. On the first floor there is a store and room for the caterer of the day, closets, etc. The greater portion of this floor is occupied by the dining-room, which affords ample accommodations for eighty persons. On the walls are displayed old pictures and other curiosities presented to the company at various times. Over the President's chair is a bust in wood of the venerable governor Samuel Morris, which was cut by the well-known artist William Rush. Among the decorations of the table on great occasions are two immense pewter platters, upon which are engraved the arms 12 178 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of the Penn family. These dishes were presented by a member of the Penn family before the Revolution to the Fishing Company of Fort St. David's, which club afterward united with the State in Schuylkill. The second story has accommodations for the members — chests for their clothing and equipments and fishing apparatus. The kitchen is at a little distance from the Castle, and is fitted up with every convenience for cooking in the most complete style. The members, it should be noted, do the entire work without the assistance of servants or cooks. Upon their arriving at the Castle each citizen of the State — there are only twenty-five of them — and the "apprentices," who are probationary can- didates for membership when vacancies occur, as well as invited guests, are apparelled with long white linen aprons bearing the badge of the club. Old straw hats are furnished them, and they are set to work. Some prepare the vegetables, pare the potatoes, shell the peas, and do other work ; others superintend the mystery of cooking, with due re- gard to the preparation of fish or meats and seasoning them with skill. An immense chimney filled with logs of burning wood suffices for the cooking of the planked shad and the boiling and stewing opera- tions, as well as the frying of small fish. Rock and larger fish are boiled out of doors on the lawn, in cabooses pitched under the cool shade of fine old trees. In the kitchen is erected a mound of brick scrupulously whitewashed and kept clean. Upon this is deposited at proper times live hickory coals, over which is placed a monster grid- iron, which is burdened with beefsteaks sufficient for the company. The result is such a triumph in the delicacy of cooking and preserva- tion of the flavor as few kitchens know. The members of this com- pany have always lived well at their stated meetings. The old records abound with charges for rounds of beef, sirloin steaks, pigs for roasting, green turtle, besides the products of the waters and of the woods — fish and game — with punch, wine, and tobacco. In 1824, General La Fayette, having made his tour of the United States, and being near the time of his return, was entertained at the Castle on the 2 ist of July, together with the members of his suite and fifteen visitors, among whom were Judge Peters, a committee of City Councils, and others. The Secretary of State, in addressing the nation's guest in terms of welcome, pleasantly said, " Your visit here completes your tour to all the States in the Uniojiy There was a fine time, an excellent dinner with the usual toasts, and not many speeches. Of late years this association has been THE FISHING COMPANY OF THE STATE IN SCHUYLKILL. 179 socially kept up, as far as can be, in the old style, but circumstances have prevented the exercise of the undoubted rights of the citizens over the fish in the river and the birds in the air. The increasing com- merce of the Schuylkill, the erection of the gas-works, with other causes, have destroyed the fishing; and as for the fowling, market- shooters, who prosecute their trade against the reed-birds and rail which frequent the adjoining marshes, have rendered fowling unpleasant to the gentlemen sportsmen ; and so the citizens of the State in Schuylkill catch no fish and shoot no birds. But from the fulness of the treasury they buy what they need. The spirit of the old times has not deterio- rated in the matter of cooking, and the dinners which the members of the club prepare for themselves and for the very select number of guests who are allowed to participate are as delicious and enjoyable as they were one hundred and forty-five years ago. In time they will leave the old Castle and pleasant territory so long enjoyed by the citizens of the State. Streets must soon invade their domain. In view of this probability the Commissioners of Fairmount Park, from which the State had been removed, have made arrange- ments which will, when the worst comes to the worst, bring it back again. A new site for the Castle has been assigned the Fishing Company on the west side of the Wissahickon Creek, north of the great bridge of the Germantown and Norristown Railroad Company. Here, in a secluded nook, a building originally on the spot has been fitted up for occasional use — a temporary place until the company finally removes from Rambo's Rock. They call it " the Colony in Schuylkill," reviving the old name. It will be " the State in Schuyl- kill " when the ancient seat is abandoned. BARTRAM'S HOUSE. N George Webb's poem, Bachelor's Hall, published in 1729, he sings of the glories of a place of resort situate in Ken- sington which was called " Bachelor's Hall," and was the head-quarters of a social company. In addition to its uses for such purposes there was attached to the building a botanic garden, cultivated for the production of plants useful in medicine. Speaking of this building, the poet says : " Close to the dome a garden shall be join'd — A fit employment foi- a studious mind. In our vast woods whatever simples grow, Whose virtues none, or none but Indians, know, Within the confines of this garden brought, To rise with added lustre shall be taught ; Then culled with judgment each shall yield its juice, Saliferous balsam to the sick man's use ; A longer date of life mankind shall boast, And Death shall mourn her ancient empire lost." It is not known why the members of a club social in its character should have interested themselves sufficiently in science to have ap- pended such a garden to their place of leisure and good fellowship. Nor is it known who superintended the garden, which must have been under charge of a person of more than ordinary taste. It is a matter of inference, from the after-history of John Bartram, that he might have been interested in the cultivation of this garden. At all events, he must have been a frequent observer and student there, and his pro- ficiency in botany was already well known. " Please to procure me Parkinson's Herbal," wrote James Logan in 1729, just about the time 180 BARTRAM'S HOUSE. i8l when Webb's poem was written. " I shall make it a present to a person worthier of a heavier purse than fortune has yet allowed him, John Bartram has a genius perfectly well turned for botany. No man in these parts is so capable of serving you, but none can worse bear the loss of his time without due consideration." Hector St. John (Crevecceur), in Letters from an American Farmer, published in 1 782, says that Bartram stated the manner in which he was induced to pay attention to botany in the following words : " One day I was very busy in holding my plough (for thee seest I am but a ploughman), and being weary I ran under the shade of a tree to re- pose myself I cast my eyes on a daisy ; I plucked it mechanically, and viewed it with more curiosity than common country farmers are wont to do, and observed therein very many distinct parts, some per- pendicular, some horizontal. What a shame, said my mind or some- thing that inspired my mind, that thee shoiddst have employed so many years hi tilling the earth and destroying so many flowers and plants, zvithoiit being acquainted with their structure and their uses T Acting upon this thought, and against the discouragement of his wife, he went to Philadelphia and obtained a botanical book and a Latin grammar. A neighboring schoolmaster taught him enough Latin in three months to understand Linnseus's Treatise on Botany, which he bought after- ward. " I began to botanize all over my farm. In little time I became acquainted with every vegetable which grew in my neighborhood, and next ventured into Maryland, living among the Friends. In propor- tion as I thought myself more learned, I proceeded farther, and by a steady application of several years I have acquired a pretty general knowledge of every plant and tree to be found on our continent." John Bartram was born March 23, 1699, at Darby in Chester (now Delaware) county. His grandfather, John Bartram, with his family, came over from England with the original settlers of Pennsylvania about 1682-83. The family was French originally, but was settled in Derbyshire, England, William Bartram, father of John the botanist, was married to Elizabeth, daughter of James Hunt, at Darby Meeting, March, 1696. We know nothing of the early education of John, but may pre- sume it was as good as the means of the Province afforded at the time. He was destined to be a farmer, and was particularly well suited for that avocation by reason of his intelligent mind and habit of observation. The ordinary farmer is satisfied with the assurance that according to 1 82 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF FHILADELPHIA. the course of human experience it is probable that where he plants something will grow, and where he sows he will in due time be able to reap. But the philosophy of the wonderful operations of Nature which justify such assurances scarcely ever occupies his attention. Bartram was not satisfied with being merely a farmer. He desired to understand the philosophy of his calling. He could not pass over a field without noticing the varieties in the plants, and comparing the situation, appearance, and habits of some of them with what he had previously observed. He had a taste for medicine and surgeiy, par- ticularly in reference to the effects of medicines and their nature and character. The woods and the fields were his apothecary-shop, and the nature, character, and uses of plants, either for purposes of food or for medicinal objects, were matters of frequent attention. For these reasons, after he had attained manhood and accumulated sufficient means to buy a farm for himself, he determined to establish in connec- tion with it a garden — botanical as well as exotic — for the reception of foreign and indigenous plants. In September, 1728, he bought at sheriff's sale a piece of ground on the west side of the Schuylkill River, below the Lower Ferry, on the road to Darby, which had be- longed to Frederick Schobbenhauser. Here was commenced in 1730, and finished in 173 1, a house of hewn stone, of quaint, old-fashioned style of architecture, which, solid and enduring in its material, has stood against the dilapidating fingers of Time for nearly a century and a half It has been said that Bartram built this house with his own hands, but in regard to that story there mu>t be doubt. A farmer and a student, whilst he might have had the skill to plan and the strength to build such a house, it is doubtful whether he possessed the deftness of the mason, the bricklayer, the joiner, the carpenter, and the plas- terer. Upon a stone built in the walls is this inscription: John and Ann Bartram, 1731. Nearly forty years afterward Bartram engraved or cut upon a stone, with his own hand, this couplet : " 'Tis God alone, almighty Lord, The holy One by me adored. John Bartram, 1770." This Stone was built into the wall over the front window of the apart- ment which he used for his study. Bartram had been raised as a BARTRAM'S HOUSE. 183 member of the Society of Friends, but after manhood he disapproved of the Trinitarian opinions of the sect. He was a Unitarian in his belief, and was dealt with for his heresy by the Friends' Meeting at Darby as early as 1758. H\KIR\Mb HulSL, IR iLNT APIE^RANCE The garden which Bartram laid out adjoining his house sloped out to the banks of the Schuylkill, and by the exercise of his skill and industry and taste it became one of the most attractive places in the neighborhood of the city. The ground occupied six or seven acres, with a variety of soils and difference of exposure. St. John, speaking of Bartram's house and gardens, says : " His house is small, but decent ; there was something peculiar in its first appearance which seemed to distinguish it from those of his neighbors: a small tower in the middle of it not only helped to strengthen it, but afforded convenient room for a staircase. Every disposition of the fields, fences, and trees seemed to bear the marks of perfect order and 1 84 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. regularity, which in rural affairs always indicates a prosperous industry." . . . . " We entered into a large hall, where there was a long table full of victuals ; at the lowest part sat his negroes, his hired men were next, then the family and myself, and at the head the venerable father and wife presided. Each reclined his head and said his prayers, divested of the tedious cant of some and of the ostenta- tious style of others. ' After the luxuries of our cities,' observed he, ' this plain fare must appear to thee a severe fast.' — ' By no means, Mr. Bartram : this honest country dinner convinces me that you receive me as a friend and an old acquaintance.' — ' I am glad of it, for thee art heartily welcome. I never knew how to use ceremonies ; they are insufficient proofs of sincerity ; our Society, besides, are utterly strangers to what the world calleth polite expressions. We treat others as we treat ourselves.' "...." After dinner we quaffed an honest bottle of madeira wine, without the irksome labor of toa.sts, healths, or sentiments, and then retired into his study. I was no sooner entered than I observed a coat-of-arms in a gilt frame, with the name John Bartram. The novelty of such a decoration in such a place struck me ; I could not avoid asking, ' Does the Society of Friends take any pride in those armorial bearings, which sometimes serve as marks of distinction between families, and much oftener as food for pride and ostentation ?' — ' Thee must know ' (said he) * that my father was a Frenchman;* he brought this piece of painting over with him. I keep it as a piece of family furniture and as a memorial of his removal hither.' From his study he went into the garden, which contained a great variety of curious plants and shrubs ; some grew in a greenhouse, over the door of which were written these lines : ' Slave to no sect, who takes no private road, But looks through Nature up to Nature's God.' " In the autumn season, when the labors of the farmer did not require his presence, Bartrain travelled extensively through America, carrying his ambition for research into the wildest portions of the country. Among these journeys were visits to Lakes Ontario and Cayuga. He explored and examined the banks and sources of the rivers Delaware, Susquehanna, Alleghany, and Schuylkill. He travelled many thou- * This is a mistake. The reference was to an ancestor, a Norman Frenchman, who came with William the Conqueror into England. BARTRAM'S HOUSE. 1 85 sand miles in Virginia, Carolina, and East and West Florida, keeping up his journeys until after he was seventy years old. From these trips he brought home many rare and valuable plants, which enriched his garden and were presented to his friends in Europe and this country. Among these friends were men of science and ability — Franklin, Logan, Governor Cadwalader Colden of New York, Sir Hans Sloane, Peter Collinson of London, who knew almost every man of science in Europe and America. During his lifetime he published the first books of travels which were written by a native American. In 175 1 he gave to the world his Obseniations made in his Travels front Pennsylvania to Onondaga, Oszvego, and Lake Ontario. In 1766 he published the journal of his journey to St. Augustine and up the river St. John in Florida. He died September 22, 1777. John Bartram married Mary, daughter of Richard Maris, at Chester Meeting in January, 1723. By this union he had two sons, Richard and Isaac. The former died young. Isaac died in 1 801, aged seventy- six years. Mrs. Mary Bartram died 1727. His second wife was Mary Ann Mendenhall, to whom he was married at Concord Monthly Meet- ing in September, 1729. By this marriage he had ten children — five sons and five daughters. William and Elizabeth, twins, were born Feb- ruary 9. 1739. John Bartram was succeeded at the garden and farm upon the Schuylkill by William Bartram, his son, who inherited all the tastes of the father and had accompanied him in many of his journeys. William was born at the plantation in Kingsessing. He was at the proper age put into a» mercantile establishment in Philadelphia, where he was taught the theory and practice of trade. When he was twenty-two years old he went to North Carolina, where he established himself in business, and during that period accompanied his father on one of his trips to East Florida. Pleased with the climate and the country, he remained for some time on the river St. John, and returned in 1 77 1 to his father's house. Here he gave himself up more thoroughly to the study of botany, and in 1773, at the request of Dr. Fothergill of London, went to Charleston, from whence he proceeded through the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Floridas, gathering plants and noting the habits of beasts, birds, and insects, and acquiring a vast deal of information, the results of which were published in a book of trav- els printed in Philadelphia in 1791. He was elected professor of bot- 1 86 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. any in the University of Pennsylvania in 1782, but did not occupy the chair. Four years afterward he was elected a member of the Ameri- can Philosophical Society, and subsequently became a member of sev- eral other learned bodies. In the latter part of his life he remained at the garden, where in 1823, after length of days far beyond the allotted threescore-and-ten, he calmly passed away. Wansey, an English traveller who visited this country in 1794, speaks thus of William Bar- tram : " Monday, June 9th, went over the ferry of the Schuylkill to visit Mr. Bartram, the famous botanist, who gives us such surprising t'^^^^^^'t ^^^^^t "^'-^ories in his publication of his fierce battles with the alligators on the coast of Georgia, etc. while botanizing. He lives about vine miles from Philadelphia, retired from the bustle of life on an estate of his own on the banks of the Schuylkill. I saw his greenhouse and shrub- 'iKii II \Mii.i\ LvKTR-iM |3e,y . i-,e,-e^ I confess, I was much disappointed to find so little to look at. One of my companions joking the old gentleman about the alligators that his son had formerly fought with, he became so reserved that we could get but little conversation from him." * During the time that William Bartram lived near Gray's Ferry there came into the neighborhood a young Scotchman born in Paisley, where he learned the trade of a weaver. Having some literary taste, he wrote verses and published his poems in two volumes, which he peddled through Scotland, and wrote a poem in 1792 called Watty and Meg, which was considered so excellent that 100,000 copies were sold, and, as the name of the author was not made known, it was attributed to Robert Burns. Like many others, this Scotchman had some genius for satire, and he wrote political squibs and lampoons, which got him into trouble and compelled him to leave the country. The name of this man was Alexander Wilson. He came to the United States in 1794, and landed at New Castle, Delaware, from which place he found his way to Philadelphia. His first resource was his trade, from which * Wansey seems to have been somewhat confused on tliis visit. The house is not more than a mile from the south-west boundary of the city. The alligator-fighter to whom he alludes was not the son of William, but William himself, to whom he was talking. BAR TRAM'S HOUSE. 1 8/ occupation he changed to that of a peddler, and finally to that of a schoolmaster. In the latter vocation he taught a few pupils in the neighborhood of Gray's Ferry, where his schoolhouse still remains, and is used at the present time for the purpose of a blacksmith-shop. Being a neighbor of Bartram and a man of intelligence, Wilson soon became acquainted with the botanist, and was a frequent visitor. Indeed, it is said that the charms of a niece of Bartram's had consider- able attractions for the young Scotchman, who possibly might have hoped for a nearer relationship to his neighbor. If this was so, love's young dream was soon sacrificed to the demands of science. The conversations with Bartram fired his imagination, and at his suggestion, it is said, he resolved to study ornithology. He left the schoolhouse in 1804 for the woods, and during eight years worked with such diligence as to produce seven volumes of his splendid work on American Ornithology, the first of which was published in 1808. Dr. James Mease, writing in 18 10, said that Bartram's garden con- tained about eight acres. " From the house there is a gentle descent to the river Schuylkill, from the banks of which a fine prospect opens of that river and of rich meadows up and down on both sides. The Delaware is also seen at a distance. The garden contains many of the tall Southern forest trees, which have been successfully introduced by the father or his son William, and have been naturalized." The committee of the Horticultural Society which visited Bartram's garden in 1830, when it was under the direction of Robert Carr, found the estate to be in most excellent order. They said that " the indige- nous plants of North America existed there in greater profusion than they could perhaps be found elsewhere." Colonel Carr conducted the establishment as a nursery and seed-garden, and is represented to have done a large business in raising and disposing of plants and seeds, having a considerable export to South America. There was a cypress upon the estate one hundred and twelve feet high, twenty-five feet in circumference, and ninety-one years old. It was near a Norway spruce of eighty feet, near which was a magnolia of the same height. The stock of rare exotics and plants, flowers, and fruits was very large, and the establishment was in fine order. Ann M., daughter of John Bartram (a nephew of William), married Robert Carr, a printer, in March, 1809. Mr. Carr was an officer in the HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. United States army in the war of 1812, and conspicuous among the local militia. He was for some time adjutant-general of the State, with the title of colonel. After this marriage the father of Colonel Carr's wife assisted William in the garden until his death in 181 2. " He was a very ingenious mechanic, and fond of using tools, but his greatest delight was in drawing and painting. He drew the greater number of plates in Professor Barton's Elements of Botany, published in 1803. William died suddenly July 22, 1823. He was never married. Colonel Carr after his marriage became a resident of the botanic garden, and devoted himself with great care and interest to the pres- ervation of the collection. Upon the death of his wife, being lonely and without children, he concluded to abandon the property, and sold it to Andrew M. Eastwick, who resides there, and though he has built an elegant mansion adjoining, the old Bartram house is maintained with care and interest in the historical associations connected with it. Mr. Eastwick in early life was a machinist and became interested in the manufacture of locomotives as soon as the capabilities of that machine were known in America. He was partner in the firm of Garrett & Eastwick, which in 1835, being engaged in the manufacture of steam-engines and like machinery, received an order for the con- struction of a locomotive for the Beaver Meadow Railroad. They un- dertook the task, and Joseph Harrison, Jr., their foreman, who was then twenty-five years old, and had ten years' experience in the workshop as apprentice and journeyman, superintended the work. This engine was called the Samuel D. Ingham, and among its peculiarities was an ingenious mode of reversement invented by Mr. Eastwick, with some other improvements of great value in a class of machines then entirely new in America. Mr. Harrison soon became a partner. They built other engines, most of them with Eastwick's or Harrison's improve- ments on the old plans. One of the great achievements of this firm was the building of the freight-engine " Gowan & Marx," named after a Lon- don banking-firm. It performed the great feat for the times of drawing one hundred and four four-wheeled loaded cars from Reading at a little less rate than ten miles an hour. It was quite superior in powc to any other locomotive in the world. It made the fortune of Ea= wick and Harrison. Colonels Melnikoff and Kraft had been sent oul by the emperor Nicholas of Russia to examine and report upon the various railroads and railroad machinery in the United States and BAR TRAM'S HOUSE. Europe. The result of their examination was a report to the emperor that the " Gowan & Marx " came nearer the necessities of the Russian railroads than any other locomotive which they had seen. The result was a negotiation with Eastwick and Harrison, and with Thomas Winans of Baltimore, that they should go to Russia and undertake the construction of railroads and locomotives there. In 1844 the Philadelphia shops were closed. The parties went to Russia on a contract lasting till 1851, and subsequently to 1862. The part- ners returned to the United States well off in fortune, liberal in ideas, and with a love for Philadelphia which nearly twenty years of absence had not effaced. THE LOXLEY HOUSE. ^^^^ N the east side of Second street, at the south corner of Little Dock, stood for a century, and until within a few years, a quaint low, old-fashioned, two-story house, which in style and appearance was exceptional and unlike any other build- ing, public or private, to be found in the city. When origi- nally erected it was a dwelling-house, the windows of the first story- being upon the street, and the ceiling supporting the timbers of a gal- lery which rose from the second story toward the roof, and was en- closed by a plain railing. The main front of the second story stood back, so as to give considerable space in the gallery, which was partly defended from the weather by a peaked roof hanging over the gallery space and supported by large and ornamental consoles. The build- ing extended eastwardly, ajid was sufficiently deep to give accommoda- tions for a large family. In later years the rooms in the first story were devoted to business. There were two bulk windows, square in form, with small panes, and, in contrast with those of neighboring shops, terribly old-fashioned. The ground upon which this house was built was con- veyed by George Clymer to Benjamin Loxley, carpenter, on the 20th of April, 1759. From the price which was paid for it, the inference is reasonable that there was no house on the premises, and that the building called the Loxley House was erected afterward, probably in 1759 or 1760. Loxley seems to have been enterprising and industri- ous, and was the owner of considerable other property in the neigh- borhood. As early as 1 751 he had bought two lots on the south side of Spruce street, between Front and Second, on the back part of which 190 THE LOXLFY HOUSE. 191 he erected houses and cut through a court, afterward known as Lox- ley's Court. He bought a lot, north of that on which the Loxley House was built, in October, 1760. It extended along Dock alley, now known as Little Dock street, to Spruce, and along Spruce toward Front until it reached adjoining property purchased by Loxley some years before. These purchases made him the owner of the greater part of the square between Front and Second and Union and Spruce streets. The property it may be presumed, was bought for speculation, Lox- TiiE Liixi lloLt.i:. ley's residence since 1744 having been on Arch street between Third and Fourth. He owned several lots there, and opened a court toward Cherry street, which to this day is known as Loxley 's Court. Accord- ing to the statement of Watson the annalist, Samuel Coates, as well as Benjamin Loxley, Sr., stated that George Whitefield, the celebrated itinerant preacher, had preached from the balcony of the Loxley House on several occasions, to the edification of an immense audience, which stood opposite and wherever they could obtain a place for hearing. Watson says in his Annals that immediately opposite this house was 192 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. a spring which was called Bathsheba's Bath and Bower — a title rather curiously accounted for by a statement that the person who fitted up the spring for use was named Bathsheba Bowers. She built a small house near the spring, furnished it with table and cups, and, it is said by the chronicler, threw in the additional attraction of a library of books, so that the place might be a favorite resort for every one that thirsted, whether the thirst was physical or mental. As the Loxley House could not have been built before 1760, Whitefield's min- istrations there must have taken place either on his sixth or seventh visit to America. The former occupied the time between 1763 and 1765 ; the latter, which commenced in September, 1769, was closed by the death of the industrious itinerant at Newburyport, Mass., on the 30th of September, 1770. The Loxley House is associated in tradition with a story of Lydia Darrach (or Darragh) which first made its appearance in the Aincncan Quarterly Rcvieiv of 1827 (vol. i. p. 32), published in Philadelphia. That periodical attributes it to Garden's Anecdotes of the American Revolution, but it is not to be found in that publication in the first series. It appears in the second series, which was published in the latter part of 1828, nearly two years after the publication in the Review. The main portion of the story is as follows : " When the British army had possession of Philadelphia, General Howe's head-quarters were in Second street, the fourth door below Spruce, in a house which was before occupied by General Cadwalader. Directly opposite resided William and Lydia Darrach, members of the Society of Friends. A superior officer of the British army — believed to be the adjutant-gen- eral — fixed upon one of their back chambers for private conference, and two of the officers frequently met there with fire and candles in close consultation. About the 2d of December the adjutant-general told Lydia that they would be in the room at seven o'clock, and would remain late, and that they wished the family to retire early to bed ; adding that when they were going away they would call her to let them out and extinguish their fire and candles. She accordingly sent all the family to bed, but, as the officer had been so particular, her curiosity was excited. She took off her shoes, put her ear to the key- hole of the conclave, and overheard an order read for all the British troops to march out late on the evening of the 4th and attack General Washington's army, then encamped at Whitemarsh. On hearing this THE L OXLE V HO USE. 193 she went to her chamber and lay down ; soon after the officer knocked at the door, but she rose only at the third summons, having feigned herself asleep. Her mind was so much agitated that she could neither eat nor sleep, supposing it to be in her power to save the lives of thousands of her fellow-countrymen, but not knowing how she was to convey the information to General Washington, not daring to confide it to her husband. The time left, however, was short. She quickly determined to make her way as soon as possible to the American out- posts. She informed her family that, as she was in want of flour, she would go to Frankford for some. Her husband insisted that she should take her servant-maid with her, but, to his surprise, she positive- ly refused. She got access to General Howe, and solicited what he readily granted, a pass through the British troops on the lines. Leav- ing her bag at the mill, she hastened through the lines, and encoun- tered on her way an American lieutenant-colonel (Craig of the Light Horse), who with some of his men was on the lookout for information. He knew her, and inquired where she was going. She answered in quest of her son, an officer in the American army, and prayed the colonel to alight and walk with her. He did so, ordering his troops to keep in sight. To him she disclosed her secret, after having ob- tained from him a solemn promise never to betray her individuality, as her life might be at stake. He conducted her to a house near at hand, directed something for her to eat, and hastened to head-quarters, where he acquainted General Washington with what he had heard. Wash- ington made of course all preparation for baffling the meditated sur- prise. Lydia returned home with her flour, sat up alone to watch the movements of the British troops, and heard their footsteps ; but when they returned in a few days after she dared not ask a question, although solicitous to learn the event. The next evening the adjutant-general came in and requested her to walk up to his room, as he wished to put some questions ; and when he locked the door and begged her with an air of mystery to be seated, she was sure that she was either sus- pected or betrayed. He inquired earnestly whether any of her family were up on the last night when he and the other officer met. She told him they all retired at eight o'clock. He observed : ' I know you were asleep, for I knocked three times at your chamber-door before you heard me. I am entirely at a loss to imagine who gave General Washington information of our intended attack, unless the walls of 1.3 194 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. the house could speak. When we arrived near Whitemarsh we found all their cannon mounted and the troops prepared to receive us ; and we have marched back like a parcel of fools.' " In comment upon this statement it is necessary to say that the British troops marched out of Philadelphia on the evening of the 3d of December, 1777, and not on the 4th, as the writer assumes — a matter of considerable importance in the consideration of such a question as this. If Lydia Darrach heard the conversation on the evening of the 2d, she must have gone out to Frankford on the 3d, and with the diffi- culties in travelling and in getting through the lines, she could hardly have got back before the evening. As the British troops were already drawn up, and as they mostly occupied the northern portions of the city, she could not have watched their movements or heard their foot- steps from her home at Second and Spruce streets without having possessed extraordinary powers of seeing and hearing. It may be further said that although Howe's head-quarters, when he first came to the city, in September, 1777, were at the residence of General John Cadwalader in Second below Spruce street, and opposite the Loxley House, his removal to Richard Penn's house in Market street could not have been very long delayed, as it was not occupied on his arrival. and it may be supposed that Howe got into it as soon as possible. General Knyphausen, the Hessian, succeeded Howe in Cadwalader's house. If it were entirely true that the adjutant-general of the British army resorted to the awkward expedient of engaging an apartment in a house of which he was not a tenant for the purpose of holding a private and important conference, and even if it were admitted that the entire story of Lydia Darrach's conveying the information outside of the British lines were true, the news which she brought was stale. Intelligence of the intended movement was known at Washington's camp three or four days before. General Armstrong on the 29th of November wrote from the camp at Whitemarsh to President Whar- ton : " Every intelligence agrees that General Howe now, no doubt with his whole force, is immediately to take the field in quest of this army — a movement this so suddenly expected that yesterday, by the advice of the general (Washington), I ordered General Potter, with the better part of his brigade, to join us." Potter was then on the west side of the Schuylkill watching the British lines, and the calling in of his troops as early as the 28th of November shows that THE LOXLEY HOUSE. 195 Washington had knowledge of the intended movement on that day, if not before. Colonel John Clark, Jr., who was on spy-service in the neighborhood, wrote to Washington December i : " On Friday evening (November 30) orders were given to the troops to hold themselves in readiness to march They either mean to surprise your army or to prevent your making an attack on them." On the 3d of December he wrote: "The enemy are in motion; have a number of flat-bottomed boats and carriages and scantling, and are busy pressing horses and wagons." Subsequently, on the same day, he wrote : " This morning a sergeant — a countryman of my spy's — assured him that the troops had received orders to hold themselves in readiness when called for, and to diaw two days' provisions. Biscuit was served out to them when he came away, and it was the current language in the city, among the troops and the citizens, that they were going to make a move." These references are sufficient to throw great doubt over the whole story of Lydia Darrach as told by the writer in the American Quarterly. On the day when, according to this author, she was going out to the lines to give information of her terrible secret, the Ameri- cans were ready and expecting the attack. The British army marched out of the city on the evening of the 3d. At Three-Mile Run the van was met by Colonel Allen McLane with one hundred men, sent out to skirmish and impede the march. He had been detached for that duty on the 2d of December, on the evening of which day Mrs. Darrach is said to have first learned the secret. The royal forces did not reach Chestnut Hill until about eight o'clock of the 4th of Decem- ber, when they halted. There is extant an odd caricature engraving issued by Dawkins after the expected attack of the Paxton Boys in 1764, which represents the preparations made in front of the court-house at Second and High streets to receive those terrible fellows, in which Captain Benjamin Loxley figures, together with his cannoneers and his artillery, which were put in order to properly receive the invaders. Graydon describes the scene : " Here stood the artillery under the command of Captain Loxley, a very honest though little, dingy-looking man, with regimen- tals considerably warworn or tarnished — a very salamander or fire- drake in the public estimation, whose vital air was deemed the fume of sulphurous explosion, and who, by whatever means he had acquired his science, was always put forward when great guns were in question. HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Here it was that the grand stand was to be made against the approach- ing invaders, who, if rumor might be credited, had now extended their murderous purposes beyond the savages to their patrons and abettors. .... As the defensive army was without eyes, it had of course no better information than such as common bruit could supply, and hence many untoward consequences ensued : one was the near extinction of a troop of mounted butchers, who, scampering down Market street with the best intentions in the world, very narrowly escaped a greeting from the rude throats of Captain Loxley's artillery. The word Fire ! was already quivering on his lips, but Pallas came in shape of some- thing and suppressed it. Another emanation from this unmilitary defect of vision was the curious order that every householder in Market street should affix one or more candles at his door before daylight on the morning of the day on which — from some sufficient reason, no doubt — it had been elicited that the enemy would full surely make his attack, and by no other than this identical route, on the citadel. Whether this illumination was intended merely to prevent surprise, or whether it was that the commander who enjoined it was determined^ like Ajax, that if perish he must, he would perish in the face of day, I do not know ; but certain it is that such a decree went forth and was religiously complied with." John Stockton Littell, in his annotations upon Gray don. speaking of Captain Loxley, said : " This doughty gentleman was a lieutenant under Braddock in 1756, and was certainly a man of considerable influence and repute, notwithstanding the humorous d. ascriptions of the text." Soon after Braddock's troops retreated to Philadelphia after their defeat by the Indians in 1755. a militia law was passed in Pennsylvania which authorized the formation of companies of militia in the wards and townships, and also of the organization of all citizens willing to associate for defence. The officers of the old Association of 1749 were rather opposed to this arrangement, which superseded them to a certain extent, but Lieutenant-Governor Robert Hunter Morris granted commissions to the independent companies. Benjamin Loxley was commissioned first lieutenant of the independent artillery company, of which George North was captain. In due time he succeeded Captain North in command, and was in his legitimate position at the time of the expected invasion of the Paxton Boys. When the Revolu- tion broke out, Captain Benjamin Loxley was found arrayed on the THE LOXLEY HOUSE. 197 right side. He was in service as early as July, 1775, as the minutes of the Committee of Safety show. He made proposals in July, 1776, to cast brass mortars, howitzers, etc. for the use of the Province, agree- ing to superintend the operation if he were furnished metal, etc. The committee used Morgan Bustead's air-furnace for the purpose. In July, 1776, he was in command of the first company of artillery of Phila- delphia in the regiment commanded by Colonel Samuel Mifflin, and on the 2 1st of July he marched that company, by order of Congress and his colonel, to Amboy. a diary of which campaign in his own handwrit- ing was republished in the collections of the Pennsylvania Historical Society (ist volume). The company had two twelve-pounders, and was well supplied with ammunition, utensils, stores, and wagons. It consisted of fifty-nine men, officers and privates. They reached Amboy after an eight days' march, being joined by another company of the same regiment and finding another in camp. The troops were in sight of the British ships of war at Staten Island. The campaign was uneventful, but Captain Loxley's memorandums of his proceed- ings show that he was faithful to his duty; and when he returned he was honorably discharged from the necessity of immediate service. In fact, the Council of Safety five days after he left the city found the necessity of his presence so great, in order to promote the casting of cannon, that they sent a letter to General Roberdeau, who commanded the Pennsylvania troops at Amboy, to return Captain Loxley to the cannon-factory, " as he would be likely to serve his country more effectively in that station than in any other." A boring-mill was added to the cannon-factory, and in August, 1776, the Council of Safety ordered the payment of ;^ioo toward that purpose to Major Benjamin Loxley, showing that he had won promotion. In civil affairs Captain Benjamin Loxley was equally busy from the commencement of the troubles with Great Britain. He was elected a member of the Committee for the city, Northern Liberties, and South- wark, which was chosen at the State-House Nov. 14, 1774. He was re- elected Aug. 16, 1775, and was a delegate to the conference of the Committees of Safety which met at Carpenters' Hall June 18, 1776. Captain Loxley is credited by Watson with the management of the fireworks which were given at Windmill Island, opposite the city, in honor of the capture of Louisburg by the British troops, on the 5th of September, 1758. This exhibition was very elaborate, representing HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. fortifications with towers, citadel, castle, storming a city, springing a mine, a grand explosion, with the striking of the French flag and the hoisting of the British, together with cannon, rockets, and other noisy and showy accompaniments. It was the first exhibition of that kind ever seen in Philadelphia, and as the occasion was patriotic, immense numbers of persons came from all parts of the surrounding country to s je it. Loxley removed to his house in Arch street, between Third and Fourth, on the corner of what was long known as Loxley's Court. Abraham Loxley, probably a son of Benjamin, was with him in the campaign at Amboy. Benjamin Loxley, Jr., was living in Spruce street in 1801, and the widow Loxley in the Arch street house. Ben- jamin, Jr., was brought before the Supreme Executive Council in 1779, charged, in connection with Robert French and Cornelius Hillman, " with endeavoring to entice away the seamen from this port, and in- duce them into service in the neighboring States while an embargo is in force to enable the Council to man the State-ship General Greene." This vessel was fitted up as a ship of war for the protection of the commerce of the State. There was difificulty in procuring seamen to man the ship, in consequence of masters of outward-bound vessels having induced the sailors of the Greene to serve with them. The embargo of April 30 prohibited the clearance of any vessel outward bound for fifteen days. Loxley urged in defence that he had been in search of sailors who had been on board of a vessel in which he was interested. His excuse seems to have been sufficient, but French was ordered to give security in £1000 that he would not directly or indi- rectly entice any seaman from the State until after the General Greene had sailed. To fit out this vessel the citizens of Philadelphia subscribed ;^20,000 currency ; ^^"40,000 were subscribed by the State. The ship sailed about the ist of June with a crew of one hundred and twelve men, under command of Captain James Montgomery. The cruise lasted four months, during which the Greene captured the British pri- vateers Bayard, Impertinent, and another, all having been fitted out in New York, besides some mercantile vessels and their cargoes. The Greene participated in the operations in April, 1782, during which the Hyder Ally, Captain John Barry, captured the British ship of war General Monk, mounting eighteen nine-pounders and carrying one hundred and twenty-six men, under command of Captain Rogers THE L OXL EY HO USE. \ 99 of the royal navy, which carried nearly twice as much metal as the Hyder Ally, and had a crew one-fourth larger. Freneau celebrated the victory in a long ballad, of which the following is a specimen : " Captain Barney, then preparing, Thus address'd his gallant crew : *Now, brave lads, be bold and daring. Let your hearts be firm and true ; This is a proud English cruiser, Roving up and down the main ; We must fight her — must reduce her, Though our decks be strewn with slain. " ' Let who will be the survivor. We must conquer or must die ; We must take her up the river, Whate'er comes of you or I ; Though she shows most formidable. With her eighteen pointed nines. And her quarters clad in sable, Let us balk her proud designs. " ' With four nine-pounders and twelve sixes We will face that daring band ; Let no dangers damp your courage ; Nothing can the brave withstand. Fighting for your country's honor, Now to gallant deeds aspire ; Helmsman, bear us down upon her; Gunner, give the word to fire.' " Then, yard-arm and yard-arm meeting. Straight began the dismal fra.- Cannon-mouths, each other greeting, Belch'd their smoky flames away. Soon the langrage, grape, and chain-shot That from Barney's cannons flew Swept the Monk, and cleared each round-top, Killed and wounded half her crew." Benjamin Loxley, Jr., is put down in the early directories as a " mariner," but withdrew from active business in the latter portion of his life, when he is designated as a "gentleman." One of his daughters married Rev. Mr. Rhees, a Baptist minister; another became in due time Mrs. Jones. Mary, the widow of Benjamin Loxley, Jr., died July 23, 1828, aged seventy-six years. CARPENTERS' HALL HY the first Continental Congress of 1774 should have met in Carpenters' Hall, instead of the State-House, has seemed a mystery to some local antiquaries. The Assembly of Pennsylvania had formally approved of the ijW ^ ^ ^^ general conference of representatives of the Colonies. "^^'^ Resolutions drafted by John Dickinson assenting to the plan had been adopted, and the House elected in July, 1774. Joseph Gallo- way, its Speaker, Samuel Rhoads, Thomas Mifflin, Charles Humphreys, George Ross, and Edward Biddle as deputies to the Congress from Pennsylvania. Perhaps it was feared that the session of the Congress would interfere with the meeting of the Assembly, that body having adjourned on the 23d of July to meet on the 19th of September, at which time it may have been supposed that the Congress would scarcely have got through its deliberations. At all events, on the 5th of September, 1774, the delegates from eleven Provinces met in the City Tavern, Second above Walnut street, at ten o'clock in the morn- ing, in order to inspect the advantages of Carpenters' Hall, the use of which had been tendered to them by the Carpenters' Company. John Adams was very much pleased with the accommodation, and tells the stoiy of the acceptance of the hall as a place of meeting in the following words : " They took a view of the room and of the cham- ber, where there is an excellent library. There is also a long entry, where gentlemen may walk, and also a convenient chamber oppo- site the library. The general cry was that this was a good room, and the question was put whether we were satisfied with this room? and it passed in the affirmative. A very few were for the negative, and they were chiefly from Pennsylvania and New York." CAKPENTERS' HALL. 20 1 The gentlemen who formed this conference were not men who enjoyed a national reputation. They nearly all were strangers to each other, and until they met many of them had never even heard the names of their colleagues. John Adams and Samuel Adams, being early identified with opposition to Great Britain, were known by name all over the country. George Washington of Virginia had some reputation by his service as an officer of provincial recruits during the military operations against the French and Indians which resulted in Braddock's defeat in 1755. Patrick Henry was already known to be an orator from his memorable opposition to the Stamp Act, eloquently Carpenter;,' Hall in 1774. manifested in his speech in the House of Burgesses in May, 1765, when his bold words approached so near to expressions of treason that the friends of government were shocked and astounded. There were others more or less known as men of some influence in their own colonies, but what their qualities were in council upon matters which concerned not merely the separate colonial interests, but the good of the entire continent, were yet to be tested. Peyton Randolph was elected president, and Charles Thomson of Pennsylvania, who was not a member of the Congress, was requested to act as secretary. On the second day it was resolved that the proceedings should be opened 202 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. with prayer, and on motion of Samuel Adams the Rev. Jacob Duche of Christ Church and St. Peter's was invited to read prayers on the next day. Mr. Duche therefore attended on the 7th in vestments, and read several prayers in the Established form and the collect for the 7th day of September, which was the 35th Psalm. A rumor that Boston had been cannonaded and destroyed by the British fleet, untrue in point of fact, had been in circulation, and the Psalm seemed to be so appropriate to the circumstances that the reading of it startled that grave assembly. John Adams said : " I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning I must beg you to read that Psalm. If there was any faith in the sortcs Virgilliance or sortes Honiericcs, or especially the sortcs Bib/iccs, it would be thought providential After this Mr. Duche, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer or one so well pronounced." The following is a copy of this prayer: " O Lord, our heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and Lord of lords ! who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth, and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all nations, empires, and governments, look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor, and have thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth de- pendent only on Thee. To Thee they have appealed for the righteous- ness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, heav- enly Father, under Thy nurturing care ; give them wisdom in council and valor in the field ; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversa- ries ; convince them of the unrighteousness of their cause ; and if they still persist in their sanguinary purposes, oh let the voice of Thine own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle. Be Thou present, O God of wisdom ! and direct the councils of this honorable assembly ; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation, that the scene of blood may be speedily closed, that order, harmony, and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst Thy people. Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of their minds; CARPENTERS' HALL. 203 shower down on them and the millions they here represent such tem- poral blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Saviour. Amen." The proceedings of this assemblage were cautious and slow. The members did not hurry through with their business, as if their only object was to get done in the shortest possible time and return to their homes. The opening debates and discussions showed considerable diversity of opinion, which required time to reconcile. Reflection only could do this. After six weeks' deliberation the conference embodied its opinions of the measures necessary in the emergency by the adoption of a series of recommendations, fourteen in number, to the American people, as proper to be followed until such time as the British govern- ment would do justice to the Colonies. The measures recommended did not rise to the dignity of resistance ; they were those of abstention and self-restriction. British goods, it was determined, ought not to be imported into the Colonies. The teas of East India, the wines of Ma- deira, and the coffee, pepper, molasses, and syrups of the Western Isl- ands were not to be imported or used in America. It must have been in the earnest spirit of freedom that these delegates, all of whom rep- resented colonies and provinces in which slavery prevailed, declared that the slave-trade with America should be wholly discontinued, and that Americans should not hire their vessels nor sell their commodities or manufactures to those who were concerned in it. The increase and improvement of the breed of sheep were recommended to be made more effectual by resolution to kill those animals " as seldom as may be," and that the export of sheep to the West Indies or elsewhere should entirely cease. These were the principal resolutions recom- mended for adoption by the Colonies. Several of the suggestions con- cerned the method of carrying out the agreement. But there was coupled with them in the last clause a general resolution that the non- importation agreement should be adhered to until the acts of Parlia- ment imposing duties on imported articles should be repealed, and until several other acts passed in the same spirit, including the Boston Port Bill and the act for altering the charter and government of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, should also be repealed. Before the Congress finally adjourned the members were entertained, besides the 204 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. banquet at the State-House already alluded to, by the Assembly of Pennsylvania at the City Tavern. John Adams, who was present at this dinner, says : *' A sentiment was given : ' May the sword of the parent never be stained with the blood of her children !' Two or three broadbrims were over against me at table. One of them said : ' This is not a toast, but a prayer; come, let us join in it;' and they took their glasses accordingly." Carpenters' Hall. — Present Appearance. The Carpenters' Company, for whose use this hall was erected, wa.-^ established in 1724. In 1752 another Carpenters' Company united with it. The object of the association was the improvement of the CARPENTERS' HALL. 205 members in the trade, " to obtain instruction in the science of archi- tecture, and to assist such of the members as should be in need of support, and of the widows and minor children of such members." It was composed of master carpenters only, and for nearly forty years its meetings were held at such places as the members appointed, most probably at public-houses. In the year 1763 the erection of a hall was mooted, and a committee was appointed to select a site. Five years afterward, in 1768, a lot of ground was purchased on the south side of Chestnut street between Third and Fourth, which was sixty- six feet in front by two hundred and fifty-five feet in depth, and taken up on an annual ground-rent of one hundred and seventy-six milled pieces of eight, fine silver. Subsequently, the company sold the east- ern portion of the ground on Chestnut street, leaving an entrance leading to the back part of the lot, where it was proposed to erect the hall. The fund was raised by loan. The building was commenced January 5, 1770, and was first occupied January 21, 1771, although in an unfinished condition. Indeed, it was not until 1792 that the hall was completed according to the original plan, although it had been oc- cupied for more than twenty years. One of the first tenants of the building was the Philadelphia Library Company, which came in 1773 from its restricted quarters in the State-House and occupied the upper story of the hall for seventeen years. During the time of the patriotic work of the Revolutionary period Carpenters' Hall was the scene of several important conferences which did much toward the great result. The Continental Congress, indeed, had been preceded in the use of the hall by the Conference of the Com- mittees of Correspondence of the Province of Pennsylvania, the earliest Revolutionary body which assembled in the Colony in representation of the spirit of the people. Up to the time of the publication of the Boston Port Bill no measure of organization for purposes of resistance had taken place, except in connection with the Stamp Act, by refusal to use the stamps and the adoption of non-import- ation agreements. In May, 1774, Paul Revere of Boston arrived in Philadelphia, bearing the circular of the citizens of that town request- ing the advice of the citizens of Philadelphia upon the occasion. The result was that a meeting was called, somewhat informally, at the City Tavern, in Second street above Walnut, where the matter was debated between John Dickinson, Joseph Reed, Thomas Mifflin, and Charles 2o6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Thomson, representing various interests and views. There were about three hundred persons present, and the consequence was the appointment of a committee, of which John Dickinson was chairman, to answer the circular from Boston by expressions of sympathy. A letter was adopted by this committee directed to the committee of the city of Bos- ton, in which it was said : " It is not the value of the tax, but the inde- feasible right of giving and granting our ozvn mojiey (a right from WHICH WE CAN NEVER RECEDE), that is now the matter in consideration." Under the authority of this committee meetings were held by the mer- chants and mechanics of this city, and a general meeting was appoint- ed at the State-House on the i8th of June, at which Thomas Willing and John Dickinson presided, and Rev. William Smith made an address. This assemblage adopted resolutions denouncing the Boston Port Bill and declaring it expedient to call a Continental Congress. A committee of forty-three members on correspondence was appointed to ascertain the sense of the people of the Province on appointing deputies. By the request of the committee a Conference of Committees from all parts of the Province was held at Carpenters' Hall July 15, Thomas Will- ing chairman and Charles Thomson secretary. This conference, which embodied the sentiment of the patriotic people of Pennsylvania, did not hesitate to pass the necessary resolutions. The rights of the Colonies were asserted ; the unconstitutional and arbitrary conduct of Parliament was condemned ; and it was recommended that a conven- tion of the Colonies should be called, and that delegates should be appointed to the proposed Congress. In this manner originated the Continental Congress which met in the same hall in September. On the 23d of January, 1775, a second provincial convention was held in Carpenters' Hall to enforce the measures recommended by the Congress of 1774, and to devise means for supplying the wants which adherence to those measures would necessitate and create. Joseph Reed was president of this conference, and Jonathan B. Smith, John Benezet, and Francis Johnston secretaries. The resolutions were gene- rally in approbation and enforcement of the measures proposed by the Continental Congress. The preservation of sheep was recommended to the people of America for the sake of the wool-crop. The estab- lishment of manufactures in wool, iron, copper, tin, paper, glass, flax, hemp, and the making of salt, saltpetre, and gunpowder, were advo- cated. The manufacture of the latter article especially, in large quan- CARPENTERS' HALL. 207 tities, was advised, " inasimicli as there existed a great necessity for it, especially in the Indian traded Under authority of this convention, which did its M^ork in five days, the county committees of correspond- ence and for other purposes were invested with considerable powers. The Committee on American manufactures subsequently occupied the hall during the year 1775 and afterward. The Continental government occupied the cellar of the building and part of the first story as a storehouse and ofifice in connection with the army supplies. When the British army took possession of the city in 1777 the hall was used by the royal troops for the same purposes. During this time the room of the Philadelphia Library Company was occupied by sick soldiery for hospital purposes. In 1779, General Henry Knox, as commissary-general of the Continental army, occupied the first floor and cellar. In 1791 the first Bank of the United States had possession of the entire hall for the purposes of the institution, and held it until 1797, the Carpenters' Company having vacated the premises and hold- ing their meetings elsewhere. During the whole of that time Thomas Willing was president of the bank, and George Simpson cashier. The Land-Office of Pennsylvania, John Hall secretary, was held there in 1797-98. Tench Coxe, Purv^eyor of Supplies, had his office in the building in 1797-98. The Bank of Pennsylvania succeeded in occupation of the premises in 1798, and its business was transacted here until the new building for the bank, a very chaste and elegant edifice in Ionic style in Second street above Walnut, was completed. This institution, incorporated in 1792, had transacted its business until the removal to Carpenters' Hall in the Masonic Lodge building in Lodge alley. On the evening of the ist of September, 1798, the Bank of Pennsyl- vania was robbed of ;^ 162, 821.61. It was during the time of the yellow fever that this loss occurred, and the officers of the institution were unable to find a clew to the detection of the perpetrator. As a consequence, they gave way to surmise and to suspicion, which was entertained without investigation or reflection. There was at this time a locksmith in Philadelphia named Patrick Lyon, a native of London, who was distinguished for his skill in his profession. He had been employed in May, 1797, sixteen months before the robbery, to make two doors for a vault in the bank. In August, 1798, the yellow fever then being malignant, he was again employed to mend the locks upon 2o8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. two inner doors of the bank vault, which he had when first employed pronounced insufficient, and recommended something better to be adopted. Out of economy, perhaps, this advice was not followed, and whilst mending them the last time Lyon again spoke of their insuffi- ciency. A week afterward he left the city with an apprentice-boy, and went to Lewes, Delaware, to escape the epidemic, the ravages of which were becoming so fearful that no prudent man who was not obliged by duty to continue in the town ought to have remained. Whilst he was absent the boy sickened and died of the yellow fever, the seeds of which he had brought with him. Lyon nursed him, and after his death superintended the burial. On the very night the bank was robbed the the locksmith was nursing the sick boy. About the middle of September, Lyon, at Lewes, heard of the robbery of the bank, and that he was suspected of being concerned in it. Astonished at such an infamous accusation, he determined to return to the city and meet his accusers. Not finding means of transportation from Wilmington, intercourse with the plague-stricken city being prohibited, Lyon walked up to Philadelphia, and reached the house of John Clement Stocker, who was one of the directors of the bank, and told him that he came to the city to meet the accusation, and that he would be at Stocker's house the next day. Faithful to his word, he made his appearance at the appointed time, and there found Messrs. Fox and Smith, the president and cashier, and Robert Wliarton, at that time mayor of the city, who seemed to have come as a sort of friend or counsellor. Before these gentlemen Mr. Lyon gave a full and minute account of where he had been and what he had done while absent from the city. The evidence of his words and manner ought to have been sufficient to have induced them at least to doubt ; but, on the con- trary, it convinced them that he was guilty. Mr. Wharton said in his evidence, " Mr. Lyon gave a history where he had been, but he told such a straight and well-connected story that I was sure he was guilty." If he had given a rambling, incoherent account of his actions, no doubt Mr. Wharton and the bank-officers would have taken that to have been a proof of guilt ; so that, whether Lyon told false or true, appearances would have been construed to be against him. Mr. Stocker was a magistrate, and he made out a warrant of commitment against the locksmith He was taken to the Walnut Street Prison in default of $150,000 bail, which was demanded ere he could be released. Lyon CARPENTERS' HALL. 209 had friends, but they were mostly poor men, and the amount of security was at that time considered enormous. The fact that it was so great deterred those who might have helped from assisting him. He remained in the jail for thirteen weeks, without bed to sleep upon Pat \.\ and exposed to risk from the yellow fever, which was raging among the prisoners. After he had been confined for about two months nearly the whole of the money stolen from the bank was obtained from one Isaac Davis, a carpenter, who had been associated with Thomas Cunningham, the porter of the bank, in the robbery. Cun- 14 2IO HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. ningham had but short time to enjoy the plunder. The day after the robbery he divided the money with Davis. At a later period he was taken sick with the yellow fever, and died in the course of a week. Davis, on being arrested, was made to disgorge, and the bank-officers received from him ;$ 158,779.53 in gold and bank-notes, with an assign- ment of some property worth about ^800. Upon this discovery being made, the officers of the bank, it would have been supposed, would have been eager to release Lyon ; but instead of doing so, they con- tinued his imprisonment, on the pretext that he might ha\e been an accomplice. Davis was not prosecuted, but was suffered to escape. Finally, after remaining in prison three weeks after he should have been discharged, Lyon managed to have his bail reduced from ;$ 1 50,000, to ^2000, upon entry of which he was discharged. Never- theless, an indictment was pressed against him, which the grand jury ignored in January, 1799. Lyon then brought suit against Fox, Stocker, and Haines (the high constable who arrested him) for false imprisonment. It was not till near the end of 1805 that the case was brought to trial — an instance of the law's delay which added to the injuries which the locksmith suffered. The jur}^ which tried it gave a verdict of $12,000 against defendants. Motion for a new trial was made, and it was granted in the succeeding year by Justices Tilghman and Smith, neither of whom had sat upon the trial, against the opinion of Judge Brackenridge, who tried it. The new trial would have taken place in the spring of 1807, but before that time there was a compro- mise, and Lyon received $9000 — certainly not a very liberal solace for his wrongs and sufferings. To the Bank of Pennsylvania in this building succeeded the L^nited States government, which occupied it for a custom-house for more than fourteen years. During that period three Revolutionary patriots — General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, General John Shee of Shee's Legion, and General John Steel — were Collectors of the port. The Surveyors of Customs were William Bache and James Glentworth. The Naval Officers were General William Macpherson of the Revo- lutionary army, afterward commander of Macpherson's Blues, and Samuel Clarke. John Smith was United States Marshal during the whole period, and until January, 18 19, when he disproved the maxim derived from Jefferson's sentiment, " Few die and none resign," by calmly relinquishing the office. The second Bank of the United CARPENTERS' HALL. States, William Jones president and Jonathan Smith cashier, occu- pied the hall for nearly five years. Subsequently, the building passed to uses less conspicuous. The Musical Fund Society tenanted the first story for nearly four years. The Apprentices' Library Com- pany loaned books freely from its apartment in the second story for seven years and a half The Franklin Institute occu- pied the premises for sixteen months, and there were private lessees, prominent among whom was a well-known pedagogue who infused education into the minds of many apt and inapt scholars who af- terward became leading citizens. Johnny Willets, the schoolmaster, was quite a character, and with all his peculiarities is affectionately remembered. A somewhat notable tenant in 1827 was that branch of the Society of Friends which adhered to the doctrines of P^lias Hicks, and was disowned by their Orthodox brethren. The members met in Carpenters' Hall for a year, and until the new meeting-house in Cherry street near Fifth was finished. After this the old hall descended to unseemly uses. It became an auction-store, a place at which were sold second-hand furniture, broken pots, and leaky kettles, horses high mettled and spirited, spavined and unsound. The auctioneer's voice — and a strong, deep-toned voice it was when Charles J. Wolbert held the hammer — was continually heard. The floors were worn by the feet of bargain-hunters. The walls and ceilings were shabby and dusty. The rivalry of bidders, the push and obtrusiveness of persons who came to examine goods, but not to buy, — all these things contrib- uted to rob Carpenters' Hall of every grand association At length a new spirit was diffused among the members of the company. They determined to redeem the hall from its forlorn condition. After nearly twenty-nine years' occupancy in his vocation the auctioneer removed, and the Carpenters' Company took possession of the old hall, resolved to rescue it from degrading associations and to restore its appearance as near as possible to the original plan. The first story, in which the Continental Congress assembled, was renovated, and portions of the interior finish and architecture, w^iich had been removed during the course of the time that various persons occupied the building, were renewed. Ancient furniture was placed around the walls, and objects of interest collected, so that this old building presents at the present day an accurate idea of what it looked like at the beginning of " the times that tried men's souls." MOUNT PLEASANT OHN MACPHERSON, during thirty-five years of his hTe, I was one of the most noted citizens of Philadelphia. A clansman of the Macphersons of Clunie, he left his native "^^f" home in Scotland at a period not now known. He -^,_ followed the sea, and it is to be presumed went throuG^h the (^ gradations of service which finally made him fit to take com- mand of a vessel. He first came into prominent notice in Philadel- phia in 1757, when he assumed command of the privateer ship Britannia, rated at twenty guns. War with France was then raging, and the hope of preying successfully upon French commerce was sufficient to incite the sailor element to action. The profits of this season were not heavy, and in the succeeding year there was more fighting than prizes. In May, 1758, the Britannia fell in with a Frenchman carrying thirty-six guns and well manned. The supe- riority of the enemy was very considerable, and the Britannia was badly manoeuvred. In the heat of the action Captain Macpherson's right arm was carried away by a cannon-shot, and he was taken below. The first lieutenant was disabled. The second lieutenant continued the fight until he was also wounded. The surgeon became the only officer in command, and he ordered the colors to be struck. When the officers of the French vessel boarded the Britannia they beheld a bloody spectacle. Seventy of the crew had been killed or wounded. The deck was strewn with the bodies of the dead and dying. The action of the Frenchmen was inhuman. They carried the first and second officers on board their own vessel, cut down the masts and rigging, threw the cannon and ammunition overboard, and then set 212 MOUNT PLEASANT. 2I3 the vessel adrift, with a disabled and wounded crew, to the mercy of the waves. The crew managed to get up jury-masts, and navigated the ship into Jamaica, where upon survey it was found that two hun- dred and seventy shot had passed into the larboard side of the Britan- nia, some below water. The damage was repaired, and the ship was sent back to Philadelphia. In the succeeding year Captain Macpher- son made up for his adverse fortunes. During 1759 he took eighteen prizes. Two of them were French sloops laden with plate and valuable effects, besides ;^ 18,000 in cash. He relinquished the command to Captain Taylor, who cruised in the spring and summer of 1760 with no success. Macpherson was induced to return to the command. He beat up for a crew in October, and in his proposal for enlistment said as an inducement, " Seven hundred sail of ships lately employed as transports in the service of the French king are now converted into merchantmen, and these, with many more, encouraged by the great decrease in English privateers, are making voyages almost unmolested : which is a great encouragement for adventurers." These declarations were verified by the success which followed in the latter part of 1760 and the beginning of 1761. Macpherson took nine prizes on his first cruise, which were worth ;^i 5,000. During that period he fell in with a French man-of-war of sixty guns, but managed to escape by the superior sailing qualities of the Britannia, by means of which the enemy was distanced. The scene of his operations was in the West Indies between Martinique and St. Eustacia, and he was a protector of the commerce of that section of the West Indies. He carried into the ports of the island of Antigua two French privateers of ten guns, having on board fifty negroes worth ^^"4000. He captured a letter of marque of four guns loaded with coffee and cotton. The Council and Assembly of the island of Antigua considered him a defender, and voted him a sword. In 1762 the Britannia cruised with less profit than in the pre- vious year, and with, more hard knocks. In May, near Laguayra, Macpherson attacked a large French ship, which proved more than his match. In fact, he was beaten off with a loss of three men killed. In July, war with Spain having been proclaimed in the mean while, the Britannia came into Philadelphia with two Spanish vessels laden with indigo and sugar, and Macpherson resigned the command. It was his last voyage during this war, as the prehminary treaty between France, Spain, and England at Fontainebleau was signed on the 3d of 214 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF FHIIADEIPHIA. November, and was followed by the definitive treaty at Paris on the loth of February, 1763. Captain Macpherson was now a rich man, and he had the ambition to live in ease. He bought in September, 1761, from Benjamin Mifflin, a fine piece of ground lying upon the east bank of the river Schuylkill, nearly opposite Belmont. The original purchase was something over thirty-one acres. He added to it by subsequent purchases two other tracts of twenty-one and a half and twenty-six acres and some perches. Here he built a fine stone mansion according to the gene- ral style of the |Dest country-houses of the day. In appearance and interior decoration it was equal to any country-seat of that date, although it may be said that, looking at it from a modern standpoint, it must have been very uncomfortable. The rooms are small, but it must be conceded that the stairways, especially at the landings, are large. In the best rooms fireplaces in the corners, with chimney-pieces not very handsome, but with pretentious panels above them, attract attention. The woodwork is in the old fashion, and the entire effect is of the old times. East and west of the mansion are detached build- ings with hip roofs, which were used for kitchen purposes, there being no conveniences in the mansion for such necessity. To this country-seat, when it was finished, Macpherson gave the name of Clunie, after the seat of his clan. Subsequently he changed the name to Mount Pleasant, and as such it was known before the Revolution. Here perhaps he hoped to withdraw himself to the enjoyment of ease. The situation was singularly beautiful. The house was on an emi- nence, and commanded a fine view of the Schuylkill River. The nat- ural forest was undisturbed, and the surroundings were of the most romantic and pleasant kind. John Adams, who dined at this house in October, 1775, said of Macpherson that he had "the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania, a clever Scotch wife, and two pretty daughters. His seat is upon the banks of the Schuylkill. He has been nine times wounded in battle, is an old sea-commander, made a fortune by priva- teering, had an arm twice shot off, shot through the leg," etc. For several years Captain Macpherson enjoyed the pleasures of life at Mount Pleasant. When the Revolution commenced he was found on the patriot side, and was ambitious of naval renown. To Congress in October, 1775, upon the establishment of a Continental navy, Mac- pherson applied for the chief command, and worried the Marine MOUNT PLEASANT. 215 Committee for the appointment. The commission was given to Captain Ezek Hopkins, and Macpherson then appealed to Congress, claiming that Randolph, Hopkins, and Rutledge had promised him the appoint- ment. This was denied by the members of the committee. Macpher- MouNT Pleasant Mansion, now used as the Park Offices. son then applied to Congress by memorial, setting forth a plan for destroying the ships of the enemy, which was by the use of row- galleys. He offered to fit them out at his own expense if furnished with timber, guns, and powder, for which he was willing to pay. He 2l6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. only insisted that he should have the commission which was promised him, and that Congress would pay him the full value of the first British man-of-war he should take or destroy. The proposition was not acceded to. Captain Macpherson's wife was Margaret Rogers, a sister of Rev. Dr. John Rogers of New York. At the breaking out of the war Captain Macpherson had two sons, both of whom were destined to be of service to their country. One of these, William Macpherson, was then an officer in the British army, being at that time adjutant of the Sixteenth regiment of foot. Captain William Macpherson, upon hear- ing of the commencement of hostilities, his regiment being at Pensa- cola, tendered his resignation, which was refused. Subsequently, when the regiment arrived at New York in 1779, he again tendered his resignation, declaring that he never would serve against his country- men ; and Sir Henry Clinton accepted it, but at the same time refused to allow him to sell his commission, for which his father had paid a considerable sum of money. Afterward he obtained a commission, with the rank of major, in the American army, but not without con- siderable opposition on the part of other officers. He was earnest and true in his devotion to his country, as his services afterward attested. This was Macpherson of " Macpherson's Blues," Brigadier-General of the militia of Pennsylvania and of the provisional army of the United States during the " Hot- Water War." There was another son of John Macpherson, who became connected with the Associators of Pennsyl- vania as soon as hostilities commenced. This was Captain John Mac- pherson the younger, who was the first Philadelphian of any note killed during the Revolutionary war. He accompanied General Montgomery in his operations against Canada, and fell with his commander in the assault upon Quebec. The night before his death he addressed the following letter to his father, to be delivered only in case of his death : " My Dear Father : If you receive this, it will be the last this hand shall ever write you. Orders are given for a general storm on Quebec this night, and Heaven only knows what will be my fate. But, what- ever it may be, I cannot resist the inclination I feel to assure you that I experience no reluctance in this cause to venture a life which I con- sider as only lent, to be used when my country demands it. " In moments like these such an assertion will not be thought a MOUNT PLEASANT. 217 boast by any one — by my father I am sure it cannot. It is needless to tell that my prayers are for the happiness of the family and for its preservation in this general confusion. Should Providence, in its wis- dom, call me from rendering the little assistance I might to my coun- try, I could wish my brother did not continue in the service of her enemies. " That the all-gracious Disposer of human events may shower on you, my mother, brothers, and sisters, every blessing our nature can receive is, and will be to the last moment of my life, the sincere prayer of your dutiful and affectionate son, John Macpherson. "Head-quarters before Quebec, 30th Dec. 1775." This letter, accompanied by the following missive, was nearly six months later despatched to the father by General Philip Schuyler : " Permit me, sir, to mingle my tears with yours for the loss we have sustained — you as a father, I as a friend. My dear young friend fell by the side of his general, as much lamented as he was beloved ; and that I assure you, sir, was in an eminent degree. This, and his falling like a hero, will console in some measure a father who gave him the example of bravery, which the son in a short military career improved to advantage. " General Montgomery and his corpse were both interred by General Carleton with military honors. " Your most obedient and humble servant, " Ph. Schuyler. "Albany, 14th June, 1776." During the Revolution, Captain Macpherson, Sr., got tired of his Mount Pleasant home, and advertised it for sale. He described it as being in the Northern Liberties on the Schuylkill. It contained one hundred and twenty acres, and extended to what was afterward Mifflin's lane, now partly the Park road which crosses the Reading Railroad beyond the ascent from Promontory Rock. The country-seat afterward known as Fountain Green was within the boundaries of this property. There were mineral waters near the house. Seven stone-quarries were on the land. On a portion of the plantation was what was supposed to be a coal-pit. The person from whom Macpherson purchased re- 2l8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHIIADELPHIA. served one quarter of the coal for himself and heirs, and Macpherson in- tended to do the same. The whole property, which cost i^" 14,000, was offered for i^20,ooo, paper money. The coal-pit was supposed to be upon the Fountain Green property, adjoining Mount Pleasant, which Macpherson had bought in 1768 and made a part of the latter es- tate. Benjamin Mifflin, the owner, seemed to have imagined that there was coal upon the premises, and reserved the coal rights. The prop- erty also included at this time the estate on the north-west since known as Rockland. Captain Macpherson seems to have been of a philosophic turn of mind, and was very eccentric. About 1771 he removed by machinery of his own contrivance a one-story brick house from the neighborhood of Front and Pine or Union street to the west side of Second street below Elmsley's alley. The operation was effected by apparatus placed inside the building and worked by himself He advertised in 1782 to give lectures on astronomy at his house near Poole's Bridge. He published lectures on Moral PJiilosopliy in 1791. He offered his services by advertisement as a ship, merchandise, and land broker in 1783, and published the Price Current every fourteen days. He offered to allow his collection of late foreign price currents to be perused by any one who would " put sixpence or more into the charity-box for the relief of the widows and orphans dependent upon the sea-captains' club." He compiled and published the first directory for the city and suburbs of Philadelphia, which was published, according to the title- page, on the 1st of October, 1785, but first advertised as "just pub- lished " on the 14th of November. A rival directory by Francis White was advertised as "just published" at the latter end of the same month. Macpherson was evidently an individual disposed to stand no nonsense, and when, during his canvassing, his inquiry was met with a crooked answer, that answer went into the directory with the number of the house of the person who gave it. Thus, there are several instances in which grave and reverend citizens, as eccentric as the captain himself, are put down among the " Ps," as " I won't tell you," " I won't have it numbered," or among the " W's," as " What you please," or among the " C's," as " Cross woman," 93 South street. At the end of the directory he gives a long list of empty houses and of those in which persons would give no answer whatever. Macpherson was somewhat of an inventive genius. He advertised in MOUNT PLEASANT. 219 1785 that he was the inventor of an " elegant cot which bids defiance to everything but Omnipotence. No bedbug, mosquito, or fly can pos- sibly molest persons who sleep in it." In March, 1792, he presented a petition to Congress setting forth that he had discovered an infal- lible method of ascertaining the longitude, and requesting of that body " to send him out in the character of a gentleman on a voyage to France, with proper recommendations to our good ally, the king of the French." This was his last appeal. He died September 6, 1792, and was buried in St. Paul's churchyard, a little to the eastward of the church. After he left the mansion Macpherson leased it to Don Juan de Merailles, the Spanish agent or ambassador. For the purchase of the estate there was no acceptable offer until the spring of 1779, when General Benedict Arnold bought the property for the purpose of making it a marriage gift to his intended wife. While he was yet free from suspicion, and holding the high position of Military Governor of the city, Arnold met in the society which he frequented Miss Peggy Shippen, daughter of Edward Shippen, a lawyer, descended from one of the oldest and wealthiest families, and enjoying a high character and an excellent position. It may be proper here to say that he held no public office until after the close of the Revolution, being appointed President of the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions in 1784. He resigned the presidency of the Quarter Sessions in 1786, but remained President Judge of the Common Pleas until 1789, when he resigned, and Enoch Edwards was appointed in his place. In 1791 he was made Judge of the Supreme Court of Penn- sylvania, and in 1799 became Chief-Justice. Peggy Shippen was one of the ladies of the " Mischianza," in whose honor the gallant knights of the British army couched their lances. On that occasion she was numbered among the " Ladies of the Burning Mountain." Her knight was Lieutenant Winyard, and her squire Captain Boscawen. The de- vice of her champion was a bay-leaf, with the motto " Unchangeable." Curiously enough, in view of subsequent events. Captain John Andre was a participant in this carnival as a " Knight of the Blended Rose " — fighting in honor of Miss Peggy Chew. How soon after coming to Philadelphia, Arnold commenced to pay his addresses to Miss Shippen cannot now be known. He evidently lost no time. He came on the 20th of June, and in a little over three months afterward he considered 220 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. himself entitled to write to the object of his passion the following ardent and despairing letter : " Dear Madam : Twenty times have I taken up my pen to write to you, and as often has my trembling hand refused to obey the dictates of my heart — a heart which, though calm and serene amid the clash- ing of arms and all the din and horrors of war, trembles with diffidence and the fear of giving offence when it attempts to address you on a subject so important to its happiness. Dear madam, your charms have lighted up a flame in my bosom which can never be extinguished ; your heavenly image is too deeply impressed ever to be effaced. My passion is not founded on personal charms only : that sweetness of dis- position and goodness of heart — that sentiment and sensibility which so strongly mark the character of the lovely Miss P. Shippen — render her amiable beyond expression, and will ever retain the heart she has once captivated. " On you alone my happiness depends. And will you doom me to languish in despair? Shall I expect no return to the most sincere, ardent, and disinterested passion ? Do you feel no pity in your gentle bosom for the man who would die to make you happy ? May I pre- sume to hope it is not impossible I may make a favorable impression on your heart? Friendship and esteem you acknowledge. Dear Peggy ! suffer that heavenly bosom (which cannot know itself the cause of pain without a sympathetic pang) to expand with a sensation more soft, more tender, than friendship. A union of hearts is un- doubtedly necessary to happiness. But give me leave to observe that true and permanent happiness is seldom the effect of an alliance formed on a romantic passion, where fancy governs more than judgment. Friendship and esteem, founded on the merit of the object, is the most certain basis to found a lasting happiness upon. And when there is a tender and ardent passion on one side, and friendship and esteem on the other, the heart (unlike yours) must be callous to every tender sentiment if the taper of love is not lighted up at the flame. " I am sensible your prudence, and the affection you bear your amiable and tender parents, forbid your giving encouragement to the addresses of any one without their approbation. Pardon me, dear madam, for disclosing a passion I could no longer confine in my tor- tured bosom. I have presumed to write to your papa, and have re- MOUNT PLEASANT. 221 quested his sanction to my addresses. Suffer me to hope for your ap- probation. Consider before you doom me to misery, which I have not deserved but by loving you too extravagantly. Consult your own hap- piness, and, if incompatible, forget there is so unhappy a wretch ; for may I perish if I would give you one moment's inquietude to purchase the greatest possible felicity to myself! Whatever my fate may be, my most ardent wish is for your happiness, and my latest breath will be to implore the blessings of Heaven on the idol and only wish of my soul. "Adieu, dear madam, and believe me unalterably your sincere ad- mirer and devoted humble servant, B. Arnold. " September 25, 1778. "Miss Peggy Shippen." What the family thought of this alliance is somewhat a matter of controversy. Mr. Thomas Balch {Letters and Papers relating chiefly to the Provincial History of Pennsylvania) says : " It was not long before he became captive to the fascinations of the beautiful Margaret Ship- pen ; and, to the great distress of her family, she returned his love. Tradition tells us that the connection was violently opposed — not so much from political feeling as from distrust of the man, objection to his origin, and dislike of his private character as far as it was known. Arnold was not, in fact, a gentleman. His birth and early education were low ; and his peddling and smuggling trade with the islands, and his traffic in cattle and horses, could have improved neither his manners nor his morals." Mr. Balch also quotes statements of Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Lea, sisters of Peggy Shippen, that their father never " liked Arnold from the first, and was not friendly to the match ; but that it was encour- aged by a lady (a Mrs. P.) who thought highly of him, and had great influence over the mind of the young lad3^" Mr. Balch quotes a letter from Edward Shippen to his father, December 21st. 1778, in which he complains of the great expense of housekeeping, and says : " The style of life my fashionable daughters have introduced into my family, and their dress, will, I fear, before long oblige me to change the scene. The expense of supporting my family here will not fall short of four or five thousand pounds per annum — an expense insupportable without business. I gave my daughter Betsy to Neddy Burd last Thursday evening, and all is jollity HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and mirth. My youngest daughter is much solicited by a certain general on the same subject. Whether this will take place or not depends upon circumstances. If it should, I think it will not be till spring." This language does not indicate a strong opposition to General Arnold's suit. In fact, it appears as if the father was but little con- cerned upon the subject, and was willing to allow his daughter to make her own choice. On the 2d of January, 1779, Edward Shippen, Sr., grandfather of Peggy, writing from Lancaster to Colonel Burd, says, after referring to Neddy Burd's marriage to Elizabeth Shippen : " We understand that General Arnold, a fine gentleman, lays close siege to Peggy ; and, if so, there will soon be another match in the family." The old gentleman evidently knew nothing which seemed to render this match an improper one, or which made its issue doubtful if the consent of his granddaughter could be ob- tained. In regard to the young lady herself, Mr. Balch says that, according to every domestic tradition, she was the " reverse of gay and frivolous, artful and extravagant." He quotes the opinion of a lady whose name is not given, but whose " personal and intellectual attractions are vouched for," who gives her mother's opinion of Mrs. Arnold : " She used to say that Miss Peggy Shippen was particularly devoted to her father, making his comfort her leading thought, often preferring to remain with him when evening parties and amusements would attract her sisters from home. She was the darling of the family circle, and never fond of gadding. There was nothing of frivolity either in her dress, demeanor, or conduct ; and, though deservedly admired, she had too much good sense to be vain." Whatever might have been the young lady's personal character and virtues, and however unfit Arnold might have been to become her husband, such considerations appear to have had no influence upon the wooing. On the 3d of February the charges of the Supreme Executive Council against Arnold were made public. They were of such a nature as to affect his character as an officer, a gentleman, and a man of honor, and were quite sufficient to put the members of the Shippen family on their guard, and to have given renewed strength to the ob- jections to the alliance which, it is said, existed from the first. But no change seems to have been made in the current of this affair by MOUNT PLEASANT. the imputations against the suitor of Mr. Shippen's daughter. The arrangements for the marriage went on. It was proper, in order to give Arnold an acceptable appearance, that he should be able to make a settlement on his intended wife equal to her position and the wealth of her family. In the straitened pecuniary circumstances of the intended husband this was a matter of difficulty. He disposed of it, however, in a very cunning manner, seeming to be able to make a splendid gift. In a burlesque upon Arnold's address to the people of the United States, published after his flight, it is said : " A Frenchman, of whom I had borrowed i^^i 2,000 to pay for a country-seat when Continental currency was four to one in silver and gold, had assurance to think that he would like to take a pair of my horses for i^Sooo of the money lent." On the 22d of March, 1779, he purchased the estate of Mount Pleasant, and made a settlement of the property on himself for life, with the remainder to his wife and children. This had the appearance of being a rich dower. But the value of the property was not near so great as it seemed to be, from the fact that there was a large mortgage existing against it, created by Macpherson ; which incum- brance reduced the amount of purchase-money necessary to be paid for the premises. That incumbrance subsequently divested Mrs. Ar- nold's title to the estate through a sheriff's sale, which cut out her interest altogether, without payment of a penny for her benefit. On the 8th of April — a little more than two weeks after this settle- ment was made — Benedict Arnold and Peggy Shippen were married at the residence of her father, a fine, substantial mansion on the west side of Fourth street, nearly opposite Willing's alley. It is a matter of conjecture whether Peggy Shippen stepped from the memories of the " Mischianza " and the frivolities of fashionable life into the position of a stepmother. She was Arnold's second wife. He married Margaret Mansfield probably about 1761 or 1762. She died on the 19th of June, 1775, in New Haven, leaving three sons. The oldest of these children when Arnold married Miss Shippen could not have been more than seventeen years of age. The ages of the the others can only be guessed at. Naturally, it would be expected that they should be brought to their father's house, and the care of them become one of the duties of the new wife. It might not have 224 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. been, as Hannah — Arnold's sister — was much attached to them, and the children possibly remained with her. After his marriage, except when absent to attend the court-martial in camp, Arnold resided in Philadelphia for more than fourteen months — part of the time at Mount Pleasant. It W3s the fashion of the period for persons of wealth to retire to their country-seats, and it was a mark of social position to be able to do so. In his house at Philadelphia and in his house at Mount Pleasant, with the exception of occasional absences, he probably remained during the spring, summer, and fall of 1779 and a portion of the summer of 1780, up to about the middle of July, when he set off northward in the hope of obtaining the command at West Point, for which he had made application. During his stay in Philadelphia his first child by his second marriage, Edward Ship- pen Arnold, was born, and was taken, with his mother, to West Point when the command of that post was given to the father. During the period of which we speak Arnold was once or twice conspicuously before the public. He attempted to intervene in the " Fort Wilson riot," September, 1779, but arrived after the disturbance was over. Meanwhile, he was gradually sinking in pecuniary embarrassment. He endeavored to get his accounts through Congress under favorable cir- cumstances ; and, being sadly in want of money, he made an appli- cation to the Chevalier de Luzerne for assistance, ostensibly for a loan, but under such circumstances as to make it actually a grant of money from the French king. This must have occurred some time in 1780. Luzerne is represented by his secretary, M. de Marbois, to have listened to Arnold's discourse with pain. He said : " You desire of me a service which it would be easy for me to render, but which would degrade us both. When the envoy of a foreign power gives — or, if he will, lends — money, it is ordinarily to corrupt those who receive it, and to make them the creatures of the sovereign whom he serves. Or, rather, he corrupts without persuading. He buys, and does not secure. But the firm league entered into between the king and the United States is the work of justice and the wisest policy. It has for its basis a reciprocal interest and good-will. In the mission with which I am charged my true glory consists in fulfilling it withour resorting to any secret practices, and by the force alone of the con- dition of the alliance." How soon after he came to Philadelphia, Arnold commenced hi5 MOUNT PLEASANT. 225 correspondence with the leading officers of the British army is a matter not now to be definitely settled. Among the papers seized by the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania as soon as the treason of Arnold was known, was one from Major John Andre, in New York, to Mrs. Arnold, tendering his respects and offering his assistance if he could obtain for her millinery supplies in New York, among which he numbers " cap-wire, needles, gauze, &c." The tone of this letter is not of a character to intimate that Mrs. Arnold knew of the corre- spondence between Gustavus (Arnold) at Philadelphia, and John An- derson (Andre) at New York. This correspondence, historical writers believe, commenced as e^rly as March or April, 1779, either about the time of Arnold's marriage or shortly before. Some writers seem to believe that Mrs. Arnold knew of the treacherous correspondence which her husband held with Andre, while others disbelieve it. Aaron Burr declared that after Arnold's escape from West Point, his wife, being on her way to Philadelphia, told Mrs. Prevost that "she was heartily sick of the theatricals she was exhibiting ;" that " she was disgusted with the American cause and those who had the manage- ment of public affairs ; and that, through great persuasion and un- ceasing perseverance, she had ultimately brought the general into an arrangement to surrender West Point to the British." Sabine {Amen- can Loyalists) argues strongly against the truth of this assertion, and quotes the statement of Colonel Alexander Hamilton, who saw Mrs. Arnold at West Point immediately after Arnold had got safely on board the Vulture. The traitor, as soon as his own safety was sure, addressed a letter to Washington asserting his wife's innocence, and saying, " I beg she may be permitted to return to her friends in Philadelphia or come to me, as she may choose." Washington believed in her innocence, and offered to send her with an escort to Philadelphia, or to put her, under a flag of truce, on board the king's ship Vulture. She chose the former, and arrived in Philadelphia about the ist of October, 1780. It is said by the friends of the Shippen family that she had then re- solved to part from Arnold for ever, and had decided on a separation. If such was her intention, she was not allowed to carry out the de- termination. The Council was not satisfied that she should remain in the city. She had not been reunited with her family a month ere the following notice was served upon her : 15 226 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. " In Council, ^ " Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 27, 1780. | " The Council, taking into consideration the case of Mrs. Margaret Arnold (the wife of Benedict Arnold, an attainted traitor with the enemy at New York), whose residence in this city has become dan- gerous to the public safety, and this Board being desirous as much as possible to prevent any correspondence and intercourse being carried on with persons of disaffected character in this State and the enemy at New York, and especially with the said Benedict Arnold ; therefore "Resolved, That the said Margaret Arnold depart this State within fourteen days from the date hereof, and that she do not return again during the continuance of the present war." It is represented that her father and friends made strong efforts to have this decree reversed, stating that Mrs. Arnold had resolved to separate from her husband for ever. Nothing appears upon the minutes of the Supreme Executive Council to show that application was made on her behalf. Whatever efforts were made must have been in private conference with members of the Council. Major Edward Burd, in a letter to his father. Colonel James Burd, November loth, said : " We tried every means to prevail on the Council to permit her to stay among us, and not to [compel her] to go to that infernal villain, her husband, in New York. The Council seemed for a con siderable time to favor our request, but at length have ordered her away It makes me melancholy every time I think of the matter. I cannot bear the idea of her reunion. The sacrifice was an immense one at her being married to him at all. It is much more so to be obliged, against her will, to go to the arms of a man who appears to be so very black." In 1785 she returned to see her father and family, but "she was treated with so much coldness and neglect, even by those who had most encouraged her marriage, that she was deeply pained. She never could come again." For eleven years afterward she lived with Arnold, to whom she bore after she left Philadelphia four children — James Robertson Arnold, who became a major-general in the British army, and died in 1854; George, who attained to the rank of colonel of cavalry, and died in India in 1828; William Fitch Arnold, at one time a captain in the British army, and afterward a magistrate in MOUNT PLEASANT. 227 Buckinghamshire ; and Sophia Matilda, who married Colonel Pownell Phipps. in the East India Company's service. Edward Shippen Arnold, the eldest son, born in Philadelphia, became lieutenant of cavalry and paymaster, and died in India in 18 13. None of these children ever came to America, although it is said that Major-General James R. Arnold at one time expressed a strong desire to visit the United States, but did not think it prudent to come. By his first wife Arnold had three sons — Benedict, Richard, and Henry. All three entered the British army, the two younger in the loyalist, or Tory, contingent. The reception of the news of Arnold's treason created great excite- ment in Philadelphia. The Supreme Executive Council at once seized his papers and confiscated his property. There was enough found to add to the evidence already obtained in regard to his shameful practices while in command of the city. The agreement with Mease and West was discovered, and proof of his interest in the claims of the seamen of the sloop Active, " though he found witnesses to swear before the grand jury that he had no share in them." The public indignation took a more tangible shape. The next night after the news of his flight was received a hollow paper effigy, with a light inside and an inscription in large letters on the breast, was carried through the streets, and finally was hung upon a gallows. On the iHL PROCtSblON Ot ARNOID AND THE Dl\ IL FrOM AN OLD Pr 30th of September a much more striking manifestation took place. Upon a stage raised on the body of a cart was an effigy of Arnold 228 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. dressed in regimentals, with two faces. The Devil, with the conven- tional pitchfork and a bag of money in his hand, was behind him. In front there was a transparency representing Arnold kneeling to the Devil, who was about pulling him into the flames. These figures were accompanied with a procession, drums and fifes preceding the cart, the musicians playing the " Rogue's March." A procession was formed on a lot in the rear of St. George's Methodist church at Fourth and New streets, and marched to the front of the Coffee-House at Front and Market streets, where the whole affair was burned. And thus ended the last incident connected with the career of Benedict Arnold in Philadelphia. The next lessee of Mount Pleasant was the celebrated German baron, P'rederick William Augustus von Steuben. On the 26th of Oc- tober, 1780, the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania granted him permission to occupy the premises until the ist of April, 1781, for ;^35, specie. He had been a member of the court-martial which tried and condemned Major Andre, and his occupancy of Arnold's house would have been the more appropriate. If he took possession of the premises, his tenancy was exceedingly short. He could scarcely hav^e entered upon the premises before he received an order from Washington to proceed to the South with General Greene, who was directed to take command of the army hitherto commanded by Gates. This order was issued on the 14th of October, twelve days before the Supreme Executive Council resolved that the Mount Pleasant property should be leased to General Steuben. In the orders to Greene, Washington said : " I also propose to them to send the Baron Steuben to the southward with you. His talents, knowledge of service, zeal, and activity will make him useful to you in all re- spects, and particularly in the formation and regulation of the raw troops which will compose the Southern army. You will give him a command suitable to his rank, besides employing him as inspector- general. If the Congress approve, he will take your orders from Philadelphia." Greene went South as soon as possible, and was in Philadelphia on the 27th of October, one day after the lease to Steu- ben. On the 30th Congress approved of Greene's appointment and of the assignment of Steuben to the Southern army. They could not have delayed their departure for more than three or four days, for Steuben's aides. Walker and Duponceau, were at the Head of Elk, MOUNT J' IE AS A XT. 229 Maryland, on the 5th of November. Greene joined the army with Steuben, and was encamped at Charlotte on the 2d of December. The operations of Steuben and Greene were against Arnold, and as the baron was on the court-martial which tried Andre, this circum- stance, in connection with his pursuit of Arnold, would have formed a fine chapter of consequences. When he came back from the South he was in Philadelphia for some time, and one of his letters, of De- cember 27, 1782, is dated "Schuylkill," showing that he resided some- where near the river. It might have been at the Mount Pleasant house, but, as at that time the estate had another tenant, it is not probable. In 1 78 1, the property, having been confiscated, was conveyed to Colonel Richard Hampton for Arnold's life-estate. He held it for two years, when it passed into the possession of Blair McClenachan, merchant, who did not hold it long. He disposed of the premises in 1784 to Edward Shippen, Chief-Justice of Pennsylvania, the father of Margaret Arnold, possibly with the intention to secure the entire property to her. It was held by him till 1792, when he conveyed it to General Jonathan Williams, an old-time patriot. Under pro- ceedings, it is supposed, to still further protect the title, the property was sold on a mortgage which existed before Arnold's purchase. The sheriff made title to Williams, and thus Mount Pleasant became firmly vested in the latter. General Williams was a noted Revolutionary character. He was agent for the Continental Congress during the American Revolution at Nantes in France. He was born at Boston in 1752. After the Revolution he settled in Philadelphia, and was appointed a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1796. In 1801 he was appointed major of artillery in the United States army, was inspector of fortifications, and was the first superintendent of West Point Academy. After having been brigadier-general of the New York militia in the war of 1812, he came to Philadelphia, where he soon got into public life, was elected member of Congress as a Fede- ralist in 181 5, and died the same year. He was a writer upon military subjects, including fortifications and the management of horse artil- lery. His son, Henry J. Williams, was for many years a recognized leader of the Philadelphia Bar. After the death of General Williams his family retained possession of the property until 1853, when it was sold, and in 1868 became the property of the city and a portion of Fairmount Park. CLIVEDEN (CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. ^m HE history of the family of Chew is connected with events of ;■ i pubHc interest in four States of the American Union. John ^Jl^l^ Chew and Sarah his wife, as appears from the muster of Lieutenant Edward Barkley, were residents of the hundred in Virginia over which Barkley was officer. He was a member ... of the General Assembly of Virginia about 1622-23, ^^^ his name is met with as a member of the Upper and Lower House until 1643. It is believed that with his children, Samuel, Joseph, and others, he removed to Maryland in the latter year. Joseph in Mary- land married Miss Larkin, and Samuel married Ann Ayres, before 1657. Samuel attained to considerable position, being one of the burgesses and a justice of the provincial courts. In 1670 he was a member of the Upper House, and held that office until his death, March 15, 1676. He had seven children. Among them was Benjamin Chew, born in 167 1, who died in 1699. He married, in 1692, Elizabeth Benson, and although he only lived seven years afterward, he left at his death two daughters and one son. The latter, Samuel Chew of Maidstone, may be considered the founder of the Chew family in Pennsylvania. He was born on the 30th of 8th month (October), 1693. He married for his first wife Miss Mary Galloway on the 22d of October, 171 5. After some years he became a widower, and having, it would seem, a great fancy for the name of Mary Gal- loway, he married for his second wife Mrs. Mary Galloway, 7iee Paca, on the 28th of September, 1736. She was widow of Richard Gallo- way of Cumberstone. Samuel Chew studied medicine, became a practising physician, and 230 CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOIVN. 23 I joined the Society of Friends. He removed in the latter part of his Hfe to Dover in Newcastle county, one of the " Lower Counties " or " territories " attached to the Province of Pennsylvania which after- ward became the State of Delaware. Here, although he does not seem to have had a legal education, he was made chief-justice of the govern- ment of Newcastle, Sussex, and Kent upon Delaware. Such arrange- ments were not uncommon at the time. Many of the courts were presided over by laymen who had no legal education, but who by their general ability and intelligence, their intuitive ideas of right and wrong, aided by the references placed before them by learned and talented members of the bar, were enabled to discharge their duties on the bench with impartiality and to the general satisfaction of the people. Judge Samuel Chew, Quaker as he was, had still some of the old family spirit within him. In 1745, whilst the American colonies, involved in the war between Great Britain and France, were in great danger of invasion, whilst the proprietary government of Pennsylvania was engaged in the usual quarrel with the Assembly upon the subject of granting supplies for the use of the troops and the assistance of the king. Judge Chew was stirred up by the blood within him into taking a remarkable position for one who was connected with the Society of Friends. He had no scruples about the propriety of lawful war. In a charge to the grand jury of Newcastle county in 1741 he enforced strongly the duty of defence, and the obligation which rested upon every citizen to strengthen the hands of government and to give sub- stance and life in support of the king and the country's cause. This address was published in broadside and reprinted in journals published at Philadelphia, and created great excitement, earning the gratitude of the friends of defence, whilst the Quakers were scandalized at the fall- ing away of a member of the Society from Friends' principles against wars and fighting. A local bard, full of enthusiasm for the cause of defence, thus expressed himself on the occasion : " Immortal Chew first set our Quakers right : He made it plain they might resist and fight. His charge was penned with energy and sense ; He fully proved the justness of defence, And gravest Dons agreed to what he said, And fully gave their cash for the king's aid, For war successful, or for peace and trade. 232 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. But why so squeamish they are grown Of late, is owing to their sad approaching fail, Full well convinced the late Association Will show their strongest hold's equivocation ; Yet those who know their secret turns and ways Know that their mighty fear of losing power Is the deep wound their consciences devour." Benjamin, son of Dr. Samuel Chew, physician and judge, was born in Maryland at the family mansion, West River, on the 29th of November, 1722. His education was liberal, and sufficient to fit him for the practical study of the law. He obtained legal instruction at Philadelphia under Andrew Hamilton, who gave him the foundation in the theory of the law and of the practice in the courts. He finished his studies at London, where he was entered at the Inner Temple, and ate his commons in the regular way according to the usages of that venerable establishment. In due time he returned to America, and settled himself down at the place of his father's residence. The town- house at Dover is still standing ; the country-house is three miles from Dover. In the Lower Counties he was prominent, and was elected to the House of Delegates, being for some time Speaker of that body. In 1754, finding that the field for the exercise of his eminent talents was too small at Newcastle, and perceiving greater encouragement and reward at Philadelphia, he removed to that city, where he at once became noted and was entrusted with important offices. He was appointed Attorney-General of Pennsylvania on the 14th of January, 1755, and held that trust until November 4, 1769, more than fourteen years. He was succeeded in that station by Andrew Allen. He was appointed to the Provincial Council to advise and confer with the gov- ernors and proprietaries upon all matters of public concern in 1755, and was a member of that dignified body until the Revolution. In 1756 he was appointed Recorder of the city of Philadelphia, and held that commission for twenty years, until the events of the Revolution annulled the old charter of the city granted by William Penn in 1701. He was Register-General of Wills for the Province of Pennsylvania, commissioned August 14, 1765. On the 29th of April, 1774, he was appointed Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a position from which, in consequence of the revolutionary events com- mencing in April of the next year, he was practically removed after the battle of Lexington, and this authority ceased altogether by the CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOIVN. 233 overturning of the proprietary government of Pennsylvania in July, 1776. As the proprietary government under which Chief-Justice Chew held so many important offices was not in sympathy with the proceedings of the American colonists in opposition to the arbitrary claims of the Crown and the ministry, it was natural that he should be looked upon with watchful suspicion. After the outbreak of hostilities he conducted himself with so much discretion that it was a matter of doubt whether he was not really attached to the popular side. He was noted for courtesies paid to members of the first Continental Congress of 1774. Washington and John Adams both dined with him at that time at his house in the city, Third below Walnut street, and Adams with some minuteness records in his diary his admiration of Chew's house and the elegance of the furniture. As for the dinner, which ran from turtle and flummery to sweetmeats and trifles, Adams almost furnishes a bill of fare, and adds : " I drank madeira at a great rate, and found no inconvenience in it." Mr. Chew's position was like that of many other Americans whose sympathies were with their fellow-countrymen, even to the point of resistance, but which stopped short at the prospect of an independent government. He was a signer of the Non-importation Agreement of 1765, and was sympathetic with those who sought redress of grievances, but seemed to hope that the Crown would not resort to the extremities afterward reached. This is illustrated in an interesting anecdote related by Miers Fisher, a member of the Philadelphia bar^ who was in practice during the Revolution. Mr. Fisher said in Novem- ber, 1816: "I was attending a Court of Oyer and Terminer at the State-House in Philadelphia preceding April Term, 1776, when Benjamin Chew, Esq., Chief-Justice of the then Province of Pennsyl- vania, presided, and delivered, as customary, a charge to a very respect- able grand jury, the names of some of whom I recollect. He of course defined the several offences cognizable in that court which they were sworn and affirmed to inquire into. He began with the highest offence known to the law — high treason. After giving a def- inition of this offence, and before he had concluded his observations on the subject, several of the grand jury, looking seriously at each other, discovered strong emotions, and after a few moments of consul- tation of each other's countenances, Dr. John Cox, a gentleman of character, one of the grand jury, pressed forward through his brethren to the bar separating them from the counsel attending around the 234 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. semicircular bar-table then existing, and in a manly tone of an exalted voice demanded (I do not pretend to state his words exactly, but his general meaning) : ' What, then, is to become of us who are now op- posing the arbitrary power attempted to be exercised by the British ministry ?' Chief-Justice Chew, who had only paused for a moment, immediately resumed his discourse : ' I have stated that an opposition by force of arms to the lawful authority of the king or his ministers (or some words to this effect) is high treason ; but in the moment when the king or his ministers shall exceed the constitutional author- ity vested in them by the constitution, submission to their mandate becomes treason. Mr. Cox and most of the grand jury immediately made a low bow to the court ; the chief-justice proceeded to a def- inition of the lesser offences cognizable before them, and all was quiet. The grand jury retired to their chambers, the business of the court was conducted with the decorum which the character of the court always commanded, and it was the last court held under that dynasty." Eventually, the position of Chief-Justice Chew became more clearly established ; although he committed no overt act, his sympathies were understood to be with the royal cause. For two years he remained at his house in Philadelphia or at Cliveden undisturbed, a passive witness of the great events which were transpiring upon the continent and moulding the future of the American nation. It was not necessary during that time to interfere with him. But as the prospect of a direct attack upon the city by the royal troops under Howe increased. Con- gress became solicitous as to the conduct of the adherents of the Crown who remained in those portions of the country in which the British arms were not yet triumphant, but which were menaced by the royal fleets and armies. On the 31st of July, 1777, Congress at Philadelphia passed a reso- lution recommending the Supreme Executive Council of the State of Pennsylvania " forthwith to make prisoners such of the late Crown and proprietary officers and other persons in and near this city as are disaffected or dangerous to the publick liberty, and send them back into the country, there to be confined or enlarged upon parole as their characters and behavior may require." Under this authority, on the nth of August, John Penn, late proprietary of Pennsylvania, and Benjamin Chew, Chief-Justice, were arrested by soldiers belonging to the Light-Horse Troop of the city of Philadelphia. The choice of CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 235 signing a parole was offered them, and they refused. Upon this Con- gress was notified, and requested to order them out of the State. On the 13th the officers of the Light-Horse were directed to send an officer and six of the troop to escort John Penn and Benjamin Chew as prisoners to Fredericksburg, Virginia. On the 13th, Rev. Dr. Ewing appeared in the behalf of Chew before the Supreme Council of the State, and declared " Mr. Chew's willingness nozv to sign the parole offered him, and requested that he might be permitted to do so, at the same time declaring that Mr. Chew had not refused to sign the parole offered him from any want of respect for the Council, but from a desire that the cause of his arrest might have been inserted in the warrant for arresting him, in order that he might be able to satisfy his friends upon what he is arrested, and that it may not be supposed he stands charged with having committed any crime against the States, but that he is arrested as an officer under the late government of Penn- sylvania," This appeal was unsuccessful. Messrs. Penn and Chew were put under arrest and ordered to be removed to Virginia, ac- cording to the minutes of the Council. It has been generally sup- posed that they went there, but from papers in possession of the family it appears that, probably from the intercession of the prisoners, the place was changed. They were required to remove to and remain at the Union Iron-Works, near Burlington, N. J. There they sojourned during the remainder of the year 1777 and part of the year 1778. In the spring of the latter year they made some effort to obtain a release. Application was made to Congress, and that body, which had in great haste ordered arrests to be made in 1777, was now embarrassed by the certainty that a mistake had been made in that policy. Besides Messrs. Penn and Chew, a large number of influential citizens, mostly members of the Society of Friends, were arrested and banished, the latter to Virginia. On the i6th of March, 1778, Congress directed that the prisoners sent to Virginia should be delivered over to the Council of the State of Pennsylvania, by which easy means the Continental government relieved itself of further responsibility. A commitee of Congress wrote to President Wharton in 1778 in regard to Penn and Chew : " These gentlemen, as Crown officers and holding commis- sions under the authority of the king of Great Britain prior to the Declaration of Independence, and yet taking no active part [that we know of against us] since that period, renders their situation very 236 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. peculiar. In the first point of view, they seem under their present restraint prisoners of the United States ; what is to be done with them consistent with Justice and the pubHc safety is a Question of much importance. If enlarged and permitted to go into Philadelphia, what mischief may our enemies doe [sic] under a color of their authority, even without their consent ? If permitted to go at large in those parts of Pennsylvania in possession of the Whigs, as they are so intermixed with Tories, very mischievous consequences may arise. If confined in Pennsylvania for refusing a Test, it may occasion discontent and caballing." The Supreme Executive Council was in doubt as to the proper course in relation to Messrs. Penn and Chew, and admitted that at a future day great difficulties might arise by arresting them and sending them out of the State. President Wharton suggested in effect that " those who are not for us are against us," and as Messrs. Penn and Chew had refused to acknowledge the authority of the State as free and independent, and neglected to resign the commissions given them by the king, they were taking an adversary part. Whilst the Council was considering and hesitating, Congress, as if determined to escape further responsibility, passed a resolution (May 15) directing that Messrs. Penn and Chew should " be conveyed without delay into the State of Pennsylvania, and there discharged from their parole." President Wharton was of opinion that this action was rather sum- mary, and said, " We are wholly at a loss to know why they have been discharged in this manner, rather than according to the request of this Council some time ago. The respect we have for the determination of Congress induces us to suppose there may be good and sufficient reasons for it" — a polite method of expression which did not embody the true opinions of the government of Pennsylvania on the subject. It is sufficient to say that by the time Penn and Chew were released their power for evil, if they meditated such course, was nearly at an end. The British evacuation of Philadelphia had become a necessity, and it was accomplished about a month after they were released. We have said that Chief-Justice Chew was famous as the occupant of a hospitable mansion in the city which was generously managed. Pie was also the owner of a country-house at Germantown, which, by the course of events connected with the operations of the two armies in Pennsylvania, was to become historically celebrated. Mr. Chew established this retreat in the year 1763 in the upper part of the village CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 237 of Germantown. On the 14th of July he bought from Edward Pen- nington and wife a piece of ground upon the high-road, which was originally part of the Johnson property. It was bounded east by the road or Main street, and was near where Johnson's lane opened into the main road. Mr. Chew added to the original estate by purchase from Richard Johnson and wife October 3, 1765, and from Thomas Nedrow and wife in 1776. Upon this ground there was built for his use a fine stone mansion, designed according to the architectural taste of the time, handsome, and considered quite spacious and elegant. The house was of two stories, with central doorway and wide hall or vesti- bule at the entrance, and was divided into small rooms. The garref The Chew House, Germantown (Still Standing). was lighted by dormers. There was the customary ornamentation of urns upon the roof-gable and pediments which was characteristic of the style of building of the last century. A separate hou.se for use as a kitchen stood somewhat in the rear, and was connected with the main building by a corridor. This, with the laundry, another building, formed a quadrangle. The grounds were spacious and green. The 238 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. shade-trees were high, flourishing, and luxuriant. To this seat Mr. Chew gave the name of CHveden, and for some years after it was fin- ished, and during provincial times, it was the abode of elegance, hos- pitality, and ease. It was at this venerable house that on the 4th of October, 1777, occurred some of the most memorable incidents of the battle of Germantown; which, in fact, settled the character of that fight and lost an opportunity to the Americans. The plan of the battle of Germantown is well known. The British troops lay across the village from the Lime-Kiln road on the east to the Ridge or Manatawny road on the west. The right wing, com- manded by Major-General Grant and Brigadier-General Matthews, was upon the road leading to Lucan's or Luken's Mill, now known as Church lane, the troops being generally posted on the south side of the road. A few outlying detachments were north of it. Church lane strikes the main road somewhat south of Schoolhouse lane. It was not then opened farther west. The next avenue running westward was Schoolhouse lane, which begins at the Main street and runs toward the Schuylkill, which it touches below the mouth of the Wis- sahickon. The British troops were posted along those lanes in the following order: The Queen's American Rangers were at the inter- section of the Old York road and a short road which ran across to the Lime-Kiln road. The first battalion of light infantry was at the intersection of the Lime-Kiln road and the cross-road. General Grant and the Guards were south of Lucan's lane, and six battalions of light infantry and two squadrons of dragoons were still farther south. The left wing was under the command of Lieutenant-General Knyphausen, Major-General Stern, Major-General Grey, and Brevet Brigadier- . General Agnew, the latter commanding the Forty-fourth regiment. There were seven British and three Hessian battalions and mounted and dismounted chasseurs ; the latter held the extreme left on the Manatawny or Ridge road. Upon the Skippack or main road, now Germantown avenue, the Fortieth regiment, under the command of Colonel Musgrave, lay behind and east of Chew's House. The second battalion of light infantry is said by some writers to have been en- camped on the east side of the main road, in the rear of the house then known as Johnson's House, situate on the west side of the main road, at the north-west corner of Johnson's lane, and nearly opposite Chew's House in a south-westerly direction. Others say that the second CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 239 battalion was north of Chew's House as a support to the pickets at Mount Airy. Johnson's House, which is still (in 1877) standing, is of stone, one story in height, with curb roof enclosing the garret. It is a plain-looking, old- fashioned dwelling, modest in appearance and of small dimensions. It was built by Heivert Papen in 1698, and bears upon its side the date of its erection. The lot originally belonged to Abraham Op de Graff, who conveyed it to Jacob Schumacher in 1685. The latter transferred the premises in 1693 to Heivert Papen. This house, the historical claims of which have scarcely ever been mentioned, must be consid- ered equally with Chew's House as worthy of attention. It is unnecessary to state here the incidents connected with the battle of Germantown which cover the whole field. It is sufficient to say that Washington's plan, admirably arranged, contemplated an attack upon the British by four columns, marching upon the enemy by the Lime-Kiln road, the Old York road, the main road to German- town, and the Manatawny or Ridge road. The main body, under Wayne and Sullivan, with Conway's brigade, Washington accompany- ing this portion of the troops, were to march down the Skippack or main road. On the night of October 3, 1777, the American columns were put in motion at the Metuchen Hills. Wayne had the advance of the centre column, and about daybreak of the 4th he attacked the British pickets at Mount Airy. At the noise of the firing the Second Royal Light Infantry, which was either posted there or had moved up, opened upon the advancing Americans with two six-pounder pieces, and the Fortieth, as well as a portion of the Tenth, are represented to have come to their assistance. Conway had command of the at- tacking party, which was composed of the Second Maryland and one of his own regiments. Sullivan, not having room, deployed in a lane leading to the Schuylkill. Wayne's men advanced with charged bayonets. The British troops fled, leaving baggage and their tents standing. For more than a mile the rout continued, Sullivan, Conway, and Wayne pressing the fugitives. It was at this time that Lieuten- ant-Colonel Musgrave of the Fortieth British regiment, while in re- treat, resorted to a measure which seriously affected the fortunes of the day. With six companies under his command he took possession of the Chew House, barricaded doors and windows, and turned the J40 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. mansion into a fortification. Conway, Sullivan, and Wayne, ignorant of this movement, passed on and engaged Knyphausen, Stern, and Grey, and routed them with the bayonet. The reserve under Nash and Maxwell, with whom was Washington, pressed on, following the tri- umphant advance. As they were passing Chew's House, ignorant of its occupation, they were startled by the firing of musketry from the win- dows of that mansion. Colonel Timothy Pickering, who had been sent with a despatch to Sullivan, and was returning to the reserve, thus de- scribes the circumstances : " I first discovered the enemy to be there by their firing on me from the window on my return from General Sullivan. On rejoining General Washington, I found a question was agitated in his presence whether the whole of the troops, then behind, should pass on, regardless of the enemy in Chew's House, or summon them to surrender. A brave and distinguished officer (now no more) urged a summons. He said it would be ' unmilitary to leave a castle in our rear.' I answered, ' Doubtless that is a correct general maxim, but it does not apply in this case. We know the extent of this castle (Chew's House), and to guard against the danger of the enemy's sallying out and falling on the rear of our troops, a small regiment may be posted here to watch them ; and if they sally out, such a regiment %viU take care of thcm.^ But,' I added, ' to summon them to surrender will be useless. We are now in the midst of the battle, and its issue is unknown. In this state of uncertainty, and so well secured as the enemy find themselves, they will not regard a summons : they zvill fire at your flag!' However, a subaltern officer with a white flag and drum was sent with a summons. He had reached the gate at the road when a shot from a window gave him a wound of which he died." The officer alluded to, who urged that the garrison should be sum- moned to surrender, was General Knox. The subaltern officer who * Gordon, in his History, says that General Joseph Reed was the officer who replied to Knox's suggestion that it would be " unmilitary to leave a castle in our rear." Reed is represented to have said, "What! call this a fort, and lose the happy moment?" But Pickering says that Reed was not present, and did not belong to the army at tliat time. William B. Reed, in the Life of President Peed, admits the latter statement, but says that Joseph Reed was serving in the army as a volunteer. He does not claim that Reed held the conversation with Knox attributed to him by Gordon. Graydon, in Memoirs of a Life chiefly Spent in Pennsylvania, says that Reed and Cadwalader were present during the action at Germantown, but the biographer of Reed prefers to leave the question in doubt, and does not clearly state whether he thinks Pickering or Gordon is right. CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 24I carried the white flag and demanded the surrender, and was killed, was Lieutenant Matthew Smith of the Virginia line. An attack upon the house being determined upon, two cannon were planted in the main road directly in front of Johnson's House, and to the fire from the house there was a sharp reply by musketry. Chastellux, in his Travels in America, thus tells the story of the siege of Chew's House, as it was related to him by the Chevalier Mauduit-Duplessis, who had charge of the artillery : " Whilst everything thus succeeded on the right. General Washing- ton, at the head of the reserve, was expecting to see his left column arrive, and pursued his march by the main street. But a fire of mus- quetry which proceeded from a large house within pistol-shot of the street suddenly checked the van of his troops. It was resolved to attack this house ; but cannon were necessary, for it was known to be of stone, and could not therefore be set fire to. Unfortunately, they had only six-pounders ; the Chevalier Duplessis-Mauduit brought two pieces near another house, two hundred paces from the former. This cannonade produced no effect; it penetrated the walls, but did not beat them down. The Chevalier de Mauduit, full of that ardor which at the age of sixteen made him undertake a journey into Greece to view the fields of Platea and Thcriiiopy/ee, and at twenty go in search of laurels in America, resolved to attack by main force this house, which he was unable to reduce by cannon.* He proposed to Colonel Laurens to take with him some determined men, and get some straw and hay from a barn to set fire to the principal door. One may con- ceive such an idea presenting itself to two spirited young men, but it is scarcely credible that of these two noble, adventurous youths, one (Duplessis) should be at present on his way to France, and the other (Laurens) in good health at Newport. M. de Mauduit, making no doubt that they were following him with all the straw in the barn, went straight to a window on the ground floor, which he forced and * The translator of Chastellux adds the following interesting information: "In 1782 I visited and passed a very agreeable day at this celebrated stone house, so bravely and judiciously defended by Colonel Musgrave, and saw many marks of cannon and musquet shot in the walls, doors, and window-shutters, besides two or three mutilated statues which stood in front of it. It is a plain gentleman's country-house, with four windows in front, and two stories high, calculated for a small family, and stands single and detached from any other building, so that, defended as it was by six companies, commanded by so gal- lant an officer, it was calculated to make a long resistance against everything but heavy cannon." 16 242 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. on which he mounted. He was received, in truth, Hke the lover who, mounting a ladder to see his mistress, found the husband waiting for him on the balcony ; I do not know whether, like him too, on being asked what he was doing there, he answered, I am only taking a walk ; but this I know, that whilst a gallant man, pistol in hand, desired him to surrender, another, less polite, entering hastily into the chamber, fired a musquet-shot which killed, not M. de Mauduit, but the officer who wished to take him. After these slight mistakes and this little quarrel the difficulty was for him to retire. On one hand, he must be exposed to a smart fire from the first and second floor; on the other, part of the American army were spectators, and it would have been ridiculous to return running. M. de Mauduit, like a true French- man, chose rather to expose himself to death than ridicule, but the balls respected our prejudices ; he returned safe and sound, and Mr. Laurens, who was in no greater haste than he, escaped with a slight wound in his shoulder. I must not here omit a circumstance which proves the precarious tenure of a military existence. General Wash- ington thought that on summoning the commander of this post he would readily surrender ; it was proposed to M. de Mauduit to take a drum with him and make this proposal ; but on his observing that he spoke bad English, and might not, perhaps, be understood, an American officer was sent, who, being preceded by a drum and dis- playing a white handkerchief, it was imagined would not incur the smallest risque ; but the English answered this officer only by a musquet-shot, and killed him on the spot." In describing the effect of the attack made upon Chew's House by the Americans, General Wilkinson {Memoirs of my Oivn Time) says : " The doors and shutters of the lower windows of the mansion were shut and fastened, the fire of the enemy being delivered from the iron gratings of the cellars and the windows above, and it was closely beset on all sides with small-arms and artillery, as is manifest from the mul- tiplicity of traces still visible from musket-ball and grape-shot on the interior walls and ceilings, which appear to have entered through the doors and windows in every direction ; marks of cannon-ball are also visible in several places on the exterior of the wall and through the roof, though one ball only appears to have penetrated below the roof, and that by a window in the passage of the second story. The artillery seems to have made no impression on the walls of the house, CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 243 a few slight indentures only being observable, except from one stroke in the rear, which started the wall." It has been generally assumed by historical writers that the delay at Chew's House was an incident which contributed more than any other event of the battle to the non-success of the American arms. This must be conjecture, because the ill-success of the two columns on the east of the main road, and the panic which occurred in consequence of the fog which prevailed, which led the American troops to mistake their comrades for the enemy, and caused them to fire into each other, together with the misfortune which exposed Colonel Matthews' Ninth Virginia regiment to the full force of the Brit- ish regiments in front and the Fourth brigade under Agnew, and finally caused Matthews to surrender after he lost three-fourths of his men, may be considered decisive of the contest. Johnson, in his Life of Greene, does not seem to think that the time wasted at Chew's House was near so long as is represented by some writers. He says : " It is true that on reaching Chew's House Sullivan's column was halted ; that General Washington rode up, and paused a few minutes to observe the effect of General Knox's bullets upon its massy walls ; that during this time some very precious minutes were lost, but by no means as many as are generally supposed. It was not that he was under the antiquated error which required that a fortified enemy should not be left in the rear, but it was under the consciousness of the inestimable importance of every minute that he thus acted. Filing off to the right and left to avoid the murderous fire from the house must occasion a great waste of time, whilst it divided his line and left an Door of Chew House, shoming Marks of the Battle. 244 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. opening that the enemy, then actually forming under cover of the house, might take advantage of It was the hope that the well-directed fire of Knox would speedily bring the contest to a close that induced him to submit to the delay. And the hope was a rational one, for the impenetrable thickness of the walls could only be ascertained by experiment. Yet a very few minutes elapsed before he issued his orders to leave a regiment to observe the party in the house, whilst the army inclined to the right and left to avoid it." Wilkinson is of opinion that the time lost at Chew's House was really a gain to the American arms and saved Washington from a woe- ful defeat. He says : " After the examination of these facts and circumstances, I cannot repress the belief that the halt at Chew's House, whatever may be its merits in a professional view, was another manifestation of the Divine interposition in behalf of these States ; because if General Washington had met with no obstacle, he would, under the thickness of the fog. have closed with the main body of the enemy before he could have been apprised of its proximity, and thus his centre and a part of his left wing would have been committed to a general action with the whole British army; the result of which I submit to the consideration of my readers." Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Thomas Musgrave of the Fortieth regiment subsequently rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British army. A fine portrait print of this officer, still extant, made after he returned to England, possesses more than common interest from the fact that in the background is a building intended to represent the Chew House in the distance, but which looks unlike the old mansion. He was born in 1738, succeeded to a baronetcy, and died December 31, 18 12. Possibly, the condition of the property after the evacuation caused a feeling of regret which induced Mr. Chew to part with Cliveden. He sold it September 3, 1779, to Blair McClenachan, who occupied it as his country-seat for nearly eighteen years. Possibly, there were asso- ciations connected with the house which led Mr. Chew to repurchase it. McClenachan on the 15th of April, 1797, conveyed the property to Benjamin Chew, who again took possession of the old seat. The Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, in his Travels in the United States, written in 1797, says of Cliveden that McClenachan bought it of Chew for about ^9000, and resold it to the former owner for about ^25,000, without any improvement having been made on it. It was CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 245 a fine speculation for McClenachan, who about this time was beginning to experience the want of money — a deprivation which eventually drove him into bankruptcy. He was a curious character, and was quite conspicuous in Philadelphia affairs for many years. He was a native of Ireland, and came to Philadelphia when young, and engaged in the business of a merchant. He was one of the members of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, which society was established in 1760, and an original member of the troop of light-horse since called the First City Troop, to which he became attached November 17, 1774. He was a subscriber to the amount of ^10,000 in 1780 to the Bank of Pennsylvania, by which ^^300 ,000 in Pennsylvania currency, payable in gold and silver, were subscribed for the establishment of a bank for furnishing " a supply of provisions for the army of the United States." Mr. McClenachan was a director of the bank, which laid the foundation for the Bank of North America in 1782. During the Revolution, McClenachan engaged largely in the fitting out of priva- teers, and made a great deal of money. He was conspicuous in local politics. Stansbury satirizes him in his historical ballad of the " Pro- ceedings in Philadelphia on the 24th and 25th of May, 1779:" " The great McClenachan bestrode His prancing horse, and fiercely rode; And, faith ! he had good reason, For he was told that, to his sorrow, He with a number more to-morrow Should be confined in prison. It is said some speculating job Of his had so inflamed the mob That they were grown unruly." This allusion was in regard to importations of flour made by Rob- ert Morris and Blair McClenachan, which, by the fact that the mer- chandise was taken for the use of the French fleet, failed to reach the people, who were in want, and caused considerable complaint of monopoly and forestalling. Placards were finally posted about the streets menacing Morris, McClenachan, and James Wilson, a Signer of the Declaration of independence, who had in his professional ca- pacity as a lawyer acted as counsel for Tories accused of treason. They were all threatened with violence, and out of these circumstances 246 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. arose the riot and bloodshed at Fort Wilson on the 4th of October of the same year. He lost very heavily during the Revolution by the seizure of a large quantity of property belonging to him at St. Eustacia, where his vessels had gone to bring supplies for the United States. When the Pennsylvania line revolted, no man had more respect, nor did any one do more to restore confidence, than Mr. McClenachan. His services at that time are represented to have been very important. He was elected a member of the committee for the city and county in July, 1779, and was in other ways conspicuous. In 1790 he was elected member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and held that office until 1795. During Washington's administration he became an oppo- nent of the Federal government, and was a violent member of the party sympathizing with France, which afterward became known as the Democratic party. He was one of the leaders of the mob which in 1794 guillotined John Jay in effigy in the public pillory, and after- ward burned and blew up with gunpowder the rag representative of that unpopular statesman. When asked what he would do with Jay's treaty, McClenachan in- dignantly replied, " Kick it to , sir." Upon this the opposition got out a laughable caricature representing Mr. McClenachan in the act of kicking the treaty to the dominions of His Satanic Majesty. Mr. McClenachan was at the head of the Gallic party in Philadelphia, and became nearly wild during the excitements of the period. He was president of the Democratic Society in 1794. At a dinner given on St. Tammany's Day, the ist of May, at Israel Israel's place, three miles from the city, " the late successes of our French brethren " were celebrated by eight hundred persons. Patriotic toasts of the most in- tense kind were duly honored. Among them was the following : " The extinction of monarchs — may the next generation know kings only by the page of history, and wonder that such monsters were ever per- mitted to exist." After dinner the citizens formed themselves in a double line in the lane leading to the mansion. Here President Mc- Clenachan of the Democratic Society gave the " fraternal embrace " to Minister Citizen Fauchet of the French Republic amid the ani- mated joy and acclamations of the whole company. John F. Watson, in his reminiscences of these days, says, relating his own boyish recollections : " All others too put on the [French] national cockade. Some whose parents had more discretion resisted CLIVEDEN {CHEW HOUSE), GERMANTOWN. 247 this boyish parade of patriotism for a doubtful revolution, and then they wore their cockades on the inside of their hats. I remember several boyish processions, and on one occasion the girls, dressed in white and in French tri-colored ribbons, formed a procession too. There was a great Liberty Pole with a red cap on the top erected at Adet's or Fauchet's house [Dunlap's mansion, south-east corner of Twelfth and Market streets], and there I and one hundred others, taking hold of hands and forming a ring round the same, made tri- umphant leapings, singing the national airs. There was a band of music to lead the airs. I remember that among the grave and el- derly men who gave the impulse and prompted the revellings was a burly and gouty old gentleman, Blair McClenachan, Esq. (famed in the Democratic ranks of that day), and with him and the white misses at our head we marched down the middle of the dusty street, and when arrived opposite Mr. Hammond's (the British minister's) house [High above Eighth street — Hunter's house, I believe], there were several signs of disrespect offered toward the house." In 1797, Mr. McClenachan was elected member of Congress, and served until 1799. He was afterward Commissioner of United States Loans. Mr. McClenachan was possibly a brother of Rev. William Mc- Clenachan, the first clergyman of St. Paul's Episcopal church. Blair was a founder of that church, and a vestryman until his death. He died May 8, 1812, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul's. His latter days were chilled by poverty. His bankruptcy swept away his whole fortune, and the Federal office which was conferred upon him was really the support of his declining years. Mr. McClenachan's daughter, Deborah, a famous beauty of her time, married General Walter Stewart, who was the near neighbor of General Washington when the latter lived in Market street between Fifth and Sixth. After the animosities and bitterness of the war of the Revolution had passed a sense of justice gradually arose, which changed the position in public esteem of various persons who had been held in dis- favor by the Whigs during the trying period, and who, it was admitted, were treated more harshly than they deserved. Among these were Benjamin Chew. His talents and learning were needed for the public service. In 1791 he was appointed President of the High Court of Errors and Appeal under the act of September 30 of that year. This court, established February 28, 1780, was reorganized in 1791. 248 HISTORIC MAXSIOXS OF PHILADELPHIA. Mr. Chew remained in this court as President Judge for fifteen years, and until the court was abohshed by act of February 24, 1806. When President Chew retired from this tribunal he was eighty-three years of age, and gladly sought retirement for the few years allotted to him. He died January 20, 18 10, aged eighty-seven years. He had been twice married. His first wife was Mary, daughter of Samuel Galloway of Maryland, and his second a daughter of Mr. Oswald. She died May 16, 1 8 19, aged eighty-five years. One of the daughters of Mr. Chew married Alexander Wilcocks in 1768, and another daughter, Harriet, married Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Sophia Chew was one of the ladies of the Mischianza. Peggy or Margaret, another daughter of Chief-Justice Chew, was upon the same occasion a Lady of the Blended Rose. Sophia married Heniy Phillips the younger, and Peggy married Colonel John Eager Howard of Baltimore, a gallant and accomplished officer in the American Revolution. Washington, who had known Chief-Justice Chew before the Revo- lution, cherished a high respect for him, and after he became President maintained friendly intercourse with him, as is shown in various passages in his diaries. Peggy Chew was married to Colonel John Eager Howard at the family mansion in South Third street in 1787, during the period when Washington was President of the Convention to frame a Constitution for the United States. The distinguished pa- triot was a guest at the wedding, and might have contrasted in his mind the joyous festivities on the happy occasion with his own unfor- tunate experience at the Chew country-seat ten years before. Benjamin Chew the second, called Benjamin Chew Junior, succeeded to an equal share of the family estates, which were divided between himself and his eleven sisters. He was born in Philadelphia Septem- ber 30, 1758. He graduated at the College of Philadelphia in 1775, chose the profession of the law, and perfected himself in that study at the Middle Temple, London. On his return to Philadelphia he was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in June, 1786, and practised for some years, but gradually withdrew from active life. He died at Cliveden April 30, 1844, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He married in 1788 Catharine Banning, who brought him a valuable estate. His family was large, and some of his sons occupied important positions, among whom may be named Benjamin Chew, Jr., and Samuel Chew, CL I VEDEN ( CHE W HO USE) , GERMANTO WN. 249 members of the Philadelphia bar, admitted respectively in 1815 and 1 818. During his life he received at Cliveden, in 1825, General La Fayette, who at that time was making his final visit to Philadelphia. The reception of La Fayette was considered an important event in the history of Cliveden, and the circumstance has been perpetuated by a fine painting lately made by an excellent artist. Concerning this Mr. Chew it has been gracefully said : " He led a blameless life of princely hospitality and benevolence, doing good, promoting some charitable institutions, but bestowing liberal charities himself, advocating and enriching the internal improvements of the State, and promoting the welfare of a numerous tenantry. He had a large family, to whom he was ever an indulgent father. He was a firm friend, an elegant, ac- complished, brave gentleman, of polished manners, of singular personal symmetry of form and features, and great strength." Johnson Hquse, Germantown, THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. HE Masters' family is a very old one in Philadelphia, and goes back to the time of William Penn. Thomas Masters, the first of the name among us, came to Pennsylvania about the year 1700, probably a little earlier. This supposition is warranted by the fact that his son William was a suitor for the hand of Letitia Penn in 1 699-1 701. Masters came from Bermuda. His wife was a Knighton. In 1704 he built a stately house at the S. E. corner of Front and Market streets, extending to what was then called King street, now Water street. It was of three stories, with a garret, above the level of Front street, and four stories above King street. It was notable as the first three-story house built on the east side of Front street. This house stood for one hundred and thirty-six years, and during the later period of its occupancy was in the tenure of Benjamin and Ellis Clark, clock and watch makers. Thomas Masters became a man of importance. He was a member of the Assembly from the city in 1704 and 17 12, and from the county in 17 10 and 17 16. He was an Alderman of the city in 1702, and Mayor from 1707 to 1709. He was the owner of a fine tract of land in the Northern Liberties, south of Turner's lane and west of the Germantown road. Tenth street now goes through it, and Masters street takes its name from the family, which is now represented in the female line principally by the Camacs. Thomas Masters died in 1723, leaving two sons, Thomas and William. Mary Lawrence, 250 THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 251 daughter of John Lawrence, married William Masters, and was a widow before the year 1761. Her father was a member of the City Council in 1762, Alderman in 1764, and Mayor 1765-66. He was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of the Province in 1767. During the Revolution his sympathies were naturally with the royal- ists. He was put upon his parole by the Supreme Executive Council. In 1 76 1, John Lawrence and wife conveyed to their daughter, Mary Masters, widow, a lot of ground on the south side of Market street, between Fifth and Sixth, being in breadth one hundred and twenty feet and in length or depth one hundred and eighty feet. This WASHiNcnoN's Mansion. property was bought from the Penns in 1738 by John Kinsey, long celebrated as a Quaker lawyer, and then Chief-Justice of the Province. It was upon these premises that the Pennsylvania Hospital was first opened in 1752, as we are told, in a house in Market street between Fifth and Sixth, rented from John Kinsey. Mrs, Masters soon after the purchase built upon this lot a fine brick house. Burt says (address on the Washington Mansion in Philadelphia) that it was roomy and com- fortable, the main house being forty-six feet front by fifty-two deep, and was connected by a passage-way of fourteen feet in length with a kitchen twenty feet in width and thirty-seven feet six inches in depth ; 252 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. behind this was a washhouse of the same width, seventeen feet six inches in depth ; so that the extent of the mansion and offices from the street was one hundred and twenty-one feet. There was a yard twenty- four feet in width on the east of it, and a paved yard on the west, the entrance to which was by an alley five and a half feet in width ; on the back part of the lot, fronting upon a lane or passage leading to Sixth street, and since known as Minor street, which was not opened through in Washington's time, a coach-house and stable, together fifty- two feet front. Richard Rush, in his Reminiscences, speaking of this old house as it appeared in his boyhood, between 1790 and 1800, when Washington lived in it, says : " It was a large double house ; few if any equal to it are at present in Philadelphia. The brick of the house was, even in my time, dark with age, and two ancient lamp-posts, furnished with large lamps, which stood in front, marked it, in conjunc- tion with the whole external aspect, as the abode of opulence and respectability before he became its august tenant. No market-house then stood on the street. To the east a brick wall six or seven feet high ran well on toward Fifth street, until it met other houses (the first house, believed to be now 514 and 516, also owned by Robert Morris, as I find elsewhere, was occupied by General Stewart) ; the wall en- closed a garden, which was shaded by lofty old trees, and ran back to what is now Minor street, where the stables stood. To the west no building adjoined it, the nearest house in that direction being at the corner of Sixth and Market, where lived Robert Morris." The views which have been preserved of this house represent it to have had one doorway and three windows upon Market street. The large room was upon the west, with two windows opening upon the street. East of the doorway was a smaller room with one window. The doorway and windows of the first story were embellished with pediments. In the second story were four high window^s, with hand- some finish over their tops. Four smaller windows were above, and two dormers in the garret opened out upon the street. Mrs. Masters occupied this mansion some years after it was finished, and her daughter Mary lived with her. In 1771, Richard Penn, the second son of Richard, who was then proprietor of one-fourth of Pennsylva- nia, came over with a commission as Lieutenant-Governor, and super- seded James Hamilton, locum teiicns, as President of the Council. Richard, as a younger son, had but a small estate, but his family con- THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 253 nections were much in his favor. He was then thirty-seven years of age, and found Polly Masters an occupant of the finest house in town, and by her connection with the Masters and Lawrence families most comfortably situated. And so Richard, perhaps in ignorance that Mary's grandfather had nearly three-quarters of a century previous been a suitor for the hand of his great-aunt — whereby, if circum- stances had turned out happily, the Penns and the Masters would have been united — became a suitor for the hand of the agreeable and rich young lady. And he was successful. On the 19th of May, 1772, Mrs. Mary Masters, the mother, conveyed to her daughter Mary the Market street property in consideration of natural love and affection. It was a marriage-gift, and after Richard Penn was wedded he lived in this house in a style of elegance which his wife's fortune, if not his own, would well allow. Penn possessed a fine person, elegant manners, was of a social disposition, and a bon vivant. He was the most popular member of his family who visited Pennsylvania after the death of the founder. He held his office for twenty-two months, when he was superseded by his elder brother, John, who had already been Lieuten- ant-Governor of Pennsylvania from 1763 to 177 1. It was noted at the time that there were evidences of ill-feeling between these brothers, Richard perhaps not relishing the manner in which he had been dis- placed. The younger remained in Philadelphia until after the outbreak of the Revolution without attracting the suspicion, or at least the ill- will, of the patriot party. He it was who was entrusted, together with Arthur Lee, in 1775, to take over to England the petition of Con- gress to the king, and this was after actual hostilities had commenced. He was examined concerning American affairs at the bar of the House of Lords. His testimony was candid, and, as is now known, was correct. But it was not of the character which the peers expected or desired, and the idea that an English gentleman of intelligence and position, whose interests were connected with the Crown, should confirm all that Franklin had said in his examination before the Privy Council, was irritating. Lord Littleton said : " With all the caution Mr. Penn guarded his expression, he nevertheless betrayed throughout the whole of the examination indications of the strongest prejudice." He remained in England for thirty years, when he returned to Phila- delphia with his son William and daughter Hannah, and was a resident of the city for about a year in 1808-09. His residence then was at 254 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 2IO Chestnut street, on the south side, between Eighth and Ninth. He died in i8ii, aged sixty-seven years. After Richard Penn went to England in 1775, the manner in which the High street mansion was occupied up to the time when the British army entered Philadelphia (September 26, 1777) is not known. As soon as the royal troops were comfortably quartered, and after the battle of Germantown, the matter of a head-quarters for General Howe was considered. He must have the best house in town, and so he held possession of Richard Penn's house until the evacua- tion in 1778. From there the commander-in-chief, whenever he was desirous of making an impression, was driven in Mary Pemberton's coach, drawn by Mary Pemberton's horses ; which conveniencys he had seized. Sir William Howe is described by some informant of Watson the annalist as being of " a fine figure, full six feet high, and well proportioned — in appearance not unlike his antagonist, General Washington. His manners were graceful and dignified, and he was much beloved by his officers for his generosity and affability." During the royal occupation the officers indulged much in dissipation. Dis- cipline was so much relaxed that there was point in the remark of Franklin : " General Howe has not taken Philadelphia — Philadelphia has taken General Howe." When, after the raree-show of the Mis- chianza and the departure of Howe, Clinton marched out (18th of June, 1778), close upon the footsteps of the retreating Britons came Colonel Allen McLane, with his Rangers and a few more Continental troops, and almost as soon followed, in order to take command of the city as military governor, an officer who was to be the next occupant of this mansion. Benedict Arnold was just the man to succeed Sir William Howe in any effort of show or extravagance, and to do it in the name of patriotism and for the good of the country. Little time was wasted by him in taking possession of the premises, and it is a matter of inference that the bed upon which Howe had lain was yet warm when Arnold was ready to occupy it. His career in the city was of such a character, and his actions so thoroughly indicative of his subsequent conduct at West Point, that space may be fairly claimed to tell the story. Arnold had been .appointed to the command of the militia at Bristol, and on every part of the Delaware River east of Bristol, by Congress on the 14th of June, and was in the neighborhood awaiting this op- THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 255 portunity, the happening of which had been anticipated by Washing- ton. On entering the city Arnold issued a proclamation in which he recited the resolutions of Congress recommending the commander- in-chief to take measures to protect the city in case of evacuation, and to prevent the removal, transfer, or sale of goods or merchandise in the possession of the inhabitants belonging to the king of Great Britain. All persons having European, East India, or West India goods, iron, leather, shoes, wines, and provisions of every kind, beyond the neces- sary use of a private family, were ordered to make return to the Town- Major. All persons holding property of the British government or of British subjects were directed to make a like report. Military law was declared, and it was ordered that, until permission should be given by the general, there " should be no removal, transfer, or sale of any goods, as it will be deemed a breach of the above resolution of Congress, and such goods will be seized and confiscated for public use." Under this order the shops and stores were shut up, and re- mained so for eight days, the only sales which were allowed being provisions in the markets, which were declared by proclamation of June 2 1st to be open, and the attendance of country -people with mar- keting was invited. The closing of the shops was a matter of much complaint on the part of the Whigs who came into the city, as well as of the inhabitants who remained. They were badly off for supplies, and this regulation was not only in restraint of trade, but it was a hard- ship upon the people. The reason for this action of Arnold was not known at the time, but it was afterward made apparent by the discovery of the following agreement, which he had entered into within four days after his arrival, with Mease, the Clothier-General, and West, his deputy : " Whereas, By purchasing goods and necessaries for the use of the public sundry articles not wanted for that purpose may be obtained, it is agreed by the subscribers that all such goods or merchandise which are or may be bought by the Clothier-General or persons ap- pointed by him shall be sold for the joint, equal benefit of the sub- scribers, and to be purchased at their risk. " Witness our hands this twenty-second day of June, 1778. " B. Arnold, "James Mease, " William West." 256 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The object of this secret agreement was to take advantage of the au- thority of the commanding general in the purchase of goods, ostensibly for the public service, which were for private use altogether. The exact terms of the partnership are not given ; but great advantage might be realized by the right of purchasing, which, by reason of the wholesale authority of the government, could be extended to the entire monopoly of certain goods, with opportunity to raise the prices on purchasers to a great degree for the benefit of the parties engaged in this transaction. The shops being shut, gave to the partners an advantage in obtaining articles as if for public service, and in storing them, ready to be sold as soon as business should be opened. The Supreme Executive Council of the State, which had been in session at Lancaster, held its first meeting at Philadelphia on the 26th of June, and on that day directed that Colonel Matthew Smith, one of the members, and the secretary, should " wait on General Arnold, and inquire what is his intention in ordering the shops in this city to be shut." As toon as the committee waited on the general we may presume he perceived that this measure, which was entirely in furtherance of the designs of himself and of his secret partners, could not be longer maintained without exciting complaint and perhaps sus- picion. He therefore issued a proclamation, dated the 26th. giving permission to the retailers to open their shops, but it was not published in handbills until the 27th. On the same day he sent to the Council copies of the papers he had issued, with the mollifying accompaniment of an invitation to the Council to dine with him. The Clothier-General of the United States, who was in this arrange- ment with Arnold, had already elicited complaint. The committee of the Council stated that it had " mentioned to the General [Arnold] the difficulties made by the Clothier-General of the United States in sup- plying the troops of this State in the Continental army with clothing, and desired to be informed what was his intention with respect to the disposal of the [clothing] procured in the city and mentioned to the general in the memorial lately presented by the officers of the troops of this State on the subject of clothing ; to which he replied that he would give orders to the Clothier-General to wait on the Council and explain his conduct on this subject." This promise does not seem to have been fulfilled, as no account of the Clothier-General appears upon the minutes of the Council ; and perhaps at the dinner which Arnold THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 257 gave to the members of that body he managed to adroitly explain away the difficulties which surrounded the subject. Without means to maintain himself in the style in which it was his ambition to appear, Arnold was driven, from his entrance into the city, to the employment of whatever opportunities were within his control which could be made available in supporting his extravagance. The partnership which he entered into was expected to be profitable, and the man himself was not willing to abandon any ostentatious effort which would add to his assertion of consequence. Crippled at Quebec and at Stillwater, a vehicle was necessary for his use. It might have been in accordance with the republican simplicity of the times to use a modest one-horse conveyance, which would not have been unbecoming in a major-general of the American army whose pay was irregularly obtained, and which was furnished in a constantly-de- preciating Continental currency. But Arnold could not be satisfied with so plain a service. He must have his coach and horses and ser- vants in livery, with all the parade and ostentation of a man of the highest degree of wealth and social position. Naturally enough, his ambition carried him into intercourse with the Tories, the representa- tives of old families, who, notwithstanding the misfortunes of the war, still possessed wealth and property. These associations were soon noticed by the Whigs, and brought the commander into suspicion and censure. "A Militiaman," in the Packet of November 14th, com- plained of the manner in which he had been compelled to stand as a sentry at the door of the residence of Arnold, " subject to the whims and caprices of this officer and his suite," and to " be ordered upon the most menial services," which were " contrary to the spirit of a true citizen." This writer sarcastically said of Arnold, in conclusion, to show the absurdity of placing sentinels at the house of the command- ing officer — " He is exposed to no real danger in this city. From a public enemy there can be none. From Tories, if there are any among us, he has nothing to fear. Tliey arc all remarkably fond of him. The Whigs, to a man, are sensible of his great merit and former services, and would risk their lives in his defence." Shortly afterward " T. G.," in an address to General Arnold, said : " When I meet your carriage in the streets, and think of the splendor in which you live and revel, of the settlement which it is said you have proposed in a certain case, and of the decent frugality necessarily used by other officers of the 17 258 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. army, it is impossible to avoid the question : From whence have these riches flowed if you did not plunder Montreal ?" The times, indeed, were such as to lead to luxury'. The wretched currency and its continuing depreciation seemed to justify the opinion that it was wise to get rid of it before it became wholly worthless. The influence of such a sentiment caused extravagance, and it was universal. Washington, writing from Philadelphia in De- cember, 1778, to Benjamin Harrison, said: "If I were to be called upon to draw a picture of the times and of men from what I have seen, heard, and in part know, I should, in one word, say that idleness, dissipation, and extravagance seemed to have laid fast hold of them — that peculation and an insatiable thirst for riches seemed to have got the better of every consideration, and almost of every order of men. .... I have no resentments ; neither do I mean to point out any particular characters Our money is now sinking fifty per cent. a day in this city, and I shall not be surprised if in a few months a total stop is put to the currency of it. And yet an assembly, a con- cert, a dinner, or a supper that will cost ^^300 or ;^400, they will not only take men from acting in this business, but even from think- ing of it ; while a great part of the officers of our army, from absolute necessity, are quitting the service, and the more virtuous few, rather than do this, are sinking by sure degrees into beggary and want." In February, 1779, General Greene wrote from Philadelphia: "Luxury and dissipation are very prevalent. These are the common offspring of sudden riches I dined at one table where there were one hundred and sixty dishes, and at several others not far behind. The growing avarice and a declining currency are poor materials to build an independence upon." There were no means by which Arnold could obtain money that he hesitated in embracing. Samuel Breck, in his biographical sketch of the character of Judge Richard Peters, Commissioner of War during 1778, states that on the i8th of July Mr. Peters entered Philadelphia at the very time the enemy was evacuating it, his object being to se- cure clothing and stores secreted by the Americans who had remained in the city, and to purchase everything he could from the dealers. He succeeded in his errand, and immediately afterward returned to York, where Congress was in session. " I left," says Mr. Peters, in a letter to a friend, " fifty thousand dollars to the order of Arnold, for the pay- THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 259 ment of the clothing and stores. The traitor, who seized these articles, never paid for them, but converted the greater part of the money to his own use Colonel Pickering and I detected him in ordering stores and provisions out of the public magazines to fit out privateers of his own and for his extravagant family establishment. An attempt to stop this robbery produced between me and Arnold an open quarrel." One of the first indications of Arnold's rascality which was made public related to a case of what the lawyers call " champerty " in re- lation to a claim for prize-money. The British sloop Active sailed from Jamaica for New York on the ist of August, 1778. Among the crew of the vessel were four Americans. Near Cape Charles two British cruisers were fallen in with by the Active, the officers of which informed the captain, Underwood, of the evacuation of Philadelphia. Hearing this, the American sailors formed a plan for the capture of the vessel. They rose upon the captain, mate, the passengers, and the rest of the crew, and confined them in the cabin and hold by piling a cable and other encumbrances on the stairway between the deck and the cabin. The officers and crew below were supplied with powder and shot, but the mutineers, although having powder, had no shot. The captain threatened to blow up the deck, and the American sailors were afraid that they would in that case be taken to New York, there imprisoned, and perhaps be hanged. A truce was finally agreed upon, by which the sailors were allowed to steer toward the land and escape in boats. Before the agreement was finally executed the Pennsylvania armed brig Convention, Captain Houston, fell in with the Active and captured her, and brought her with her cargo of rum and coffee into Philadelphia. The Gerard privateer of Philadelphia was near at the time, and claimed a part of the prize-money. Captain Houston, on the arrival of the prize, filed a claim in admiralty against the Active on behalf of himself and crew and the State of Pennsylvania. The Gerard also made claim for a portion of the prize-money. Against these efforts Gideon Olmstead, one of the four American seamen who had captured the vessel from the British, filed a counter-claim on behalf of himself and his comrades. The cause was tried before a jury in the admiralty, which awarded three-fourths of the prize- money to the Convention and the Gerard, and one-fourth to Olmstead and the seamen. The latter had ceased at that time to have any 26o HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. interest in the controversy, or at least anything more than a partial interest. Benedict Arnold had made himself interested in the case, and be- lieving that the seamen had good claim, purchased their rights, and really represented the claim before the court of admiralty. Olmstead and the seamen, it is believed, if left to themselves, would have been willing to accept the one-fourth of the prize-money decreed to them, and there would have been no further controversy. But Arnold was entirely too greedy to submit to the acceptance of so small a share. He wanted the whole, or at least a greater portion than one-fourth. He had sufficient influence in Congress to obtain the passage of a resolution which undertook to revise the decision of the court of ad- miralty, declaring that all the prize-money should be awarded to Olm- stead and his companions. More than this : the court of admiralty of Pennsylvania was ordered to revoke the decision and to execute the resolution of Congress. But the judge (George Ross) refused to obey this decree, declaring that there was no appeal from the Admi- ralty Court of Pennsylvania to the Congress of the United States. The result was that Arnold failed in obtaining the money which he coveted. But by his appeal to Congress, with the accompanying ac- tion, he produced a conflict of authority between the State and the United States which was not settled until 1809, after an armed resist- ance to the Federal government by the troops of Pennsylvania at " P'ort Rittenhouse." The decree of the court of admiralty was published early in November ; and the same journal which contained a statement of the order of the court also contained the following paragraph : " It is whispered that some gentlemen of high rajik now in this city have introduced a new species of champerty by interesting themselves in the sloop Active. If this be so, there can be no doubt but that the contract is itself void, and that the seamen are not bound to fulfil it." The means which were within the control of Arnold without sub- jecting him to anything greater than suspicion were not sufficient to satisfy his restless necessities for obtaining money. In October, 1778^ he ordered that army-wagons should be used for his own private advantage in the transportation of goods brought from New York with the intention of smuggling them into the city of Philadelphia. The arrangement for this traffic must have been made previously, and THE WASHINGTON AIANSION, MARKET STREET. 26 1 must have been carried on for some time. Jesse Jordan was sent with a train of twelve public wagons to Egg Harbor, and when he arrived there they were loaded with merchandise which had been brought from the city of New York, Egg Harbor being a convenient point by which the traffic between the British army and the Tories of Phila- delphia was carried on. The goods were brought to the city, and, instead of being deposited in the public stores, as would have been done if the articles were government property, they were taken to private stores and warehouses. Setting aside the improper use of these wagons, the State was called upon to pay the expense of the transaction ; and the services of the conveyances were reckoned to be worth ^^"960. In the succeeding January, Arnold sent wagons, with goods belong- ing to private persons, to Morristown. Matters went on in this way during the year 1778 without obstruction, under the administration of the Supreme Executive Council and Vice-President George Bryan. Joseph Reed was elected President of the Supreme Executive Council on the 1st of December, and immediately thereafter action was taken in relation to suspicious circumstances connected with the actions of Arnold, and investigation was made into his conduct while in the city. On the 3d of February, 1779, the Supreme Executive Council adopted a series of resolutions in regard to the conduct of the general, which it was resolved should be laid before Congress. They made eight spe- cific charges, one of them affecting his character as an officer while he was in the camp of Washington at Valley Forge before the evacuation. In the list of accusations were included his conduct in shutting up the stores on his arrival in the city, " while he privately made considerable purchases for his own benefit, as is alleged and believed." His conduct in making the militiamen stand as sentries at his door was complained of The case of the Active was mentioned, as was the affair of the wagons. Misuse of his authority in attempting to give a pass to a disaffected persoii-~to visit the British at New York was alleged. In addition to these charges were those of neglect of duty, of his disrespect to " civil, military, and other characters who have adhered to the cause of their country, with an entire different conduct toward those of anotJier character." It was further said : " If this command has been, as is generally believed, supported at an expense of four or five thousand pounds per annum to the United States, we 262 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. freely declare that we shall very unwillingly pay any share of the expense thus incurred." A copy of these resolutions was ordered to be delivered to Arnold, but upon the pretence of duty requiring his absence he had left the city. Major Matthew Clarkson, his aide-de-camp, upon the action of the Council having been made public, published a letter complaining that injustice had been done to the general by publishing the resolu- tions in his absence, it having been known that he was about to leave the city for some time previously. He said that Arnold would return in two or three weeks, and would then meet the accusations. From Camp Raritan, under date of February 9th, 1779, Arnold published an address to his countrymen, saying: "Conscious of having served my country faithfully for nearly four years without once having my con- duct impeached, I little expected at this time to be charged with crimes of which I believe few who know would have suspected me. .... I hope the issue will show that, instead of my being guilty of the abuses of power of which I am accused, the present attack on me is as gross a prostitution of power as ever disgraced a weak and wfcked administration, and manifests a spirit of persecution against a man (who has endeavored to deserve well of his country) which would discredit the private resentment of an individual, and which ought to render anybody who could be influenced by it contemptible." Major Clarkson followed in* a letter, in which he denied that the resolutions of the Council had been delivered to Arnold before he left the city, but he accompanied the denial with the following curious counter-admission : " It may have, indeed, happened that these resolu- tions of the Council had been delivered to General Arnold, who, find- ing the roads bad, crossed the river again into this State, before he had again passed the line of the State. And this, I believe, was the case." The obvious drift of this paragraph was to support the insinuation that the general had not fled from the inquiry. Congress was slow to do anything with Arnold, and it was with some difficulty that a resolution was finally passed directing that a court- martial should be held at camp to try him on four of the charges exhibited against him. This trial was fixed for June 1st at Washing- ton's head-quarters at Middlebrook, but the Executive Council not being ready, it was postponed. Military movements also intervened, and it was not till January, 1780, that the trial took place. Arnold THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 263 was then convicted of misusing the pubhc wagons, and was con- demned to be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief — a sHght sentence, which, however, embittered his feeHngs and strengthened his resolve — before determined, it is beheved — to sell himself to Great Britain if the price should be as great as his avarice and his necessities demanded. Arnold left Philadelphia about the middle of July, 1780, and never returned to the city. He was succeeded in the occupancy of Richard Penn's house by the representative of the majesty of France, the Sieur John Holker, consul-general of France, who had charge of the very important interests of "our good ally" during the Revolution. Holker was really an Englishman, and was born under the authority of the British Crown in the memorable year 1745. His father was an exten- sive manufacturer, but a strong Jacobite and a friend to the Pretender. Having cast his fortunes with the unlucky Charles Edward, the elder Holker was compelled to fly after the disastrous battle of Culloden in order to save his life. He went to France, where his family soon fol- lowed, bringing with them young John, then scarcely more than a year old. He was educated in France, and, having been brought up there from his infancy, was in thought and spirit a Frenchman. His father managed to withdraw with him considerable means, and his son was brought up handsomely and well educated. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, John Holker was thirty years old and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He bore against England the family grudge which exiles cherish, and when the American Revolution broke out he became interested in the contest. He made the acquaintance of Dr. Franklin soon after the latter reached France as agent of the American Congress. The result of this acquaintance was that Holker entered into a secret contract with Franklin on behalf of Congress to furnish supplies to the Americans. France was not then at war with Great Britain, and this arrangement was kept quiet. In 1776, Holker embarked with the goods, and arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He thence proceeded to Philadelphia. He remained in America during the war, and when the Chevalier Gerard came to Philadelphia as ambassador from France to the new republic in July, 1778, he brought a commission to Holker to act as consul-general of France. As a representative of His Catholic Majesty, Holker desired one of the best houses in the city for a residence, and the mansion in High 264 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Street, which had already had distinguished tenants, was considered proper for his occupation. Whilst living in Philadelphia he fitted out the armed ship Holker, one of the most successful vessels which ever sailed out of the port, bringing the owners plenty of glory and prize- money, with few reverses or misfortunes. Holker never went back to France, or at least never resumed his rights as a French subject. The breaking out of the French Revolution probably deterred him. He remained in the United States, travelling in the South for exploration as far as Georgia. Finally, he took up his residence in Virginia. He purchased a handsome farm on the river Shenandoah, near Winchester, about 1792, where he established his country-seat. He resided in that place until the time of his death, on the 15th of April, 1822. Holker was a resident of the mansion in Market street when it was burned, January 2, 1780. He lost considerably by the fire. The walls were left standing ; they were built in the solid style of the old times. Robert Morris obtained a lease of the lot of ground with the ruins of the building, and caused the mansion to be " rebuilt and repaired " and made " divers other valuable improvements." This is given by Mr. Burt in an extract from the deed of August 25, 1785, made by Mary Masters the mother, Richard Penn and Mary his wife, and Sarah Masters to Robert Morris, the well-known patriot-financier of the Revolution. Mr. Morris was living in the house at the time, and he paid i^3750 for the property. He continued to live there until a more distinguished tenant was ready for the occupancy of the mansion. Upon the removal of the seat of the Federal government from New York to Philadelphia — an occupation which was not to last longer than ten years — the obtaining of suitable places for public offices and a residence for the President of the United States was necessary. Attention was immediately turned to this subject, and the City Councils of Philadelphia made an examination. The result was an opinion that no more suitable mansion for the use of the President could be found than this house of Robert Morris. The latter, as a member of Congress at New York, had been very active in the move- ments which brought about the transfer of the seat of government from that city. His influence was so important that the New Yorkers caricatured him in a print, in which Senator Morris was represented as carrying off Federal Hall on his shoulders with all the members of Congress, whose faces were seen at the windows. The Devil at THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 265 Paulus Hook ferry-house was represented as approving of this nTethod of shifting a capital, and, beckoning to Morris, was repre- sented as crying, " This way, Bobby !" Mr. Morris, therefore, cheer- fully gave up the use of the mansion in Market street to Washington, and removed with his family to the fine old house at the south-east cor- ner of Sixth and Market streets, which was also his property, and had been built by the Tory lawyer Joseph Galloway. The State of Penn- sylvania confiscated the house when Galloway's treason was estab- lished, and it was appropriated to the purpose of the residence of the Presidents of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania during their official terms. Joseph Reed lived there, and if not used as a residence by William Moore and John Dickinson, it was probably occupied for the use of the officers of the State. Washington wrote to Tobias Lear, his private secretary, on the 3d of September, 1790, after he left New York : " The house of Mr. Robert Morris had pre- vious to my arrival been taken by the corporation for my residence. It is the best they could get ; it is, I believe, the best single house in the city, yet without additions it is inadequate to the commodious accommodation of my family. These additions, I believe, will be made. The first floor contains only two public rooms (except one for the upper servants) ; the second floor will have two public (drawing) rooms, and, with the aid of one room with a partition in it, the back room will be sufficient for the accommodation of Mrs. Washington and the children and their maids, besides affording her a small place for a private study and dressing-room. The third story will furnish you and Mrs. Lear with a good lodging-room, a public office — for there is no room below for one — and two rooms for the gentlemen of the family. The garret has four good rooms, which must serve Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, unless they should prefer the room over the workhouse (doubtless the washhouse in the plan ; Mr. Hyde was butler), also William and such servants as it may not be better to place in the proposed additions to the back building. There is a room over the stable which may serve the coachman and postilions, and there is a smokehouse, which may possibly be more valuable for the use of servants than for the smoking of meats. The intention of the addition to the back building is to provide a servants' hall and one or two lodging-rooms for the servants. There are good stables, but for twelve horses only, and a coach-house which will hold all my 266 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. carriages. Speaking of carriages, I have left my coach to receive a thorough repair by the time I return, which I expect will be before the 1st of December." Washington was a methodical man, very precise in matters of busi- ness, and was soon worried about the amount of the rent which he would have to pay for this house. Up to the middle of November the sum had not been fixed, and at that time, writing from Mount Vernon to Mr. Lear, he said : " I am, I must confess, exceedingly unwilling to go into any house without first knowing on what terms I do it, and wish this sentiment could be again hinted in delicate terms to the parties concerned with me." This he considered the more necessary because of the proposed alterations, which he was afraid might be extravagant. He said that they " ought to be done in a plain and neat, and not by any means in an extravagant, style ; because the latter is not only contrary to my wish, but really would be detrimental to my interests and convenience, principally because it would be the means of keeping me out of the use and comforts of the house to a late period, and because the furniture and everything else would require to be accordant therewith." The rent was finally fixed at ^3000 a year. Mr. and Mrs. Morris left two large looking-glasses, because they had no place proper to remove them to, a glass lamp in the entry or hall, and a mangle for ironing clothes. The tenants of the house were Washington and Mrs. Washington, Mr. and Mrs. Lear, Mr. Hyde the butler and wdfe, Samuel Fraunces the cook, and servants. Washington gave his first levee on Friday, the 25th of December, 1790. It was attended by the beauty and fashion of the city. Mrs. Adams mentions the " dazzling Mrs. Bingham and her beautiful sisters, the Misses Allen, the Misses Chew, and, in short, a constellation of beauty." Sallie McKean, daughter of the Chief-Justice, writing to a friend in New York, said : " You never could have had such a draw- ing-room ; it was brilliant beyond anything you could imagine ; and though there was a good deal of extravagance, there was so much of Philadelphia taste in everything that it must be confessed the most delightful occasion of the kind ever known in this country." Every other Tuesday, says Griswold in the Republican Court, from which many of these particulars are derived, the President received respect- able citizens and strangers between the hours of three and four o'clock THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 267 in the afternoon. "The receptions were in the dining-room, on the first floor, in the back part of the house. At three o'clock, all the chairs having been removed, the door was opened, and the President, usually surrounded by the members of his Cabinet or other distinguished men, was seen by the approaching visitor standing before the fire- place, his hair powdered and gathered behind in a silk bag, coat and breeches of plain black velvet, white or pearl-colored vest, yellow gloves, a cocked hat in his hand, silver knee- and shoe-buckles, and a long sword, with a finely-wrought and glittering steel hilt, the coat worn over it and its scabbard of polished white leather. On these occasions he never shook hands, even with his most intimate friends. The name of every one was distinctly announced, and he rarely forgot that of a person who had been once introduced to him. The visitor was received with a dignified bow, and passed on to another part of the room. At a quarter-past three the door was closed, the gentlemen present moved into a circle, and he proceeded, beginning at his right hand, to exchange a few words with each. When the circuit was completed he resumed his first position, and the visitors approached him in succession, bowed, and retired." When Mrs. Washington gave her levees the President appeared in the costume of a private gentleman, without hat or sword, and did not consider that the visit was made to him. On these occasions he was social and conversed without restraint, generally with the ladies, who had no opportunity of meeting him at other times. Mrs. Susan Wallace, a daughter of Dr. Barnabas Binney and sister of Horace Binney, lived in Market street nearly opposite General Washington's house, during his residence in Philadelphia, and her remembrances were noted by her son, Horace Binney Wallace, long since deceased. Mrs. Wallace said : " It was the general's custom frequently, when the day was fine, to come out to walk, attended by his secretaries, Mr. Lear and Major William Jackson, one on each side. He always crossed directly over from his own door to the sunny side of the street, and walked down. He was dressed in black, and all three wore cocked hats. She never observed them conversing: she often wondered and watched, as a child, to see if any of the party spoke, but never could perceive that anything was said. It was understood that the aides were kept at regal distance. General Washington had a large family coach, a light carriage, and a chariot, all alike — 268 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. cream-colored, painted with three enamelled figures on each panel — and very handsome. He drove in the coach to Christ Church every Sunday morning with two horses ; drove the carriage and four into the country — to Landsdowne, the Hills, and other places. In going to the Senate he used the chariot with six horses. All his servants were white, and wore liveries of white cloth trimmed with scarlet or orange. Mrs. Wallace saw General Washington frequently at public balls. His manners there were very gracious and pleasant. She went with Mrs. Oliver Wolcott to one of Mrs. Washington's drawing-rooms. The general was present, and came up and bowed to every lady after she was seated. Mrs. Binney visited Mrs. Washington frequently. It was Mrs. Washington's custom to return visits on the third day ; and she thus always returned Mrs. Binney's. A footman would run over, knock loudly, and announce Mrs. Washington, who would then come over with Mr. Lear. Mrs. Wallace met Mrs. Washington in her mother's parlor ; her manners were very easy, pleasant, and uncer- emonious, with the characteristics of other Virginia ladies. When Washington retired from public life Mrs. Wallace was about nineteen years of age." Wansey, an English manufacturer, breakfasted with Washington and his family in the summer of 1794. "The fare was simple. The company consisted, besides the President and lady, of Eleanor Custis and George Washington Parke Custis, grandchildren of Mrs. Wash- ington, and aged respectively sixteen and fourteen years, and Wansey. Mrs. Washington herself made tea and coffee for us. On the table were two small plates of sliced tongue and dry toast, bread and butter, but no broiled fish, as is the general custom There were but slight indications of form, one servant only attending, who had no livery, and a silver urn for hot water was the only expensive article on the table. Mrs. Washington struck me as something older than the President, though I understand they were both born in the same year ; she was short in stature, rather robust, extremely simple in her dress, and wore a very plain cap, with her gray hair turned up under it." Horace Binney when a boy was a playmate of George Washington Parke Custis, and at one time, being with his friend in the President's house, was invited down to dinner. The company was composed of the President and lady and the two boys. They sat down without a word, Horace being under considerable feelings of awe, which were not THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 269. much relieved by the fact which he states that during the entire dinner not a word was said by anybody. Samuel Fraunces, the cook of Washington, was a colored man, and commonly known as " Black Sam." He had been a tavern-keeper in the city of New York, and was noted for his skill as a caterer. He kept a tavern at Richmond Hill, at Vauxhall Garden, and Richmond street, and when Washington took leave of the army in New York, Sam was keeping a tavern in Broad street. Sam remained with Wash- ington until 1793. He kept tavern at 166 South Second street the next year, and removed afterward to 59 South Water street. In 1795, during Washington's occupancy of this mansion, his near- est neighbor on the west was Robert Kid, perfumer, and Mr. Morris lived at the south-east corner of Sixth street, which was considered a Sixth street house, and numbered as i South Sixth street. East of the President's house on High street his next neighbor was Henry Sheaff, wine-merchant, who was succeeded by Abraham Kintzing, grazier, Jacob Stein, flour-merchant, Robert E. Jones, wine-merchant, William Jones, gentleman, and James Dunn, boarding-house keeper. Upon coming to Philadelphia, Vice-President John Adams secured the mansion of Hamilton at Bush Hill. In a letter to her daughter upon taking possession, Mrs. Adams said : " Although there remains neither bush nor shrub upon it, nor very few trees except the pine grove behind it, yet Bush Hill is a very beautiful place; but the grand and sublime I left at Richmond Hill. The cultivation in sight and the prospect are superior, but the Schuylkill is no more like the Hudson than I to Hercules." Vice-President Adams did not remain at Bush Hill during his whole term. During the yellow fever of 1793 the Bush Hill mansion which he had occupied was vacant, and the citizens of Philadelphia took pos- session of it for a hospital, and held it for that purpose until the epi- demic had ceased. It was unfit after that time for the purposes of a dwelling-house. The city directory for 1796 places Adams in that year in South Fourth street, at the house of John Francis, who kept the Indian Queen Hotel. Upon his election to the Presidency it was necessary for Mr. Adams to obtain better accommodations than he had hitherto needed. He therefore negotiated for the lease of the mansion which had been occupied by his predecessor, and obtained it. And here it may be proper to advert to a circumstance sometimes 270 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. alluded to in connection with the life of Washington, and usually mis- represented. It is in reference to what was called the President's House, in Ninth street south of Market street. It had been built by the State of Pennsylvania by virtue of a law passed in 179 1, in re- sponse to a petition by the corporation of the city of Philadelphia suggesting, among other things, that a suitable mansion should be erected for the use of the President of the United States, The cor- ner-stone was laid on the loth of May, 1792, when, according to the inscription upon it, " the State of Pennsylvania was out of debt." Twenty thousand pounds were appropriated for the purpose. The lot cost ^^"5491, The building went on very slowly, and, it was soon discovered, would cost more than the balance on hand. Washington is credited in story with having refused to live in this house because it was too grand for his occupation. There is no truth in such rep- resentation. The house was not finished while Washington was in office, and he never had a chance to accept it or reject it. The building was not entirely finished when John Adams was inaugurated President, but it was sufficiently near that consummation ~ to justify Governor Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania in offering the use of it to the latter. This was done on the 3d of March, 1797, the day before the inauguration. Governor Mifflin then said that the house would be completed in the course of a few weeks, and said : " Permit me to tender it for your accommodation, and to inform you that although I regret the necessity of making any stipulation on the subject, I shall consider the rent for which you might obtain any other suitable house in Philadelphia (and which you will be pleased to mention) as a suf- ficient compensation for the use of that now offered." Mr. Adams replied on the same day : " As I entertain great doubts whether by a candid construction of the Constitution of the United States I am at liberty to accept it without the intervention and authority of Congress, and as there is not time for any application, I must pray that you will apologize for me to the Legislature for declining the offer."* By act * Weld, an Englishman who travelled in this country from 1795 to 1797, has the follow- ing remarks in reference to this house : " The President's House, as it is called, was erected for the residence of the President before the removal of the seat of government from Phila- delphia was agitated. The original plan of this building was drawn by a private gentle- man resident in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, and was possessed, it is said, of no small share of merit ; but the committee of citizens that was appointed to take the plan into consideration and to direct the building, conceiving that it could be improved upon. THE WASHINGTON MANSION, MARKET STREET. 27 1 of March 17, 1800, the Legislature authorized this house to be sold, which was an unlucky speculation all the way through, bringing no more than ;$40,ooo. The purchase was made by the University of Pennsylvania. President Adams remained in the house on Market street during his stay in Philadelphia until 1800. During Mr. Adams's absences in the yellow fever season some fear of robbery was entertained, and he wrote to Timothy Pickering as follows : " I thank you for writing to Mr. Hodgdon on the necessity of additional night-watches. I am afraid my house will stand a worse chance of escaping the peculations of the villains than any others ; but I know not what can be done to secure it more than has been done. A sentinel at the door, if such a watch could be hired, would frighten the people of Philadelphia more than the plague." The house was afterward rented by John Francis, formerly of the Indian Queen in Fourth street, who opened it as the Union Hotel. Before that time Robert Morris had ceased to be the owner of the property. He sold it on the iSth of March, 1795, to Andrew Kennedy, merchant, for ^37,000, Morris having permission to take away his two "large looking-glasses, the stove now standing in the hall, the marble and wooden baths, copper boiler, apparatus of the baths," etc. The property was altered into two stores, so that all traces of its ancient appearance were lost. It remained in the possession of Kennedy and his heirs until April, 1832, when it was bought by Nathaniel Burt, merchant, who tore down the venerable mansion and erected three stores, now known as 526, 528, and 530 Market street. In 1876 number 526 was occupied by Greenebaum & Co., clothiers, 528 by Truitt & Co., hardware- merchants, 530 by Sower, Potts & Co., booksellers and stationers. reversed the positions of the upper and lower stories, placing the latter at the top, so that the pilasters with which it is ornamented appear suspended in the air. The committee also contrived that the windows of the principal apartments, instead of opening into a spacious area in front of the house, as was designed at first, should face toward the confined back yards of the adjoining houses. This building is not yet finished, and as the removal of the seat of government to the Federal city of Washington is so shortly to take place, it is most probable that it never will be occupied by the President. To what purpose it will now be applied is yet undetermined. Some imagine that it will be converted into a city hotel ; others, that it will be destined for the residence of the governor of the State. For the latter purpose it would be unfit in the extreme, the salary of the governor being so incon- siderable that it would not enable him to keep up an establishment suitable to a dwelling of one-fourth part the size of it." THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. N the 2 1st of September, 1727, the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, in session at the old court-house in the middle of Market street at Second, received a list of one hundred and nine Palatines (or Germans) who, either on that day or shortly before, had been imported into the Prov- ince. The ship William and Sarah, whereof William Hill was master, brought this human freight. The first place of clearance was Rotterdam, but the vessel had touched at Dover, England, and had clearance there by the officers of His Majesty's customs. There were one hundred and nine heads of families in this party, and with their wives and children they numbered over four hundred persons. The coming of so large a company of foreigners into the Province attracted the attention and demanded the consideration of the Coun- cil, because there might be danger if the new-comers were vicious or inclined to be mischievous. Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Gordon deemed the matter of sufficient importance to call the board together, stating that it would be highly necessary to concert proper measures for the peace and security of the Province, " which may be endangered by such numbers of strangers daily poured in, who being ignorant of our Language and Laws, and settling in a body together, make, as it were, a distinct people from His Majesty's Subjects." The board, which, besides the governor, was composed of James Logan, Richard Hill, Isaac Norris, William Fishbourne, and Clement Plumstead, took the same into their serious consideration, and obser\'ed " that as these People pretended at first that they fly hither on the score of their relig- THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 2/3 ious Liberties, and come under the protection of His Majesty, it is requisite that in the first Place they should take the oath of Allegiance, or some equivalent to it, to His Majesty, and promise Fidelity to the Proprietor and obedience to our Established Constitution." The master of the ship was sent for, and being asked " if he had any license from the court of Great Britain for transporting those people, and what their intentions were in coming hither, said that he had no license or allowance for their transportation than the above clearance, and that he believed they designed to settle in this Province." Fifty of these Palatines over the age of sixteen signed a declara- tion of allegiance and obedience, and their names are to be found in the Colonial Rccoids. Several of them were said, to be sick, and never came to be qualified. Rupp gives the names of the remainder of this party, which the printed Colonial Records do not have. The principal man among them was the Rev. George Michael Weiss, the first minister of the Reformed Church who came to Pennsylvania. He it was that founded the first German Reformed congregation in the city of Philadelphia, which met for some time in a barn in Arch street, in which primitive building the first German Lutheran church was also formed. Among the companions of Weiss were several who were probably the founders of families, conspicuous in after years. Such names as Graeff, Fritz, Hilligass, Kremer, Gyer, and others are sug- gestive. Among these passengers was one whose name was put down in the list as Johann Wester, a name now anglicized into Wister. A section-mark follows the name of Wester in the list of passengers of the William and Sarah, the exact meaning of which is left to inference. The mark might have meant that Wester was under twenty-one years of age. He was really at this time in the eighteenth year of his age. He was the son of Hans Caspar Wiister and Catharina his wife, of Waldhilsbach, near Heidelberg, Germany, where he was born on the 7th of November, 1708.* The father of Johann Wiister held the position of fi'irst jager, or principal huntsman, to the Prince Palatine — an office of some distinc- * The Wister family of Germantown and the Wister family of the same place are (jf the same origin. Caspar Wistar, the American founder of the other family, also came from Waldhilsbach, and arrived in Philadelphia on the i6th of September, 1717. The eminent physician Dr. Casper Wistar was a descendant. The country-seat of Casper Wistar the second was called Hillspach, and situate between the present Broad and Fifteenth streets, extending from Spring Garden street to Wallace. 18 274 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADF.IPHIA. tion and worth at that time. The employment was hereditary, and had descended to Hans Caspar from his father. He was anxious that it should remain in the family, and cherished the hope that one of his sons would eventually succeed him in the distinction. Whether this happened might perhaps be ascertained by examining the musty rec- ords of the jagership of the Palatinate, if they survive the wars which for a century after passed over the country. It is sufficient for us to know that Johann Wister had but little ambition for the chase, and having heard of the institutions of Penn's colony, he resolved to be- come an inhabitant of it. It is probable that he brought with him some money. The early German immigrants were generally persons of some means, if not of wealth. It was at a later period than that of which we are now speaking that the poor class of immigrants known as Redemptioners — too poor to pay their passage-money, and therefore willing to submit to be sold out as servants to work until the cost of their passage should be paid — began to flock in. Johann Wister was industrious and prudent, and had means available only four years after his arrival to purchase a large lot of ground On Market street between Third and Fourth, whereon was afterward built several stores which were once known as Wister's Row. He appears to have been success- ful, so that in the year 1741 and afterward he was enabled to purchase considerable tracts of ground in Germantown, on the Main street and on the back roads. Here in 1744 he built the first house in German- town not erected for the use of a permanent resident of the village — the first mansion, in fact, intended for a country-seat for a citizen of Philadelphia — a place to be used in summer and abandoned during unfavorable seasons of the year for the more comfortable residence in town. It was a quaint old establishment, differing very materially from its present appearance, for the hand of " improvement " has been at work with the old house, as it has with many others, changing its aspect considerably. The original Wister House was of stone, and was what might be called a double house, surmounted with a high- pitched roof enclosing a spacious garret, which was lighted from the ends and not from the front. The main doorway, with its double half- doors, opened to the entry and stairs leading to the upper portion. The north room had its doorway opening on the street, and window on each side. Porch-seats were fixed on the stoops in the old style. A pent roof ran around the sides of the building above the first story. THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 275 lloi Ukk, n \l \rpr ^rwci Its uniformity was broken by a balcony over the main entrance, upon which opened a door belonging to the second story. The chim- neys, stout and strong, the draughts of which were fierce in winter weather, were at the north and south ends of the house. The place pos- sessed many rural charms when John Wister became its owner. The property stretched over to the east, and consisted of field and forest, a portion of which yet remains, and has been known in Germantown for a century as Wister's Woods. The stone of which the house was built was quar- ried on the ground, and the timbers, joists, and rafters of oak were cut from Wister's own trees. After the house was finished the care of Mr. Wister was given to the laying out of an elegant garden. He had brought with him from Hillspach the German love for fruits and flowers, and it was his pride to adorn his grounds with the finest fruit-bearing trees and floral speci- mens. The garden was laid out in the somewhat formal style of the last century, and the care taken in the planting of it has preserved it from the ravages of time, so that to this day it is rendered a joy and a satisfaction. John Wister lived in this home during the summer seasons, with occasional interruptions, until his death, which happened January 31, 1789, he then being in the eighty-first year of his age. It has been said of him : " He was a man of the strictest uprightness and integrity, as well as of great kindliness and simplicity of character. He caused bread to be baked every Saturday to be dispensed among the poor, who came in numbers to his door to receive it." For more than thirty years after this house was built the Wister family occupied it at seasons, enjoying the customary round of comfort and pleasure. When, during the Revolutionary war, the British were approaching Philadelphia, Wister remained in the city. His sympa- 2/6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. thies might have been in favor of the royal cause, but, at all events, being then in his seventieth year, he was of an age to be enrolled among the non-combatants. The house at Germantown was under the care of a servant-woman known in the family as Justina. She was a native German girl who had emigrated with her father to Penn- sylvania and settled in Lancaster county, the mother, it is presumed, being dead. Her father was seized with a mortal sickness while she was yet a child, and during his sufferings his mind was disturbed with anxiety as to what should become of his child in case of his death. He had no friends in the neighborhood upon whose care and interest in his daughter he could rely : he had no friends at all. He knew some- thing of John Wister of Philadelphia, who was the owner of lands in Lancaster county, and might have had some business intercourse with him. At all events, he instructed his daughter to go to John Wister and trust to his goodness of heart for relief In due time he departed, and Justina, who was a mere child, but brave and determined, set out to execute her father's dying commands. She walked all the way to Philadelphia — a long, rough, and weary journey of seventy miles. Fatigued and footsore when she reached the town, she inquired for the residence of John Wister, found it, and told him her simple story. She was kindly received, and taken into the house as a servant. She grew up in the Wister family from childhood to womanhood, and from womanhood to the long years of old age, and was, in fact, a resident with the family until her death. Justina was in charge of the Wister House in Germantown when the British troops marched through the village and encamped on the road to Lucan's Mill and the road leading to the Wissahickon known as Schoolhouse lane. The house was one of the most conspicuous in the village, and as the British officers took care to settle themselves as comfortably as possible, this mansion was seized upon as an available place for quarters. The officer who came in and found Justina to be his hostess was Brevet-Brigadier-General James Agnew, who was col- onel of the Forty-fourth regiment and commanded a brigade. His military service had principally been in America. He was major of the Fifty-eighth Foot in December, 1757, and was present at the capture of Louisburg under General Amherst in July, 1758. He was at the siege of Quebec under General Wolfe in September, 1759. After the conclusion of the French war he probably returned to England, THE IVISTER HOUSE, GERMAXTOIVX. 2/7 where he married, and where his wife and two children were hving at the time of which we speak. Agnew came back to America in 1775 as Heutenant-colonel of the Forty-fourth Foot. He was engaged in the subsequent operations of the British at Brooklyn Heights, August 27, and commanded the fourth brigade in the succeeding year. He took part with Sir William Erskine in Governor William Tryon's expedition against Danbury in the spring of 1777. The ostensible object was the destruction of military stores at that place. The result was not only the capture of the village, but its destruction by fire under circum- stances very disgraceful to the royal aVms, which Howe afterward disavowed as having been done under his order, and put the responsi- bility on Tryon. On this occasion Agnew was struck by a spent ball, which knocked him down, producing a severe bruise. At the battle of Brandywine, Agnew commanded a brigade, and was grazed by a cannon-ball, but not hurt enough to prevent him from attending to his duty. At Germantown the brigade of Agnew lay with those of Lieutenant-General Knyphausen, Major-General Stern, and Major- General Grey on the south of Schoolhouse lane and west of the main road, extending over to the Wissahickon. Wister's house was convenient, and Agnew entered into possession of it. He did not remain there as a tenant very long. The British army under Howe having encamped on the evening of the 23d north of Stony Run and between the Ridge road and the Schuylkill River, moved on the 25th of September in two grand divisions. On the next day General Agnew became a tenant of the Wister House. He spent probably a week here pleasantly, and Justina was no doubt a good hostess. But on the 4th of October he was summoned from the house by the noise of the American attack. As he hastily responded to the call of duty, he noticed that Justina was working in the garden with an old- fashioned German hoe — an implement, by the by, which for a long time thereafter was preserved in the family as a memorial of the day. Agnew stopped, told her of her danger, as the rattle of musketry and booming of cannon were frequent, and advised her to avoid exposure and take refuge in the cellar. She refused his advice, and continued on with her work with true German phlegm, but without injury. As for Agnew, his time was very short after he left the Wister House. The story is thus graphically told by Alexander Andrew, a private soldier who Avas the principal servant of General Agnew, in a letter to the 2/8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. widow of the general dated March 8, 1778, which is quoted in Lossing's Ficld-Book of the Rcvohttion : " The army then proceeded to that unfortunate place called Germantown, the 4th of October, be- ing the particular and fatal day of which your ladyship has cause to remember, and I have much reason to regret. But to let you know the particulars of that day. (Being between the hours of nine and twelve, as the brigade was following the third in an oblique advancing line, the general, with the piquet at their head, entered the town, hurried down the street to the left, but had not rode above twenty or thirty yards, which was to the top of a little rising ground, when a part of the enemy, about one hundred, rushed out from behind a house about five hundred yards in front, the general being then in the street, and even in front of the piquet, and all alone, only me ; he wheeled around, and, putting spurs to his horse and calling to me, he received a whole volley from the enemy. The fatal ball entered the small of his back, near the back seam of his coat, right side, and came out a little below his left breast. Another ball went through and through his right hand. I at the same instant received a slight wound in the side, but just then got off time enough to prevent his falling; who, with the as- sistance of two men, took him down, carried him into a house, and laid him on a bed ; sent for the doctor, who was near. When he came he could only turn his eyes, and looked steadfastly on me with seeming affection. The doctor and Major Leslie just came in time enough to see him depart this life, which he did without the least struggle or agony, but with great composure, and calmness, and seeming satisfaction ; which was about ten or fifteen minutes after he received the ball, and I believe between ten and eleven o'clock. I then had his body brought to his former quarters, took his gold watch, his purse, in which was four guineas and half a Johannes, which I delivered to Major Leslie as soon as he came home. I then had him genteelly laid out and decently dressed with some of his clean and best things ; had a coffin made, the best the place could produce. His corpse was decently buried the next day in the churchyard, attended by a minister and the officers of the Forty-fourth regiment.)" * * This statement differs entirely from the story long current in Germantown, and generally accepted, which attributed the killing of General Agnew to a man named Hans P. Boyer, a native of the village, and not a soldier. Boyer was the hero of his own story, and was evidently a miserable, boasting fellow. He said that he was concealed near an old wall of THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 2/9 According to tradition, General Agnew was taken to the Wister House, where he died, and stains are still shown on the floor which were from the blood of his wounds. Andrew says he died within fif- teen minutes after he was shot, in " a house " near by, but not at the Wister House, His bleeding body was afterward taken there, and the blood on the floor of the west parlor dropped from his wound. An- drew also says he was buried in a churchyard, which is a mistake to be attributed to the writer's want of knowledge of the locality. He was interred in the lower burying-ground of Germantown. Lieutenant-Col- onel Bird, also killed in the battle, was buried alongside of him. Long afterward, John F. Watson the annalist procured a plain stone and placed it over the graves of these unfortunate officers, in order to pre- serve a recollection of the place of their burial. The Germantown Tele- graph in March, 1858, said in relation to this subject: "The remains of General Agnew lay in the Lower Cemetery. Some years ago a car- riage drove up to the residence of one of our most prominent citizens, and inquiry was made as to the resting-place of his bones — the inmates of the carriage, two ladies and a gentleman, being the grandchildren of the general — with a view to the erection of a monument over them. They were shown the unmarked spot where the remains lay buried. They went away, but never returned, and no monument has been reared to point out the place, known only to a few individuals in advanced life, where the body of this brave and accomplished man is inhumed."* After the battle of Germantown the British withdrew to the city. During their occupation of Philadelphia it is not probable that the Wister House was occupied, unless Justina lived there in solitude. It is probable that she went with Daniel Wister, son of John, who at this time was living under the protection of the American army at the Foulke homestead in North Wales, near the present Penlyn Station on the North Pennsylvania Railroad. the Mennonist church on Main street, and when he saw Agnew coming "he took deliberate aim at the bright star on his breast and fired." According to Andrew, there were at least one hundred of the "enemy" — meaning thereby American soldiers — who fired at General Agnew. Boyer in time came to the Germantown almshouse, and was supported at the public expense for years — a privilege which he took care to insist that he was entitled to, as he was one who had fought for his country. * This writer seems not to have known, or to have forgotten, that tlie place of burial was — as it still is — marked by the stone placed by John F. Watson. 28o HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. After the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British the Wister House remained vacant for some time, the family not desiring to re- side there. During the interval Major David Lenox became a resi- dent of the premises. He was induced to make this arrangement in view of his approaching marriage with Miss Lukens of that part of Philadelphia county afterward included in Montgomery county — a descendant of John Lukens, for many years in Colonial times Sur- veyor-General of the Province. Major Lenox was married in the west parlor of the Wister House. The young couple settled them- selves down to connubial happiness, subject, of course, to the dangers and incidents of the war, the husband having served in the army, and being ready, if needed, to serve again, his duty in the mean while be- ing pledged for the preservation of the peace. He was elected a mem- ber of the Philadelphia Light-Horse, afterward known as the City Troop, in March, 1777, and remained connected with that organization until his death, having been elected an honorary member in October, 1796. In September, 1779, Lenox at Germantown, while sitting at dinner, received news that the committee of privates of the city militia regiments had by placards menaced several citizens with violence, among whom were Blair McClenachan, a member of the troop of Light-Horse, Robert Morris, and James Wilson, both of the latter having been Signers of the Declaration of Independence. The cause of this difficulty was connected with the decline in the value of Con- tinental currency, and the efforts which persons in business were com- pelled to take in order to protect themselves against losses. A feeling against monopolists was abroad in the community, and it was assumed that the majority had the right to compel persons in trade to sell their goods or commodities, not at prices which the owners might consider equitable, but at rates arbitrarily fixed by citizens claiming a right to act in a representative capacity. Morris, McClenachan, and others were interested in importations of flour, and certain persons by town meeting claimed a right to regulate their disposal. The French consul- general, Holker, was involved in this censure, he being purchaser of a considerable portion of the supplies bought by Morris and others, for the use, as alleged, of the French fleet. For several months the feeling against monopolizers was growing strong. Meetings were held to denounce such practices, and counter-meetings resolved that the censure was unjust and pronounced in mistake of the true facts con- THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 28 1 nected with the course of business. The privates of the mihtia held meetings and appointed committees, and they resolved that monopolizers should be punished, and also "lawyers who de- fended Tories ;" this latter intimation being aimed at James Wilson, who had acted in defence of Roberts and Carlisle, tried for trea- son after the British evacuation. Major Lenox had taken an ac- tive part against the violent proceedings menaced by the populace. Fort Wilson. When the news came to him at Germantown his duty was with the City Troop. On the morning of the 4th of October the troop was in rendezvous at their stables, with horses saddled and ready, and waited for the signal of attack, which they supposed would be directed against the house of James Wilson at the south-west corner of Third and Walnut streets, which was a substantial brick building with a fine garden. The privates met on the commons in the 282 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. morning, and in their deliberations they took up much time, so that at noon, nothing being heard of them at Wilson's house, the company was dismissed. Meanwhile, the privates had closed their consultations, and resolved to march into the city. They, were about two hundred strong. The leaders were Mills, a North Carolina captain, Pickering, a tailor, Faulkner, a ship-joiner, and one Bonham. The mob marched down to the City Tavern, on the west side of Second street above Walnut, where they supposed some of the parties denounced would be found. At Dock street Captain Allen McLane and Colonel Gray- son of the Board of War attempted to address the party, but were stopped and compelled to go along with the mob. In Wilson's house were Wilson himself, Robert Morris, George Clymer, General Thomas Mifflin, and others — twenty -six in all. They were armed with muskets and pistols, but had not a very large stock of ammunition. The privates came marching toward the house, which they did not show any disposition to attack. When they reached Third street they gave a loud hurrah. The danger might have been averted if the inmates had not had an imprudent person among them. This was Captain Campbell of the Invalid regiment, a one-armed soldier. Just as the last of the mob was passing the house Campbell threw up a window, and with pistol in hand commenced to address the crowd. It is said he discharged his pistol from the third-story window into the street. The part of the mob that had passed on returned. Fire was opened on the house, and the garrison in the house returned it. General Mifflin attempted to address the mob from a Third street window of the house, but was fired on. The mob, now furious, ran to a blacksmith's shop near by, and seizing a sledge-hammer, they used it in breaking open the door of Wilson's house. Two men entered. Colonel Chambers, coming down stairs, fired on one, and the other man bayonetted Cham- bers. Other men entered the house, and were fired upon from the staircases and other places. Finally, the assailants were put out, and the doors on the inside were barricaded with tables and chairs. While all this was going on a portion of the Light-Horse, hearing of the occurrences, reassembled, and suddenly eight of them, with two other troopers, Major Lenox at their head, dashed down Third street from Chestnut, and, urging their horses to full speed, charged the mob at Walnut street. Lenox was in his shirt-sleeves, having thrown aside his long cloak for fear it might be employed to pull him off his horse. THE WISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 283 At the sight of the troopers the mob, crying, " The horse ! the horse !" and supposing that the whole company was upon them, dispersed in every direction — an effect which was heightened by the appearance of two more detachments. The horsemen used their swords freely ; sev- eral of the mob were wounded. This charge liberated the garrison of Fort Wilson — for so the house was called after that time — and put an end to the disturbance, but not to the passions which it engendered. During the course of the affray, of the persons in the house Captain Campbell was killed and John F. Mifflin and Colonel Stephen Cham- bers of Lancaster were wounded. In the street a man and a boy were killed and several persons wounded. For some time the feeling against the troop was very strong, and the members were compelled for safety to keep together as much as possible to be ready to stand by each other. Lenox returned to his Germantown house, where no doubt he supposed he was out of dan- ger. But such was not the case. A night or two after the battle at Fort Wilson, Major Lenox and his family were awakened by the noise of a mob which surrounded the Wister House and demanded that Lenox should surrender to them. His situation was perilous. No comrades of the troop were anywhere near. Whilst the mob did not attempt to break into the house, they were loud in demands that Lenox should come out, or unfasten his bolts and allow them to come in and take him prisoner. He was disposed to do neither. He was brave and fearless, but at the same time he was prudent, and he could not recognize the necessity of yielding himself up in the dead of night to a mob of strangers. He was without weapons, and be- lieving that discretion is the better part of valor, he undertook to ne- gotiate. He expostulated with his assailants, argued that it was unfair to seize a man at his house in the darkness of the night, and promised that if they would wait until daylight he would let them in. In fact, Major Lenox resorted to strategy. He sent out a trusty messenger for succor. This task was undertaken by his cousin, a young lady residing in his family, who managed to get out by the rear of the house unobserved by the mob, crossed the fields, and gaining the main road hurried along until she reached the quarters of Captain Samuel Morris, who commanded the troop in Philadelphia. The members were immediately summoned. A considerable number responded. They set out for Germantown, and on reaching it charged the crowd 284 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. at the VVister House, as Lenox had done at Fort Wilson, and hberated the prisoner. This incident terminated Lenox's tenancy of the house. It was not a safe place for him to reside in, and he removed to the city. There his part in the attack on Fort Wilson was frequently alluded to, and for years afterward, in going through the market, he was occasion- ally saluted with the cry, " How are you, Brother Butcher?" an allu- sion to his costume, in which his shirt-sleeves were prominent, while charging on the besiegers at Fort Wilson. In 1785 he was living in Spruce street between Second and Third. He lived in Vine street near Third in 1794. He probably built — for many years he resided in — the fine house on the south side of Arch street east of Ninth, then next to the corner, the garden occupying the corner lot. Here he re- mained until 181 5 or 18 16, when he was succeeded in that property by General Thomas Cadwalader, who lived and died there. Major Lenox removed to 286 Chestnut street, on the south side, between Ninth and Tenth. In the year 1817 he built for his own use a very elegant mansion, as it was considered in those times, at the north-west corner of Tenth and Chestnut streets. The house was of brick, three stories in height, with lofty garrets. The brickwork was of the most elaborate character yet seen in the city, the plain outlines of the walls being broken by pilasters, arches, and other decorations. Long after it was occupied, and when indeed it had become very old-fashioned, the superior architectural style and workmanship of this house at- tracted the attention of the passers-by. After his death the old mansion went into the occupation of Miss Sally Lukens Keene, a niece of his wife and a descendant of the Lukens family. That lady in her early life had been one of the most beautiful and attractive women of the city, the belle of her day — celebrated not only for her personal charms, but for her brilliant conversation, sprightliness, and intelligence. She died in 1866, and devised by her will what was once the Lenox country- seat in Bristol, Bucks county, and known as the Pavilion, for the pur- pose of being maintained as the " Sarah Lukens Keene Home for Aged Gentlewomen," and applied toward its support liberal bequests. This house had been the summer residence of Major and Mrs. Lenox and Miss Keene, and there they had entertained many distinguished persons, American and foreign. The house at Tenth and Chestnut streets was sold to the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, which has erected on the site a magnificent granite building. THE WISTEK HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 285 After his removal to the city, Major Lenox was engaged in active business as a merchant. He was appointed Commissioner of Bank- ruptcy with Matthew Clarkson, George Hughes, Peter Baynton, and Richard Bache, under the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and was exercising those duties in 1790. He succeeded Clement Biddle as Marshal of the United States for the district of Pennsylvania in 1793, and held that office about a year, being succeeded by Colonel William Nichols. He was for many years a director of the Bank of the United States, and succeeded Thomas Willing as president of that corporation in 1807, and was in office at the time of the winding up of the institu- tion. In 1 81 3 he was elected President of the Philadelphia Bank, and held that trust until about 18 18, when he was succeeded by George Read, counsellor-at-law, and father of the late John M. Read, once Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. After he retired from the presidency of the Philadelphia Bank, Major Lenox withdrew from active concerns, spending the remainder of his days in honored and dignified retirement. He died at his house, Tenth and Chestnut streets, on the nth of April, 1828. After the death of John Wister, Daniel, his son, came to the old mansion and took possession, and lived there peaceably during the remainder of his days. He was succeeded by his son, Charles J. Wister, who was married to Rebecca, daughter of Joseph Bullock of Germantown, by Rev. James Abercrombie, on the 15th of Decem- ber, 1803. William Wister, a descendant of Daniel, now of Belfield, was married September 26, 1826. in the parlor under the ring in the ceiling, on the same spot where Major Lenox and Sarah Lukens were united over forty-five years before, and has lived to celebrate his golden wedding. Charles J. Wister succeeded his father of the same name as occupant of the premises, and is the fourth of the family who has been a permanent resident of the house in a period of more than one hun- dred and thirty-three years. Mr. Wister lives a retired and scholarly life, and is one of the few representatives of the real old Germantown families ; for, although that section of the city has grown immensely in population and buildings, and has spread out on every side, the majority of its inhabitants are newcomers, and of the original popu- lation of the place but very few remain. The tenants of the Wister House have preserved some curious old relics of the past. In the hall, painted upon a panel, is a full-length 286 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. figure of a British grenadier in the costume of the period of the Revo- lution, Tradition credits the unfortunate Major Andre with the execu- tion of this painting, concerning which it may be prudent to say that he might have done it, and had the artistic abiHty to paint the figure. But there is no good authority to justify the assignment of this piece of work to him. Against the supposition that he executed it is the fact, clearly shown by the journal of Sally Wister, daughter of Daniel, who was a young girl at the time of the Revolution, that this figure was in the possession of her father while he was in North Wales, and while the British were in Philadelphia. She records in her journal, for the edification of her friend Deborah Norris, who afterward became wife of Doctor George Logan, an incident connected with the picture. While Daniel Wister lived near the lines his house was the resort of American officers. Among them was a young Virginian, Major Tilly, who was a talkative, rattlepated fellow, rather given to boasting, and anxious, according to his own statement, to meet in a warlike way the British. Daniel Wister, in order to test his courage one evening when he was at the house, by the connivance of other American officers in the secret had the grenadier painting placed at the front door of the house, with a person concealed behind it. A rap was heard on the door, and the officers present started to their feet as if alarmed. Lilly led the way, and when the door was opened this figure, faintly shown by the glimmer of a lantern, was perceived, while the man behind it called out in gruff tones, " Are there any rebel oflficers in this house?" Major Tilly did not stop to answer the question. The light was not strong enough for him to discover the deception. He made for the back door as rapidly as possible, and fled in the direction of Washington's camp. It would not have done for him to reach head-quarters, for giving an alarm might have brought down a force to the house. The other officers hurried after him. He might have given them the slip had he not fallen into a mill-pond, from which he was extricated and taken back, the victim of the jeers of his comrades. It is said that he bore this with great equanimity, and disarmed the sting of the ridicule by his good-nature. Whilst he proved that discretion is the better part of valor, he also showed that fortitude in bearing up against ridicule is a valuable quality. In the library of Mr. Wister, over the old clock, stands the Dutchest of Dutch weathercocks, the bird resplendent with scarlet plumage and THE IVISTER HOUSE, GERMANTOWN. 287 golden beak. It did duty on the little cupola of the old German Reformed church of Germantovvn, where it first began service in storm and calm in 1733. When the venerable church was rebuilt, the quaint little steeple and weathercock were entirely too old-fashioned for the taste of the time, and they were removed. Charles J. Wister the elder secured the old bird, and put it up upon his premises. Here it remained until 1873, when the present Charles J. Wister, deeming that after a service of one hundred and forty years the bird had earned pro- motion, brought it into the house and put it in its present position. Everything considered, the bird looks well, and proves that he possessed a strong constitution, inasmuch as half a dozen bullet-holes made in 1763 by the Paxton Boys, who considered him a fine mark for their rifles, did not destroy his usefulness. At the time the weather- cock was removed from the church the old bell of the edifice was decided to be superannuated. It is a very ancient piece. It bears the date 1725, and has upon it in German the legend, "To God be the Honor." For nearly one hundred years this was the only bell at Germantown, and during that period it faithfully summoned the con- gregation and gave notice to others who were within the circumference of its sound. Fifty years ago the bell-ringer, Jake Stroup, was a village character, and well known to every man, woman, and child in German- town. " Indian Jake " they called him — not because in his veins coursed the blood of the noble aborigine, for he could trace back his pedigree to the times of Daniel Pastorius. He was of good old German descent, but his bountiful use of the bottle, rendered hi.s countenance as fiery in hue as that of the wildest painted Indian. "Jake," however, rarely allowed pleasure to interfere with business. He was a model sexton, ready in church or graveyard as duty demanded. The old bell was never neglected, and under his style of ringing the Germantown town-boys declared that it constantly rung out the unchanging refrain — " Injun Jake Drove a stake. Melchior Ming, Church is in." The Mings or Mengs were an old Germantown family, and Melchior during Jake's time was a well-known church dignitary. The bell was removed by Mr. Wister to his garden, where it remained many years, HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. the original owners caring nothing about it. But things change even in Germantown, and although much has come in and pushed out the old the successors of the elders and church authorities who got rid of the bell begged its restoration. The present Charles J. Wister acceded to this request, and in 1875 the bell went back again to the church — not to occupy its old position or to be used as a common piece of prop- erty, but on a pledge that it should never be altered and that a promi- nent position in the church be accorded it. As for the Wister House, it still remains, changed from its appear- ance in 1744 by the taste of its owners, but yet in its solid style and appearance showing that it is not of the present day, but is a substan- tial, venerable memorial of the past. WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. FTER the battle of Germantown, Washington retired to the camp on Skippack Creek. On the 29th of October, 1777, a council of war was held, and it was resolved to remove the whole army and go into winter quarters on a range of hills north-east of Whitemarsh. There, in the Elmar mansion, a large and substantial building, exceed- ingly grand in character for the times, and surpassing any house in the neighborhood, except the Graeme Park mansion built by Governor Keith in 1722, which was in Horsham township, a few miles distant, Washington had his head-quarters. The soldiers suf- fered many privations, chief among which, and daily becoming more serious as winter approached, was the want of shoes and clothing. On the 5th of December the British marched up to Chestnut Hill, and during three days menaced the American lines. The movements were strategic. There were skirmishing and losses in killed and wounded on both sides. Washington stood on the defensive, but Howe found no favorable point of attack. He said in his despatches, " They were so strongly intrenched that it was impossible to attack them." This was an excuse not justified by fact. Two small redoubts were all that the Americans had in the shape of defences. But their lines were steady, the position was strong, and the British officers concluded that it would be dangerous to take the risk. So they marched away. Washington remained on the ground three days longer, and on the nth broke up the camp at Whitemarsh, and with the whole army 19 289 290 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF FHIIADELPHIA. crossed the Schuylkill at Swedes' Ford, with the intention of going into winter quarters at Valley Forge, partly in Philadelphia county (since in Montgomery county) and partly in Chester county, which place was situate within the manor of Mount Joy, formerly the prop- erty of Letitia Penn. The march was eighteen miles. It was a weary Valley Forge from the Railroad. one to hundreds of the American soldiers, who were without shoes and whose route, it is said, might be traced for the whole distance in foot-marks stained with blood. On the 18th of December the army reached the valley, and immediately set to work in erecting huts and places of refuge. " We are busy in forming a city," wrote General Anthony Wayne to Richard Peters on the 30th of December. " My WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 29 1 people will be covered in a few days (I mean as to huts), but half naked as to clothing. They are in this respect in a worse condition than Falstaff 's recruits, for they have not one whole shirt to a brigade : he had more than one to a company. Have you ever taken notice of Paddy Frizzel or Crazy Noddy ?* If you have, it will serve to convey to you a faint idea of the wretched situation of some of our soldiers — with this difference, that they from their insanity have become callous and insensible to their sufferings, while our poor worthy naked fellows feel their own misery, and are conscious of meriting better treatment." According to the directions in Washington's orderly-book, the huts were to be fourteen by sixteen feet each, the side walls six and a half feet high. The side ends and roofs were to be made with logs, the sides made tight with clay. A fireplace of wood, faced on the inside with clay eighteen inches thick, was to be placed in the rear of the hut, the door being in the end next to the street, and to be of slab or board if the same could be procured. The officers' huts were to be in the rear of those of the men, one hut to be allowed to each general officer, one to the staff of each brigade, one to the field officer of each regiment, and one to the staff of each regiment. The com- missioned officers of two companies and twelve non-commissioned officers and soldiers were assigned to each of the ordinary huts. Some of the officers succeeded in obtaining quarters at farmhouses in the neighborhood. General Scott was lodged at the house of Samuel Jones, and General Woodford was with Samuel Richards. General Patterson had his abode with William Godfrey. General Weedon was an occupant of the house of Abijah Stephens. General Miffiin was at the house of Thomas Waters in the Valley. General Maxwell was quartered with John Brown. La Fayette was at the house of Samuel Howard, adjoining John Brown's farm on the south. General Knox sojourned at John Howard's, on the State road from New Hope to the Maryland line. General Poor and General Pulaski were for a time at the house of John Beaver, north-east of the farms of Howard and Brown. General Greene occupied the farm of Joseph Walker, and General Wayne was upon the same property in another house, together with his staff, which consisted of Colonel Thomas Robinson of Naa- man's Creek, Major Benjamin Fishbourne of Philadelphia, and Major Ryan of Virginia. Wayne, before quitting Valley Forge, gave a din- * These were insane persons well known in Philadelphia before the occupation. 292 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PIIIIADEIPHIA. ner-party at Walker's to his staff and many other officers and soldiers. " A large temporary table, capable of accommodating a hundred per- sons, was prepared for the occasion under the shade of some trees near the house, where the guests partook of the dinner, there being more than a hundred persons who dined there on the occasion. The fare was not quite so sumptuous as at some of our modern entertain- ments. Among the guests on the occasion were the commander-in chief and his wife, the wife of General Wayne, nearly all the gene- ral and field officers of the encampment, and some of the neighbors of both sexes." General Potter was at the farm of Benjamin Jones in the Great Valley. General Poor was with Jacob Walker, who was living in one of the houses of Jones's farm, which he (Walker) had formerly owned. General Mifflin was part of the time upon the farm of William Godfrey and part of the time at Reading. General Sul- livan was at the farm of Thomas Waters, north-west of Godfrey. General de Kalb succeeded General Weedon in the occupation of the farm of Abijah Stephens. General Morgan was occasionally quar- tered at the house of Mordecai Moore, the commissary-general of the army, which was north-east of the camp, and is now in the county of Montgomery. General Muhlenberg was at John Moore's, adjoining, and also in Montgomery. Many of the officers were not lucky enough to obtain farmhouse accommodations. Baron Steuben had command of a hut, and drilled his soldiers on a piece of ground near by. Var- num resided with David Stephens, south of the head-quarters of General Washington. According to the plan of the encampment, the army was posted on Mount Joy hill, west of the road called the back road, which extended over from the Schuylkill, along by the sides of the hills — first in a north-west direction, and then nearly northwardly to the Valley Creek. Commencing with the redoubt at the extreme south-east corner of the encampment, which was not far distant from the present Fort Kennedy, and was known in later times as David Ste- phens' Fort, the brigades and divisions of Muhlenberg, Weedon, Pat- terson, Learned, and Glover, defended by intrenchments and looking toward the south-west, occupied the lines up to the Gulf road. West of that road, extending in a curved line northwardly, and facing west by south and west, were the brigades of Poor, Wayne, and Scott. Woodford was north of two intersecting roads. At some distance IVASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 293 south of one of the intersecting roads Knox's artillery was placed. A redoubt was north of it, and intrenchments in irregular form stretched toward the north-east, parallel with Valley Creek. Abattis stretched over from the intrenchments in a line nearly east to a cross- road which connected with the continuation of the back road, and was nearly west of a ford since known as Sullivan's Crossing. A large redoubt, star-shaped, defended the crossing, which has since been oc- cupied by a bridge. Varnum was south of this redoubt on both sides of the back road, and except the provost and picket quarters there were no large bodies of troops on the back road between Varnum's and Stephens' Fort. North of the abattis, in a line inclining west- wardly toward the intrenchments and south of other intrenchments, were the brigades of Huntingdon, Conway, and Maxwell. Mcintosh and the guards, commonly called the Life Guards, commanded by Colonel Charles Gibbs of Rhode Island, were north of the intrench- ments upon a road connected with the back road leading north-west- ward from the ford, and entering the Gulf road at the house of Isaac Potts, which was Washington's head-quarters. This might be said to be the north-east corner of the encampment. It was defended by the Schuylkill on the east and Valley Creek on the north. The artificers, north of the creek, occupied the most advanced outpost, whilst below — the extreme extent of the encampment being over two miles in length and about a mile and a quarter in width — were the redoubts, abattis, intrenchments, and the brave and suffering troops. When the army first arrived on the ground, Washington pitched his marquee west of the Gulf road and near the line of the intrench- ments, with the brigades of Huntingdon, Conway, and Maxwell south of him. Here he remained until the soldiers were fully accommodated in the rude residences in which they were to spend the winter. About the beginning of January, 1778, he removed to the house of Potts, which is a plain two-story stone building, about twenty-four feet front and thirty-three in depth. The outside is of dressed stone, pointed. The interior woodwork is well preserved. Washington occupied principally the front room on the first floor, which was both office and bedroom. Beneath one of the old-fashioned windows was a little closet in which the commander-in-chief is said to have kept private papers. The house was found to be very small, and for the accommodation of the general a little log house was built for a dining- 294 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. room, concerning which Mrs. Washington, who in this dreary place joined her husband in February, writes : " It has made our quarters much more tolerable than they were at first." Woodman says that " there are yet some things remaining about the building to remind the visitor of that interesting period, particularly the secret doors that were planned for the commander-in-chief to effect an escape in case of an emergency. In addition to the secret doors, there are also in the house window-seats, under which are secret drawers, so nicely hidden from the view of the observer as to escape notice, that were no doubt intended to secrete important papers belonging to the commander- in-chief Care has also been taken by the different proprietors of the mansion to preserve these relics from destruction, so that they have undergone little or no alteration since they were occupied by Washington." The story of the winter at Valley Forge is one of the most melan- choly in the history of the Revolution, and yet in many particulars it is one of the most gratifying. It tells of suffering and endurance, of want and misery, which were borne patiently in a spirit of patriotism — of wrong, of neglect, for which Congress might be blamable — and of mismanagement. At the very time that the American army was marching shoeless and shivering, hungry and cold, from Whitemarsh to Valley Forge, or was engaged in the work of preparing winter quarters, "hogsheads of shoes, stockings, and clothing were lying at different places on the roads and in the woods, perishing for want of teams or of money to pay the teamsters." The comfort of good cloth- ing and quarters is made complete with abundance of provisions. But the American soldiers were as badly provided with food as they were with clothing. Four days after the army arrived at Valley Forge news came to camp of a sortie from Philadelphia toward Chester by British troops under Lord Cornwallis, who marched out on the nth, for the purpose of foraging. W^ashington ordered Huntingdon and Varnum to have their troops ready to march against the enemy. " Fighting will be far preferable to starving. My brigade are out of provisions, nor can the commissary obtain any meat. I have used every argument my imagination can invent to make the soldiers easy, but I despair of being able to do it much longer," said Huntingdon. " It is a very pleasing circumstance to the division under my com- mand that there is a probability of their marching. Three day.^ ll'Wiiiiir^ (I'll I {ll''''MxL l'',,llll* WASHING TON 'S HEAD- Q UARTERS A T VALLE V FOR GE. 297 successively we have been destitute of bread ; two days we have been entirely without meat. The men must be supplied or they cannot be commanded," was the reply of Varnum. Washington, in remonstrance, wrote to Congress once again : " I do not know what causes this alarming deficiency, or rather total failure, of supplies ; but unless more vigorous exertions and better regulations take place in that line (the commissary's department) immediately, the army must dissolve. I have done all in my power by remonstrating, by writing, by ordering the commissary on this head from time to time, but without obtaining anything more than a present scanty relief" The next day, in another letter to the presi- dent of Congress, the fact was adverted to that the Legislature of Penn- sylvania had protested against the army going into winter quarters, Washington wrote sharply and said : " Besides a number of men confined to hospitals for want of shoes, and others in farmers' houses on the same account, we have by a field return, this day made, no less than two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight now in camp unfit for duty because they are barefoot and otherwise naked. By the same return it appears that our whole strength in Continental troops, includ- ing the eastern brigades which have joined us since the surrender of General Burgoyne, exclusive of the Maryland troops sent to Wilming- ton, amounts to no more than eight thousand two hundred in camp fit for duty. Notwithstanding which, and that since the 4th instant, our numbers fit for duty, from the hardships which they have undergone, particularly on account of blankets (numbers having been obliged, and still are, to set up all night by fires instead of taking comfortable rest in a common and natural way), have decreased near two thousand men. .... It is a much easier and less distressing thing to draw remon- strances in a comfortable room by a good fireside than to occupy a cold, bleak hill and to sleep under frost and snow without clothes or blankets." Necessity required the commander-in-chief to adopt arbi- trary measures in order that the troops might be supplied. He issued a proclamation, dated December 20, 1777, commanding that all per- sons within seventy miles of Valley Forge should thrash out half of their grain by the 1st of February and the other half by the ist of March ; in case of failure the sheaves to be seized and paid for as straw. In the middle of February three markets were opened in camp, each one to be occupied during two days of the week. The 298 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. prices of provisions also to be fixed. Fresh pork was required to be sold at a shilling a pound, mutton and veal at tenpence ; beef was not upon the bill of fare. Fat turkeys were fixed at a shilling and four- pence each, fat fowls at three shillings and ninepenee. Butter could be sold at three shillings and ninepenee a pound, and rough potatoes at ten shillings a bushel. All who attended the market were promised good treatment and safe conduct. This measure proved to be but a limited means of relief Few farmers attended it, and it did not stock the camp with abundance of provisions. More vigorous measures were necessary, and foraging-parties were sent out far and wide until the surrounding country was stripped of almost everything, or, what was equally injurious, the provisions were concealed, the cattle driven away, and such provisions as the farmers had to spare were taken in preference to Philadelphia and exchanged for British gold. At a later period in this winter Washington wrote again : " A part of the army has been a week without any flesh, and the rest three or four days. Naked and starving as they are, we cannot but admire the incompar- able patience and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not been ere this excited by their suffering to a general mutiny and desertion. The camp is destitute of everything of necessity and comfort. Even so common an article as straw, worth scarcely anything, cannot be obtained in sufficient quantities for the use of the men in their huts." The committee of Congress which was at camp during a portion of the winter said : " Unprovided with this, or materials to raise them from the cold and wet earth, sickness and mortality have spread through their quarters in an astonishing degree Nothing can equal their sufferings except the patience and fortitude with which the faithful part of the army endure them. Those of a different character desert in considerable numbers." Here, in the latter part of February, 1778, came Frederick William Augustus, Baron von Steuben, an old soldier of Prussia, a pupil of the great Frederick. He was one of the most honorable of the foreigners who came to America seeking military service. Some of them were soldiers of Fortune, and ready to fight in any cause for pay. Some were really strongly interested in the justice of the American cause. Of this character were La Fayette, Pulaski, and Steuben. Washington was glad to obtain the services of this gallant disciplinarian. By hardship and privation his troops were utterly demoralized. He held only something like an organized moh* WASHINGTON'S HEAD -QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 299 Discipline and instruction were the great necessities of the army. The commander-in-chief wrote a strong letter to Congress in favor of this officer, and a commission was given him. Washington at once appointed him inspector-general, and from the chaos order and soldierly conduct were gradually evolved. When the army encamped on the sides of the Valley Hill the trees in the neighborhood were plenty, and there was no difficulty in finding fuel to keep the soldiers warm. But so great was the necessity that in a few weeks the neighborhood of the camp was stripped of trees. Every day the region of fuel-supply was getting farther off. Labori- ous expedients were resorted to to obtain the proper material. " Of- ten," says Woodman, " have I heard people who remembered the time (especially my mother) mention of their having seen the soldiers, par- ticularly those from the Eastern States, and some of the subordinate officers, who could best endure the rigor of the winter, yoke them- selves like oxen, and on temporary sleds formed for the occasion haul fuel in this way, some of it a distance of more than two miles, eight, nine, ten, or more forming a team and using grapevines to draw them with instead of ropes. And when provisions and other necessaries became, in like manner, exhausted, requisition had to be made upon people living more remote from the same, and foraging-parties had to be sent to scour various sections of country in order to obtain and secure sustenance for the famishing army; and when thus obtained the conveyance of it to the place was attended with a great deal of inconvenience." Peter S. Duponceau, who was an aide to Steuben, dates his first ex- perience of American military life with his service at Valley Forge. Speaking of the condition of the army during that dreadful winter, he says : " They bore their condition of half-naked and half-famished men with fortitude, resignation, and patience. Sometimes you might see soldiers pop their heads out of their huts and call out in an undertone, ' No bread, no soldier,' but a single word from their officer would still their complaint." Watson quotes the statement of an officer at Valley F'orge, who says : " Fresh beef they could scarcely get ; of vegetables they had none, save sometimes some potatoes. Their tables were loose planks, rough as split from the tree. One dish of wood or of pewter sufficed for a mess. A horn spoon and a tumbler of horn were lent round. Their knife was carried in the pocket. Much of their diet 300 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. was salted herrings, in such injured state that they would not hold together to be drawn out of the cask singly, but had to be shovelled up en masse. Sugar, coffee, tea, etc. were luxuries not seen. They had only Continental money, and it was so depreciated it would not allure farmers to sell to them. Yet cheerless as was such a state, when they drew three months' pay a number of subaltern officers sallied out to seek mirth and jollity, and spent a month's pay in one night of merry revelry. Sometimes, for pleasantry, you might see a squad of men and officers affecting to have received a supply of whisky — of which they were often without — and passing around the stone jug as if filled, when, lo ! the eager expectant found it was only water ! The fun was that the deceived still kept the secret, in hopes to pass it to another and another unwary wight. On one occasion of alarm, the men being marched out, in several instances were so shoeless as to mark the frozen ground with blood, when General Conway, who saw it, ex- claimed, ' My dear fellows, my heart bleeds with you.' " When the American army took possession of the ground for this encampment the Valley forge-building was a ruin. It had been burned by the British, who also burned Colonel Dewees' house. The Valley grist-mill was not destroyed. A portion of the army under Howe had reached this place during the military movements which ended with the British army crossing the Schuylkill at Fatlands and Gordon's Ford and marching on toward Philadelphia. When the American army took possession of their encampment the mansion of Colonel Dewees was repaired and fitted up as a bakehouse for the use of the army. It was not sufficient to supply all the bread needed by the soldiers, and many poor families in the neighborhood baked for the soldiers and furnished them with a pound of bread for a pound of flour. The soldiers put up a temporary armory near the site of the old slitting-mill, where arms were made and repaired for officers and soldiers. No traces of that building now remain. The depot for provisions was at the house of Frederick Geerhart, near the western extremity of the encampment. Rations were delivered from that place. The hospital was established in the Valley meeting-house of the Society of Friends, near by the encampment. During its occupation for that purpose the members of the Society met regularly for religious worship at the house of Isaac Walker. Frequently the officers attended, WASHINGTON'S HEAD -QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 30 1 most constant of whom was Major-General Greene, himself of Qua- ker descent. After the war of the Revolution a new Valley forge- building was erected, considerably lower down the stream than the forge destroyed by the British. A little later it was used as a tilt-mill until about 18 14, after which a cotton-factory occupied the site. A slitting and rolling mill was subsequently erected on the opposite side of the creek, in Chester county. William Dewees re-erected the forge. Isaac Potts kept the merchant and grist mill. Dewees failed in busi- ness, and Isaac Potts carried on the forge for a few years, when a division was made between Isaac and David Potts, the latter taking the iron-works and grounds. Isaac Potts continued to live in the house occupied by Washington until 1794, when he sold it to Jacob Paul of Germantown. About 1826 it was sold to an association of followers of Robert Owen of New Lanark, Scotland, but the community failed. The property was bought by James Jones, one of the number, who lived there many years. The old mill was destroyed in 1843 by a spark from a locomotive on the Reading Railroad. The Washington House is plainly in view from this railroad. Woodman, in his History of Valley Forge, speaks of several rumors of attack, or intention on the part of the British to make an attack, on Valley Forge. The following anecdote rests upon tradition : " It is said that on one occasion an attack on the army at Valley Forge was baffled through the efforts of Jonathan Morris, a physician, then re- siding in London Grove township in the county of Chester. While the British were in Philadelphia he had to go there in order to procure a supply of medicines. Travelling on horseback, he was stopped by the guards between Darby and the city. Upon telling who he was, and his object in going to the city, they let him pass, upon condition of his returning and reporting himself in four hours' time. This caused him to hurry to the city and make his purchases as expe- ditiously as possible ; and he was ready to return home sooner than he had anticipated. Passing the London Coffee-house, a person with whom he was acquainted came out and whispered a few words to him, and immediately returned to the house. He rode on at a brisk trot until he crossed the floating bridge on the Schuylkill at Market street. After getting safely over he rode at full speed to the house of Colo- nel Anthony Morris, hastily informed him of the information given him by the man at the Coffee-house, which was that the British would 302 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. make an attack on the camp at Valley Forge in three days from that time, and, declining an invitation to stay to dinner, he hastily returned, and within the allotted time reported himself to the guards. Colonel Morris immediately conveyed information to Washington at head- quarters, and quick preparations were made to prevent an attack, and advanced guards were sent out to meet the enemy ; but they came not. Information was through some channel conveyed to the British that their intentions were discovered, and that the knowledge had been com- municated by Colonel Morris. Though no attack was made upon our army, yet Colonel Morris in consequence suffered much both in per- son and property by a body of British soldiers, who were sent ex- pressly to attack his house and injure his person." Washington probably did not visit Valley Forge from the time that the army marched away until a few years before his death, and while he was President of the United States. Woodman relates the follow- ing incident which had been often told by his father : In the latter part of the summer of 1796 the elder Woodman "was engaged in plough- ing in a field near the front-line hill. It was in the afternoon of the day, and he observed an elderly person of a very dignified appearance, dressed in a plain suit of black, on horseback, accompanied by a black servant, ride to a place in the road opposite to him, where he alighted from his horse and came into the field, and. shaking hands cordially with him, told him he had called to make some inquiry concerning the owners and occupants of the various houses in the different places about there, and also in regard to the system of farming practised in that part of the country, the time of sowing and planting, the best method of tilling the ground, the quantity raised, and numerous other things relative to farming and agriculture, and asking after some fam- ilies in the neighborhood. As answers were given he noted them down in a memorandum-book. My father informed the stranger that he was unable to give as correct information as he could wish, as he had not been brought up to the farming business, and was not a native of that part of the country, having settled there since the war ; that he came from North Carolina, where he resided previous to the Revolution ; that he had been in the army, and was one of the number encamped there during the war. This gave a new turn to the conversation. The stranger informed him that he had also been in the army and encamped there, and, expecting in a few months WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 303 to leave the city of Philadelphia, with no prospect of ever returning, he had taken a journey to visit the place, view the old encampment- ground which had been the scene of so much suffering and distress, and see how far the inhabitants were recovering from the disasters they had experienced and the losses they had sustained from that event ; adding that his name was George Washington. Upon receiving this information, my father told him that his costume and appearance were so altered that he did not recognize him, or he would have paid more respect to his old commander and the Chief Magistrate of the Union. He replied that to see the people happy and satisfied, and the deso- late fields recovering from the disasters they had experienced, and par- ticularly to meet with any of his old companions in arms and suffer- ings now peaceably engaged in the most useful of all employments, afforded him more real satisfaction than all the servile homage that could be paid to his person or station. He then asked my father's name, noted it in his memorandum-book, and said that pressing engagements rendered it necessary for him to return to the city that night, or he would visit some of his former friends at their houses. Then taking my father by the hand, he bade him an affectionate farewell." Here at Valley Forge occurred some of the transactions connected with the conspiracy to depose Washington and make Gates com- mander-in-chief, usually designated the " Conway Cabal." Gates had won battles at Stillwater and Saratoga, while Washington had lost them at Brandywine and Germantown. Before the commander-in-chief went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Burgoyne had surrendered at Saratoga, and the news of the great victory spread joy throughout the country. Washington, in the opinion of certain members of Congress and some dissatisfied military men, whose ambition was greater than their deserts, had failed, and Gates was regarded as the proper officer to take supreme command. Conway was at Valley Forge. His am- bition was mortified when De Kalb was commissioned major-general in preference to himself Washington understood Conway thoroughly, and did not favor his application. Writing to Richard Henry Lee in Congress, he said : " General Conway's merit as an officer and his importance in this army exist more in his imagination than in reality. For it is a maxim with him to leave no service of his own untold, nor to want anything which is to be obtained by importunity." Mifflin, 304 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. quartermaster-general, supported Conway in his aspirations, and these two officers engaged in the intrigue to depreciate Washington and to extol the merits of Gates. Wilkinson, aide-de-camp to Gates, who travelled with tortoise pace with despatches giving the particulars of Burgoyne's surrender, so that the news arrived there before him, was interested in the plot. He was of a gossiping disposition, and on his road stopped with General Lord Stirling at Reading, and repeated to Major McWilliams, Stirling's aide-de-camp, a portion of a letter received by Gates from Conway, in which the latter said : " Heaven has been determined to save your country, or a weak general and bad councillors would have ruined it." Stirling considered it his duty to notify Washington, and the commander-in-chief threw a bombshell into the camp of the conspirators by a note directed to Conway, in which he stated that he had information that in a letter from Conway to Gates were those words. In Congress were Adams, Lovell, and Rush, strong advocates of Gates. The latter was made a member of the Board of War, together with Mifflin, and that body scarcely took pains to conceal their hostility to Washington. The result was, finally. that whatever the malevolence of the conspirators might have been, they dared not attempt to carry their designs into execution. In fact, they were all compelled to explain. Conway explained. Gates ex- plained. Washington replied with dignity, and finally, on the 24th of February, in a brief letter reciting the repeated disclaim.ers of Gates, he declared that he was willing to bury the matters referred to in silence and, as far as future events would permit, in oblivion. As the supplies came in very slowly, it was necessary to look ahead for the exigencies of the summer. On the i8th of February, 1778, Washington issued a proclamation addressed to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, in which they were recommended to prepare cattle for the use of the army during the months of May, June, and July ensuing, for want of which great privations might arise in the course of a campaign. With tact and policy Washington requested this favor from " the virtuous yeomanry " if they were willing to assist, but threatened them with the consequences if they refused. " A bountiful price will be given, and the proprietors may assure themselves that they will render a most essential service to the most illustrious cause of their country, and contribute in a great degree to shorten the bloody contest. But WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 305 should there be any so insensible to the common interest as not to exer*" themselves upon these generous principles, the private interest of those whose situation makes them liable to become immediate subjects of the enemy's incursions should prompt them at least to a measure which is calculated to save their property from plunder, their families from insult, and their own persons from abuse, hopeless con- finement, and perhaps violent death." Notwithstanding the poverty of the camp and the want of supplies and good clothing, Washington and his officers let no opportunity go by to express in their orders requests and commands that the soldiers should maintain as respect- able an appearance as possible. They were requested " to keep them- selves regularly shaved and their hands clean, to be careful about soiling or injuring their clothes, and to keep their clothes mended as much as possible. The general therefore, in the most pointed terms, desires the officers, from generals down to corporals, to oblige their men to appear clean and decent at all times and upon all occasions, even punishing the soldier that appears dirty, whether on duty or not." Colonel Chambers writes in the orderly-book of Wayne's division on the 8th of April, 1778 : " Want of uniformity in a soldier's clothing and its indifferent quality, so far from excusing slovenliness and unsoldierly neglect in other respects, ought rather to excite each man to redouble attention to the means he has in his power. For instance, a soldier may always shave his beard, appear with clean hands and face, and in general have an air of neatness which will appear con- spicuous under all disadvantages." Here Wednesday, April 23, 1778, was observed as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, and in May there was a thanksgiving celebration on account of the French alliance, news of which had just been received. The battalions paraded in brigades and divisions, salutes were fired, including 3.fcH- dc-joic throughout all the line. The soldiers huzzaed with one voice, according to orders, " Long live the king of France !" " Long live the friendly European powers !" " Huzza for the American States !" On this occasion Lord Stirling commanded on the right, and La Fayette on the left ; Baron de Kalb the second line. Each brigadier-general brought his brigade to the ground. There were no more military exercises on that day, and the heart of each soldier was gladdened by a gill of rum. Under orders of May 2 divine service was directed to be performed in camp every Sabbath morning at eleven o'clock in 20 306 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. those brigades which had chaplains, and those which had none were ordered to meet with the latter. On the 7th of May orders were issued that all officers, civil as well as military, should take the oath of renunciation of British power and obedience to the United States. Major-Generals La Fayette, De Kalb, Stirling, Brigadier-Generals Mcintosh, Maxwell, Knox, Poor, Varnum, Patterson, and Wayne were appointed to administer the oath and grant certificates to those who took it. On the i8th of June intelligence reached Valley Forge that the British had evacuated Philadelphia. The event had been anticipated, and the army was ready to march. The heads of the columns were urged across Pennsylvania; the number of men had been increased by reinforcements from the Northern army to fifteen thousand; the weather was pleasant. Washington took the road toward the upper Delaware, where Greene and Wayne crossed at Coryell's Ferry on the 20th. There were marchings and consultations, and the battle of Monmouth closed up the war in the Jerseys, THE HOUSE WHERE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS WRITTEN. ^ HE committee of the Continental Congress to which on the 7th of June, 1776, was referred the resolution of Richard 1^1^] Henry Lee of Virginia, " that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, and that all political connection between us and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved," was authorized, if the proposition was considered favorably, to draw a declaration to that effect. To Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachu- setts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Con- necticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York this business was entrusted. Jefferson was authorized by the committee to draft the document, and the result was the preparation of the famous state paper which was adopted on the 4th of July, 1776, substantially as it came from the pen of Jefferson, some few alterations having been made at the suggestion of Franklin and Adams. At the time when Mr. Jefferson wrote this great paper it was not deemed important to note particularly the place where the document was written. The pe- riod was too full of great events to justify any thought in regard to what might have been considered an insignificant detail. The generation which was benefited by the adoption of the great charter was content to accept the advantage without being curious about the means by which it was obtained. Nearly half a century went by before the people of the United States, except those who were of a scholarly 307 308 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. turn of mind, began to take more than a cursory interest in the history of the country. The second visit of La Fayette in 1824 did more to arouse attention to the events of the Revolution than anything which had yet happened. The men who acted in the great struggle had in large numbers passed away, but many of the places hallowed by their presence and their deeds yet remained, and local interest in them began to assert itself It was in obedience to such spirit that in 1824 and 1825 the question was asked, Where did Jefferson write the Decla- ration of Independence ? Dr. James Mease, the author of the Pictiin' of Philadelphia in 18 10, who may be said to be our first local antiquary, was unable to solve this question, in which he was greatly interested. He therefore wrote to Mr. Jefferson on the subject, and received in reply the following letter : " MoNTiCELLO, September 16, 1825. " Dear Sir : It is not for me to estimate the importance of the cir- cumstances concerning which your letter of the 8th makes inquiry. They prove, even in their minuteness, the sacred attachments of our fellow-citizens to the event of which the paper of July 4, 1776, was but the declaration, the genuine effusion, of the soul of our country at that time. Small things may perhaps, like the relics of saints, help to nourish our devotion to this holy bond of our Union, and keep it longer alive and warm in our affections. This effect may give im- portance to circumstances, however small. At the time of writing that instrument I lodged in the house of a Mr. Graaf, a new brick house, three stories high, of which I rented the second floor, consist- ing of a parlor and bedroom, ready furnished. In that parlor I wrote habitually, and in it wrote this paper particularly. " So far I state from written proofs in my possession. The proprie- tor, Graaf, was a young man, son of a German, and then newly mar- ried. I think he was a bricklayer, and that his house was on the south side of Market street, probably between Seventh and Eighth streets ; and if not the only house on that part of the street, I am sure there were few others near it. I have some idea that it was a corner house, but no other recollections throwing any light on the question or worth communication. I will therefore only add assurance of my great re- spect and esteem. Th. Jefferson. •' Dr. James Mease, Philadelphia."' .I^'SIW; THE HOUSE WHERE THE DECLARATION WAS WRITTEN. 311 This communication caused the persons in Philadelphia who were interested in the subject to make inquiry, the result of which was not made publicly known until 1827, when Nicholas Biddle, who delivered a eulogium on Jefferson on the loth of April of that year before the American Philosophical Society, used Jefferson's reply, and added : " These lodgings, it will be heard with pleasure by all who feel the interest which genius inspires for the minutest details of its history, he [Jefferson] had selected, with his characteristic love of retirement, in a house recently built on the outskirts of the city, and almost the last dwelling-house to the westward, where in a small family he was the sole boarder. That house is now a warehouse in the centre of Philadelphia, standing at the south-west corner of Market and Seventh streets. There the Declaration of Independence was written." The inquiry made of Mr. Jefferson interested him so much that about six weeks after his letter to Dr. Mease he wrote to him again, to inquire whether " my recollections were such as to enable you to find out the house." Mr. Biddle added : " Mr. Jefferson was correct in his recollec- tions, and the house is known to be that mentioned in the text." It will therefore be seen that Dr. Mease, to whom the letter was written, and Mr. Biddle, together with those whom they consulted, were perfectly satisfied that the house in which the Declaration was written was that designated by them. Dr. Mease was born in Philadelphia, and resided in the city during his entire life. He was five years old when the Declaration was written. His residence was not far from Seventh and Market streets. He must have been perfectly familiar with the neigh- borhood from childhood up, and if there had been any doubt of the house at the corner being the first erected on the lot, he would have been likely to be cognizant of the fact. Mr. Biddle was younger than Dr. Mease, having been born in 1786, but he was a resident of Phila- delphia during his youth, and likely to be well acquainted with its local characteristics. Frederick Graff, the engineer of the Water- works, and son of the young bricklayer called Graaf by Jefferson, was also living. He was born in that house, and it was a family legend, which was told him as he grew up, that Jefferson had nursed him when a baby. Mr. Graff, it is reasonable to suppose, knew from family inquiries exactly where he was born, and that he united with Mease and Biddle may be presumed. The presumption is made stronger by the fact that although Mr. Graff lived long afterward, no instance 312 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. is known of his dissent from the general opinion as to the house where the Declaration was written. This much is said because it is necessary to consider an allegation lately made, that the house in which the Declaration was written was not at the corner of Seventh and Market streets, but next door on the west, now 702 Market street. In the records of deeds in Philadelphia it appears that on the ist of June, 1775, Edmund Physick and wife granted to Jacob Graff, Jr., of said city, bricklayer, " a certain lot or piece of ground, situate, lying, and being on the south side of High street, and on the west side of the Seventh street from Delaware, in the city of Philadelphia, containing in breadth on High street afore- said thirty-two feet, and in length or depth on west side of Seventh street aforesaid one hundred and twenty-four feet, bounded on the east by Seventh street aforesaid, on the south by a certain ten-foot alley, extending one hundred and four feet in depth from Seventh street aforesaid, on the west by ground of Hannah Flower, and on the north by High street aforesaid." The property was conveyed subject to a ground-rent. Graff did not long remain in possession of it. He sold it on the 24th of July, 1777, to Jacob Hiltzheimer for ^^1775, Pennsyl- vania money, subject also to the ground-rent. The description is the same as to the size and dimension of the lot as in the deed from Physick to Graff But the following appears : " Whereas the said Jacob Graff hath erected a brick messuage or tenement on the said described lot or piece of ground." This refers to the house in which Jefferson wrote the Declaration, and the important point of inquiry is. Was the house on the eastern portion of the lot at the corner of Seventh and Market streets, or was it on the western portion, leaving a vacancy at the corner ? A writer in Potter s American MontJily for May, 1876 (vol. vi. p. 343), contends that the house was on the west- ern portion of the ground ; and this allegation is supposed to be sup- ported by assumptions which are not sustained by proof Speaking of the house on the lot, which is declared to be the westernmost house, this writer says : " Mr. Hiltzheimer converted the first floor of this 'brick messuage or tenement' into a store, and herein he ' kept store' until his death in 1801. His success is attested by numerous deeds showing the subsequent purchase of property in various localities, and by \hQ fact that he built on the corner a 'brick messuage or tenement to match his messuage or store.' " If this is so, there is an end to THE HOUSE WHERE THE DECLARATION WAS WRITTEN. 313 the question. If Mr. Hiltzheimer built on the corner a brick " mes- suage or tenement " to match his " tenement and store " on the west, there can be no doubt that the western house was the place wherein the Declaration was written. Where is the proof? We have nothing in the article alluded to but assertion. Reference is made to a division of Hiltzheimer's property in 1 80 1, subsequent to his death, among his heirs, but nothing in this shows which house was first built. True, the writer says that the house on the corner was the last built, but he adduces no evidence nor quotes any document to sustain his po- sition. And now for some facts calculated to overthrow the force of these assumptions. It is said that Mr. Hiltzheimer converted the brick house built by Graff into a store, and occupied it until his death in 1 801. The fact is, that Mr. Hiltzheimer was not a storekeeper, but keeper of a livery-stable. It is doubtful whether he ever lived in the Market street premises ; he certainly did not live there in and after 1785. As authority for this we have the city directories. White's for 1785 has " Hiltzheimer, Jacob, livery-stable. Seventh between Market and Chestnut streets." He probably gave up business shortly after that time. He was elected to the Assembly from the city of Philadelphia in 1786, and re-elected yearly up to and including the session of 1796 -97. In 1791, Biddle's Directory thus presents his name: "Hiltz- heimer, Jacob, Esq., i South Seventh street." Hardie's for 1793 chronicles him as a " member of the House of Representatives, i South Seventh street." And so he runs through all the city directo- ries as " member of the House of Representatives" or as " gentle- man " until 1798. No. I South Seventh street was then where it is now, on the east side of Seventh street, and directly opposite Mr. Hiltzheimer's prop- erty. There is enough here to show that he did not live on the west side of the street in 1785 or after, and that he was not a storekeeper. A much more interesting inquiry is, Who lived at the south-west cor- ner of Seventh and Market streets, and in the house adjoining now known as 702 ? Emerick lived in the house now No. 704, next door but one west of the house in which the Declaration of Independence was written, if that instrument was written at the corner of Seventh street. If, as lately assumed, the Declaration was written in the house on the western portion of the lot, and not at the corner, Emcrick's 314 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. house immediately adjoined it. The Philadelphia city directories ought to be sufficient to help us out in this question. The first direc- tories in the city were published in the year 1785 by Francis White and John Macpherson. These registers were issued about the same time, but were arranged upon different plans. Macpherson's Directory was advertised in the newspapers as published on the i6th of November, 1785, and White's on the 30th of the same month. White undertook to arrange his names in what might be called the alphabetical manner, although strict attention was not paid to the vowels and consonants which formed the body of the surname ; so that it may be more cor- rectly said he arranged his names under the initial letter of the sur- name. Macpherson did not attempt any alphabetical order. His plan was to begin at the end of a street, and proceed along up one side, giv- ing the numbers as he found them in the different squares, so that every man's immediate neighbors could be ascertained. In streets running north of Market, he began at the north-west corner, and ran up the street on the west side as far as he considered the street was built up. Then he crossed over on the other side, and came down to Market street, where he closed that portion of his labors. But south of Market street he commenced at the south-east corner, and pro- ceeded down until the limit of houses was reached, and then came up on the other side to the south-west corner. His arrangement for Market street was to commence at the south-east corner of the Dela- ware River, and proceed on the south side toward the west. In Mac- pherson's Directory for 1 785 the name of Baltus Emerick, baker, is found. It is at No. 121 High street, according to his style of enumera- tion. No. 120 is occupied by James Finley. It is clear, by an inspec- tion of this directory, that Mr. Macpherson gave no numbers to un- occupied lots, so that a house situate at No. 100 might be a square or a half square off from loi, the next house in the enumeration. James Finley's was therefore the next house east of Emerick. Was he ac- tually adjoining upon the next lot, or was there an intervening lot? We are assisted in this inquiry by the fact that the same directory, coming up Seventh street, locates James Finley at No. i Hiltzheimer's alley. This was the alley south of the large lot on Market street, which still exists. Therefore, Finley was put down as the occupant of the lot at the corner of Seventh street. White's Directory does not have the name of Baltus Emerick. He did not undertake to assign any num- THE HOUSE WHERE THE DECLARATION WAS WRITTEN. 315 bers to the houses, but gives the location generally as it is between streets. He does not have the name of James Finley as located any- where in the city. But he gives the name of Nicholas Rash, grocer, at the corner of Market and Seventh streets. Which corner ? This ques- tion is answered again by Macpherson, who has Nicholas Rash at 159 Seventh street, which was upon the corner lot south of Market street. He also has Nicholas Rash at 122 Market, which would be next west of Emerick. The supposition is, that Rash had a place of busi- ness in the property at the corner of Seventh street, and had his dwelling-house near by, adjoining Emerick on the west. That neither of these directories were very carefully canvassed is evident, but from what we have one seems to confirm the other in the particular point that there was a house at the south-west corner of Seventh and Market streets. Macpherson assigns the dwelling to James Finley, whilst White names Nicholas Rash as the occupant. The important point is, that while both of the directory-makers agree that somebody oc- cupied the corner house, they assign nobody to the location west of the corner and east of Emerick. If there is any difficulty about this, it is entirely cleared up by the later directories. None were issued from 1785 to 1 79 1, when Clement Biddle undertook the task, and did it much more thoroughly and conscientiously than his predecessors. He originated the system of numbering which was in use in the city for many years, and was only modified when the new plan of counting by the one hundred at each square was adopted. Upon the streets run- ning from the Delaware west Mr. Biddle placed the odd numbers on the north side, and the even numbers on the south. On the streets running north and south the odd numbers were on the east side, and the even numbers on the west. There was no directory for 1792, but there was one for 1793 and for succeeding years. In Mr. Biddle's Di- rectory we find that the south-west corner of Market and Seventh streets was numbered 230, and Baltzer Emerick's house 234. Who, then, lived at 232, which it has been asserted was the original house on this lot? Nobody. There is no No. 232 in the directory as a house occupied by anybody, clearly showing that there was no house on the premises, and that blank remains in every directory for several years, until there was a house built on the western lot about 1797, which was first occupied by Simon and Hyman Gratz. It is not neces- sary to continue this matter further than to show the condition of the 3i6 niSTOKIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. No. 232. two properties as they appear in the directories between 1791 and 1802: No. 230, S. W. cor. Seventh st. Biddle, 1791, Wilson, Hon. James,. Esq., LL.D., Associate Judge for the Supreme Court of the United States. No directory was issued for 1792. Hardie, 1793, Mussi, Joseph, merchant. No. 234. Emerick, Baltus, baker. Hogan, Stephens Stafford, Stafford, 1794, 1795- 1796, 1797- 1798, 1799. 1800, Ricliards, John, Richards, John, Emerick, Baltus, baker. Emerick, Baltus, baker. Emerick, Baltzer, baker. Emerick, Baltzer, baker. Emerick, Baltus, baker. Gratz, Simon and Hyman, Emerick, Baltzer, baker, grocery and wine store. " " " Emerick, Baltzer, baker. " merchants. Emerick, Baltzer, baker. Stafford, 1801, Cox, Jacol"), merchant. " " 1S02 and '03, " " " " " The directories for 1797 and 1798 have "John Jones, merchant," "John Jones, broker,'' at the corner of Seventh and Market. The directory for 1799 gives for the corner of Seventh and Market streets, " Mr. Jones, gentleman." Which corner is meant is a matter of infer- ence, but from the character of the occupants of the houses on the other corners, it is extremely probable that Mr. Jones was an occupant of the south-west corner. In addition to the fact that from 1785 up to 1 798 no tenant appears in the city directories for No. 232, it is important to state that Hogan's Directory for 1 795 was arranged on the plan of going from door to door, and not alphabetically. This directory was originally issued in two parts, at different times. There were two editions of the first part, which contains the occupants on Market street. On page 12 of the first edition, after giving the occupants of 228, are the words '^ cross Sev- enth street — No. 230, John Richards, merchant; No. 234, Baltzer Emery, baker." No. 232 is entirely unnoticed, and 234 is placed next to 230. The same enumeration is in the second edition of the first part, but the words " cross Seventh street " are omitted. In fact, considerable change was made in the second edition, and matter which appeared in the first edition was left out, but the Nos. 230 for Richards and 234 for Emerick are undisturbed. It is not necessary to waste any more space in elaborating this question. Enough has been shown to demonstrate that the first house on the lot at Seventh and Market streets was built on the corner, and THE HOUSE WHERE THE DECLARATION WAS WRITTEN. 317 that there was no house next to the corner for nearly twenty years after the great document was written. Hon. James Wilson, who occupied the house at the corner in 1791, removed there from his residence at Third and Walnut streets, called " Fort Wilson." He was a man of wealth and social position, and the house in which the Declaration was written was a dignified residence. Joseph Mussi and John Richards were merchants, but had their counting-houses elsewhere. Jacob Cox was a son-in-law of Jacob Hiltzheimer, having married his daughter Sarah. In the division of the Hiltzheimer property in 1801 the house and lot at the south- west corner, extending as far as the northern line of the two-story houses still standing, was allotted to Mary Rogers, a daughter of Hiltzheimer. No. 230 was assigned to Thomas W. Hiltzheimer. The Gratzes, who were occupying the property next to the corner on Market street, bought the house and lot at the corner of Mary, wife of William C. Rogers, by deed dated December 15, 1801, for ;^6700. They bought the tenement and store next door to the corner of the assignees of Thomas W. Hiltzheimer, bankrupt, by deed of March 26, 1802. They continued business in the store next to the corner, as appears by Philadelphia directories, until some time in 181 3. In 18 14 they are located at 230 High street. It appears by subsequent direc- tories that they occupied the premises at both 230 and 232. Some time after the Gratzes bought these premises they put a fourth story on both houses, with steep-pitched roof, and by painting the bricks made them so uniform in appearance that their ancient aspect has been much changed. A sketch of the Declaration House at the corner, as it originally appeared, was made by Hyman Gratz for John McAllister, Jr., after Mr. Riddle's eulogium was delivered. The doorway was at about the middle of the house on Seventh street, the stairways rising from a short entry immediately opposite the door and adjoining the west wall of the house. The stairway rose in that position to the top of the house, and divided the south rooms from the north rooms. Mr. Jefferson occupied the two rooms on the second story — the front for a parlor, the back room as a bedroom. He says : " In that parlor I wrote habitually, and in it I wrote this paper particularly." Mr. Gratz said, in his sketch accompanying his drawing of the plan of the build- ing, that Simon and Hyman Gratz " closed up the door on Seventh street and removed the stairs." THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS. plain house indeed — an ordinary three-story brick of the Philadelphia pattern before the Revolution, about twelve feet front, and in depth scarcely more than twenty feet. This was the office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during the Revolution. Two rooms on the floor all the way up, with a garret, was its utmost capacity. In appearance it differed not from the most ordinary of the houses of moderate size of the time. It was on the east side of Sixth street, north of Chestnut, and under the old enumeration was known as No. 13. The old Lawrence mansion on the north-east corner of Sixth and Chestnut streets extended northward. There was a yard north of the house. In later days a one-story office was built on the north- ern part of the lot by Peter S. Duponceau, the then owner. The build- ing containing the office of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs adjoined on the north, and also belonged to Mr. Duponceau. Robert R. Liv- ingston, who was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the years 1782-83, occupied that building. His office was in the second story, facing the street. In the back room were the under-secretaries, Lewis R. Morris, afterward Governor of Vermont, and Peter S. Duponceau, subsequently well known as a philologist and man of science, holding for a long time the honorable office of president of the American Philosophical Society. " There," says Mr. Watson the annalist, from whom we borrow these details, " having charge of the archives of a nation, they preserved them all within the enclosure of a small wooden OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 319 press. The only room down stairs on the ground floor was that oc- cupied by two clerks and an interpreter. One of the clerks, Mr. Henry Remson, has since become the president of a bank in New York. The translator was Rev. Mr. Tetard, the pastor of the French Reformed church. Such was the material of our national infancy, since grown to such vigorous and effective manhood. Mr. Duponceau, from whom I have derived much of these facts, which passed under his immediate observation, has occasionally delighted himself in de- scribing, with good-humored emotion and picturesque delineation, the various scenes which have there occasionally occurred, and the great IB <1 LKI 1 VI \ SrVlL FOR FORriGN AFFA.IRb personages who have frequently clambered up the dark and narrow winding stairs to make their respects to or their negotiations with the representative of the nation — such as the Marquis La Fayette. Count Rochambeau, the Duke de Lauzun, Count Dillon, Prince Guemenee, etc. Our own great men, such as Madison, Morris, Hamilton, Mifflin, etc., were visitors of course. After the peace, in the same small upper chamber was received the homage of the British general, Alured Clark, and the famous Major Hanger, once the favorite of the late George IV. The major received much attention while in Phila- delphia." 320 HISTOKJC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. After Mr. Livingston left this house it ceased to be the resort of distinguished characters, and was relegated to common uses. Thomas Dobbin, cabinetmaker, lived in that house in 1795, and William Stuart, oysterman, was there in 1801. It was inhabited by numerous tenants during the time when it remained undistinguished. It was a shop or boarding-house as the particular tenant might desire. One of the latest occupants, from about 1836 to 1840 and after, was a clever Irishman named James Gaffney. Jemmy was for some years boot- black and porter at the Red Lion Hotel, Market street above Sixth, and in his calling picked up sundry fi'p'ny bits and levies, which he saved with care until he had sufficient capital to undertake the business of money-lending. And so Jemmy shaved notes and multiplied gains. He lived in this famous house with his Quaker wife, quite ignorant of its history and associations, and was residing there when Death, inex- orable to bootblacks and bankers alike, came along and stopped Jemmy's promising business career. Shortly after Gafifney's death Abraham Hart, bookseller, member of the well-known firm of E. L. Carey and A. Hart, purchased the whole property, including the Lawrence and Duponceau houses and the office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Hart meditated great improvements. He tore down the old houses, and erected upon their site a building five stories high, which extended from Chestnut street to the north line of the old house. It was occupied by stores and trades of different kinds, including bookbinders and engravers. On the night when the great Hungarian, Louis Kossuth, was complimented with a ban- quet at Musical Fund Hall, December 26, 185 1, the Hart build- ing was burned. It was a dreadful night. The snow was fall- ing fast, the winds were strong, and the mercury in the thermome- ter stood at a low figure. The firemen worked with activity and energy, but were debarred from their usual success by the diffi- culty of obtaining water from the plugs and the freezing of the hose. Hart's building was totally destroyed, and when the walls fell, William W. Haly, a member of the bar, well known in the legal profession as one of the authors of Tiviibat and Halfs Practice, was in the building with John Baker, a watchman. They were endeavoring to save property, and both were killed by the fall- ing walls. Subsequently, Hart's building was reconstructed, and it still remains a noted landmark. FREE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE. HE conduct of the Quakers during the American Revolu- tion is inexphcable if viewed in connection with their ear- her history. From the settlement of Pennsylvania the ad- herents of the Church of England, representing the inter- ests of the Crown, were in opposition to them. Nearly all the controversies which occurred between the As- sembly, in which the Quakers were in large majority, and the lieutenant-governors and the proprietaries, be- tween 1683 and 1756, were influenced by this feeling. In the latter year the Quaker party, despairing of triumph by the con- tentious and obstinate policy which they had adopted, resolved to ally themselves more nearly to the interests of the Crown than to the pro- prietaries, Benjamin Franklin and Isaac Norris were sent to London as agents at that time to make proposals to the English government, and to endeavor to interest the servants of the Crown in taking the Quaker side against the proprietary family in Pennsylvania. This effort failed, partly because the administration in England was not very anxious to take hold of the opportunity, but more particularly because a disposition to put the Colonies under tribute to Great Britain, which afterward manifested itself in the passage of the Stamp Act and the act levying a duty on paper, tea, etc. imported into the colonies, prevented anything like the settlement of a policy which would have made the Quakers and the adherents of the Church of England in Pennsylvania identical in political interests. When the 21 .^21 322 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. war o{ the Revolution broke out the Quakers ought naturally to have anayed themselves on the side of America. Every interest, religious and political, would have justified such a course. But they were found, with but very few exceptions, on the side of the Crown, and as long as they dared they did not hesitate to show their disapprobation of the measures of resistance to wrong which led the way toward independ- ence. The excuse for adopting this policy was, that the members of the Society were opposed to wars and fighting. Those principles they might have maintained, with every likelihood of great deference being shown to them, if their sympathies had been on the right side. But before the contest was over, whilst there were constant complaints of the violence done to the principles of Friends by the patriots, there was a singular silence manifested whenever the royal armies invaded those rights. Indeed, it must have been expected that peculiar favor would be shown to the members of the Society of Friends by the Brit- ish troops. This did not always prove to be the case. When the royal army took possession of Philadelphia the soldiers robbed, maltreated, and outraged Whig and Tory alike. In their destructive operations they made no inquiry as to whom the property belonged. " The in- discriminate destruction of WHiig and Tory property to be seen in the neighborhood of the city," said Diinlap's Packet of July 4, 1778, "strongly marks the character of these British savages. They have increased the resentment of their old enemies, and turned the hearts of their friends. Many who welcomed them into the city, and were deceived and seduced by their specious proclamation, followed them with the bitterest execrations." Robert Morton, a young Quaker who kept a diary while the British were in possession of the city, notes the destruction of Fair Hill mansion and ten other houses which were set on fire by the British, and observes : " The generality of mankind being governed by their interests, it is reasonable to con- clude that men whose property is thus wantonly destroyed under a pre- tence of depriving their enemy of the means of annoying them on their march, will soon be converted and become their professed enemies." As long as they dared, the members of the Society of Friends spoke their sentiments plainly. At the Yearly Meeting in Januar}% 1776, it was resolved to issue "the ancient Testimony and Prin- ciples of the people called Quakers, renewed with respect to the king's government and touching the commotions now prevailing in FREE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE. 323 these and other parts of America, addressed to the people in gene- ral." In that address the Meeting said : " The benefits, advantage, and favors we have experienced by our dependence upon the connection with the king's government, under which we have enjoyed this happy state, appear to demand from us the greatest circumspection, care, and constant endeavors to guard against every attempt to alter or subvert that dependence and connection May we, therefore, firmly unite in the abhorrence of all such writings and measures as evidence a de- sire and a design to break off the happy connection we have hitherto enjoyed with the kingdom of Great Britain, and our just and necessary subordination to the king and those lawfully placed in authority under him." On the 5th of First month, 1775, the Meeting for Sufferings for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, held at Philadelphia, issued an epistle in which it was clearly set forth that any participation by members of the Society in the measures which were being taken by patriots on behalf of the countiy would be disapproved of They .said : " As some public resolves have been lately entered into, with the concur- rence and approbation of some members of our religious Society, the nature and tendency of which are evidently contrary to our religious principles, our minds have been deeply affected with affliction and sorrow, and we have, in much affection and brotherly love, been engaged to use our endeavors to convince these, our brethren, of their deviation; in the discharge of which duty, so far as we have proceeded, we have had the evidence of peace. As divers members of our relig- ious Society, some of them without their consent or knowledge, have been lately nominated to attend on and engage in some public affairs which they cannot undertake without deviating from these our relig- ious principles, we therefore earnestly beseech and advise them and all others to consider the end and purpose of every measure to which they are desired to become parties, and with great circumspection and care to guard against joining in any for the asserting and maintaining our rights and liberties which on mature deliberation appear not to be dictated by that ' wisdom which is from above, which is pure, peace- able, gentle, and full of mercy and good fruits ' (James iii. 16)." Even after the Declaration of Independence, as late as the 20th of December, 1776, a testimony and address were issued by the Friends in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in which a patient spirit was urged, 324 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. " that we may with Christian firmness and fortitude withstand and refuse to submit to the arbitrary injunctions and ordinances of men who assume to themselves the power of compelHng others, either in person or by other assistance, to aid in carrying on war, and of pre- scribing modes of determining our rehgious principles by imposing tests not warranted by the precepts of Christ or by the laws of the happy constitution under which we and others long enjoyed tranquillity and peace." Long after the evacuation of the city by the British troops the claims of the Society of Friends of a right to " deal " with their mem- bers who violated their discipline by joining in the measures for the defence of America were exercised. An odd incident in connection with this policy occurred in the case of a son of Timothy Matlack. The father had separated from Friends at the beginning of the contro- versies with Great Britain, taking the popular side. He was an Asso- ciator and a colonel, having been prominent during the whole Revolu- tion by his services as a soldier and his connection with the Committee of Safety and the Supreme Executive Council. It might have been supposed that no prudent Quaker would venture into his family. In March, 1779, Samuel R. Fisher, son of Joshua Fisher, and John James went into Colonel Matlack's house to " deal " with his son on account of bearing arms. Colonel Matlack came in while they were engaged on what he esteemed a most impudent errand. His anger could not be restrained, and in an account of the transaction published in the papers he said : " I turned them out of my house, and gave them both in the open street, in full measure, but not without mercy, the chas- tisement which their audacious impudence demanded and thus exacted from me As this transaction will undoubtedly form a page in the Book of Sufferings, and as Mr. F. and Mr. J. represent the stick used on that occasion as a very heavy one and a mere cudgel, to pre- vent the exaggeration so very common in that book it is necessary to say that, my horsewhip being out of place, I was obliged to use a middle-sized walking-stick, which I have usually carried for a few years past." While the majority of the Quakers were opposed to the new state of affairs, there were some who not only sympathized with the Whigs, but acted boldly with them. Among them were Thomas Mifflin, who became major-general in the Continental army, member of Congress, FREE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE. 325 and governor of Pennsylvania, and Timothy Matlack, colonel and member of Congress. The changes which were made in the political aspect of affairs, and the growing certainty that the cause of the Colonies must finally tri- umph, had no influence among the leaders of the Quakers. They made no allowance for differences of opinion, even where there was no pretence that members of the Society had taken up arms or vio- lated the rules of the sect in regard to wars and fighting. They were disowned with equal impartiality whether they abetted military or civil action. The excluded members, who called themselves the " Free Quakers," and were called by others " fighting Quakers," were not disposed to lose their birthrights as members of the Society. By the circumstances in which they were placed they were compelled to associate themselves together as a society. In April, 1781, the Meeting of Free Quakers, of which Samuel Wetherill, Jr., was clerk, published an address to the "people called Quakers who have been disowned for matters religious or civil." In this address they ex- pressed condolence with their brethren, and submissively declared their intention to rely upon the goodness of Providence in sustaining them, and declared that they had determined to " support and main- tain public meetings for religious worship. We have no new doctrines to teach, nor any design of promoting schisms in religion. We wish only to be freed from every species of ecclesiastical tyranny, and mean to pay a due regard to the principles of our forefathers and to their rules and regulations, so far as they apply to our circumstances ; and hope thereby to preserve decency and to secure equal liberty to all. We have no designs to form creeds or confessions of faith, but humbly to confide in those sacred lessons of wisdom and benevolence which have been left us by Christ and His apostles, contained in the Holy Scriptures, and appealing to that divine principle breathed by the breath of God into the hearts of all — to leave every man to think and judge for himself according to the abilities received, and to answer for his faith and opinions to Him ' who seeth the secrets of all hearts ' — the sole Judge and sovereign Lord of conscience." In July the Monthly Meeting of the new congregation or society, " called by some the Free Quakers, distinguished from those of our brethren who have disowned us," published an address in which it was stated that they held two meetings a week for religious services. 326 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and one in each month for business purposes. They had agreed upon " rules for a decent form of marriage, which may at once secure the rights of parents and children, and a mode of forming and preserving the records of marriages, births, and burials." In July the Free Quakers adopted a memorial or address to the Society of Friends, which was four times presented to the Monthly Meetings of that sect, and as often rejected by the clerks " as not proper to be read." In this paper the Free Quakers demanded a restoration of their rights. If that favor should be denied, they asked for a division of the property, which be- longed equally to them and to the birthright members. They declared that they wished to have the use of one of the meeting-houses belong- ing to the Society, and avowed that they meant to use the burial- ground. Failing to obtain any satisfaction from the old Society, the Free Quakers applied to the Legislature, and in reference to the reasons for the proceedings against them by the old Society, said : " Some have been disowned for affirming allegiance to the State in compliance with the laws, and the elders and overseers have proposed and insisted upon a renunciation of that allegiance as a condition of reunion with them ; some for holding offices under the State and for holding offices under the United States ; many for bearing arms in defence of our invaded country, although the laws of the State en- joined and required it of them ; and some have been disowned for having paid the taxes required by law." In confirmation of these statements is an article in the Pcn?2sylvania Packet oi March i6, 1780, which said : "The Quakers in this county, contrary to any known or former rule of the Society, but from a blind and stupid attachment to the British tyrant, are excommunicating every member of their Society who is a Whig and takes the least part in this glorious revolution." With this was quoted a testimony of Wrightstown Monthly Meeting in 1777, disowning John Wilkinson because he had served as a member of the Assembly " in the present unsettled state of affairs, contrary to the advice of Friends ;" also of Joshua Ely, Jr., of Buckingham Meeting, who had taken the test of allegiance and abjuration under the law of the State in 1780; and of Thomas Ross, Jr., of Wrightstown Monthly Meeting, who had so far disregarded the testimony of truth against wars and fighting as to pay a fine demanded of him for not associating to learn the art of war. This was in December, 1779, and when the clerk of the Meeting read FREE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE. 327 the testimony, Mr. Ross stood up in meeting and excommunicated the Society of Friends, declaring that in " their ecclesiastical decisions and transactions they are become extremely partial, inconsistent, and hypocritical." Ross announced that he " gave his testimony " against the Society, and declared that he could have no further unity with them until they " shall add to a profession more consistent with the doctrine of Christianity, or practice more agreeable to their profession." The Assembly received the petition of the Free Quakers and laid it on the table ; no subsequent action was taken. The next year the old Quakers made answer to the memorial of the Free Quakers, and explained and palliated some of the circumstances about which com- plaint was made ; but they asserted that the Society had undoubted authority to "maintain the doctrine and order agreed upon by members in case of disorderly walking, which might have a tendency to infringe upon the peace and unity of the Society." Isaac Howell and White Matlack, on behalf of the disowned Quakers, made reply in August of the same year. The House appointed a committee to confer with the memorialists and take proof of their charges. But it does not appear that anything was done. The Monthly Meeting of Friends " called by some Free Quakers, distinguishing us from those of our brethren who have disowned us," was formed February 20, 1781, at the house of Samuel Wetherill, shopkeeper and ironmonger, which it is to be presumed was then, as it was in 1785, in Front street between Arch and Race streets. Mr. Wetherill was remarkably active during the Revolution in manufac- tures. He made jeans, fustians, everlastings, and coatings in the early part of the contest at his dwelling-house and manufactory in South alley, between Market and Arch streets and Fifth and Sixth streets, on Hudson Square. He was engaged in dyeing and fulling and the manufacture of chemicals. He was the father of Dr. William Wetherill, who wrote upon chemical subjects, and the grandfather of Dr. Charles M. Wetherill, who was finely educated and discussed scientific topics. He was the grandfather of John Price Wetherill, druggist and chemist, who was very busy in public affairs between 1825 and 1856, and who had been a volunteer in the war of 181 2, and captain of a troop of horse afterward, a leading Whig politician, and an active and influential member of City Councils. Samuel P. Wetherill, a brother of John, was in business with him. From the 328 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. grandfather's Revolutionary occupations the descendants were carried into the manufacture of drug and chemicals and the sale of such articles. The Wetherills established the manufacture of white lead in l8i2 in Twelfth street below Race, and have been largely engaged in that interest ever since. John Price Wetherill the second, great-grand- son of Samuel, had been a prominent business-man and an active and spirited citizen of Philadelphia for twenty or twenty-five years before 1876, at which time he was one of the most earnest members of the Centennial Board of Finance connected with the great Exposition. Samuel, who took an active part in the establishment of the Society of Free Quakers, was an eminent preacher, descended from early English Quaker stock, which settled near Burlington, New Jersey, in 1682. He was born in Burlington in April, 1736, came to Philadel- phia in boyhood, and remained there until his death, which took place September 24, 18 16, at the age of eighty-six years. He was a lead- ing preacher among the Free Quakers. He wrote a tract called an Apology for the Religions Society called Free Quakers ; also a tract on the Divinity of Christ, and other writings and essays. As a preacher he v.'as eloquent and convincing. Mrs. Dolly Madison, wife of President Madison, was a frequent attendant at the Free Quaker meetings when she lived in Philadelphia, where she had resided while single and was known as Dorothy Payne. She was born in North Carolina, but came to Philadelphia to be educated. In due time she married John Todd, a lawyer, who lived at 51 South Fourth street, in 1793. He died either in that year or the next, and, being accomplished, his widow succeeded in winning the love of Mr. Madison, a delegate from Virginia, who was afterward to become President of the United States. Mrs. Madison took great interest in the preaching of Samuel Wetherill, and frequent- ly spoke of it in after life. Among, the persons present at the house of Mr. Wetherill to form the new Society were Isaac Howell, who was subsequently justice of the peace, and lived in Fourth street between Arch and Market ; Robert Parrish, who lived in 1785 in Water street: James Sloane, White Matlack ; Moses Bartram, druggist. Second street above Arch ; Dr. Benjamin Say, also a resident of Second above Arch street ; and Owen Biddle, a druggist, in Market street between Second and Third. Among the members of this little company the preliminary measures were taken to establish the Society, which in a circular sub FREE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE. 329 sequently addressed to " our friends in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere," was stated to have been perfected at a meeting held 4th of Sixth month, 1781, at the house of Timothy Matlack. It is prob- able that the Society met at the houses of members for religious services for two years. Failing to obtain any satisfaction from the Society of Friends, and their request for the use of a meeting-house being refused, they took measures to obtain a situation for a meeting- house of their own. They were liberally assisted by citizens of other sects, especially such as were Whigs during the Revolution. With Free Quaker Meeting-huuse, now the Apprentces' I-ibrary. the means thus obtained they purchased a lot at the south-west corner of Fifth and Mulberry (or Arch) streets, where they erected a plain two- story brick building. Upon the northern gable is a marble tablet bear- ing the following inscription : 330 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. "By general subscription, For the Free Quakers. Erected A. D. 1783, of the Empire 8."* After this building was erected application was made to the Legislature for the grant of a lot for a burying-ground. In August, 1786, the Assembly conveyed for that purpose eight city lots on the west side of Fifth below Prune, now called Locust street, which still remains. Within its boundaries sleep the founders of this sect, the old fighting Quakers. Their descendants do not now exercise the right of burial there. For many years no interments were made in the ground. But during the war of the rebellion it came into use for purposes of sepul- ture in a manner quite accordant with the principles of its original owners. In the United States military hospitals in Philadelphia were soldiers sick and wounded in battle who died without friends to claim their remains. The embarrassing question what was to be done with them was met by the surviving descendants of the members of the Free Quaker Meeting. They opened the ground for the burial of the dead soldiers who died in a war for sustaining the government which the Free Quakers had fought to establish ; and this use was one which would have been grateful to the feelings and sentiments of the " fight- ing Quakers," and accorded with their memories when dead. In 1785 a memorial presented to the Assembly against theatres, and adopted by the Monthly Meeting of Free Quakers, was signed on their behalf by a committee of members. They were — Christopher Mar- shall, druggist and apothecary, author of TJie Remembrancer, one of the most valuable diaries of events occurring in Philadelphia during the Revolution which has been preserved. The establishment of Christopher Marshall and his son was on the south side of Chestnut street, between Second and Third, opposite Strawberry alley. The other signers were — Isaac Howell ; Peter Thomson, scrivener — convey- * This inscription has frequently been the subject of comment among persons who wondered why the strange word " Empire " was used in it. It was the fashion of the day to use this word to designate the confederation of American States, each sovereign and independent, united only by the force of understandings which were in the nature of treaties. " We have by this means introduced engineers into our country, and consequently one of the first powers of Nature into our Empire, which may be useful in most great works," wrote poor John Fitch of steamboat memory in his petition to Congress of 1788. The expression was then a common one. FREE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE. 33 1 ancer we would call him now-a-days — who lived in Race between Front and Second streets ; Moses Bartram ; Richard Somers, merchant, Front street above Arch ; Jacob Ceracher ; Jonathan Scholfield ; Joseph Styles ; Samuel Wetherill, Jr., who was in business with his father as a druggist and color-merchant; Joseph Warner, Jr.; Hugh Eldridge, shopkeeper, who lived in Whalebone alley ; John Pile, of Third street ; Samuel Crispin, boat-builder, who lived in Coates' alley, and Samuel his son, who lived in McCulloch's alley ; Jacob Lawn ; John Claypoole, upholsterer, Arch street ; and Edward Piffets. There was no principle of attraction in this Society which could bring it new members, other than such as might come in by birthright. In its institution it was a protest against the injustice of members of the Society of Friends. But it professed no deviation from the tenets of that Societ>' except such as involved the right of defence against danger or oppression. It was therefore not strange that as its members fell off by death there were none to take their places. Their children might have done it, but, as their doctrines were those of the Quakers, it was much more easy for them to go to the meetings of the parent Society, make their acknowledgments, and seek to be received into membership ; or if their views inclined them to affiliation with other sects, there was nothing to keep them within the fold of the only congregation of Free Quakers which existed in the world. And so, as the old stock died off, the young stock did not succeed to their places. Up to 1830 or 1835 on First days three or four or five venerable men met at the meeting-house at the appointed hours for worship. There they sat in silent meditation, or if there was a weight upon the mind of one of them to bear his testimony, it came more in the shape of a conversa- tion than as a regular discourse. Week after week and year after year they gathered together, until, by following those who were called away to the grave as summons after summons was issued, there were none to worship according to the old forms, and the doors of the Free Quaker Meeting were closed. In a speech made by " a distinguished gentleman and fellow-citizen of national character," who is thus endorsed by Richard Vaux in an address delivered before the Philadelphia Hose Company in 1854, the orator alluded to spoke in this manner of John Price Wetherill — Captain John Price Wetherill of the Second City Troop, and Colonel J. P. W. by virtue of a militia commission. He was grandson of 332 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Samuel Wetherill. During his time, while prominent in military af- fairs, as became a fighting Quaker, he was also clerk of the Meeting. In reference to his religious, civil, and military avocations the speaker used the following language : " I shall not pause long on the Free Quakers, commonly called Fighting Quakers, who furnished gallant field and company officers in the Revolutionary war, and who, ex- cluded from the regular body of Friends, formed a sect of their own. The men died game and the sect died game. I think that some years ago it had dwindled to one man. Now, almost any other sect so re- duced would have either sought proselytes or given up its own ob- servances. But this last man did neither. On every First-day morn- ing this unaccompanied remnant sat under the old-accustomed roof- tree of the meeting-house at Fifth and Mulberry streets, and spent two hours in solitary peace, in contemplative meditation on his pugna- cious ancestors, and in solemn communion with his own heart. I tell you that when he hears the last trumpet, that ' Friend ' will stand to his arms." Yet there were birthright members — many of them — who succeeded to the rights of the property. They have held it ever since, and meet on stated occasions in order that the right shall not be abandoned or lost. About 1850 the trustees of the Society of Free Quakers leased the building to the Apprentices' Library Company, a most excellent and deserving institution — the only free library in the city. The rent is merely nominal. The institution has been enabled by this gen- erous treatment to devote its revenues to the support of the library for boys and that for girls and women, and to the maintenance of a read- ing-room. A most excellent work has thus been accomplished. Many men and women, not a few of whom have become useful and influential citizens, have experienced the use of this library, and have had their ambition stimulated to become worthy members of society. This is the manner in which the descendants of the Free Quakers have dis- charged the obligations due by their ancestors to the citizens of Phila- delphia, who freely contributed toward the purchase of the lot and the building of the meeting-house. It is an honorable and most service- able discharge of the trust. LANSDOWNE. 1^ HE Rev. William Smith, provost of the College of Philadel- ^^^ phia, purchased before the Revolution a piece of ground I,]] on the west side of the Schuylkill River, in the upper part of Blockley township, which embraced one hundred and forty-two acres and some perches. In 1773 the Honorable John Penn, part proprietary of Pennsylvania, holding an interest of one-fourth of the Province, bought this property from Dr. Smith. Several small adjoining tracts were purchased of John Boucher, Mahlon Hall, and Margery Warner, some of them not having been acquired until after the Revolution. When the estate reached its full extent in the hands of Penn it comprised about two hundred acres. The ground was beautifully situate upon the Schuylkill, adjoining the Peters' estate of Belmont on the south, and was bounded below by the estate of Warner, Baron of the Colony in Schuylkill, which may be said to have been in the neighborhood and north of the present Girard avenue. Upon this property it is probable that Governor Penn commenced, with but little delay after the purchase, the building of a magnificent mansion. It was of stone, partially in the Italian style, modified in some detai-ls by French taste, and different in appearance and arrangement from any house standing at that time in Pennsylvania. There was a centre and wings, a bay-window apartment at each end, and a steep roof The front showed in the centre a pillared portico and pediment of two stories, supported at each story by pillars in the Ionic style, double clustered at the corners, with double pilasters. This portico rose from a truncated pyramid of steps. There was a balus- trade at the second story. The roof was hipped, terminating in an 333 334 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. observatory with open railing. Upon the rear of the building was a portico of one story heavily arched and pilastered. Tradition says that the site of Lansdowne House was upon the plateau on which in the Centennial year was erected Horticultural Hall. The approach to the grounds was by a drive through a gate, passing a porter's lodge at the west of the enclosure, and through an avenue of trees nearly a quarter of a mile long. The ground was ornamented with busts and statues, and a beautiful garden was laid out. Upon the estate were fine old forest trees. Romantic ravines and valleys opened toward the Schuylkill. One of these, still known as Lansdowne Glen, is considered one of the finest and most romantic portions of the Park. This house must have been finished before 1777, because it appears on Faden's map of that year, and the symbol for the mansion ex- ceeds in size and distinction those given to other country-seats in the neighborhood of the city. John Penn, who built this mansion, was a grandson of William Penn the first proprietor. Richard Penn, the father of John Penn of Lans- downe, was son of the founder by his second wife, Hannah Callovvhill. Richard, the father of John Penn, died in 175 1, leaving four children — John, Richard, William, and Hannah. One-half of the proprietary es- tate under the will of John Penn the American — who died October 29, LANSDOWNE. ■ 335 1746, unmarried — was devised to his brother, Thomas Perm, for his natural Hfe, with the remainder to his first son, in tail male. Thomas, the devisee, already held one-fourth of the proprietary interest, so that by the will he became owner of three-fourths. Richard, the son of the founder and the brother of Thomas, remained owner of one-fourth. He died in 1771, and his interest went to his son, John the governor, who held one-fourth. This John the governor was called John the elder, to distinguish him from John the son of Thomas by Juliana Farmer, who was born on the 22d of December, 1760. Thomas Penn, who owned three-fourths, died on the 2ist of March, 1775, and the proprietary interest was then vested in the two John Penns. John the younger, the son of Thomas, owned three-fourths, and John the elder, son of Richard, owned one-fourth. This valuable interest, which in the claim for their losses made by the Penns upon the British gov- ernment was estimated to be worth ^944,817 sterling, was soon to be sequestered and be lost for ever, except such portion of it as was recognized private property. Among the private estates was this one of Lieutenant-Governor and Proprietary Penn on the west side of the Schuylkill, to which during his ownership he had given the name of Lansdowne. The reason why he gave it the name of Lansdowne, and at what time the name was first applied to the property, do not seem to be known at this time. If we accept the theory that the name was given to the estate in compliment to William Petty, the first Earl of Shelburne, who became Marquis of Lansdowne, we are met by the impediment that this title was not conferred until 1784, from seven to ten years after Penn's country-seat was built. It is true that the Earl of Shelburne lived in London at Lansdowne House, and this before he was made marquis, and Governor Penn might have taken the title from that mansion. John Penn of Lansdowne first came to Pennsylvania in 1753 as deputy -governor, when James Hamilton was lieutenant- governor. He made his appearance at the Council-board on the 6th of February, and was introduced by the governor, who left it to the consideration of the board " what place they would be pleased to offer him ; whereupon the Council, taking the Governor's Proposition into their consideration, unanimously agreed, as he stood in so near a relation to the Proprietaries, and was himself perfectly agreeable to them, to place him at their Head, and that when he shall have taken the legal qualifications he should be considered as the first- 336 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. named or eldest Counsellor on the Death or absence of the Governor or I.ieutenant-Governor." His name is frequently met with as an attendant at the meetings of the governor's Council during 1753 and 1754, and he was appointed chief commissioner in May of the latter year to hold a treaty with the Six United Nations of Indians at Albany, in conjunction with the lieutenant-governor of New York and the commissioners of other governments. He was first named in the commission. His colleagues were Richard Peters, Benjamin Franklin, and Isaac Norris. He probably returned to England in 1755, his last appearance at the Council-board being on the 24th of September of that year. He returned to Philadelphia in November, 1763, and super- seded Governor James Hamilton. During the time in which he held the office of deputy-governor the Province of Pennsylvania was afflicted with the insurrection of the Paxton Boys, the massacre of Indians, the war against the Indians in 1764 and 1765, together with the troubles incident upon the passage of the Stamp Act and the subsequent law in relation to the tax on paper, glass, painters' colors, and tea. By the death of his father in 1771, Governor John Penn was called to England. James Hamilton, formerly lieutenant-governor, became president of the Council and acting governor for a few months. Richard Penn, who afterward married Mary Masters, came out as lieutenant-governor in the same year, and held the office until 1773, when John Penn came back and superseded Richard in a summary and, to the latter, unpleasant manner. John was then a proprietor^ and he discharged duties which were daily becoming more difficult, until after the meeting of the first Continental Congress, when he found that revolutionary committees and illegal bodies were exercising authority. This continued until after the battle of Lexington, when the second Continental Congress assumed supreme authority, and in the Province conventions and Committees of Safety took the responsi- bility of executive administration. He appears to have managed his difficult prerogative during this time with such discretion as not to have made himself obnoxious. During the early part of the Revolu- tion he was quiet, and was not disturbed. In 1777, just before the entry of the British into the city, he was arrested, with Chief-Justice Chew and various others, and sent to the Union Iron-works, near Burlington, New Jersey, where he was detained until Congress ordered the release of those prisoners. He seems to have returned to Lans- LANSDOWNE. 337 dovvne, and to have lived there nearly up to the time of his death, which, according to some authorities, occurred in Bucks county. He died February 9, 1795, aged sixty-seven years, and his body was buried in Christ Church. The tablet still remains, but the body was removed some time after his death, and taken to England. John Penn married Ann Allen, daughter of Chief-Justice Allen, at Christ Church, on the 31st of May, 1766; and this attachment had a great influence in making him a permanent citizen of Pennsylvania. In fact, he re- mained until his death. Where he lived before he went to Lansdowne is matter for conjecture. No doubt he occupied the Springettsbury House, west of Bush Hill, as a summer residence until Lansdowne was finished. According to the Philadelphia directories, in 1793 his city mansion was at 44 Pine street, between Second and Third. By his will, dated January, 1795, Governor Penn devised the Lansdowne property to his wife Ann absolutely. On the 9th of March of the same year the widow conveyed the estate to James Greenleaf He was a merchant, a man of high fashion and of reputed wealth. But he en- gaged heavily in real-estate speculations, some of them in partnership with Robert Morris, and the result was bankruptcy. In 1797, Colonel (afterward Brigadier-General) John Barker, then sheriff of Philadelphia, seized Lansdowne, and it was conveyed by deed of April 1 1 to William Bingham for ^31,050, subject to a mortgage of ;^ 24,050, making the whole consideration ^55,100. Mrs. Ann Penn Greenleaf was a daugh- ter of James Allen, son of Chief-Justice Allen, and Mrs. Ann Penn was her aunt. Indeed, there was a sort of running connection between all the owners of Lansdowne up to this time, Mrs. Ann Bingham being a daughter of Thomas Willing. Her mother was a McCall, and the McCalls and the Aliens were related. The three daughters of James Allen were among the beauties of their day, and renowned for their grace and accomplishments. Nancy, the eldest, as we have said, married James Greenleaf Margaret married William Tilghman, afterward chief-justice of Pennsylvania. Mary married Henry Walter Livingston of New York. William Bingham seems to have inherited a large estate through those ancestors who resided in Pennsylvania. His great-grandfather James died in 17 14, leaving considerable landed property. His grand- father James added to the possessions of the family by marrying the daughter of William Budd of Burlington, New Jersey, one of the prin- 22 33-8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. cipal men of that colony. His father WiUiam, besides the Bingham and Budd property that came into his possession, added considerably to it by a marriage in 1745 with Mary, daughter of Alderman and Mayor John Stamper. William Bingham, who married Ann Willing, was born in Philadelphia April 8, 1752. He graduated at the College of Philadelphia in 1768, and received a diplomatic appointment under the British government at St. Pierre Myzene in the West Indies, where he was consul in 1771. , He remained there during the Revolution. He was agent of the Continental Congress for some years. When he returned he was a man of great wealth, the bulk of which seems to have been made in the West Indies. Peter Markoe, in his poem of The Times, published in 1788, satirizes Bingham under the title of "Rapax," and accuses him of being the possessor of ill-gotten wealth : " But shall the hardened knave deride my rhymes ? Rapax ! the Muse has slightly touched thy crimes. She dares to wake thee from thy golden dream, In peculation's various arts supreme. To rouse the worm that slumbers in thy breast, And tell thee, Rapax ! thou must never rest! What tho' the pomp of wealth, the pride of power, Swell thy mean heart and gild thy present hour ; Tho' Luxury attract the worldly wise, Who, when they most caress thee, most despise ; Tho' to thy mansion wits and fops repair, To game, to feast, to saunter, and to stare, — Thine eyes amid the crowd, who fawn and bend. View many a parasite, but not one friend. Virtue and sense indignant stand aloof, Whilst each knave's friendship is a keen reproof. But say from what bright deeds dost thou derive That wealth which bids thee rival British Clive ? Wrung from the hardy sons of toil and war By arts which petty scoundrels would abhor, Thy villainy has raised those vast supplies Which lift thy Pandevioniuin to the skies ! But when misfortune's thunders fiercely roll. And conscience, long insulted, stings thy soul; When pining sickness lowers thy tow'ring pride, And hope, the good man's comfort, is denied, Deserted by the sneaking, fawning train, Triith will allow thou hast not lived in vain. Thy life those useful lessons shall bestow. That pride is meanness, and that guilt is woe." LANSDOWNE. ' 339- ■ In 1786, William Bingham was elected a member of the Congress of the Confederation, and served until 1789. He was captain of a troop of dragoons in the latter year, and with his company escorted Mrs. Washington from Chester to the city when upon her way to New York to join her husband, who had been elected President of the United States. In 1790 he was elected a member of the General As- sembly of Pennsylvania, and although it was his first year in that body he was chosen Speaker of the House — a fact which testifies strongly to his ability and character. He was member of the Assembly for the sessions of 1790 and of 179 1. In 1795 he was elected United States Senator from Pennsylvania, and held that office until 1801. Mr. Bingham on his return from the West Indies was successful in wooing and winning the beautiful Ann Willing, daughter of Thomas Willing, one of the most accomplished women of her time. The marriage took place at Christ Church on the 26th of October, 1780, the bride then being just sixteen years old. This young girl was the favorite of very eminent men on account of the social position of her family and her own graces and accomplishments. Her father was Thomas Willing, who lived in the venerable, stately, and comfortable mansion at the south-west corner of Third street and Willing's alley, between Walnut and Spruce, then in the most aristocratic quarter of the town. Mr. Willing was one of the first merchants in the period preceding the Revolution, and partner with Robert Morris. The firm of Willing & Morris had large mercantile connections, and was most prosperous until the breaking out of the Revolution. Willing was Common Councilman, Mayor of the city in 1763, and member of the Assembly 1764-66. Although a merchant, Mr. Willing had been bred to the law. He read law in the Temple, and his knowledge rendered him a very proper person for a seat upon the bench, which at that time in Pennsylvania was occupied more frequently by laymen than lawyers. He was ap- pointed fourth justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of Penn- sylvania in 1767, and was reappointed in 1769 and 1774, and held that office at the outbreak of the Revolution. " As a judge he was pure and intelligent, added to which he possessed an amenity of manner which rendered him popular with the bar and attractive in society." In 1775 he was elected member of the second Continental Congress, in place of Joseph Galloway. He was re-elected in the succeeding 340 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. year, but lost favor by his course on the question of the Declaration of Independence. He voted steadily against the resolution of inde- pendence and the Declaration, and when the Provincial Convention on the 20th of July, 1776, elected a new set of members. Willing was left out of the delegation, and held no public office afterward. He could not have been considered as warmly in favor of the Whig cause during the remainder of 1776 and during the next year, because when the British entered Philadelphia in 1777, Thomas Willing, instead of leaving the city, as was done by uncompromising Whigs, remained, and upon the entrj' of the army he found himself in an embarrassing position, being suspected of not being firm in his Tory principles. Joseph Galloway, in a Reply to the Observations of Lieutenant-General Sir William Hozve, etc., tells the story in the following shape : " Mr. Willing and his partner, Mr. Morris, had been, from the beginning of the war, the agents of the Congress for supplying their naval and military stores. Their disaffection to their sovereign and their rebellious prin- ciples were proved by a number of letters intercepted by your noble brother ; and therefore Mr. Galloway called on Mr. Willing in Phila- delphia, by your express order, to take the oath of allegiance ; and, although he refused, yet he found so much favor in your sight as to obtain a countermand of that order and a dispensation from taking the oath." Mr. Willing remained quiet after the return of the American army, and was not molested. In July, 1780, he was one of the subscribers to " The Bank of Pennsylvania for the purpose of supplying the army of the United States with provisions for two months." Each subscriber gave his bond to the directors of the bank for the amount of his sub- scription. Thomas Willing and William Bingham were each sub- scribers for ;^5000 each, and William Moore, Robert Morris, and Blair McClenachan for ;^io,000. The subscribers were bound to pay their contribution in specie if called upon. The sum subscribed was ;$3I5,000 in Pennsylvania currency, at the rate of ys. 6d. on the dollar. This was a patriotic association, and it was directed by the articles of subscription that moneys received from Congress or borrowed should be applied to the sole purpose of buying provisions and rum for the Continental army, of transporting them to camp, to be delivered at the order of His Excellency the commander-in chief or the Board of War. This bank was opened on the 17th of July in Front street, two doors LANSDOWNE. 341 above Walnut. It was succeeded by the Bank of North America, which was chartered by act of Congress December 31, 1781, with a nominal capital of $400,000. Thomas Willing subscribed largely to the institution, was one of the first directors, and was named in the charter as president of the corporation. In March, 1782, an effort was made to obtain a charter for the bank from the State of Pennsylvania^ and on that occasion the feeling against Willing manifested itself in a protest by the minority of the Assembly — sixteen members — who said that it was " impolitic and unjust to recognize and establish by act of Legislature in so eminent and honorable a station the man who not only abandoned the cause of our country in the hour of deepest dis- tress and calamity, but whilst the British army was in Philadelphia actually suffered himself to be employed as the instrument and agent of their insidious attempts to debauch the minds of the people, and even to reduce the American public councils into submission.* We think that loading with honors the man who so lately contributed what he could to enslave this country is a discouragement to the Whigs, is a wound to the cause of patriotism, and is trampling on the blood of the heroes and martyrs who have fallen in defence of our liberty." The bill was finally passed on the ist of April. On the establishment of the first Bank of the United States, Mr. Willing was a large sub- scriber to the stock, and was elected director and president. He was succeeded as president of the Bank of North America by John Nixon. As president of the national bank Mr. Willing remained until 1807, when he was succeeded by Major David Lenox. He retained for * This has reference to the mission of John Brown, who was sent out in November, 1777, while the British were in possession of the city, with proposals to Congress looking toward a cessation of hostilities, founded upon a suggestion that Congress should give up independ- ency. Mr. Willing sent John Brown out of the lines with this message, nothing of any im- portance appearing in writing, the entire business depending on what Mr. Willing had told John Brown that General Howe had said to him (Willing). Brown proceeded straightway to Robert Morris, Mr. Willing's old partner, with whom he communicated. Mr. Morris had too much good sense to be implicated, and he communicated the facts to Mr. Duer, member from North Carolina, and caused Brown to be arrested as a spy. He was exam- ined before the Committee of Safety, and had no credentials of ambassadorship to show but his own word. After remaining in prison some time, John Brown was released through the intercession of Robert Morris and General Washington, who knew that Brown while in the city had been useful and kind to the prisoners held by the British. This John Brown was formerly in the employ of Morris & Willing, and was a distiller, and must not be con- founded with another John Brown of Philadelphia, who was secretary of the Marine Com- mittee of Congress. 342 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. some years his interest in the firm of WilHng, Morris & Swanwick, He died on the 19th of January, 1821, aged eighty-nine years. In later times the animosities of the heated period of the Revolution were for- gotten, and in the death of Mr. Willing it was felt that Philadelphia had lost a valued citizen. After the marriage of William Bingham to Ann Willing, the young couple in 1784 visited Europe, where they remained about five years. In the gay capitals of the Old WorM the wealth of Mr. Bingham gained him admission into circles which would have been closed to him as an American if he had been poor. Their country was then represented in the European courts, and the Binghams were known to the diplomatic corps. In Paris, John Adams, who had en- joyed the hospitalities of the Willings frequently in Philadelphia, used his influence to have the Binghams presented at the court of the ill- fated Louis XVI. Adams at that time had a sort of roving commission, and was minister to negotiate treaties with European governments, to- gether with Franklin and Jefferson. Miss Adams in her diary records a dinner with the Binghams at the Hotel Muscovy. She said: " Mrs. Bingham gains my love and admiration more and more every time I see her ; she is possessed of greater ease and politeness than any I ever saw." At a subsequent dinner at General La Fayette's she writes : " She was as ever engaging. Her dress was of black velvet, with pink satin sleeves and stomacher, a pink satin petticoat, and over it a skirt of white crape spotted all over with gray fur — the sides of the gown open in front, and the bottom of the coat trimmed with paste. It was superb, and the gracefulness of the person made it appear to peculiar advantage." Mrs. John Adams agreed with her daughter. She said : " Notwithstanding the English boast of their beauties, I do not think they really have so much of it \sic\ as you will find among the same proportion of people in America. It is true that their complexions are undoubtedly fairer than the French, and in general their figures are good — of this they make the best — but I have not seen a lady in England who can bear a comparison with Mrs, Bingham, Mrs. Piatt, or Miss Hamilton, who is a Philadelphia young lady. Among the most celebrated of their beauties stands the Duchess of Devonshire, who is masculine in her appearance. Lady Salisbury is small and genteel, but her complexion is bad ; and Lady Talbot is not a Mrs. Bingham, who, taken altogether, is the finest LANSDOWNE. 343 woman I ever saw. The intelligence of her countenance — or rather I ought to say, its animation — the elegance of her form, and the affability of her manners convert you into admiration ; and one has only to lament too much dissipation and frivolity of amusement, which have weaned her from her native country and given her a passion and a thirst after all the luxuries of Europe." Miss Adams, writing from London subsequently, alluding to Mrs. Bingham, said : " She is coming quite into fashion here, and is very much admired." Griswold in the Republican Court, from whose pages we have borrowed some of these extracts, .speaking of Mrs. Bingham, says: "Her beauty was splendid. Her figure, which was somewhat above the middle size, was well made. Her carriage was light and elegant, while ever marked by dignity and air. Her manners were a gift. Sprightly, easy, winning, are terms which describe the manners of many women, but while truly describing hers they would describe them imperfectly, unless they gave the idea that they won from all who knew her a special measure of personal interest and relation. Receiving neither service nor the promise of it, every one who left her yet felt personally flattered and obliged ; really exclusive in her associates, she gave to none the slightest offence ; with great social ambition at the basis of her character, no aspirant for the eminence of fashion felt that she was thwarting her aims ; and with advantages, personal, social, and external, such as hardly ever fail to excite enxy from her sex, such was her easy and happy turn of feeling, and such the fortunate cast of her natural manners, that she seemed never to excite the sting of unkindness, nor so much as awaken its slumber or repose. Her entertainments were distinguished not more for their superior style and frequency than for the happy and discreet selection of her guests, and her own costume abroad was always marked by that propriety and grace which, while uniting costliness, rarity, and an exquisite refinement, subordinates the effect of them in a way which never invites comparisons. In all this she had the advantage of a wise and courtly and affectionate edu- cation. She owed much, however, to the command of great wealth, and to a combination of friendly and family advantages which her wealth enabled her to illustrate and profit by." Whilst Mr. and Mrs. Bingham were abroad they gave some thought to the subject of providing a handsome town-house in which they would reside upon their return. After examination of many fine 344 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. mansions in London and Paris, they selected the mansion of the Duke of Manchester in Manchester Square, London, as the model of their dwelling in Philadelphia, changing the dimensions somewhat and making the house larger. For this purpose a lot was selected on the west side of Third street, extending from Spruce street northward. Griswold describes the mansion thus : " Its width was spacious, its height not extended above a third story, and it stood perhaps forty feet from the ordinary line of the street, being approached by a circular carriage-way of gravel, the access upon both ends of which opened by swinging gates of iron open tracery. A low wall, with an elegant course of balusters upon it, defended the immediate front, and connected the gates which gave admission. The grounds about the house, beautifully diversified with walks, statuary, shade, and parterres, covered not less than three acres. They extended the whole distance, three hundred and ninety-six feet, from Third to Fourth street, and along Fourth street two hundred and ninety-two feet from Spruce to the lot subsequently bought, built upon, and occupied by the late Mr. John Sergeant. On Third street the line extended north toward the house of her father, as far as that of her uncle, Mr. Powell, after- ward of the late Mr. William Rawle ; so that the whole square from Willing's alley to Spruce street along Fourth — filled now by fifty-four fine houses — was occupied only by the houses of her father, Mr. Thomas Willing, her aunt, Mrs. William Byrd of Westover, another aunt, Mrs. Powell, and her own princely abode." Wansey, the English traveller, who dined with Bingham, to whom he had a letter of introduction in 1794, says of his city mansion: "I found a magnificent house and gardens in the best English style, with elegant, and even superb, furniture. The chairs of the drawing-room were from Seddon's in London, of the newest taste, the back in the form of a lyre, with festoons of crimson and yellow silk. The curtains of the room a festoon of the same. The carpet one of Moore's expensive patterns. The room was papered in the French taste, after the style of the Vatican at Rome. In the garden was a profusion of lemon, orange, and citron trees and many aloes and other exotics. .... There dined with us Mr. Willing. There was a Mrs. Morris, a sister of Mr. Willing, at dinner with us, in sable weeds, having lost her husband during the yellow fever." Samuel Breck, in his Recollections, who says that Bingham lived in LANSDOWNE. 345 the most showy style of any American, writes as follows : " The forms at his house were not suited to our manners. I was often at his parties, at which each guest was announced ; first, at the entrance-door his name was called aloud, and taken up by a servant on the stairs, who passed it on to the man in waiting at the drawing-room door. In this drawing-room the furniture was superb Gobelin, and the folding-doors were covered with mirrors, which reflected the figures of the company, so as to deceive an untravelled countryman, who, having been paraded up the marble stairway amid the echoes of his name — ofttimes made very ridiculous by the manner in which the servants pronounced it — would enter the brilliant apartment and salute the looking-glasses instead of the master and mistress of the house and their guests. This silly fashion of announcing by name did not last long, and was put a stop to by the following ridiculous occurrence : on a gala evening an eminent physician, Dr. Kuhn, and his step-daughter, drove up to the door. A servant asked who was in the carriage : * The doctor and Miss Peggy,' was the reply. 'The doctor and Miss Peggy,' cried out the man stationed at the door. 'The doctor and Miss Peggy!' bawled out he of the stairs, which was taken up by the liveried footman at the door of the drawing-room, into which Miss Peggy and her papa entered amid the laugh and jokes of the company. This and several preceding blunders caused the custom, albeit a short one, to be suppressed." At that time it was necessary in Philadelphia that persons of high fashion should have a country-seat as well as a town-house, and accord- ingly we find that Mr. Bingham's place was west of the Schuylkill, north of the Lancaster road, between the Powell and Britton estates. This seat was relinquished when Lansdowne was bought. Mrs. Bingham, as beauties frequently are, was somewhat spoiled by her position and influence. William B. Wood, the comedian, in his Recollections of the Stage, tells a story of a difficulty which she had with Thomas Wignell, the manager of the theatre. The lady, in imitation of manners abroad, desired to be the possessor of a separate box, which she offered to furnish and decorate at her own expense. The price was immaterial. The only terms were to be that Mrs. Bingham should have exclusive right to occupy the box with her friends, and keep the key. The offer was tempt- ing to the manager; it would ensure fashionable patronage to 346 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. his theatre, Mr. Bingham had also been an early and warm friend. There were many good reasons why this offer should have been accepted. But, on the other hand, the manager understood his duty to the public, which he conceived to be the ensuring of equal privileges to all. He therefore, in the politest manner, declined the proposition. Mrs. Bingham heard the decision, and seemingly acquiesced in it. But from that time her interest in the theatre was gone, and she rarely if ever visited it. Mrs, Bingham may be credited with the reputation of having obtained for the cause of art the fine full-length portrait of Washington which is well known to every one. It was painted particularly at the solici- tation of the lady, who used her influence with the President to give the required number of sittings to the painter, Stuart com- menced it under an order from the Marquis of Lansdowne, but Mr, Bingham was anxious to pay for it and make it a present to that nobleman, Stuart demurred, but was at length induced to accede, and Mr. Bingham had the pleasure of sending the picture to his lordship. But out of the circumstance grew an unhappy difficulty, Mr. Bingham neglected to stipulate that the copyright should be re- served to the painter. The consequence was, that when the picture got to London a copper-plate copy of it was made by Heath, the engraver, who, Stuart says, did the work abominably, and not only destroyed the likeness, but deprived the artist of the pecuniary benefit to which he would have been entitled on a reservation of copyright. The painter first saw this engraving in Dobson's bookstore in Phila- delphia. He pronounced the work as " infamous in its execution as the motive which led to it." Then Stuart waited on Mr. Bingham to endeavor to obtain justice, but failed. There was a quarrel, and Dunlap, quoting Neagle, says that the painter left un- finished the picture for the Bingham family which he had com- menced. Neagle said : " I saw one beautifully-painted head of Mrs. Bingham on a kit-cat lead-colored canvas, with nothing but the head finished. The rest was untouched." In the Republican Court Griswold has an engraving of a portrait of Mrs. Bingham, full size, costume and all, from a painting by Stuart. The painting then belonged to Joshua Francis Fisher. It was probably the head spoken of by Neagle, the body having been finished by some other artist. A fine portrait of Mr. Bingham, belonging to Mr. Thomas LANSDOWNE. ^^y Balch, was exhibited at Memorial Hall in the Centennial Exposition. The original full-length of Washington, painted by Stuart, and pre- sented by Mr. Bingham to tJie Marquis of Lansdowne, was also on exhibition in the Art Department of Great Britain. Washington made a special gift to Mrs. Bingham of a small portrait painted of him by the Marchioness de Brehan, sister of Count Moustier, French Minister during the Confederation, who painted several portraits, one of which was engraved in Paris. John Armstrong, writing to General Gates, describes her as a " little, singular, whimsical, hysterical old woman, whose delight is in playing with a negro child and caressing a monkey." At Lansdowne the utmost hospitality was observed in favor of all who enjoyed the friendship of the owner. Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, with distinguished American statesmen, foreign minis- ters, and travellers, were guests within its walls, John Adams says, under date of June 23, 1795: "Went to Lansdowne on Sunday, about a half a mile on this side Judge Peters's, where you once dined. The place is very retired, but very beautiful — a splendid house, gravel walks, shrubberies, and clumps of trees in the English style — on the banks of the Schuylkill." Mrs. Bingham, brilliant and gay, paid the penalty of devotion to pleasure by an early death. She took cold from exposure in a sleigh while returning from a party shortly after the birth of her only son. This brought on a serious affection of the lungs. Removal to a milder climate was recommended, and the island of Bermuda was chosen as the place of her sojourn, a vessel being especially prepared for her ac- commodation. Griswold says : " Her departure on a palanquin from her splendid mansion to this vessel, which it was generally apprehend- ed would never restore her to her friends, was an event which attracted the gaze of hundreds." The change was an alleviation, but not a cure. She slowly declined, and died in Bermuda May ii, 1801, at the age of thirty-seven years. Mr. Bingham went to Europe shortly afterward, and died at Bath in 1804. William Bingham had three children. Ann Louisa, the eldest, married August 23, 1798, the Hon. Alex- ander Baring, second son of Sir Francis Baring, who was at that time in his twenty-fourth year. Her husband was the son of an eminent London merchant, called by Lord Erskine the " first merchant in the world." He was during his life president of the Board of Trade, Mas- 348 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. ter of" the Mint, Privy Councillor, and in 1835 was raised to the peer- age as Baron Ashburton of Ashburton in the county Devon. In 1841 he was sent to the United States as special minister from Great Britain to settle the North-eastern boundary question and other controversies existing between the United States and England, In that capacity he negotiated the celebrated Ashburton -Webster Treaty, well known to every student of American history. Mr. Baring's visit to America when he was a young man was in pursuance of his father's plan to give him knowledge and information useful in business. He travelled in Canada and the United States, and when in Philadelphia, being intro- duced into the best society, became acquainted with Miss Bingham. The Barings became bankers, and represented the financial interests of the United States in London from the commencement of the govern- ment until very recently. Lord Ashburton, upon his death in 1848, was succeeded in the title and estate by his son, William Bingham Baring, who was born in Philadelphia in 1799. Maria Matilda, the second daughter of William Bingham, was a ro- mantic young lady, and became the victim of the plausible addresses of an adventurer. On the nth of April, 1799, she eloped with a Frenchman calling himself Alexander, Count de Tilly. The family discovered the circumstance shortly after the flight in time to reclaim their daughter, but not to prevent the marriage. In the subsequent proceedings the Frenchman showed himself to be a mere vagabond. He was easily induced to sell out his claims on his young bride, and disappeared. The Pennsylvania Assembly by act of January 17, 1800, divorced this couple. The lady seemed to have suffered nothing in reputation by the unlucky affair. Henry Baring, brother of Alexander and third son of Francis Baring, married her in 1802, and they had five children. After the death of Mr. Baring his widow married the Marquis de Blaisell. William Bingham, the only son of William of Lansdowne, married at Montreal, in 1822, Marie Charlotte Louise, daughter of Hon. M. G. A. C. de Lotbeniere, and afterward Baroness de Vaudreul in her own right. Daughters of the last William Bingham are married to the Count du Bois Guilbert, Count Douhet de Romarge, and the Marquis le Eperminil. The name of Bingham is still maintained by William, great-grandson of William of Lansdowne, who was born in 1858. Through Lord Ashburton the Bingham family is represented in the LANSDOWNE. 349 male line by the Marquis of Bath and the Duke of Grafton. WilHam Bingham, the eldest son of Alexander Baring, married Harriet Mar}', eldest daughter of George John, sixth Earl of Sandwich. Henry- Bingham Baring, son of Henry and Maria, married Augusta, daughter of Robert, the sixth Earl of Cardigan. Alexander Baring, the fourth baron, is married to Caroline, second daughter of Edward Vincent, ninth Baron of Digby. John Alexander, the fourth Marquis of Bath, married Frances Isabella Catherine, eldest daughter of Viscount de Vesci. Henry Frederick Thynne, son of the Marquis of Bath and Lady Harriet Baring, married Ulricka Fredrika Jane, eldest daughter of Edward, twelfth Duke of Somerset. This noble lineage can be all traced back to James Bingham, blacksmith, who was buried at Christ Church, Philadelphia, December 22, 17 14. After the death of Mr. Bingham the Lansdowne property went into possession of the Barings, and was occasionally occupied by members of the family. During the time when William Bingham occupied Lansdowne a house of moderate size was erected on the property and near the river-road. It was called The Hut, and here, during the resi- dence of Alexander Baring and his wife in the United States, the young couple dwelt. Subsequently, other members of the family occupied the building. In 18 16, Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain, leased the Lansdowne House for one year, and resided there for a longer period, probably two years. Samuel Breck, writing in September, 1817, speaks of a conversation with Julia, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Rush, who afterward married Henry J. Williams of Mount Pleasant. She gave him an account of a dinner of which she was a guest at Bona- parte's. In the course of the interview Joseph complained very much of the manner in which he had been used by his brother Napoleon. Although Joseph was king of Spain, and supposed that he had au- thority to command his own marshals and officers, his directions were frequently disregarded, or something was done diametrically opposite to his desires. When he complained of this treatment, " they would show the emperor's order for what they had just done, so that Joseph's plans were frustrated by the conflicting authority of his brother." Miss Rush told Mr. Breck that Bonaparte " speaks with fluency, that his manners are urbane and polished, and that he is a very good-looking man." The Lansdowne property remained for many years unoccupied, 350 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. being mostly in the care of a tenant who hved in The Hut. It was accidentally destroyed on the 4th of July, 1854, having caught fire from fireworks which were used by boys celebrating the great anniver- sary. About 1866 the Baring family came to a resolution to dispose of Lansdowne. This becoming known to some gentlemen in Phila- delphia, they took measures to purchase it, and accomplished their de- sign upon very liberal terms as to price, which were agreed upon by the Baring family in consideration that the property was not bought for purposes of speculation, but for public use. This tract of land was ceded to the city of Philadelphia, and the result was that Fairmount Park, which up to that time comprised only the old Waterworks prop- erty. Lemon Hill, and Sedgely, was increased not only by the addition of Lansdowne, but by a large quantity of land on both sides of the Schuylkill and up the Wissahickon to Chestnut Hill. The most recent use of the Lansdowne tract was by the Centennial Exhibition, nearly all of which was held on that estate and on a portion of George's Hill. When the Park Commissioners took possession of the Lansdowne property the walls of the old mansion were standing without dilapida- tion. A few hundred dollars would have been sufficient to restore the house to its original appearance. But the Commissioners, with sin- gular lack of appreciation of the character of the building, instead of consulting how this historic monument might be preserved, only thought of the best way of getting rid of it. It was torn down, and so thoroughly were traces obliterated that no one can now tell where the site of the old building was. It is much to be regretted that such a decision was made. Lansdowne was the finest old-time memorial in the Park, and it ought to have been preserved. ROBERT MORRIS'S FOLLY. 'T adds not a little to the merit of Mr. Morris," says Mease, " that notwithstanding his numerous engagements as a pub- lic and private character, their magnitude and often perplex- ing nature, he was enabled to fulfil all the private duties which his high standing in society necessarily imposed upon him. His house was the seat of elegant but unos- tentatious hospitality, and his domestic affairs were man- aged with the same admirable order which had so long and so pro- verbially distinguished his counting-house, the office of the Secret Committee of Congress, and that of Finance. An introduction to Mr. Morris was a matter of course with all the strangers in good society who for half a century visited Philadelphia, either on commercial, pub- lic, or private business ; and it is not sajnng too much to assert that during a certain period it greatly depended upon him to do the honors of the city, and certainly no one was more qualified or more willing to support them." This position of hospitality was one which Mr. Morris could not well decline. In wealth, thanks to success in business as a merchant, he was equal to the representatives of the old families, whose means seemed naturally to take them over to Toryism. This was particularly the case with the proprietary officers, agents, and beneficiaries, in whom a century of office-holding, with the enjoyment of lucrative places, had cultivated a spirit of affection for the Penn family and the English government which seemed to be diffused among all their rela- tives and friends. Robert Morris came to Philadelphia about the year 1750, with some means, it may be supposed, but with no great fortune. 851 352 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. His father, Robert Morris, was an English merchant of Lancashire, where the son Robert was born in January, 1733. Being interested in American commerce, the interests of the senior Morris brought him across the Atlantic. He settled at Oxford, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, about the year 1746. He was a man of enterprise and high character, and soon established himself in favor and esteem with his neighbors. But his career as a merchant and farmer in Maryland was short. A ship consigned to his care was coming in at Oxford, and, ac- cording to the custom of that day, a salute was fired from the vessel. Mr. Morris, who was standing on the shore waiting for conference with the captain, was struck by a wad from one of the guns, from which wound he died on the 12th of February, 1750, being then in the fortieth year of his age. Robert, the son, was then seventeen years old, and had been in America about two years. He had received a useful education in England, and no doubt had some instruction in America. Whatever might have been the plans of the father on his account, it was now necessary that his career should be changed, and that he should be put in the way of learning some useful business. He was therefore sent to Philadelphia, and placed as an apprentice in the count- ing-house of Charles Willing, one of the most extensive merchants of that time. Here he conducted himself with activity and intelligence, and won the good-will of all who were connected with him. To this circumstance we may attribute the fact that in 1754, when he had reached his twenty-first year, he was in a position to form a partner- ship with Thomas Willing, the son of his master. The firm of Willing & Morris was enterprising and successful, and in the course of a few years became the most extensive shipping-house in the city. In faithful attention to business, profiting by experience, cultivating his mind, and indulging the tastes of a gentleman, Mr. Morris continued to be a prominent person up to the time of the Revolution. He was known as a business-man, and not as a politician. He appears to have had no taste for office during the early years of his mercantile career, and it was not until the rising disputes between America and Great Britain called upon every man to take sides that Mr. Morris appeared in public affairs. The firm of Willing & Morris were signers of the Non-im- portation Agreement of 1765, and were to be found sustaining patriotic measures on all suitable occasions. It was not until the fall of 177S, after the Revolutionary war had opened, that Mr. Morris took any ROBERT MORRIS'S FOLLY. 353 office. He was then elected a member of the Assembly of Pennsyl- vania from the county of Philadelphia. His position in that body and his capacity, together with his patriotism and well-known principles, induced the Assembly to elect him in November, 1775, a delegate to the Continental Congress, his partner, Thomas Willing, also being honored with that dignity. The history of these two gentlemen is well known. Willing was patriotic up to the point of the Declaration of Independence, but was opposed to independency, voting against it bravely on the ist, 2d, and 4th of July, 1776. Morris was also op- posed to independence clearly and unequivocally — not, however, be- cause he had faltered by the wayside or lost his interest in the cause, but because, in his judgment, the time had not come. He voted against Lee's resolution of Independence on the 1st of July; on the 2d and 4th he did not take his seat. The persuasions of his friends and his own doubts were fighting with his judgment, and whilst he did not see his way clear to vote for the measure, he resolved to not vote against it. His absence from Congress on the 2d and 4th, to- gether with the absence of Dickinson, Biddle, and Allen, reduced the voting membership of Pennsylvania to five, so that the vote of the State was carried by Franklin, Morton, and Wilson against Humphreys and Willing. When the new convention of the State came to pass judgment upon the conduct of her representatives in Congress they resolved to throw overboard all the faint and doubting of the former delegation — all except Morris. Dickinson, Humphreys, Willing, and Allen were superseded ; Franklin, Morton, and Wilson were re-elected. New men came in — Ross, Smith, Rush, Clymer, Taylor — in place of those who were thrown aside. Morris seems to have been forgiven, and, whatever his doubts might have been, they were soon overruled and his resolution strengthened by subsequent events ; so that when on the 2d of August the Declaration of Independence was engrossed and ready for signing, Morris was ready to affix his signature too. Even the people forgave him. He was elected to the Assembly from the city in 1776, and again in 1778, there being no election in 1777, be- cause the British army was in the city. In Congress he remained as a member until the end of the session of lyyy-j^. During that time he served upon the most important committees, the principal of which was the committee charged with the spending of money in the secret service according to the judgment of the members, without instruction 23 354 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. — a trust, therefore, to be confided to men only of the highest honor. He was appointed special commissioner to negotiate bills of exchange and to take other measures to procure money for the government. In discharging this service Mr. Morris frequently found himself in most perplexing positions, in consequence of the urgency of the public wants and the difficulties which prevented Congress from meeting them. Ordinarily, he found that his own credit was much better than that of the nation, and in order to raise money he did not hesitate to pledge his own means for supplies absolutely required for the public service. On various occasions he borrowed from citizens and gave his obliga- tions for the amount. This continued through the war, and became more pressing after Mr. Morris was appointed Superintendent of Fi- nance, which occurred on the 20th of February, 1781. On many oc- casions he was personally compelled to shoulder the entire responsi- bility ; and, as it has been said that Washington was the Sword of the Revolution, so it may be said that Morris was the Purse. In the establishment of the Bank of Pennsylvania, and afterward of the Bank of North America, Mr. Morris's participation in those mat- ters is so well known that allusion only is necessarj^ here. When he resigned the office of Minister of Finance and Marine in 1784, the country had been carried through a long and exhausting war, toward the success of which Mr. Morris had contributed in legislative halls, in his counting-house, and elsewhere as much as any man who had been in the public service. In 1786 he was again elected a member of the Assembly. He was a delegate to the Convention to frame the Constitution of the United States, and in 1789 he was elected Senator from Pennsylvania in the first Congress — an office which he held for the full term of six years. This was the end of his connection with public stations. In private life there was for him a destiny of misfortune, a troubled and unhappy career. Mr. Morris lived in a style becoming his posi- tion as a gentleman and a man of means. In 1789 he removed from Richard Penn's house in Market street between Fifth and Sixth, to give way to General Washington, and changed his residence to the old substantial house at the south-east corner of Sixth and Market streets. It had been originally built and occupied by Joseph Galloway, and had been sequestered by the State on account of his treason during the Revolution. During the time it was held by the State it was made R OBER T MORRIS ' 5 FOL LY. 355 the official residence of the President of the Supreme Executive Coun- cil. Joseph Reed and probably John Dickinson occupied it. The principal entrance to this house was upon Sixth street. In the City Directory for 1 791 it is specified as 192 Market street, but in 1793 the designation is changed to No. i South Sixth street. Mr. Morris was residing there in 1796, according to the Directory of that year. His business-place and counting room was at 227 High street, on the north side, east of Sixth, and very nearly opposite his residence. The Di- rectory for 1797 locates Mr. Morris at 227 Market street, the place of his counting-house, and does not give the place of his residence. In the supplement to the Directory of 1798 his name appears "next door to the corner of Eighth and Chestnut streets." The Directory for 1799 places him "near Seventh, in Chestnut street." In 1802, Robert Morris, Sr., merchant, is located in South Eighth street. The house on Chestnut street between Seventh and Eighth, in which he lived in 1798, was the fine large mansion next to the corner of Eighth street which was afterward occupied by Edward Shippen Burd and by Daniel W. Coxe, once a merchant and influential citizen, and at a later period by the Misses Hubley, who became owners by devise from Mr. Burd. For some years past it has been occupied as a res- taurant and drinking-saloon. During the period of the Revolution, and in fact until his failure, the house of Mr. Morris was the abode of generous hospitality, not only to Americans, but to distinguished foreigners visiting the country. The Prince de Broglie describes his first experience at tea- drinking at the house of Robert Morris : " On the 1 3th of August, 1782, I arrived at Philadelphia, the already celebrated capital of a quite new country. M. de la Luzerne took me to tea at Mrs. Morris's, wife of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Her house is small, but well ordered and neat ; the doors and tables of a superb well-polished mahogany ; the locks and andirons of polished brass ; the cups arranged symmetrically ; the mistress of the house good- looking and very gray. All was charming to me. I took some of the excellent tea, and would have taken more, I think, if the ambassa- dor [M. de la Luzerne] had not kindly warned me, at the twelfth cup, that I must put my spoon across my cup when I wished to bring this warm-water question to an end. Said he : 'It is almost as bad to re- fuse a cup of tea when it is offered to you as it would be for the master 356 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of the house to offer you another when the ceremony of the spoon has indicated your intentions on the subject." Samuel Breck, in his Recollections, says : " There was a luxury in the kitchen, table, parlor, and street equipage of Mr. and Mrs. Morris that was to be found nowhere else in America. Bingham's was more gaudy, but less comfortable. It was the pure and unalloyed which the Morrises sought to place before their friends, without the abatements that so frequently accompany the displays of fashionable life. No badly-cooked or cold dinners at their table; no pinched fires upon their hearths ; no paucity of waiters ; no awkward loons in their draw- ing-rooms We have no such establishments now Servants in those days looked better than now, because they were uniformly dressed, and corresponding neatness was seen in carriages and horses." Mr. Morris sought this residence in order to be near the great house which he had projected in his days of affluence, and which was tq be built upon the lot of ground on the south side of Chestnut street. His ambition to erect this splendid mansion, which far exceeded anything at that time to be seen in the city, attracted much attention, and was consid- ered a scheme of extravagance. Although there were show and expense among a few families which aimed to be fashionable, the majority of the population lived very frugally ; and such a magnificent edifice as Morris had planned for himself, which was intended to have all the characteristics of a palace, was looked upon as offensive to plain and simple people. Hence, as the building progressed it was the talk, the wonder, and on many tongues the censure, of the town. The mansion was intended to be on a scale far exceeding any example of the times. Even Mr. Bingham's house on Third street was not so extensive nor pretentious ; and there were not a few who in envy of the liberality of the merchant were ready to accept the failure of his plans, if such dis- aster should happen, as something like a judgment against an attempt which did not meet with their sympathy nor applause. Hence they were eager when failure came to denounce their fellow-citizen in whose talents they had trusted, and to whose exertions in behalf of their country during the war of the Revolution they were so much indebted. When it became evident that the house could not be finished, the ap- pellation of " Morris's Folly " was given to it, and the pride and vanity of the projector were a subject of frequent ridicule, heightened by im- probable stories of the character and peculiarities of the building, some ROBERT MORRIS'S FOLLY. 359 of which, grossly exaggerated, have come down to us even at this day. The story was that Morris was ruined by want of economy in his ar- chitect, whose plans were very expensive and put the owner to useless expenditures. Watson the annalist, whose tendency was to rely on gossip rather than on the results of accurate investigation, chronicles what people said about " Morris's Folly " in his time without dissent- ing from their conclusions. He says : " Mr. Morris purchased the whole square, extending from Chestnut to Walnut street and from Seventh to Eighth street, for ^10,000, a great sum for what had been till then the capital, at which time the Norris family had used it as their pasture-ground ! Its original elevation was twelve to fifteen feet above the present level of the adjacent streets. With such an extent of high ground in ornamental cultivation, and a palace in effect fronting upon Chestnut street, so far as human grandeur was available, it must have had a signal effect. Immense funds were expended ere it reached the surface of the ground, it being generally two, and sometimes three, stories under ground, and the arches, vaults, and labyrinths were nu- merous. It was finally got up to its intended elevation of two stories, presenting four sides of entire marble surface, and much of the orna- ments worked in expensive relief" . . . . " Mr. Morris, as he became more and more sensible of his ruin in the above building, was often seen contemplating it, and has been heard to vent imprecations on himself and his lavish architect. He had, besides, provided by im- portation and otherwise the most costly furniture ; all of which in time, together with the marble mansion itself, had to be abandoned to his creditors. ' Drained to the last poor item of his wealth, He sighs, departs, and leaves the accomplished plan Just where it meets his hopes.' He saw it raised enough to make a picture and to preserve the ideal presence of his scheme, but that was all ; for the magnitude of the es- tablishment could answer no individual wealth in this country ; and the fact was speedily realized that what cost so much to rear could find no purchaser at any reduced price." Mr. Watson says that the building was of marble, but this statement is incorrect. Isaac Weld, an Englishman who visited Philadelphia in 1795, says there were only two or three houses in the city which par- ticularly attracted attention on account of their size and architecture, 360 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHIIADELPHIA. and but little beauty was observable in any of these. " The most spacious and most remarkable one amongst them stands on Chestnut street, but it is not yet quite finished. At present it appeared a huge mass of red brick and pale-blue marble, which bids defiance to simplicity and elegance. This superb mansion, according to report, has already cost upward of fifty thousand guineas, and stands as a monument of the increasing luxuiy of the city of Philadelphia." The building was actually of red brick, ornamented v.nth marble window-heads, lintels and sills, and pilasters, in what might be called the Philadelphia style of interspersing marble with brick in the fronts of houses. In the well-known view by Birch, the building is shown of two stories, with a Mansard roof The doorways, window-heads, and frames were of marble, and the porticoes and doorways were of that material. According to the representation in Birch's engraving, portico doorways, supported by two marble columns, stood at each corner of the house. There was to have been a large central doorway, the pillars of which are shown in the engraving. It is impossible to estimate from the picture the size of the house. It was probably from eighty to one hundred feet front on Chestnut street, and from forty to sixty feet deep. Very handsome bas-reliefs had been prepared for the ornamentation of this mansion by Jardella and other workmen, who were brought out to assist in the building. Some of this work afterward figured in other buildings. The elegant semi-circular tablets in bas-relief, representing Tragedy and Comedy, which were placed over the heads of the windows on the wings of the lower story in the old Chestnut Street Theatre, were prepared for the mansion of Robert Morris, and adopted by the architect of the theatre, Mr. Latrobe. A row of houses on the north side of Race street between Chester and Eighth streets were ornamented with tablets under the windows repre- senting sculptured festoons of flowers. They were long supposed to have been of marble, but from the falling off of some of the ornaments in later times it is probable that they were of stucco or some artificial stone. Two marble dogs of the mastiff breed, stiff and inartistic in execution, which were said to have been cut for the decoration of Robert Morris's mansion, stood for many years in front of Fritz's marble-yard in Race street between Sixth and Seventh. It has been said that the architect. Major I'Enfant, first broached the scheme of building a grand house for Mr. Morris at a dinner given by R OBER T MORRIS ' S FOL LY. 36 1 the latter. He said he could do it for j§6o,ooo, and upon its being suggested that the sum was enormous, Mr. Morris said he could sell his houses and lots on Market street for ;^8o,000, and thus be supplied with abundant funds. He owned at that time the house and lot in which Washington lived, forty-six feet front, a lot of seventy-five feet adjoining, and the house and lot at the south-east corner of Sixth street, which was sixty feet front. He sold the President's house alone in 1795 for ;^37,ooo. The other properties were worth more than enough to make up the ^80,000 to which Mr. Morris referred. The extravagance of the architect, it has been generally said, was the cause of Mr. Morris's failure. But it is easy to see that the reason was not the cost of this building ; which, although it might have exceeded the estimates, was not sufficient to have produced the ruin of Mr. Morris if he had been free from other embarrassments. The enormous land spec- ulations into which he entered with John Nicholson and James Green- leaf were really the cause of Mr. Morris's failure. Major P. Charles I'Enfant, who has been made the scapegoat for Mr. Morris's imprudences, was a native of France and an officer of engineers in the French army. His education was therefore of that technical cha- racter which made him competent in architecture to design and build. He came to the United States during the war of the Revolution, was in service in the Southern army, and distinguished himself in the siege of Savannah in October, 1779. When it was determined by D'Estaing that an attempt must be made to carry the place by storm. Major I'Enfant and five men were sent out at a desperate risk to facilitate the object by setting fire to the abattis. This they attempted on the afternoon of the 8th of October, and the bold act was performed with great exposure to the fire of the British garrison, who poured in volleys of musketry upon this little party. Fortunately, none were injured, but the damp- ness of the atmosphere and the greenness of the wood checked the flames, and the damage to the abattis was small. The next morning the British works were stormed by D'Estaing and Lincoln, who com- manded one column, Count Dillon, who commanded another, and General Huger, who commanded the third. There was desperate fighting, but success was not gained. D'Estaing and Pulaski were wounded, and the Americans were repulsed. Major I'Enfant was severely wounded, and was the last man taken out of the ditch. After the Revolutionary war was over, Major I'Enfant remained in America, 362 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and during that time he made the acquaintance of Mr. Morris. Al- though it is said that his plan of a mansion of the latter was a failure, and stories of his extravagance and want of judgment were in the mouths of the ignorant, the government of the United States had sufficient confidence in his abilities to entrust to him the important task of laying out the city of Washington. The future metropolis of the nation was surveyed under his care, the streets, squares, and locations for the public buildings were designated by him, and since the time when his work was considered to be finished the subsequent improve- ments of the " City of Magnificent Distances " have accorded with his plan. In 181 5 he was appointed to superintend the construction of Fort Washington, fifteen miles below the city of Washington, holding the rank of colonel of artillery. He did not remain in authority to finish the work, but was superseded by another officer. He then retired from public employment, and it is said that he would never receive even what money was due him. He was of an eccentric and sensitive nature, and the cause may be ascribed to his having been the architect of Morris's Folly, which gave to him a reputation injurious throughout his life. These fancies led him to consider himself ill- treated. A memoir published at the time of his death says : " He thought himself ill-remunerated for his services in laying out the city of Washington, and because full justice was not, as he thought, mea- sured to him, he refused to receive what was tendered, and lived a life of sequestration from society and austere privation which attracted respect whilst it excited compassion. Compassion, however, was not what he wanted ; his mind was of a cast to be gratified only by receiv- ing that sort of consideration which his talents and high and delicate sense of honor entitled him to. Such consideration he for a time enjoyed in the rank of a colonel of artillery, in planning and super- intending the construction of Fort Washington, fifteen miles below this city, the building of which commenced in 181 5. He did not remain in authority to finish the work, which, being carried on by him too extensively, it is believed, was put in charge of another officer. He then retired from public employ, and would never receive even what money was due for his services. He was once presented, we believe, by the corporation of New York with a square of ground, which he did not accept, and though poor and dependent was too proud to put his name to a power of attorney to collect for him a dividend of the ROBERT MORRIS'S FOLLY. 363 estate of an eminent citizen of Philadelphia who was indebted to him at the time of his death. Notwithstanding this apparent infatuation, he was a man of great scientific attainments, of profound research, and close and intelligent observation." During the last ten years of his life this accomplished gentleman was a dependant. About the year 181 5 he was taken in friendly care by Thomas A. Diggs of Warburton, Md., who maintained him during his own life. After the death of Mr. Diggs, Mr. I'Enfant took up his residence with William Dudley Diggs in Prince George's county, Md., where he died June 14, 1825, at the supposed age of seventy years. Mr. Morris bought the lot of ground upon which this mansion was to be built long before any steps were taken toward the construction of the edifice — so long, in fact, that it is very doubtful whether the first purchase of the lot was not made for speculation. He acquired title to it by deed from John Dickinson and wife, late Mary Norris, on March 7, 1 791. The property included the whole lot from Chestnut to Walnut and from Seventh to Eighth streets, with the exception of a lot on the south side of Chestnut, corner of Seventh, forty-nine and a half feet on Chestnut and two hundred and fifty on Seventh. The front of the Morris lot on Chestnut street was three hundred and forty- six and a half feet ; on Eighth sfreet, five hundred and ten feet ; on Walnut, three hundred and ninety-six feet. On the east side the lot extended on Seventh from the southern end of the corner lot on Chest- nut street one hundred and fifty-five feet to Walnut street. The ac- count-books of Robert Morris have lately come into the possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and from those sources is to be obtained much more information of the work on the Chestnut street lot than has hitherto been available. The first entry on account of this building is dated March 9, 1793, and records a survey of the ground. The charges thenceforth are for money paid for materials and workmanship, lime, bricks, stone, etc. The last charge on account of the Chestnut street house is made July 9, 1801, and the last credit July 2, 1 801. From this account it appears that Major I'Enfant between December, 1795, and January, 1799, received for his services ;^9037.i3. The total amount paid on account of the building of the house was ;^6i38 ^s. \od. The whole sum, however heavy it may seem to have been as the cost of a single house, cannot, in view of other circum- stances connected with Mr. Morris's career, be considered as the cause 364 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of his failure. Indeed, in his bankrupt petition filed in the United States District Court in 1799, he tells the story of his losses in a dif- ferent way. He says that the cause of his misfortunes originated in the failure of John Warder & Co. of Dublin and of Donald & Burton of London in the spring of 1793 — not that the property in dependency he had with those houses, amounting together to i^ 120,000 sterling, could then have ruined him if it had all been lost. But the want of ready money occasioned by those disappointments caused him to make sacrifices in various ways in order to preserve punctuality ; and finally, other circumstances inviting, induced him to engage in land speculations to an extent that in the end brought on his ruin and the ruin of those that were concerned with him. " This examinant thinks that he could in this place detail circumstances in extenuation of his own conduct that might tend to protect him in some degree against the charges of rashness and imprudence which, with appearance of justice, hath been imputed to these speculations ; but as recrimination would be of no use, and as all the parties have suffered the severest penalties that opinion and law could inflict, he must continue, as he hitherto hath done, to submit to his fate, and meet it with that fortitude which is supported by consciousness that he neither intended evil to himself or to any creditor or other person whatever. That any one should lose or suffer by operations in which he had a concern is to him a most distressing and mortifying circumstance." In reference to the house on Chestnut street, Mr. Morris refers to it only in connection with the statement of the disposition of the lot " upon which Major I'Enfant was erecting for me a much more mag- nificent house than I ever intended to have built." The speculations in land into which Mr. Morris entered were enormous, and they engrossed his attention long before he could have thought of building the Chest- nut street house. In his bankrupt petition some idea of these opera- tions is given, showing land-purchases to have been made by him as early as 1787. In 1790 he purchased in the Genesee country, from Gorham and Phelps, a million of acres, which in the next year were sold in England at a handsome profit. He was thereby encouraged to make other speculations. In Massachusetts a company, of which Mor- ris was a member, bought 4,000,000 acres, of which Mr. Morris's share was 250,000 acres. In 1793, with James Greenleaf and John Nichol- son, six thousand building-lots in Washington City were purchased, of ROBERT MORRIS'S FOLLY. 365 which Mr. Morris's share consisted of two thousand. The Pennsyl- vania Property Company, of which Mr. Morris was a member, was divided into ten thousand shares. On April 22, 1794, Mr. Morris, who was then Senator of the United States from Pennsylvania, entered into an association or company with John Nicholson, Controller of the State of Pennsylvania, for the purchase of land in Pennsylvania to the extent of 1,000,000 acres. They already possessed title to extensive tracts in Luzerne, Northumberland, and Northampton counties, but it was pro- posed to increase their possessions from time to time until the maxi- mum estate we have named was reached. The association was called the Asylum Company. The shares were to be two hundred acres each, and the price to first purchasers, or those who bought within one year, it was provided, should not be less than two dollars an acre, and might be more. Here, then, was a transaction involving expected sales to the amount of two million dollars, in which Mr. Morris was one of the principal parties, he having been president of the com- pany from the beginning. In February, 1795, the North American Land Company was formed between Morris, Nicholson, and James Greenleaf of the city of New York. It was to dispose of six millions and forty-three and a quarter acres of land in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This land was to be sold in shares ; and during the time when the company was in operation, and before failure was inevitable, five hundred and eight shares had been sold to forty-nine subscribers, representing 100,160 acres of land. It is impossible at this day to ascertain how far this spirit of spec- ulation was carried. In Mr. Morris's bankrupt petition his own indi- vidual interest in lands purchased between 1787 and 1801 is spoken of in such a manner that it is a fair estimate that the purchases of Morris, Nicholson, and Greenleaf, with a few associates, were from fifteen mil- lions to twenty millions of acres in all parts of the country, and that the property which Morris alone was interested in was considerably over six millions of acres. These speculations were undertaken with the belief that ours was to be a great country, that immigration would set in to an immense extent from Europe, and that the coming popula- tion would be attracted by the offer of fine farming-land at what might be considered low prices, although, as cheap as they were, a large mar- gin would be left as profit to the projectors. Disappointment resulted. 366 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The notes of Morris, Nicholson, and Greenleaf were as thick in the money-market as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks in Vallam- brosa. There was continual trouble about paying notes when due or negotiating for renewal. The paper fell into the hands of sharp money-lenders, who were attracted to it by the heavy discounts offered by the holders. These persons, many of whom were entirely unknown to Mr. Morris, worried him incessantly, until the importunities were so great and the fear of imprisonment for debt became so strong that in 1797 Mr. Morris was forced to leave his residence in Chestnut street opposite the " Folly," and fly to The Hills. He had not been long in that refuge before the Chestnut street house was sold from him. The Bank of Pennsylvania was among the first creditors of Mr. Morris who brought suit. A judgment was obtained against him of ;^20,997.40. Execution was issued to Sheriff Baker in September, 1797. It was executed by Sheriff Jonathan Penrose, who on the nth of December made deed-poll to William Sansom for the whole lot and building, which was sold for ^25,600, subject to a mort- gage of £yooo, specie, due to Messrs Willink of Amsterdam. Mr. Morris in his bankrupt petition said that the purchasers of this lot were William Sansom, Joseph Hall, and Reed & Ford, and that they were under agreement that if they could dispose of the property for an amount beyond the purchase-money, they were to account to him for the surplus. This probably never was done. Mr. Sansom laid two streets through the property, the principal one being called Sansom street, and the smaller one Morris street. This property in after years was much improved on the Chestnut and the Walnut street fronts by Mr. Sansom himself. THE HILLS N July, 1770, Robert Morris purchased of Tench Francis a tract of ground containing over eighty acres, a part of Springettsbury Farm, lying upon the east bank of the Schuylkill north of Fairmount Hill, extending along the river for some distance, and thence over to the Ridge road. It in- cluded in the northern part the portion of ground afterward known as Sedgely. The site was one of the most beautiful in the neighborhood of the city. The banks of the river were high and well wooded, and from any point of the estate near the bank of the Schuylkill beautiful views were afforded of the scenery, whilst on the south, at the Upper Ferry, there was sufficient activity to lend a little life to the panorama. Access to this property was obtained by a road which led north from the point where the road to the Upper Ferry was intersected by the entrance to the Upper Ferry Bridge. It ran close to the bank of the Schuylkill below the west slope of Fairmount Hill, and where the garden was afterward laid out and the forebay excavated, across New Hickory lane (afterward Coates street, now Fairmount avenue), which also led into it, and opened into a curved course which ran north into the Morris property, crossing a little stream that ran from the Dark Woods pond and entered the Schuylkill just above Fairmount, and another stream leading south which emptied into the river nearly directly south of the present Lincoln Monument in Fairmount Park. There was an- other road which opened from the Ridge road nearly opposite Tur- ner's lane, and ran in a course bending south-westwardly toward the Schuylkill. It crossed into the Morris property somewhere near where 367 368 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHIIADEIPHIA. the Sedgely mansion was afterward built. To the estate which Robert Morris owned here was given the name of " The Hills," and the Hills House was a favorite residence, and was during his days of affluence the scene of unbounded hospitality, in which eminent Americans and foreign travellers participated. The building stood near the site of the present Lemon Hill Mansion. It was north-east of that house, and The Hills, Robert Morris's Mansion. probably occupied a portion of the plateau upon which in 1S76 the Lemon Hill Observatory was built. From the appearance of this house in the views given of it, it may be presumed that it was of stone. It was a square structure, with basement partially below ground, and two principal stories, and a high hip roof sufficiently commodious for garret purposes. At the flattened top of the roof a chimney rose at each corner. A semi-circular bay having three windows rose from THE HILLS. 369 the ground to the full height of the other walls, and was finished with a roof of curved form. There were piazzas two stories in height on two sides of the house, affording a screen from the sun and a cool re- treat in summer. The trees around were numerous and well grown, and the place was delightfully shaded and pleasant. Several outhouses were near, suitable for a gentleman's country-seat. There are four of these buildings marked on Varle's map, engraved about 1797. Morris loved this house, which, although he had an attractive mansion in the city, was frequently sought by him as a place of refuge from the cares of business and of social life. At the end of the year 1776, when the city of Philadelphia was considered to be in danger, and Washington on the west bank of the Delaware was settling the plans which resulted in the victories of Trenton and Princeton, Mr. Morris, having failed to accompany Congress to Baltimore, to which town it had fled in fear of capture by Howe, wrote under date of December 29 : "I have always been satisfied with Philadelphia and The Hills. At the same time, I have been constantly prepared, my things packed up, horses and car- riages ready at any moment. I dine at The Hills to-day, and have done so every Sunday. Thus, you see, I continue my old practice of mixing business with pleasure ; I have ever found them useful to each other." When Mr. Morris found that his affairs were becoming more in- volved day after day, and that there was danger of his arrest, he re- treated to The Hills, where he kept himself locked in his own castle, bidding defiance to the sheriff and constable. As early as the begin- ning of September, 1797, it is apparent from the letters of Mr. Morris (cited by Charles S. Keyser, Fairmount Park, fifth edition), writing to Nicholson, that he was conscious of the mistakes they had both made in business : " Whether you were right about the yellow fever or not, is not yet determined amongst the doctors ; and as to your being always right, I will not answer for the future, but for the past I answer. No. If you had, neither you nor I should have been as we are. My Chestnut street house and lot, these grounds [The Hills], and some ground-rents are advertised by Mr. Baker [John Baker, Sheriff] for sale on the 15th instant, and what to do I am at a loss If this thing takes place, it is of little consequence whether I am taken or not. .... Can you assist me to raise five hundred dollars to send off Mr. Richard [a servant], otherwise his two years' labor will be lost ? I 24 370 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHFA. have been scheming and trying, hut without success. No man, it seems, can command — rather say, spare — so large a sum What shall we do ? Powerful exertions must be made, for at all events we must relieve all who have served us and who will continue to serve us." On the 25th of October from The Hills he writes to Nicholson, who seems to have been a busy correspondent, sending several notes every day : " While I am writing I receive your further notes of to- day — numbers 7, 8, and 9. I wish to God these notes would take up those which bear promise of payments. They are numerous already, but if they would answer the other purpose, you would want more copying-presses and half a dozen paper-mills To number 9 I answer that they will have done advertising and selling our property after it is all sold and gone. Two hundred thousand acres of my land in North Carolina, which cost me ^27,000, are sold for one year's taxes. By Heaven, there is no bearing with these things ! I believe I shall go mad. Every day brings forward scenes and troubles almost in- supportable, and they seem to be accumulating, so that at last they will like a torrent carry everything before them. God help us ! for men will not. We are abandoned by all but those who want to get from us all we yet hold." In a letter to John Nicholson, dated No- vember I, 1797, he says: "I have sworn to let nobody inside my House, and not to go outside the Walls myself If I see them, it is out of a window, I being up stairs and they down ; when I snuff the Open Air, it is on the Top. Do I write like a man in distress or one deranged? — perhaps I am both." From The Hills, on the 21st of December, referring to the difficulties discussed in seven of Nichol- son's letters which are before him, he closes with mournful reflections : " Good Heavens ! what vultures men are in regard to each other ! I never in the days of prosperity took advantage of any man's distresses, and I suppose what I now experience is to serve as a lesson whereby to see the folly of humane and generous conduct." In a letter dated at The Hills, January 22, 1798, he says : " There is a Frenchman who intends to shoot me at the window if I do not pay a note he had pro- tested on Saturday." On the 24th of January, 1798, he wrote to Nich- olson in reference to some changes in the law of arrest, particulars of which had been communicated to him by Mr. Tilghman : " According to this law, there is no safety for Person or Property, because under pretence of searching for the latter they will come at the former. This THE HILLS. 371 gives a new turn to our Affairs, & William will consult with you as to what is best to be done by you and by your Fellow-Sufferer, " Robert Morris." Mr. Brotherhead, in a sketch of the " Life of Robert Morris" (Simp- son's Eminent Philadelphia ns), gives the following extract from a letter bearing date January 31, 1798 : " My mind is so much disturbed about going to prison that I do not get along with business. Indeed, I hardly think it worth while to submit any longer to the drudgery of it ; for if I am once locked up by anybody but myself, I shall consider my ruin as sealed ; and if so, why should I any longer submit to the racks and tortures occasioned by the importunities and insatiable avarice of creditors that I never knew or dealt with ? I will not do it ; but if I keep my present position, my exertions shall be continued to make the most of my affairs, in the hope of paying everything and of having a suitable surplus for the benefit of my family." On the 4th of February he seems to have ventured out, probably on a visit of consultation with Nicholson. He writes from The Hills, February 5 : " I got safe here, and found it the only place of calmness and quiet my foot was in yesterday. It has made me more averse to the city than ever, and I detest Prune street [the entrance of the debtors' prison was on Prune street east of Sixth] more than ever. Therefore keep me from it, my dear friend." Two days afterward he wrote : " Is there any chance of saving my furniture from the sheriff and my person from jail, or are these things fixed ? .... P. S. I have just received your letter of yesterday and its enclosures, and I read Prune street in every line." The next day in despair he writes the last letter from The Hills of which we have any account, in which he says to Nicholson : " I consider my fate as fixed : hard and cruel fate it is ! The punishment of my imprudence in the use of my name and loss of credit is perhaps what / deserve, but it is nevertheless severe on my family ; and on theij' account I feel it most tormentingly. On their account I would do anything to avert what I see must happen next week, except an act that tvoidd still affect them more deeply. I will try to see you before I go to prison, and in the mean time I remain your distressed friend." Thoughts of suicide must have occupied the troubled mind of Mr. Morris. He could have averted imprisonment by an act which he saw would prove more poignant to the distress of his family, but with Christian fortitude he resisted the temptation. 372 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The event of his arrest must have taken place during the ensuing week, as he expected, for we have a letter from him written in Prune street jail, dated February 20, and directed to John Nicholson. In this epistle he regrets the circumstances which make him an annoy- ance to others. He says : " My confinement has so far been attended with disagreeable and uncomfortable circumstances, for, having no par- ticular place allotted to me, I feel myself an intruder in ever>' place in which I go. I sleep on other persons' beds, I occupy other persons' rooms, and if I attempt to sit down to write, it is at the interruption and inconvenience of some one who had acquired a prior right to the place." The next day he says : " I am yet in so unsettled a state here that it is not pleasant to see anybody, although many have been to see me — some complimentary visitors ; others on business. I do not en- courage either, because I mean to be master of my time, and to make what I may think the best use of it." Nearly five months afterward, in July, he writes : " Fitzsimons [Thomas Fitzsimons] was here this morning in a dreadful taking. All the furniture must be sold. My family think this dreadful hard ; they know the debt is not mine." Whilst he was in the prison the yellow fever of 1798 was raging, and the inmates were in great danger. Mr. Hoffner, who came into the prison in October, died in three days. The wife of the man who cleaned Mr. Morris's room in the prison was also made sick. There was great danger to Mr. Morris, but he escaped the infection. At the beginning of January, 1799, he laments to Nicholson the reception of a letter from a firm in London refusing to accept his bill for three hun- dred and eighty-nine pounds sterling, because the money in the hands of the party upon whom the bill was drawn had been attached by the owner of a bond given for payment of some lands in Georgia. Refer- ring to this disappointment, he says : " But what is to be done for subsistence? I counted on this as a means to carry me through 1799." William B. Wood, the comedian, had the misfortune to be a pris- oner for debt in the Prune street prison during the time Mr. Morris was an inmate, where he remained seventy days. He was allowed two hours' walk in the prison-yard daily. The jailer told him that he would " find but one gentleman there, and that it was not necessary to notice him in any way." The gentleman proved to be no less a THE HILLS. 373 person than Robert Morris. Mr. Wood said: "His person was neat, and his dress, though a httle old-fashioned, was adjusted with much care. One side of the Prune street debtors' prison was neatly- laid out as a garden and well kept, affording an agreeable promenade for the luckless inhabitants of this Bastile during a large portion of the day. Mr. Morris appeared cheerful, returned my saluta- tion in the politest manner, but in silence, continuing his walk, and dropping from his hand at a given spot a pebble on each round, until a certain number which he had in his hand was exhausted. For some morn- ings the same silence prevail- ed, until at length, observing my languid deportment, he inquired whether I was ill, and added with some sever- ity, ' Sir, this is an ill place for one so sickly and appar- ently so young.' He seemed to wait for some kind of explanation, which I found myself either unable or un- willing to give, and then passed on. From this time he spoke to me almost daily, and always with great kind- Fui.m. ness. On one occasion he unbent much more than usual, and offered some remarks which em- braced much good counsel. In more than one instance he favored me with friendly notice. While I offer this little picture of the morning walking-]^2iX\.y on one side of the prison, I must not forget a riding- party on the other, nearest to Fifth street in this department, which I was occasionally permitted to overlook. Mr. James Greenleaf, with Mr. Nicholson, for many years Controller of the Finances of Pennsyl- vania, who had been the partner of Mr. Morris's enterprises, and with Lemjn Hi 374 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. them of his misfortunes, had the privilege of forming a small circle and indulging himself with a rapid ride on a fine horse each morning at the period alluded to. This gentleman [Greenleaf] died in Wash- ington a few years since at a very advanced age. It was quite amus- ing to observe with what skill habit had enabled him to make those swift evolutions within so very limited a space." John Nicholson, Mr. Morris's partner, also became a prisoner. During a portion of the time that he was in confinement he did some- thing toward obtaining a livelihood by the publication of a paper, which he called Tlie Supporter or Daily Repast. He died in the debtors' apartment on the 5 th of December, 1800. It has been rep- resented that he was insane before that time, but his paper, The Sup- porter, was kept up until the time of his death. The uniform bankrupt law of April 4, 1800, which went into effect on the 1st of July of that year, might have been made available im- mediately by Morris and Nicholson, but they seem to have been un- willing to apply promptly for the benefit of that act. Nicholson, as we have said, died in prison, and Morris remained there until the close of 1 80 1. The commission of bankruptcy was issued against Robert Morris July 25 of that year, and John Hallowell, Joseph Hopkinson, and Thomas Cumpston were the commissioners. They proceeded to take proof of the claims against the bankrupt. The amount of debts proved before them, according to their report, was ;^2,948,7i i.i i ; and as Morris was notoriously without property at this time, it is probable that many creditors did not take the trouble to establish their claims. The commissioners certified their proceedings on the 15th of October, 1 80 1, and they reported also that two-thirds of the creditors in num- bers and amount had agreed to the discharge of Mr. Morris. The certificate of bankruptcy was confirmed December 4, 1801. A re- markable circumstance connected with this case is that the assignees never acted. We can suppose that Mr. Morris was so thoroughly divest- ed of all property, real and personal, by the executions against him, that the assignees found that nothing had been assigned. The matter re- mained in that condition for twenty-eight years. In January, 1830, Henry Morris, son of Robert Morris, petitioned the United States District Court at Philadelphia, reciting the fact of the bankrupt cer- tificate and discharge, and that nothing had been done by either the assignees or the creditors. He made prayer that the commission THE HILLS. 375 should be vacated and superseded, and the court granted this petition ; so that, as far as regards the legal condition of the case, it might be argued that Robert Morris never was a bankrupt. Descendants and representatives of the original creditors afterward came into court, endeavoring to hav^e the order to vacate the bankrupt proceedings set aside, but they were unsuccessful. Morris was discharged, and went to live with his family at the house on Twelfth street below Market. In that dwelling he died of a fever on the 7th of May, 1806. And thus ended a life most valuable to the nation in the years of its strength and prosperity, but which was over- clouded with misery at the close. Mr. Morris was married about 1766 to Mary, daughter of Col. Thomas White and sister of Right Rev. William White. They had seven chil- dren. Henry, born July 24, 1784, was elected sheriff of Philadelphia in 1 841, and died very suddenly from disease of the heart before he had been in office a year, in December, 1842. Robert, another son of the bankrupt, was a merchant on his own account after his fath- er's failure, and was engaged at one time in carrying on the business of the Eagle Foundry in Callowhill street near Schuylkill Front. William White, the third son, died during the yellow fever of 1798, aged twen- ty-four years. Charles, a son, was a boy in 1792, and bills for his tuition are among Mr. Morris's accounts. Thomas, one of the sons, was liv- ing at the death of his mother in October, 1824. Hetty, a daughter, married a gentleman named Marshall. Maria was married in 1802 to Henry Nixon. In Mr. Morris's will he gave his gold watch to his son Robert. It had been the property of the latter's grandfather, Robert Morris of Maryland. He gave his gold-headed cane to his son Thomas, and said of it : " The head was given me by John Hancock, Esq., when President of Congress, and the cane was the gift of James Wilson, Esq., whilst a member of Congress." He bequeathed to his son Henry a copying-press which had been presented to him by Sir Robert Herries of London. To his daughter, Mrs. Hetty Marshall, he bequeathed the silver vase or punch-cup which he " imported from London many years ago, and lately repurchased." To his daughter, Mrs. Maria Nixon, he gave a silver boiler, also imported from London, and repurchased : to his friend Gouverneur Morris a telescope bought of a French refugee, and repurchased. These allusions to the repurchase of such small articles show how thoroughly Mr. Morris had been deprived of his 376 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. property by the sheriff, and how in some cases efforts were made to redeem articles the value of which was in association and personal use. With the exception of a few specific legacies, Mr. Morris gave all his property to his wife, with power to dispose of it as she chose. Mrs. Morris died in 1824. The Hills were sold in two parcels of ground by the sheriff at the suit of the Pennsylvania Insurance Company in March of 1799. The southern portion was bought by Henry Pratt. Mr. Pratt was a happy example of the truth that plodding business capacity is better than genius. He was a son of Matthew Pratt, an artist, somewhat re- nowned as a painter before the commencement of the present cen- tury and afterward. His talent in that line was very respectable, as appears from specimens of his skill, some of which are still preserved. But the arts during his life were at a low ebb. He was painting por- traits as early as 1759, and American artists were compelled for exist- ence to rely upon their skill in painting signs for taverns and shops. Nearly every shop in Philadelphia before the Revolution had its par- ticular sign. Some of Pratt's tavern-signs were famous. That of the Convention of 1787 to frame the Federal Constitution was very popu- lar, on account of the style, the fidelity, and accuracy of the portraits. It was painted and admired long before Trumbull commenced his picture of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, which was ordered by Congress in 18 16, although the heads which that famous picture contains were painted by Trumbull in 1787-89. Pratt was, however, something more than a mere sign-painter. When he was in Ireland in 1770 he painted a full-length portrait of Rev. Arch- deacon Mann, and the picture was exhibited with great approbation in the collection of the Dublin Society of Artists. He painted a kit- cat portrait of Governor James Hamilton, of which a copy is in pos- session of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Henry Pratt was brought up to mercantile business, and commenced as a dealer in china and crockery, from which merchandise he changed to an in- terest in the sale of groceries. He finally became a shipping-mer- chant, made money fast, and became rich. The purchase of The Hills was possibly nothing more than an investment. Mr. Pratt's city residence was in a substantial old-fashioned double house on the west side of Front street above Race. In the earlier part of his life he probably made The Hills, to which he gave the name of " Lemon THE HILLS. 2>77 Hill," his country-seat. The old mansion-house of Robert Morris was torn down, and in its place was erected something more exten- sive and attractive. In the latter portion of his life Mr. Pratt rarely visited Lemon Hill. It was something like a show-place, and was very famous in the gossip of Philadelphia on account of its natural and artificial beauties. The grounds were kept strictly secluded ex- cept to the favored few who received the privilege of visiting it, and although it was a place much talked of, it was very little known. Report was therefore very liberal in praise of the gardens, the rare character of the flowers, the beauty of the parterres, the novelty of 5f ^ Lemon Hii.i,, Fairmount Park. the fish-pond, and many other important particulars, the recital of which was sufficient to show that Lemon Hill was a little nearer Paradise than any other place in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. Howitt, an English traveller who was in Philadelphia in 1819, has this entry in his diary: "6th Mo. 29. Visited Lemon Hill, the seat of J. Pratt, Esq. The gardens of this gentleman are finely situated, and laid out with superior taste — a little paradise. It is one of the grand resorts of fashionable company in summer. These obtain ad- mission by a ticket from the proprietor or his select friends — none without — and yet they are most crowded in fine weather." The 3/8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who was in Philadelphia in 1825, describes Pratt's garden, and says : " It is situated upon a rocky peninsula, formed by the Schuylkill, immediately above the Waterworks. The soil consists mostly of quartz and clay. The owner seldom comes there, and this is easy to be perceived, for instead of handsome grass- plots you see potatoes and turnips planted in the garden. The trees, however, are very handsome, mostly chestnut, and some hickory. I also observed particularly two large and strong tulip trees ; the cir- cumference of one was fifteen feet. In the hothouses was a fine collection of orange trees and a handsome collection of exotic plants ; some of the order Euphorbia from South America; also a few palm trees. The gardener, an Englishman by birth, seemed to be well ac- quainted with his plants. Through a hydraulic machine the water is brought up from the river into several basins, and thence forced into the hothouses. There was also in the garden a mineral spring of a ferruginous quality." The following extract from the Republican Court speaks of the estate thus: "Lemon Hill was laid out by Mr. Morris, who built a very large house upon it, with approaches from the rear, the principal front looking down upon the Schuylkill. It was ornamented with extensive greenhouses and a fish-pond stocked with gold-fish. It was from the breaking of the bank of this pond, and the escape into the Schuylkill of the finny tribe which inhabited it, that gold-fish have since been so frequently found in this river, and that we often hear it announced by their captors that the gold-fish is a native of Pennsylvania waters. It is a denizen, but not a native." In 1830 a committee appointed by the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania to visit the nurseries and gardens in the vicinity, speak- ing of Lemon Hill, said : " This beautiful garden, so creditable to the owner, and even to the city of Philadelphia, is kept in perfect order at a great expense. Few strangers omit paying it a visit — a gratifica- tion which is afforded to them in the most liberal manner by the pro- prietor. Nor can any person of taste contemplate the various charms of this highly-improved spot without being in rapture with the loveli- ness of Nature everywhere around him, so chastely adorned by the hand of man. Undoubtedly, this is the best kept garden in Penn- sylvania, and when associated with the green- and hothouse depart- ment, may be pronounced unrivalled in the Union. The gravel- THE HILLS. 379 walks, espaliers, plants, shrubs, inounds, and grass-plats are dressed periodically and minutely There are some pretty bowers, sum- mer-houses, grottoes, and fish-ponds in this garden, the latter well stored with gold- and silver-fish. The mansion-house is capacious and modern, and the prospects on all sides extremely beautiful. In landscape gardening water and wood arc indispensable for picturesque effect; and here they are found distributed in just proportions, with hill and lawn and buildings of ar- chitectural beauty. The whole scene is cheerfully animated by the brisk com- merce of the river and constant move- ment in the busy neighborhood of Fair- mount." At this time Lemon Hill was a marvel of horticul- tural beauty. Rare flowers, native and exotic, were in the collection. The owner illustrated commercial horticulture, as b e- came a shipping-mer- chant, and among his curiosities were tea- plants, coffee trees, sugar-canes, pepper trees, and a " full line," as his clerk might have said, of orange, citron, shaddock, bergamot, pome- granate, fig trees, etc. etc. His range of greenhouses was sixteen by two hundred and twenty feet, and at that time was said to be " the finest range of glass for the preservation of plants on this conti- nent." Mr. Pratt died February 6, 1838, in the seventy-seventh year of his East Terrace, Lemon Hill. 38o HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. age. Lemon Hill after that was in the market, and it was bought by the Bank of the United States. When that institution became insol- vent, this property had to be disposed of, and there was difficulty in obtaining a purchaser at a price which was deemed necessary in order to ensure as large a dividend as possible to the creditors. If it had been brought under the auctioneer's hammer, there would have been a great sacrifice. Some tact was therefore required to negotiate a sale, and this was probably at the bottom of a movement which com- menced in 1843 to induce the city of Philadelphia to purchase the property. It was easy enough to do this, the preservation of the purity of the Schuylkill water being the pretext. The matter was suggested as proper to be considered upon the doctrine that the pos- session by the city of the Lemon Hill estate " may prove the means of more effectually protecting the basin at Fairmount from the intro- duction of substances more or less prejudicial to the community." Twenty-seven petitions, signed by two thousand four hundred and forty-three citizens, were sent to Councils, asking that the acquisition should be made. The College of Physicians sent a memorial recom- mending the purchase. In a pecuniary point of view there was a great bargain. The trustees of the Bank of the United States had bought the property for ^225,000, and expected to sell it for ^250,000. But so depressing was the effect of the failure of that institution upon the community, and so thoroughly did it destroy the spirit of specula- tion, that the city might be said to have been in the position to buy the property at its own price. The trustees of the bank wanted ;^ 130,000, but the city bought the whole tract of fifty-two acres, exclusive of roads, for ^75,000, which was settled for in a five per cent. loan. The conveyance was made on the 24th of July, 1844. The property re- mained without being put to any special use until the i8th of Sep- tember, 1855, when the Lemon Hill estate was dedicated as a pub- lic park, being separated from Fairmount at the time by Coates street and Landing avenue. This was the commencement of our present Fairmount Park. The acquisition was extended by the an- nexation of Sedgely in 1856, the purchase of the Lansdowne estate in 1866, and the extension of the Park by virtue of an act of As- sembly in 1867, not forgetting the gift of Jesse George and his sister of that fine portion of the Park now known as George's Hill. BELMONT. 'T is reasonable to suppose that Rev. Dr. Richard Peters was the first of the family who came to Pennsylvania. The let- ter of James Logan to the proprietary, written 1735, con- ^ cerning this appearance in Philadelphia at that time, speaks of him as if he were an entire stranger and without friends or connections in the Province. William Peters, brother of Rev. Richard, it is presumed, came after the latter had been settled suf- ficiently long in the Province to obtain a proper idea of the country and to recommend it as a place of emigration. The first that we know of William Peters is connected with his purchase of a tract of land containing two hundred and twenty acres, situate in Blockley township on the west bank of the river Schuylkill, above the piece of property which in later days became known as Lansdowne. This piece of ground was bought by William Peters, brother of Rev. Rich- ard Peters, from Ruth Jones, widow of Daniel Jones, by deed of 21st of July, 1742. F'urther assurances were obtained from the heirs of Daniel Jones and from his widow as Mrs. Ruth Couch, she having married a second time. Upon this property William Peters erected a small house of stone fronting the Schuylkill, with a bay at the southern end. It was probably finished in 1743, from the fact, as we are told by Samuel Breck, that Richard Peters, the son of William, afterward famous as a patriot, and particularly as a Judge of the U. S. District Court in Pennsylvania, was born in that house in June, 1744. Bel- mont, which was the name given to the house and estate by Mr. Peters, 382 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. was beautifully situate. It embraced an island in the Schuylkill River, afterward known as Peters's Island, and ran from the western bank out beyond the New Ford road, known in later times as the Monument road. The property in after years was bounded on the south by Lansdowne and a part of the George's Hill property, and on the north by Johnson's property at Mount Prospect, known in Park times as Chamounix. Access to Belmont was obtained by a road leading from the Lancaster road, between Rising Sun and the Columbus Tav- ern. This highway led northward through Lansdowne to the upper part of the Lansdowne line, and thence north-eastwardly to the Bel- mont mansion, and may be said to be nearly on the line of the present Belmont avenue. The main road connected with the New Ford road, somewhat crooked in its route, but leading nearly north. The New Ford road was intersected at the upper line of Belmont by a road lead- ing from the Schuylkill, which was called Peters's road. In 1801 this property consisted of two hundred and eighty-two acres, and ran nearly over to George's Hill. The Monument road, which was truly the Ford road, received its title some time after Belmont mansion was built, from the fact of the existence of a monument on the west side of the high- way. It was some distance above the intersection of the private lane leading to the Belmont mansion, and west by north of the house. It was about twenty-five feet high, in the shape of an obelisk, the pedes- tal and base at least eight feet high, and the shaft rising above it. It was constructed entirely of common building-stone, such as is used in walling cellars, which had been put together with mortar with great care, and apparently rough-cast on the outside. This monument was a curiosity and mystery half a century ago. It was supposed to be very old and that it went back in its history before the Revolution. Some said that it was a memorial, and erected by one of the members of the Peters family in pursuance of a vow made at sea during a terrible storm, promising if life was preserved that a token should be erected to signify gratitude for the goodness of Providence in vouchsafing de- liverance. Others said that the monument was built over the grave of some person buried there. The most sensible guess was that the obelisk was erected to close out a view looking north-west from Bel- mont through a fine avenue of trees. This was the fact. It closed out a vista from the house which had many features of rural beauty. The property at Belmont was conveyed by William Peters and wife to BELMONT. 383 their son, Richard Peters, in 1786. They were then hving in England, to which country it is beheved they had retired upon the commence- ment of the troubles between the mother-country and the Colonies. Mr. Peters describes himself in the deed as " now or late of Belmont in the township of Blockley, but now residing at Knotsford in the kingdom of Great Britain." The conveyance recites the title and own- ership of Belmont, " which is in tenure of the said Richard with the consent of the said William." The consideration which the father and mother name for the execution of this conveyance is the " natural love and affection thev have for and bear toward their said son, and Belmont Man N THE Oldkn Time. in recompense for the long and dutiful and faithful service rendered by their said son in the conduct and management of the estate and affairs of him the said William for the period of nineteen years past ; with the intent also that the said family-seat should remain in the fam- ily and name of him the said William Peters, and also in consideration of the sum of £^2^ x^s. gd." By this deed was conveyed Belmont, two hundred and twenty acres or thereabout, a small island in the river Schuylkill of about two acres, two tracts adjoining Belmont — one of ten and the other of twenty acres — and a tract of twenty-two acres originally given by Rev. Richard Peters to his brother William. The witnesses to the deed seem to have been seafaring men — Isaac Davis 384 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and Charles Gillespy of the Henrietta, and James Clements Huxley of the brig John. Davis and Gillespy proved their signatures and that of Mr. Peters at Philadelphia in May, 1786. When the large mansion on the north, adjoining the original house, was built, whether by Wil- liam Peters or Richard Peters, is not definitely known. Keyser says {Fairmount Pai'k) : " Its principal characteristics are a broad hall and small dormitories, small window-glass and heavy sashes, highly orna- mented and high wooden mantel-pieces, a comfortable dining-room, and open fire-places. One of these in the hall is still used ; the panel over it formerly held a landscape ; the coat-of-arms of the family re- mains perfect on the ceiling. Other ornamental devices about the mansion are recognizable as belonging to that early period. The roof has been raised ; the third story and piazza are modern. A library which adjoined the main house has also been removed since the judge's time. The date of the erection of the main outbuilding is fixed by a monogram, ' T. W. P., 1745,' cut on a slab set in the wall." The plaster ornaments of the ceiling of the main hall are in high re- lief, representing musical instruments of various kinds, executed in a style superior to that of the ordinary plastering of the last century. They must have been the work of an artist. Surrounding Belmont were some of the finest trees in America. Some of them were ninety feet high. Downing, the landscape-gardener, said that the avenue of hemlocks at Belmont was the grandest in the country. Chastellux in 1780 described Belmont as a "tasty little box in the most charming spot Nature could embellish." After the death of Judge Peters, Belmont remained in possession of the family. The quiet serenity of the place was invaded in 1832, when the railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia was laid out. The tracks were brought on the east side of the Schuylkill to a point a little south of Mount Pleasant, where a bridge was built across the Schuylkill. The landing was upon the Peters property. A steep inclined plane led to the brow of the hill, and reached a level scarce one hundred feet from Belmont Mansion. There was a stationary engine, boiler-house and sheds, and innumerable tracks, and great bustle and noise continually prevailed, so that as a place of residence Belmont was not attractive. During many years succeeding the property remained in this condition. After the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company bought the Columbia Railroad from the State of BELMONT. 385 Pennsylvania, a new route was laid out, intended to bring the tracks over Market street bridge, and the Belmont route was abandoned. The Reading Railroad became possessed of the bridge, and their cars thundered away along the bank of the river. No particular history attached to Belmont after Judge Peters's death until the en- largement of Fairmount Park in 1867, when this property, together with the adjoining estates of Lansdowne, Prospect Hill, Sweet Brier, and Egglesfield, came into the possession of the city of Philadelphia. Belmont has been a Park restaurant from that time, and various changes have been made. A portico was placed around three sides of the principal building. A banqueting-hall was erected on the grounds west of the house. In 1876 an addition was made on the south front extending from the most ancient of the Belmont houses, part of which was demolished, westward to the pavilion, which was united with it. These changes have well served the purposes of the keeper of the restaurant, but they have altered materially the interesting, old-time appearance of the mansion — an improvement to be defended neither on the ground of necessity nor of good taste. Rev. Richard Peters is represented to have been a man of wealth, and William Peters, who purchased Belmont estate, was also possessed of means. William Peters held some public positions after he came to Pennsylvania. In 1755 he seems to have been acting as secretary of the Provincial Council, probably in consequence of absence or sickness of his brother. In 1756 he was military secretary to Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Robert Hunter Morris, and in that capacity executed also the or- ders of the Provincial Council. In 1757, in company with Jacob Duche, he accompanied Governor Denny to the Indian treaty at Easton, and made a memorandum in reference to the conduct of the leading Quakers at that conference, they being intent on carrying out the policy of interference, as it was thought, with the projects of the Provincial government, the suspicion being that the Quakers were exercising their influence to prevent any treaty. How the Quakers and the Indians acted is thus very quaintly told by Peters and Duche in their statement : "That very early of y^ Treaty, & after we had observed y*" Q'^ so very busy amongst y*" Indians, by y® Q'^ & Comiss" [for y** Gov" or anybody else, but y" Q" & y^ Junto of Ass^men & Comiss""", who were not of the Gov'^ Council, were permitted to have anything 25 386 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. to do w*^'' y® Goods intended for y^ Presents] we perceived a very re- markable distinction made by y*" Indians between Q"* and y** Gent" cf y^ Gov"* Council, and others who appeared in his Retinue, or whom they understood not to be of y^ Q^ Pty : For when we us'd to meet Indians anywhere in y*" streets, or in our evening Walks after Business, they would generally accost us w"' this question in their broken Eng- lish — Are you a Quaker — and if we answr'd No, they wou'd frown and look very stern and ill-natur'd upon us, and say we were bad man — bad man — Gov" man ; But if we answered in y*" affirmative (as we did sometimes to try them) y* we were Q", they would smile & caress us & call us Bro", & say we were good Men — Quaker good men — Gov'* men bad men — good for nothing." In February, 1758, William Peters was appointed secretary and clerk of Council in the absence of his brother, who had gone to New York. Dedimus potestatem was issued to him and Richard Peters by Governor James Hamilton in February, 1761, to administer the oaths of office and allegiance and supremacy to all officers, civil and military, within the city. Richard Peters, son of William, studied in the College of Philadel- phia, and graduated in the class of 1761. He was a good Latin and Greek scholar, and possessed a knowledge of French and German. In due time he studied law, and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar. Through his connection with his uncle, Rev. Richard Peters, who dis- charged the duties of secretary of the Land Office in addition to those of secretary of Council, he became acquainted with land-titles — a special knowledge which was frequently of great value to him pro- fessionally, and aided him in an important branch of practice. At the commencement of the Revolutionary war the relations of Mr. Peters w^ere such as ought to have carried him over to the side of the Crown. His uncle Richard, by his long association with the Colonial govern- ment, and according to the general feeling of Churchmen, must have inclined to the side of the English government. His name is the first signed of those of the Pennsylvania clergymen in a letter to the Lord Bishop of London, June 30, 1775, after the Revolutionary war had actually commenced, in which they represent the necessity that the Church has been called upon to meet in consequence of the proceed- ings of the Continental Congress recommending fasting, prayer, and humiliation through all the colonies. Reference is made to the ser- BELMONT. 387 mon of Dr. William Smith, June 17, and of the intended sermon of Mr. Duche on the 7th of July to the Associators, and of the necessity of preaching upon the fast-day named by Congress. Mr. Peters and his brethren say : " Upon this fair and candid state of things we hope Your Lordship will think our conduct is such as became us ; and we pray that we may be considered as among His Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects in this and every other transaction of our lives." Passing on to a declaration that the Church cannot take the lead in the affairs of the country, and that such attempt would be injurious to the Church, the memorialists say that they have some interest and sympathy with the American cause. " Indeed, could it possibly be required, we are not backward to say that our consciences would not permit us to injure the rights of this country. We are to leave our families in it, and cannot but consider its inhabitants entitled, as well as their brethren in England, to the right of granting their own money, and that every attempt to deprive them of this right will either be found abortive in the end, or attended with evils which would infinitely outweigh all the benefit to be obtained by it." William Peters, the father, is represented to have been opposed to the war of the Revolution and in favor of the mother-country, but he took no active part in public affairs, and thus escaped much censure. Richard Peters, his son, arrayed himself on the side of the Colonies, and became an Associator. He was elected captain of a company. In January, 1776, the Committee of Safety authorized Major Samuel Meredith and Captain Richard Peters to carry out a contract for a thousand firelocks and bayonets. In April, Captain Peters was em- powered to make a contract with a person who understood the art of boring and grinding gun-barrels to make his knowledge public. He was captain of the detachment of militia left in July, 1776, to guard the city — a command beyond his rank, so that he was relieved of that duty the next day. He was soon called from this duty, and became secretary of the Board of War, acting under authority of a resolution of Congress passed June 12, 1776. John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Harrison, James Wilson, and Edward Rutledge, membei's of Congress, were the commissioners, and Richard Peters was secre- tary. In November, 1777, a new Board was organized, which was composed of General Thomas Mifflin, Colonel Timothy Pickering, General Horatio Gates, Colonel Joseph Trumbull, and Richard Peters. 388 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. A reorganization took place in October, 1778. Under the Confedera- tion, in February, 1781, Richard Peters was elected Secretary of War of the United States, and held that office until the 30th of October of the same year, when he resigned and was succeeded by General Lincoln. In November, 1782, he was elected member of Congress for the Confederation, and held that office for one year. In 1785 he visited England, and was so successful there in representing the condi- tion of the American congregations of the Church of England to the primates and prelates of the English Church that he secured their assent to the ordination of American bishops and the apostolic suc- cession of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Under this arrangement Messrs. Samuel Provoost and William White were ordained bishops at Lambeth in 1787. Mr. Peters was member of the Assembly for the county of Philadelphia 1787-90, and during the last two terms the Speaker of the House. After the organization of the Federal government, Washington was called upon to make appointments for the judges of the District Courts of the United States, and he gave the commission of judge of the United States District Court of Pennsylvania to Francis Hopkinson, who was then judge of the State Court of Admiralty. Judge Hopkinson died on the 9th of May, 1 79 1, and was succeeded by William Lewis, who held the position a short time. Richard Peters was then selected to hold the office, and his commission was dated April 12, 1792. He remained on the bench to the time of his death, filling his office with great dignity and learning, to the satisfaction of the bar and of the community. As district judge he followed as far as Pittsburg the army which marched to suppress the Whiskey Insurrection, with a willingness to discharge his judicial duties in regard to such persons as should be brought before him. During his service in the District Court he sat in Circuit Court with judges of the United States Supreme Court, including Justices William Patterson, James Iredell, Samuel Chase, James Wilson, and Bushrod Washington. He was upon the bench during the trials of Henfield in 1793 for illegally enlisting in a French privateer, Guinet in 1795 for fitting out and arming a French vessel, trial of the Western insurgents (Whiskey War) 1795, Villatti in 1797 for enlisting in a French privateer, the Northampton insurgents (Hot- Water War) 1799-1800, and the trial of Thomas Cooper for sedition and libel in 1800. BELMONT. 389 The Revolutionary experiences of Mr. Peters were varied and event- ful. Anecdotes of the times that tried men's souls were frequently related by him in after years. Mr. Breck has preserved the following, which he took down in writing from Mr. Peters's own statement in 1823: "I was Commissioner of War," he said, "in 1779. General Washington wrote to me that all his powder was wet, and that he was entirely without lead or balls ; so that should the enemy ap- proach him he must retreat. When I received this letter I was going to a grand gala at the Spanish ambassador's, who lived in Mr. Chew's fine house in South Third street. The spacious gardens were superbly decorated with variegated lamps ; the edifice itself was a blaze of light; the show was splendid; but my feelings were far from being in harmony with all this brilliancy. I met at this party my friend Robert Morris, who soon discovered the state of my mind. ' You are not yourself to night, Peters : what's the matter ?' asked Morris. Notwithstanding my unlimited confidence in that great pa- triot, it was some time before I could prevail upon myself to disclose the cause of my depression ; but at length I ventured to give him a hint of my inability to answer the pressing calls of the commander- in-chief: * The army is without lead, and I know not where to get an ounce to supply it ; the general must retreat for want of ammuni- tion.' ' Well, let him retreat,' replied the high and liberal-minded Morris ; ' but cheer up ; there are in the Holker privateer, just ar- rived, ninety tons of lead, one-half of which is mine, and at your service; the residue you can get by applying to Blair McClenachan and Holker, both of whom are in the house with us.' I accepted the offer from Mr. Morris," said Mr. Commissioner Peters, "with many thanks, and addressed myself immediately to the two gentle- men who owned the other half for their consent to sell; but they had already trusted a large amount of clothing to the Continental Congress, and were unwilling to give that body any further credit. I informed Mr. Morris of their refusal. 'Tell them,' said he, 'that I will pay them for their share.' This settled the business ; the lead was delivered. I set three or four hundred men to work, who manufactured it into cartridge bullets for Washington's army, to which it gave complete relief" Mr. Breck remarks : " The sequel of this anecdote shows that the supply was entirely accidental. The Holker privateer was at Martinico. preparing to return home, when 390 HISTOJ^IC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. her captain, Matthew Lawler, had this lead offered to him for ballast. Uncertain, however, whether the market would not be overstocked by arrivals from Europe, he at first rejected it ; but after some per- suasion received it on board. What thanks do we not owe to such men !" Another anecdote, which shows the financial difficulties which attended the operation of the armies, is given by Lossing : " It is related that when Washington received the letter from De Grasse, in July, 1 78 1, declining to bring the French fleet from the West Indies to co-operate with Washington and Rochambeau in a combined attack against the British at New York, Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance, and Richard Peters, the secretary of the Board of War, were at the head-quarters of the general in the Livingston House (near Dobb's Ferry on the Hudson River). Washington was bitterly disappointed, for he saw no fair hope of success without the aid of a fleet. The cloud upon his brow was but for a moment. He instantly conceived the expedition to Virginia, and, turning to Judge Peters, asked, ' What can you do for me ?' ' With money, everything ; without it, nothing,' was his brief reply, at the same time turning an anxious look toward Morris. ' Let me know the sum you desire,' said the patriot financier, comprehending the expression of his eye. Before noon Washington completed his estimates, and arrangements were made with Morris for the funds. Twenty thousand hard dollars were loaned from Count de Rochambeau, which Mr. Morris agreed to replace by the ist of October. The arrival of Colonel Laurens from France on the 25th of August with two millions and a half of livres, a part of a dona- tion of six millions by Louis XVI. to the United States, enabled the Superintendent of Finance to fulfil his engagement without difficulty." After his elevation to the bench Judge Peters took great interest in matters of local improvement. He was an active promoter of the plan for the construction of a permanent bridge over the Schuylkill at Market street. He was president of the bridge company, and earnest in that work. The Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, instituted February ii, 1785, found in him a most valuable member. He was one of the twenty-three gentlemen who were founders of that society. Samuel Powel was the first president. In the early history of the association Mr. Peters does not seem to have been active, his name being hardly recorded on the minutes. In 1793 the society BELMONT. 391 ceased to meet, and for twelve years its operations were entirely suspended. The members came together again in 1805 and reor- ganized the society, Judge Peters being elected president and George Clymer vice-president. New members were elected, and from that time the association has been regular in its meetings. President Peters presented in 1805 a paper on hoven cattle, upon the planting of peach and other fruit trees, and subsequently on other subjects. In 1797 was published his treatise on the effects of gypsum in the cultivation of clover and other natural grasses. The discovery of the stimulating effects of plaster of Paris, as it was then called, had been made in Germany, and Judge Peters, having obtained a small quantity of it, used it successfully and advocated its employment by others. His publications and example were of so much importance that be- fore the discovery of the fossil in the United States the importations of gypsum in Philadelphia alone were equal to fourteen thousand tons annually. Judge Peters was socially most entertaining and agreeable. His wit was unrivalled. " The playfulness of his conversation," says Breck, "always enlivened by flashes of the gayest pleasantry, was for ever quick and unrestrained, and varied by casts of true humor, sometimes as broad and well enacted as the most exaggerated farce, and at others convolved in double meaning, fitted only for the ready perception of the most practised ear and polished taste." . . . . " Unceremonious, communicative, friendly." He talked with fluency mere pun, mere joke and frolic. He needed no artificial aid where Nature had been so liberal, and with his goblet of water would, as he playfully said, " drink like a fish." In his youth he accompanied his uncle to the conference with the Indians at Fort Stanwix in the Province of New York in the year 1756. Here his light-hearted jests and sportive be- havior attracted the attention of the red men. He was adopted into one of the tribes, and received the name of Tegohtias, or Talking Bird. He had a fine voice and was a good singer, and was frequently called upon to exercise his accomplishment even in his old age. Frequently he wrote the words of the song which he sung to suit some passing occasion. Some of his contemporaries, who in social intercourse enjoyed his wit, have endeavored to give permanent record to his pleasantries, with indifferent success. 392 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. " A jest's prosperity lies in the ear Of him that hears it; never in the tongue Of him that makes it." Facetiae are usually dull reading. It is the occasion, the tone, the manner, and the appreciation of those who hear, which ensure the fortune of a good joke. Some of the anecdotes of Judge Peters seem very dull in formal print. He is said to have been a capital punster, but he was also possessed of a fund of humor. Of this character was his remark at an agricultural dinner in 1823, when a gentleman, .speak- ing of the enormous price of whiskey, said that he was " certain that its cost would not change the habits of tipplers." " I beg your par- don," replied the judge. " It will completely change their habits, for they will swap their clothes for it when their money is out." During the La Fayette reception in 1824 a young military orator, addressing the general, said, " Sir, although we were not born to partake of your Revolutionary hardships, yet we mean, should our country be attacked, to tread in the sliocs of our brave forefathers." " No, no," cried the judge, " that you never can do, because your fathers fought bare- footed." During the reception of La Fayette in Philadelphia the judge rode in the same carriage with the distinguished guest. Their particu- lar escort was composed of cavalry ; the roads were dry, and the oc- cupants of the carriage were much annoyed by the dust raised by the horses. " Ah," said the judge, " most of these horsemen are lawyers, and they are always throwing dust in my eyes." " On some occasion," says a compiler of the jests of Judge Peters, " a very fat man and a very slim man stood at the entrance of a door into which the judge wished to pass. He stopped a moment for them to make way, but perceiving that they were not inclined to move, and being urged by the master of the house to come in, he pushed on between them, ex- claiming, " Here I go, then, through thick and thin !" These are sufficient to show that the contemporaries of Judge Peters considered him ready and always pleasant, and they also show that there is a great difference between hearing a joke and telling it. William Peters, the father of Judge Richard Peters, was son of Ralph Peters, at one time town-clerk of Liverpool. There were three sons — Ralph, William, and Richard, the latter afterward the clergy- man. After William, son of Ralph, came to this country, he was mar- ried at Trinity Church, Oxford. His wife was Mary Breintnall. They BELMONT. 393 had four children — William, Richard, Mary, and Thomas. Richard Peters, afterward the judge, was married August 22, 1776, at Christ Church to Sarah Robinson. His wife died December 27, 1804. They had four children — Ralph, Richard, Sarah, and Maria Wilhelmina. Richard was born in August, 1780, and married, March 1, 1804, Abi- gail Willing, daughter of Thomas Willing. His wife died October 29, 1 84 1, aged sixty-four years. Her husband survived her until May 2, 1848. They had four children — Nancy Bingham, still living; Eliza, who married John W. Field ; Francis, who married a daughter of Col- onel Samuel W. Miller; he died suddenly a few years ago. Maria W. Peters, daughter of Judge Peters, was married in January, 1802, by Bishop White, to William Shippen Willing, son of Thomas Willing and brother of her brother's wife. Ralph, son of the judge, settled in a Southern state, and has descendants living there. Sarah, daugh- ter of Judge Peters, died unmarried. Richard Peters, the son of Judge Peters, succeeded Henry Wheaton as reporter of the decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Judge Peters enriched legal literature by reports of the admiralty de- cisions of the United States District Court of Pennsylvania between 1780 and 1807. The son published reports of the United States Circuit, Supreme Court, and other courts between 1803 and 1855. During the lifetime of Judge Peters, Belmont was a scene of elegant hospitality. The principal statesmen of the Revolutionary time and of the period while the Federal government was in Philadelphia were fre- quent visitors. Washington notes in his diary several visits to Belmont. Breck says : " When a morning of leisure permitted that great man to drive to Belmont, the birthplace and country-residence of Judge Peters, it was his constant habit so to do. There, sequestered from the world, the torments and cares of business, Washington would enjoy a vivacious, rec- reative, and wholly unceremonious intercourse with the judge, walking for hours, side by side, in the beautiful gardens of Belmont, beneath the dark shade of lofty hemlocks placed there by his ancestors a century ago. In these romantic grounds stood a chestnut tree reared from a Spanish nut planted by the hand of Washington. Large, healthy, and fruitful, it was cherished at Belmont as a precious evidence of the intimacy that subsisted between those distinguished men." Officers of distinction during the Revolution were frequently there. Judge Peters's long connection with the army made him personally ac- 394 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. quainted with the most eminent characters. Steuben was among his guests. La Fayette, when he visited America in 1824, went back to visit the scenes of early enjoyment. John Quincy Adams tells of a dinner there on the 3d of October, 1824, at which he was present with La Fayette and his son, George Washington La Fayette, Mr. Samuel Breck, Mr. Forsythe of Georgia, and some others. He said : " Judge Peters showed us in his garden a Spanish chestnut tree, the nut of which was planted by General Washington just before his retirement from the Presidency Miss Peters, the judge's daughter, who keeps his house, was the only lady present. It was a cheering time. Judge Peters is upward of fourscore years of age, in sound, healthy, good spirits, and of conversation sparkling with wit and humor." Dur- ing this visit La Fayette planted a white walnut. These trees grew and flourished for many years. During the latter part of the last century many eminent foreigners visited Philadelphia. Among them may be mentioned Conrad Alex- ander Gerard, first ambassador to the United States from France, the French consul-general Holker, and the full ministers Barbe de Mar- bois, the Chevalier de la Luzerne, citizens Edmund Charles Genet, Fauchet, Adet, Don Juan de Merailles, Don Joseph de Viar, Don Joseph de Jaudennes ; Don Carlos Martinez, Marquis de Yrujo, who married Sally, daughter of Chief-Justice McKean. Portugal was rep- resented by the minister-resident. Chevalier de Freire ; Netherlands by Francis P. van Berckel and R. G. van Polanen. Great Britain sent Sir John Temple as consul-general, and afterward George Hammond as minister. While here the latter courted and married one of the daughters of Andrew Allen. Robert Liston succeeded him. Among the distinguished travellers were Francis Jean, Marquis de Chastellux, member of the French Academy ; Jean Pierre Brissot de Warville, who went back to France to take part in the Revolution, to become a leader of the Girondists, and to end his life under the guillotine. Francois Auguste, Comte de Chateaubriand, author and statesman, driven out of France by the Revolution in 1791, was here in that year and the suc- ceeding ; Charles Maurice, Prince de Talleyrand-Perigord, Bishop of Autun, diplomatist and statesman, also driven out of France ; the Duke de la Rochefoucault-Liancourt came in 1794 and remained five months, and went back to France to write a great work in eight volumes to de- scribe his residence in the United States ; Constantine Frangois Chasse- BELMONT. 395 boeuf, Count cle Volney, poet, author, and free-thinker, came in 1795 ; and Louis Philippe de Orleans, afterward king of France, was a resident of Philadelphia between 1796 and 1799, and was joined by his younger brothers, the Duke de Montpensier and the Count de Beau- jolais ; the Vicomte Louis Marie de Noailles, brother-in-law of La Fayette, was a sojourner and man of business. William Bingham allowed him the use of a building on the rear end of his garden at Fourth street for a lodging-place. He became a trader and a specu- lator. Samuel Breck said of him : " His form was perfect ; a fine face ; tall, graceful, the first amateur dancer of the age, and possessed of very pleasing manners, he was a general favorite. He had secured a small fragment of his fortune when the Revolution made a wreck of every one's property, with which he became a trader and speculator. It was amusing to see the spirit with which he embraced this new avocation, so foreign from the pursuits of his former life, whether considered as a military man or a courtier. Every day, at the coffee-house or ex- change where merchants met, that ex-nobleman was the busiest of the busy, holding his bank-book in one hand and a broker or merchant by the button with the other, while he drove his bargains as earnestly as any regular-bred son of a counting-house." Thaddeus Kosciusko, the Polish patriot ; Dr. Joseph Priestley, man of science, scholar, and philosopher ; and Dr. Thomas Cooper, natural philosopher and chem- ist, were among us. It may be supposed that the most of these, if not all of them, enjoyed the hospitality of Belmont, which was always free and pressing. With the foreign visitors were mingled officers of the Federal government — secretaries. Senators, members of Con- gress — as well as the most distinguished persons in home society. A bounteous entertainment, a warm reception, and a feast of good humor, sense, and philosophy always prevailed, so that to those who enjoyed the privilege the visits to Belmont were most delightful. THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. N the Junto established by Benjamin FrankHn and ten oth- ^^^(S ers in 1728-29 originated several important enterprises ^ '^l^ B which were beneficial to Philadelphia. In this source we TC may find, by the nature of the discussions among the ^•J- members and essays written by them, hints from which O in future action followed important results. The Ameri- can Philosophical Society, the Philadelphia Library, fire companies for the preservation of property, and the Pennsylvania Hospital were suggested and promoted by the members of this Leather-Apron Club. The Philadelphia Library grew out of an at- tempt by the members of the Junto to establish a library of their own, and the partial failure of the plan. A small collection of books loaned by the members was kept at their place of meeting in the house of Robert Grace in Jones's alley for about a year, when, in consequence of some books being injured, the owners became dissat- isfied and took them home. The breaking up of this collection put Franklin upon the plan of establishing a public library, and with the singular good sense which he possessed he thought that it should be established upon the plan of lending books to the members — an advantage unknown in the old libraries of Europe, to which the scholar was expected to repair and consult the volumes which he needed. A public library was, in fact, useless except to those who had time to spend in its halls. Franklin's plan was to popularize the library, to make it a source of general instruction and education, by carrying its books into the bosom of private families. There has THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 39/ been no improvement in general education of more importance than this, and, so far as known, the Philadelphia Library was the first lending library in the world. The measures necessary to the estab- lishment of this institution were the work of time. The foundation was not magnificent. Fifty subscribers at forty shillings each, who were willing to pay thereafter ten shillings a year during fifty years, which Franklin fixed as the limit of the existence of the company, were all that was needed. It took some time to obtain the subscrip- tions, and care was necessary in the preparation of the plan of sub- scription. The deed or instrument of association was dated July i, 1 73 1, and in November the subscription was completed as far as the procuration of names. But obtaining the money on the subscription was another thing, so that in March, 1732, a little more than one-half of the capital had been paid in ; but with that sum it was determined to send out to England for an invoice of books. And here came in an embarrassing question, " What sort of books shall we get ?" It was considered that amongst the subscribers, including even the members of the Junto — most of whom, if not all, were members of the Library Company — there was not sufficient knowledge of books to enable them to make a judicious selection of works most proper for them to have under the circumstances. So it was determined that a committee should wait upon James Logan, secretary of the Province and friend to Wil- liam Penn, who was judged to be "a gentleman of universal learning and the best judge of books in this part." Thomas Godfrey, the in- ventor of the quadrant, waited upon Logan, who kindly made out a list of books, with estimate of prices, according to the means of the company, which were " ;^45 sterling 65 per cent, advance the current rate." Thomas Hopkinson, who was going to England, carried out the order and sent back the books. Peter Collinson of London, mer- chant, bought them at the most advantageous rates, and contributed toward the collection Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy and Philip Miller's Gardener's Dictionary. The deed or instrument of subscription — constitution we would call it in modern times — was drawn without charge by Charles Brockden, scrivener, who at that time held the oflfice of Recorder of Deeds for the city of Philadelphia. For this favor the company afterward gave Broqkden a share in the library. Under the deed or instrument of association the first directors of the company were named. There 398 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. were ten of them. The Hst was led by Benjamin Frankhn, printer, who was soon to be distinguished in science, and yet later in the history of his country as statesman and ruler over the State of Penn- sylvania. Thomas Hopkinson, an Englishman, was a merchant. He was afterward busily engaged with Franklin in his experiments in electricity, and added very much to the stock of knowledge on that subject which the world then possessed. In 1741 he was common councilman. In 1745 he was appointed judge of admiralty under the king, and held that office until 175 1. He was the father of Francis Hopkinson, lawyer, author, wit, statesman, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and himself a judge of the Court of Admiralty and United States District Court under the State and Federal govern- ments for eleven years, until his death in 1791. A grandson of Judge Thomas Hopkinson and son of Judge Hopkinson in after times succeeded to the hereditary honor. This was Joseph Hopkinson, author of the famous song " Hail, Columbia !" who was judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for thirteen years. William Parsons was a shoemaker by trade, but a man of good sense and mathematical acquirements. He had first studied this science with a view to astrology, which he afterward laughed at. He subsequently became Surveyor-General of Pennsyl- vania. He was common councilman in 1741. Philip Syng, Jr., was a goldsmith, and engraved the first seal for the Library Company. Syng, for his services, was presented with the freedom of the company for two years. Thomas Godfrey, painter and glazier, was the inventor of the quadrant, the honor of which was given by the English to Hadley, who pirated the invention. Anthony Nicholas was among the directors, but except his name nothing is known about him. He was not one of the original members of the Junto, and probably did not belong to it. Thomas Cadwalader, physician, was a son of John Cadwalader, an eminent preacher of the Society of Friends. He was considered skilful in his profession, and was one of the physicians of the Pennsylvania Hospital from the time of its establishment until his death. He became a mem- ber of the Provincial Council in 1755, and remained in that high place of trust until the Revolution. He was father of Gen. John Cadwalader of the Revolution, grandfather of Gen. Thomas Cadwalader of the war of 18 1 2, and great-grandfather of Gen. George Cadwalader of the war THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 399 with Mexico and the war of the rebelHon, and of John Cadwalader, who was appointed judge of the United States Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1858. John Jones, Jr., leaves nothing but his name. Robert Grace is described by Franklin as " a young gentle- man of some fortune, generous, lively, and witty ; a lover of punning and of his friends." Isaac Pennington was a great-grandson of Isaac, one of the friends and associates of William Penn, who suffered much for his sincerity to principle. Edward, his son, came to Pennsylvania Philadelphia Li vLSENT Al'l'EARANCE. at a very early period in the history of the Province, and became surveyor-general. He left one son, Isaac, who was the father of this director of the Philadelphia Library Company. The wife of Edward was Sarah Jennings, daughter of Samuel Jennings, who was Quaker governor of New Jersey at an early date. Dr. John Pennington, born 400 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. in 1768, who died of yellow fever in 1793, was a son of Isaac of the Library Company. Another descendant was John, a scholar, critic, and author, whose literary tastes finally carried him into the business of bookselling — an occupation which has descended to his son Edward, whose store in Philadelphia is the resort of bibliopolists who love to burrow in the tumuli of old books, no matter in what language they are printed. Joseph Breintnal, the secretary, was described by Frank- lin as a " copier of deeds for the scriveners, a good-natured, friendly, middle-aged man, a great lover of poetry, reading all he could meet with, and writing some that was tolerable ; very ingenious in many little knicknackeries, and of sensible conversation.'" The directors met on organization at the house of Nicholas Scull, a surveyor, afterward surveyor-general of the Province, " who loved books and sometimes made a few verses." They elected William Coleman treasurer, who gave a bond with sureties. He was then a merchant's clerk, but afterward became a merchant of great note. In 1758 he was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Province, and held that office until 1769. Franklin said that he " had the coolest, clearest head, the best heart, and the exactest morals of any man I ever met with." Upon their coming together the mem- bers adopted this resolution : " That for distinction's sake, the subscri- bers in the company aforesaid now, and hereafter at all times, are and shall be called The Library Company of Philadelphia, and shall have a common seal with this device — two books open, each encom- passed with glory or beams of light, between which water streaming from above into an urn below, thence issues at many vents into lesser urns, and motto circumscribing the whole, ' Communiter bona profundere deorum est ' * — to be securely kept in the library." When the first importation of books arrived they were taken to a room in Robert Grace's house in Jones's alley. Dr. Franklin printed the catalogue in December without charge. It was not until 1733 that the fifty members considered necessary were obtained. In the same year Thomas Penn, proprietor, having arrived in the city, the directors with shrewdness, humble as the association then was, ven- tured upon the step of presenting an address to His Excellency, in which, in the language of panegyric common in such papers, the * This is translated by the officers of the Library Company, " To pour out good things widely is godlike." THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 4OI wisdom and benevolence of the Penn family were enthusiastically lauded, and its patronage bespoke for " Philadelphia, the future Athens of America, and the library in particular." It was a judicious move on the part of the directors, and from that time the friendship of the proprietary family was assured, and several articles fitter for a museum than a library were presented. In five years this feeling of interest on the part of the Penns was encouragingly manifested by a promise to present to the company a lot of ground and the gift of an air-pump. The ground was considered suitable for the use of the library and the erection of a building thereon. But it was situate too far out of town for immediate improvement, the location being on the south side of Chestnut street, between Eighth and Ninth. Indeed, although the lot was reserved for the Library Company, and is marked down on Scull & Heap's map of the city (1752), a patent was not issued for the prop- erty until 1762, twenty-four years after the intention to make the gift was revealed to the company. The library remained in Grace's house until 1740, in which year the Assembly of Pennsylvania granted the use of the upper room of the westernmost office of the State-House, which was one of the two-story buildings on either side of the main edifice. The proprietors gave a charter to the company on the 3d of March, 1742. In addition to the library, something like a museum was collected — not by the directors, because they steadily kept their attention on the acquisition of books, but by presents. Additions to the articles thus collected, besides John Penn's air-pump, were a tele- scope, a cabinet of ancient medals, an old sword-blade discovered in digging the foundation for the Second street bridge, Indian fish-hooks, slippers, the hand of a female Egyptian mummy, which the facetious Chinese directors claimed to have belonged to Cleopatra, and some other objects. The example of the Library Company had an effect to excite imita- tion. Other societies with similar objects were instituted in the city. Among these were the Union Library Company, which seems to have been the most flourishing, and not only had a considerable number of members, but had a collection of books and owned the property at the south-east corner of Third and Pear streets, upon which a building for the use of the company had been erected. This association was merged with the Philadelphia Library in 1769. The Association Library Company came in in the year 1771, and the Amicable Com- 402 HISTORIC MAuVSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. — — — f pany about the same time. Application was made to the Assembly in 1 77 1 for a lot in the State-House Square, on which it was proposed to erect a handsome building. In 1773 the second floor of Carpenters' Hall was rented, and the library removed to that place. In the early part of 1777 the necessities of the public service compelled General Gates, who was then commanding the city, to seize upon the library- room for hospital purposes — a state of affairs at which the directors were very much annoyed. A committee was appointed to visit the commanding general and request that the soldiers should be removed. The books were in Carpenters' Hall during the occupation of the British army, from September, 1777, to June, 1778. In this time some of the British officers enjoyed the advantages of the collection, and they conformed in all particulars to the laws of the library, making compensation for their use. The company experienced no damage by the occupation. In 1784 there was a prospect of uniting the Loganian Library with the Philadelphia Library Company, and it was known that the apart- ments at Carpenters' Hall would be entirely too small for the united collection. A conference seems to have been held with leading mem- bers of the American Philosophical Society in reference to petitioning the Assembly for the grant of two lots on Fifth and Sixth streets, State-House Square — one for the use of the library and the other for the society. Literature and science would thus be accommodated, and two handsome buildings would be erected to ornament the city. The application failed at the first session. At the next session it was al- leged that the Philosophical Society played an unphilosophical trick upon the Library Company. It was averred that according to the original agreement the library was to occupy the lot on the west side of Fifth street, and the Philosophical Society the lot on the east side of Sixth street. But the Philosophical Society claimed the lot on the west side of Fifth street. The Library Company protested. The di- rectors refused to take the lot on Sixth street. The result was, that they got nothing. In 1789 the Library Company, realizing the necessity of procuring better accommodations, purchased on ground-rent of Mary Norris and Dr. Logan a lot of ground on Fifth street below Chestnut. Here, on the 31st of August in that year, they laid the corner-stone of their intended building, with an inscription, the principal part of which was THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 403 composed by Dr. Franklin, but that portion which related to Franklin himself was added by the directors : " Be it remembered, In honour of the Philadelphia youth (then chiefly artificers), that in mdccxxxi they cheerfully, At the instance of Benjamin Franklin, One of their number, instituted the Philadelphia Library, which, though small at first, is become highly valuable and extensively useful, and which the walls of this edifice are now destined to contain and preserve ; the first stone of whose foundation was here placed the thirty-first day of August, 1789." Dr. William Thornton, who may be said to have been the architect of the library building, was a very active citizen of Philadelphia during the time of his residence. He was a man of science, a member of the American Philosophical Society. He received the Magellanic gold medal in 1792 as the author of an Essay upon the Written Eleinents of Language. He was one of the original members of John Fitch's steamboat company, and stood by that unfortunate inventor until the very last, using his influence with other members in favor of every new claim for assistance made by the unlucky child of genius. When the act of Congress establishing a patent-office was passed, February i, 1793, Dr. Thornton was made superintendent of the office. He re- mained in Philadelphia until the seat of the Federal government was removed to Washington, when he transferred his residence to that place, and resided there until his death many years afterward. It is believed that Dr. Thornton was a native of the West Indies, born in the island of Tortola. For the embellishment of the hall of the library William Bingham determined to make to the company a present of a statue of Dr. Benjamin Franklin to be placed in a niche in the front of the edifice. Dr. Franklin was consulted, and a committee of the directors reported that he would approve of a "gown for his dress and a Roman head." A bust of Franklin, procured from the Pennsylvania Hospital, furnished the features for the head. The Columbian Magazine of April, 1792, 404 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. speaks of it thus : " The statue of Dr. FrankHn was last Saturday fixed in its niche over the front door of the new Hbrary in Fifth street. Francis Lazzarini is the name of the sculptor, and Carrara the name of the place where it was executed. If the intrinsic merit of this master- piece of art did not speak its value, the name of the artist where he is known would evince it. Here perhaps its price may give the best idea of its worth. We have heard that it cost above five hundred guineas. The statue of Dr. F. is a full-length figure, erect, clad with a Roman toga, the position easy and graceful ; in the right hand is a sceptre reversed, the elbow resting on books placed on a pedestal ; the left hand, a little extended, holds a scroll. This elegant piece of sculpture is executed in the finest white marble, and is the donation of William lo \M\> 11iK\k\, lhi>M A.\ Ul.i> I'KIM. Bingham, Esq., of this city to the Library Company." The librar\' building was finished in 1790, and on the 30th of December the directors resolved that it should be kept open daily from one o'clock till sunset. In 1792 the company made an important addition to its books by the acquisition of the Loganian Library. This collection had been formed by James Logan in his lifetime. He had constructed at the north-west corner of Sixth and Walnut streets a small building for the use of the library, and at the time of his death, in 1750, there were one hundred volumes of Greek authors, with mostly their versions ; " all the Roman classics without exception," all the old Greek math- ematicians, Archimedes, Euclid, Ptolemy, Theon's Commentary, and THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 405 many valuable Latin authors, with a great number of modern math- ematical books — altogether several hundred volumes. He had made preparation for the support of the library, the payment of the salary of a librarian, and an increase of the books, but, cancelling the instrument with intention to settle better provisions in his will, he died without making the proper bequests, though in various parts of his will it was seen that it was his intention to do so. The heirs of Logan might have availed themselves of the lapse, but in respect to the memory- of the founder they resolved to carry out his wishes by the proper legal proceedings. In March, 1760, they made a conveyance to Chief-Justice Allen, Richard Peters, and Benjamin Franklin of certain lots of ground and ground-rents in Bucks county, and the library building and lot, with the books in the library, in trust that they would maintain the collection for the uses intended by James Logan, and permit members of the Logan family, according to the will and intention, to act as librarians, there being succession in the eldest son and the heirs male of said son to hold the office of librarian. In default of an eldest son, then the librarianship was to go to the other sons of William Logan in succession, and so on, in the failure of heirs, to the issue of other sons, and finally to the issue of Hannah Smith, daughter of James Logan, with further directions afterward. According to this deed of settlement, it was prescribed as a qualification of the librarian descendant of James Logan that he " shall be found so qualified in literature as that he shall understand and be capable of expounding all the Roman classics, and understand the new Greek Testament and Homer and Hesiod in the original." The library, it was stipulated by this deed of concession, was to be kept open Saturday afternoons from three o'clock until sunset, and permission was given to lend the books upon the borrower giving his note to the librarian stipulating for return. Under this trust the Loganian Library was maintained for several years. But as the trustees died or were separated by the events of the Revo- lution, the collection remained for some time without a librarian, and was not of the use intended by Logan. There was not at all times a librarian to attend to the books, and the library building was closed. The Logan heirs were not anxious to execute this trust. Accordingly, in 1792, by arrangement between them and William Logan, the surviv- ing trustee, and the Library Company, the Assembly of Pennsylvania passed an act ratifying the transfer of the Loganian books to the custody 406 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of the Library Company of Philadelphia, with provision for succession of the heirs of James Logan as trustees, and direction that the books should be kept for " the use of the inhabitants of the city of Philadel- phia." Under this arrangement about three thousand five hundred vol- umes were transferred to the Philadelphia Library Company, together with property intended by James Logan for the benefit of the collec- tion. William Logan, son of James the founder, was the first hereditar}^ librarian, and the succession has been kept up until the present time. Under the agreement there were for a time two librarians — one for the Philadelphia Library, the other for the Loganian Library. This arrangement was found inconvenient, and in 1829 the difficulty was got around by the appointment of John Jay Smith, great-grandson of James Logan, as librarian of the Philadelphia Library and of the Loganian Library. He was succeeded in that office by his son, a great-great-grandson of James Logan, Lloyd Pearsall Smith, who has held the office of librarian of both institutions from 1851 to the pres- ent time. For the use of the Loganian Library, a strip of ground east of the former lot on Fifth street was purchased, and a new building was constructed for the particular use of the Loganian books. The Loganian Library is now composed of about ten thousand volumes, and the Philadelphia Library of about one hundred thousand volumes. The two collections are very valuable, but they are not the most exten- sive in the country, private munificence having been more liberal in establishing libraries for scholars and the use of the people elsewhere. The Philadelphia Library, though it has received from time to time valuable donations of books, has not been a recipient of money to any great extent. At present the institution stands in an uncertain position in regard to a valuable bequest lately made by Dr. James Rush of Philadelphia, which if accepted may enure for the benefit of the insti- tution, but which if declined will be devoted to the support of a free library for public use. By his will, dated May 26, 1869, Dr. Rush left a large estate, estimated to be worth ^1,500,000, to his executor in trust that he would erect a building suitable for a library of large pro- portions. This gift Dr. Rush directed should be appropriated to the use of the Library Company of Philadelphia, subject to certain re- strictions, in which case the institution is to be named the " Ridgway Branch of the Philadelphia Library Company." The Philadelphia Library Company is not compelled to decide on accepting this trust iiijiiiiiiiiiiieiiiiiiiiBEaii MiiiiiaiiEiji THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 409 until the new edifice is completed. The executor chose for the site of the library a large lot of ground bounded by Thirteenth, Broad, Carpen- ter, and Christian streets. A splendid building of granite in the Gre- cian Doric style, with three porticoes in front, having a depth of two hundred and twenty feet and a breadth of one hundred and five feet, has been erected. After the terms of the will were made known strong opposition was manifested against the acceptance of the bequest by many members of the Philadelphia Library Company. The princi- pal objection was against the place which Mr. Williams had selected. The Library Company endeavored, by legal proceedings, to compel him to relinquish his design of erecting the building at Broad and Christian streets, but were not successful. At present the matter re- mains open to be settled hereafter, whenever the executor of Dr. Rush shall make a formal tender of the library building. There have been twenty-one librarians since the company was founded, but during the last century they have been few. Lewis Timothee was the first in 1732, and Benjamin Franklin succeeded him in the following year, and was librarian for three months and a day. William Parsons was his successor, and he held the office for twelve years. Francis Hopkinson was librarian in 1764-5. Zachariah Poul- son, editor of the American Daily Adveniser, was elected librarian in 1785, and held the office for twenty-one years. George Campbell was elected librarian in 1 806, and held the position for twenty-three years. He was succeeded in 1829 by John Jay Smith, also hereditary librarian of the Loganian Library. Mr. Smith held that trust from 1829 till 185 1. During his librarianship Mr. Smith was industrious in litera- ture. He was editor of the Saturday Bulletin, Daily Express, National Gazette, Downing's Horticulturist, and of several of Waldie's serial re- publications. He wrote some books, the most noted of which is Amer- ican Historical and Literary Curiosities, published in 186 1. He was succeeded as librarian in 1851 by his son, Lloyd P. Smith, a gentleman having a great fund of literary, scientific, and classical information, which is of the utmost value to strangers who wish to consult the library, their experience emphatically proving that he is the right man in the right place. Besides the office of the librarian, hereditary de- scent seems to mark some of the other officers. The present secre- tary, William H. Rawle, is a son of William Rawle, secretary from 1825 to 1836, and grandson of William Rawle, secretary from 1786 to 1792. 4IO HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The first agent in England for the purchase of books was Peter ColHnson, and he held that position for thirty years, and was succeeded by Franklin while he was in England during a period of fourteen years. Joseph Woods, with William Dihvyn, became agent in 1783, and the agency continued with his son, Samuel Woods, and his grand- son, Samuel Woods, Jr., down to 1857. The elder S. Woods was agent for forty-one years. The stranger Avho for the first time enters the Philadelphia Library is struck — in fact, if he is of reveren- ^,u^^^^"> tial disposition, awed — by the sur- roundings. From the bustle, life, and activity of the streets he is suddenly translated into a region in which silence seems naturally to reign. The air is heavy with the odors of antiquity. There is a bookish smell, which floats in the atmosphere, emanating from aged volumes, which suggests that mysterious insect the bookworm, rarely seen, but whose ravages are to be found in ancient tomes on THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 411 which he has made his banquet. There is a dim rehgious Hght thrown over the main hall from the side windows, which is interrupted and reduced by alcoves and fixtures. Fronting the visitor is the librarian's desk beneath a high arch which opens into the Loganian Library, from the glass lantern roof of which is poured down a flood of light that makes that apartment agreeable, and even darts its rays into the main building. The guardian of these bookish treasures is entrenched behind a strong fortification of desk, drawers and railing. The stairway to the heights of the citadel rises within his enclosure, and gives him access to the upper part of the building, where there are galleries and a second floor, which in arrangement is also a gallery. Beneath the arch is seated the librarian at a desk, ancient but plain, which once belonged to William Penn. Into the apartment of the main hall from above looks an immense plaster and bronze bust of Minerva, of much more than heroic size. Tradition says that it once stood upon a bracket above the head of the Speaker of the House of Representatives when Congress occupied the building at Sixth and Chestnut streets. Around the apartment are some old-fashioned relics. A clock, in a standing wooden case not quite so tall as the great eight-day clocks which were fashionable three- quarters of a century ago, stands near an alcove. It is said to have belonged to Oliver Cromwell, and was brought over by William Hudson, one of the earliest settlers, from whose descendants it came to the library. Immediately opposite, on the south side, is a clock once belonging to William Penn. It is much like its brother except in ornaments, and both represent important epochs in the history of English Dissenters — the Puritan and the Quaker. In the Loganian Library there are some interesting pictures. Among them is Peter Cooper's Sonth-East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia, the oldest \'iew of the city known, and supposed to have been painted in 1720. It is not a work of high art. Peter was nothing more than an Bust of Minerva, formerly OVER THE Speaker's Chair. 412 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. ordinary house-painter. He was ambitious to make a picture of the city, though it might be rude. It is eight feet long and one and a half feet wide. Below are references to the buildings delineated in the picture. George M. Dallas picked up the picture in London when he was minister to England, and presented it to the library with an apolog}^ for its being an " antique daub." It had been described long before that. Dr. Rawlinson in 1750 sent a communication to the Society of Antiquaries at London describing this identical picture. The matter is referred to in an address by James N. Barker before the Historical Society shortly after it was instituted. Mr. Barker thought that the description of Rawlinson was worthy of preservation, and could have little expectation that the picture would years afterward again reach the place at which it had been painted. In this room are to be found a portrait of John Penn the Amer- ican, painted by the celebrated Sir Godfrey Kneller ; a portrait of Zachariah Poulson, once librarian ; one of the Duke of Brunswick, who sent over the Hessians to this country ; a portrait of James Lo- gan and a picture of Stenton ; with other portraits and busts. A plain mahogany table, in use for library purposes, tells on a plate that it once belonged to James Logan, and was used at his library in Stenton. Near it is an odd-looking, quadrangular reading-desk which belonged to the celebrated John Dickinson, author of the Fanner s Letters, and which was used by him in his library at Fairhill. Portraits, busts, and pic- Penn's Clock. THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY. 413 tures of various kinds are placed in every vantage throughout the build- ing. Among these are included the valuable collections of drawings sK'H^lpi' The Bookworm. and paintings of old houses and buildings in Philadel- phia which formerly be- -}^ longed to John F. Watson v \* the annalist and to Charles 'jU^ A. Poulson, son of Zacha- riah the librarian, who was a diligent collector of mat- ters pertaining to local his- tory. This library is strong in its collection of old books. It has had the great advantage of one hundred and forty - four years in obtaining books of value printed in the United States as they were issued from the press, and it has thereby accumulated, particularly in historical books and pamphlets which are now very rare and of the utmost value, a wealth of literature which no other library in the country possesses. Among the rare books, in the opinion of the bibliopolist, belonging to the librar>% is a copy of Augus- tine's Li&re de Vita Christiana, which was printed by those famous of all printers, Faust and Schoeffer, in 1459 J ^^ Golden Legend, printed by William Caxton in 1483, which Dibdin says is the most magnificent specimen ever printed from Caxton's press. There is an illuminated Psalter on vellum of the thirteenth century ; Pliny's Nat- ural History, translated into Italian and printed on vellum in 1476 by N. Janson, the first Venetian printer ; the PolycJironicon, from the English press of Wynkyn de Worde, printed in 1492. Of illus- trated books printed in the illuminated style there are the Coupes Varisantes, from the press of Verard at Paris in 1503; Hewer's Gothigtcs, 1508; the Book of the Hours, 15 10; a German version of Reynard the Fox, printed in 1549; the Bible in vulgatc printed at Rome by Swyheim and Pannartz in 147 1 ; another printed by Colneger at Nuremberg in 1475 ; a New Testament in French, printed at Lyons about 1480. Illustrative of American history are 414 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Plantagenet's Nciv Albion, which was pubHshed in 1648, the oldest extant Enghsh historical work relating to New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, the first edition having been published in 1637; two copies of Eliot's Indian Bible, the first American copy of the Scriptures — the New Testament published in 1661, the Old Testa- ment in 1663. There is a copy of Thomas Campanius Holm's description of New Sweden (now Pennsylvania), published at Stock- holm in 1702; Aitkin's rare edition of the English Bible, published at Philadelphia in 1782 with the approval of Congress. Of old newspa- pers the collection is very complete, and there are numerous and rare manuscripts, broadsides, autographs, and other valuable literary treas- ures. The oldest Philadelphia piece of printing is Daniel Leeds's Al- manac, published by William Bradford the elder in 1687. In classic literature the Loganian Library maintains its claims, and has been very considerably increased of late years by means of the fund provided by the heirs of Logan. The entire collection of the two libraries is of great value, and being thrown open to the use of every one, who may come there day after day to read, copy, and study, it has proved itself to be through a long series of years a beneficial aid to the scholar, student, and even to the casual reader. In the words of Alexander Wilson the ornithologist, whose apos- trophe to the library was long exposed in the hall, properly written out and framed, it may be said — " Ye who delight through learning's path to roam, Who deign to enter this devoted dome, By silent awe and contemplation led, Survey these wonders of the illustrious dead ! The lights of every age, of every clime, The fruits of science and the spoils of time, Stand here arranged, obedient to your nod; Here feast with sages and give thanks to God. Next thanks to him, that venerable sage, His counti-y's boast — the glory of the age I Immortal Franklin, whose unwearied mind Still sought out every good for all mankind ; Searched every science, studious still to know, To make men virtuous, and to keep them so : Living, he reared with generous friends this scene, And dead, still stands without to welcome in." BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. NDREW HAMILTON was founder of one of the most important families in Pennsylvania. By the possession of sterling talent, great learning, and ability in the law, and the faithful discharge of duties in stations requiring emi- nent capacity, he made himself famous. Notwithstanding all this, his history before he came to America is involved in obscurity. Joshua Francis Fisher, who has written the most extended sketch of his life which is known to historical scholars, supposes that he was a Scotchman, and that he was born in the year 1676. David Paul Brown, in The Foriitn, says that he was a native of Ireland. Of what family he was a descendant is therefore unknown. It seems that he came to America after having been well educated, and it is presumed from that fact that he was of a good family. For some reason, when he came to this country he took the name of Trent, show- ing a motive for concealment. Mr. Fisher says that the family tradition is that " he had been obliged to fly from his native country in conse- quence of killing a person of some importance in a duel." Fisher sug- gests that it is more likely some political difficulty prompted him to the course which he took. His first place of residence in the Colonies is not ascertained. He was a resident of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and is said to have been steward of an estate and schoolmaster. He was sufficiently in repute to be able to marry Mrs. Annie Preeson, a rich widow, whose maiden name was Brown, and who was connected with the best Maryland families. In 17 12 he was practising as a lawyer 415 4l6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. at Chestertown, Md., and had a handsome business for the times, with reputation of abihty. The agents of WilHam Penn employed him as their counsel in a matter arising out of a dispute about the proprietary rights, and his conduct was satisfactory. It is supposed that he studied law in Maryland, but being ambitious of the certificate of the highest legal establishment, he went to England, where he entered as a member of the Temple at Gray's Inn, and ate his commons in the year 1712. Short commons they were, for Mr. Hamilton was initiated as a bencher January 27, 1712, and he was called to the hdiV per favor — which means that his ability and learning were satisfactory — on the loth of February, two weeks afterward. Upon his return to America, after a short stay in Maryland, he resolved to remove to Philadelphia, where there was a finer field for the exercise of his abilities than could be found at Ches- tertown. In 1717 he was appointed attorney-general of the Province, and was made member of the Provincial Council in 1721. He resigned the attorney-generalship about 1726, and went to England, where he stayed some months. On his return he was made prothonotary in 1727, then a lucrative office. The recordership of the city of Philadelphia was occupied by him in 1728, and he was appointed judge of the Vice- Admiralty in 1737. The holding of these three offices at one time did not interfere with Mr. Hamilton in discharging the duties of a legis- lator. While, therefore, he was judge of the city court as recorder and of the Vice-Admiralty, and at the same time clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, he was a member of the Assembly, to which he was elected in 1727, and regularly re-elected until his retirement in 1739. During that time he was chairman of the most important committees, and was nine times elected Speaker in the course of ten years. What will be thought more odd — by those that think that one office for one man is enough — he was while member of the Assembly of Pennsylva- nia also a member of the Assembly of the Lower Counties (Delaware), and Speaker of it too ! In addition to all this he was a trustee of the Loan Office and active in legal practice. Whilst Speaker of the Assem- bly of Pennsylvania he superintended the erection of the State-House, constructed, according to very strong inference, from his own archi- tectural plan. His reputation as a lawyer would scarcely have survived him if his business had been confined to the ordinary run of practice. But it happened that in 1735 he was called upon to defend in the city of New York a printer who had been indicted for a libel upon the king BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. ^ly and governor in his newspaper. The act of John Peter Zenger, the defendant, gave great umbrage to the government His paper was or- dered to be burnt by the common hangman. His lawyers, who were eminent members of the bar at New York, added to the indignation which the authorities felt toward the printer by questioning the right of the judges who sat in the court to try the case, on the ground that their commissions were irregular and illegal. This procedure highly incensed their Honors, and the names of the offending lawyers were struck from the list of members of the bar. The court appointed an- other lawyer to defend Zenger. But the defendant's friends were dissat- isfied, and sent on to Philadelphia for Andrew Hamilton. He was then in his sixtieth year, and not in robust health, but he responded to the invitation. The liberty of the press was the question actually at issue, and without reproaching the authority of the court, as his predecessors had done, he rested on the broad ground of the English constitution, claiming for the press the right to discuss and criticise public affairs. He succeeded. Zenger was acquitted, greatly to the delight of the people of New York. The city corporation presented Hamilton with the freedom of the city, and enclosed the certificate of his admission in a gold box with appropriate inscriptions. The principles which Hamilton then advocated were much bolder than had been presented up to that time in courts of justice, and the case made a great noise, not only in this country, but in England. In 1726 and 1729, Andrew Hamilton purchased from the Penns portions of the Springettsbury Manor, and received a patent for the whole tract of one hundred and fifty-three acres of land and meadow on January 24, 1734. It was north of Vine street, except between Schuylkill Fifth and Sixth (Eighteenth and Seventeenth), where it touched Race street. Northwardly, the estate extended as far as Vineyard lane, afterward Coates street, and now Fairmount avenue. In width it stretched from about Twelfth to Nineteenth street. Here Mr. Hamilton erected a spacious and elegant mansion, and to the property he gave the name of Bush Hill. It is supposed that the Bush Hill house was erected about 1740, and that Andrew Hamilton had but little enjoyment of it. At his death Mr. Hamilton left two children, William and James. Bush Hill was devised to James. Wil- liam died in 1746. James Hamilton was distinguished in the service of the Province, and, it may be said, was born to hold public office. 4i8 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. He succeeded his father as prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas in 1741. In 1747, after the resignation of Governor Thomas and of the presidency by Anthony Pahner of the Council, James Ham- ilton became deputy-governor. Being a native of Pennsylvania and well known to the people, and in his manners and associations popular, his appointment was received with great favor. For seven years he held the principal office, and discharged its duties with general satisfac- The Bush Hill Mansion, Fiom an engraving in the Universal Magazine, 1787. tion, not only to the proprietors, but, more wonderfully, to the content of the Quaker and anti-proprietary party. He resigned his commission in 17547 because he wanted to go to England; and he was there five years. His successors, Robert Hunter Morris and William Denny, were not so happy. Denny was recalled in 1759, and Hamilton was induced, somewhat reluctantly, to accept the office. He remained in that position until 1763, when John Penn, one of the proprietaries, BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. 419 coming over to take charge of the government, Mr. Hamilton with- drew, retaining his seat at the Council-board. Early in 1771 he was again called upon to exercise the duties of governor of Pennsylvania. Governor John Penn was called to England by the death of his father, Richard Penn, and James Hamilton, who was president of the Council, was invested with the executive authority, which he exercised until the 17th of October in the same year, when Richard Penn the second, son of Richard the proprietary, and younger brother of John, who was then in England, arrived with the commission of lieutenant-gov- ernor. After that time James Hamilton took no active part in public affairs. He was then sixty-one years of age and in impaired health. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Hamilton's sentiments and feel- ings were on the side of the Crown, but he managed to escape unmolested until 1777. He seems to have been arrested before the middle of August of that year, and put upon parole. The Supreme Executive Council on August 15 agreed that James Hamilton, John Lawrence, Edward Shippen, Jr., Joseph Shippen, Jr., and James Humphreys should have the bounds prescribed in their respective paroles enlarged to the whole State of Pennsylvania. On the 13th of September, less than two weeks before the British army entered Philadelphia, the Council granted Hamilton a pass to Northampton, with protection for his goods, houses, and effects ; which shows that his conduct had been prudent. He remained at Easton until the succeeding spring, when he found that an " unhappy disorder in his face," for the cure of which he had some years before undertaken a voyage to England, and thought that it had been perfectly accom- plished, had again made its appearance with very alarming symptoms, which required the best medical and surgical assistance to remove. Governor Hamilton did not think that the practitioners in Northamp- ton could be relied upon, and he asked permission of the president of Council for leave to return to his family in the city, which was then occupied by the British army. He said : " I cannot allow myself to believe that the gentlemen of the Council have any personal ill-will to me, being conscious that I have never deserved it from any of them ; and if through the whole course of this unhappy contest I have demean'd myself in such manner as to give them no just cause of offence, excepting only that I have not actually joined myself to the party they espouse, I hope they will please to think that the very 420 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. great losses already sustained in my private fortune, with a six months' restraint from the society of my nearest and best connections, a suffi- cient punishment to one of my advanced age for having merely adopted a speculative opinion, which I am persuaded cannot have had the least ill effect upon the cause they are engaged in I shall certainly endeavor to live, if I do live, as inoffensively as I have hitherto done ; and I am not sensible that any complaint, much less any charge to the contrary, hath ever been made against me by any person whatsoever." Accompanying this letter was a certificate from Dr. William Shippen, Jr., Director-General of hospitals in the Ameri- can army, who stated that he had inspected the sore on the nose of Mr. Hamilton, and that it was his opinion that the assistance of the ablest surgeons and physicians would be required in order to remove it without delay. Timothy Matlack, secretary of Council at Lan- caster, replied to this letter on the 24th of March, stating reasons for delay in the fact that the Council was conferring with a com- mittee of Congress in regard to cases such as those of Mr. Hamilton But Matlack, who was a sturdy Whig, could not refrain from making the following suggestion : " It ought not to give you offence if I observe that what might have been considered as the espousing of a party on or before the 3d day of July, 1776, became on the day following not a party, but a national distinction, and every man within the State was bound, from the nature of civil society, to take a part with it, other- wise he could not be entitled to protection from it, but must be con- sidered as the subject of the state to which he had actually acknow- ledged allegiance." A month afterward the Council discharged Mr. Hamilton, and relieved him from his parole. But Vice-President George Bryan communicated to him the passage of an act of Assembly which required that all officers who had held and exercised a commission from the Crown, and had not renounced the same by the ensuing first of June, were to take the oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth, under penalty of forfeiture of their estates, etc. In May there was received in addition from Mr. Hamilton a request for a pass for himself and four servants, with baggage-wagon, to go to Phila- delphia. It was granted to Mr. Hamilton for a period not exceeding two weeks, and to be delivered to him "on his taking the oath of allegiance to this State according to law." His desire was to retire to Bush Hill. Secretary Matlack sent him a pass immediately, afterward BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. 42 1 suggesting that it would be necessary for him to take the oath of allegiance, and that as his parole had been delivered up, it would be " indecent and very improper for him to suppose that Mr. Hamilton would hesitate to take the oath required by law." Whether he did take the oath and go into the city cannot be ascertained from any entry upon the public records. It is probable that he did not, but that by some means he got through the lines and put himself under the protection of the British army. He is said to have died in New York August 14, 1783, aged seventy-three years. Governor James Hamilton was never married. He was one of three children. His sister Margaret married William Allen, afterward chief- justice of the Province of Pennsylvania. Andrew Hamilton the sec- ond, brother of Lieutenant-Governor James Hamilton, married Mary, daughter of William Till, December 24, 174 1. She died at The Wood- lands October 18, 1803. Andrew Hamilton the second had two sons, William and Andrew. W^illiam was never married. Andrew, the third of the name, married January 6, 1768, Miss Abigail, a daughter of David Franks of New York and Margaret his wife, who was a daughter of Peter Evans of Philadelphia. William, son of Andrew the second, at the beginning of the Revolution espoused the patriot cause, and raised for the Continental service a regiment in the neigh- borhood of his residence at The Woodlands, on the Schuylkill. But his zeal gradually cooled, until he not only became indifferent to the success of the patriot cause, but was actually opposed to it. Upon the Declaration of Independence he resigned. After the British left Philadelphia, and upon the return of the Whigs, William Hamilton was arrested for high treason, being charged with assisting the British troops. The trials for treason cases took place in September, 1778, before Chief-Justice McKean, and lasted until December. Sixteen persons were arraigned, of whom fourteen were acquitted, among them Hamilton. Isaac Ogden of New York, writing to Joseph Galloway in London November 22, says : " Billy Hamilton had a narrow escape ; his Tryal for Treason, against the States lasted twelve Hours. I have seen a Gentle'n who attended his Tryal. He informed me that his Acquittal was owing to a Defect of Proof of a Paper from Lord Cornwallis, the Direction being torn off" Not so lucky were John Roberts and Abraham Carlisle, who were found guilty of having as- sisted the British armies, and were hanged. During this term one bill, 422 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. against David Franks, was returned ignoramus, and twenty persons were discharged by proclamation, nobody appearing against them. After this escape Mr. Hamilton seems to have remained quiet, and to have avoided suspicion for some time. On the 2d of October, 1780, the Supreme Executive Council ordered him to be arrested, with David Franks and David Solebury Franks, James Seagroves, and William Constable, as suspected enemies to the American cause, holding unlawful and dangerous correspondence and intercourse with the enemy at New York. Mr. Hamilton addressed a letter to President Reed of the Supreme Executive Council on the 22d of the same month, stating the difficulties which he had of attending to his busi- ness in prison, which were rendered more perplexing by the infirmi- ties of his brother and of the age and infirmities of his mother and grandmother. On the 6th of October the Council ordered Hamilton and David Franks to depart the State within fourteen days, each to give security in the sum of ^5^200,000 to " go within the enemy's lines, and not to return again to any of these United States during the con- tinuance of the present war." He petitioned for leave to go to the island of St. Eustacia, which permission was given. On the 27th permission was granted to him to retire to his country-seat — The Woodlands — for seven days, to return to custody when demanded. In November he petitioned to be allowed to remain in Pennsylvania, or, if that could not be granted, in another State. Permission was given him to remain in some other State, not nearer to the enemy at New York than Pennsylvania, and to give security by himself and two others in the sum of ^100,000 not to return to Pennsylvania without the con- sent of the Supreme Executive Council, and not to hold any corre- spondence with the enemy during the war. His mother petitioned in February, 1 78 1, that he might be allowed to remain in Pennsylvania four weeks to settle his affairs ; and this request w^as granted. Two months afterward the permission was extended to general leave to remain in the State for an indefinite period. A passport to New York was granted him in April, 1783, on the very day official proclamation was made of the signing of the preliminary articles of a treaty of peace between the United States, Great Britain, and Spain on the 20th of January of that year. Andrew Hamilton the elder and Governor James Hamilton resided at Bush Hill. After the death of the latter the house does not seen BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. '423 to have been occupied by any member of the family. John Adams Hved in it during a portion of his term as Vice-President of the United States, from 1790, for two or three years. In 1793, during the yellow fever, this mansion was unoccupied, William Hamilton, the owner, being in Europe. It was taken possession of on behalf of citizens of Philadelphia, and used as a yellow fever hospital. By agreement, after the calamity had subsided, in expectation of a future visitation the citizens' committee leased the property, March 25, 1795, from William Hamilton for 1^2500, including compensation for previous occupancy. After this the interest of the Hamiltons in the mansion so much abated that probably no one of the family lived in it afterward. The Bush Hill estate was sold by the Hamilton family some time after the Revolution for ;^6oo,ooo to a company of gentlemen specula- tors in real estate. They did not pay the money, but created a ground- rent of ;$36,ooo a year. There were wild expectations of increasing value in real estate at the time when this bargain was made, but they turned out to be illusory. The heavy ground-rent was paid several years, until some of the owners became tired of it, others died, and others were insolvent. In time the whole estate went back to the Hamiltons, the speculators losing all they had invested in the property during the time they held it. It became a tavern and place of resort, having at one time some reputation. It was burned about the year 1808. The walls were solid and stood firmly. Subsequently the prop- erty was purchased by Isaac Macauley, and the old building fitted up for an oil-cloth and floor-cloth manufactory, and was used for such purposes until about 1871. It was finally torn down, and new houses erected in 1875 upon the site, which was then on the north side of Buttonwood street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth. The first Andrew Hamilton, Sr., purchased on the 29th of January, 1735, by agreement with Stephen Jackson, a large piece of ground in Blockley township west of the Schuylkill, near and south of Market street, and extending down to the Nanganesy (or Mill) Creek. The tract contained about three hundred acres. By his will, in 1741, Mr. Hamilton devised this property to his son Andrew, the second of the name. The latter held it until his death, six years afterward, when he devised it to his son William Hamilton, who had previously strengthened his title by a deed executed by the trustees of the Loan Office. At the time of his death the property was described as con- 424 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. taining three hundred and forty-six acres. It was called The Wood- lands, and shortly after it went into the possession of the Hamiltons a mansion was built there which the second Andrew occupied, and his son William after him. It is supposed to have been a comfortable house, but not near so handsome in style and appearance as the man- sion which succeeded it, and which it is supposed was erected about the time of the Revolution. In 1830, The Woodlands mansion was thus described : " The building embraces three different orders of ar- chitecture, but the Doric prevails. The north trace is ornamented in the front by six Ionic pilasters, and on each side is a pavilion ; the south front has a magnificent portico, twenty-four feet in height, sup- ported by six stately Tuscan columns. The vestibule at the north en- trance is sixteen feet in diameter, from which a corridor leads on the east side to an elegant dining-room of an oval figure, the length of which is thirty feet and on the breadth twenty-two. Another corridor on the west side leads to the library-, a square room with two bows, thirty by eighteen. In the library are many fine specimens of art, among which are several family portraits by eminent British and American artists. With these rooms communicate two others of smaller size, decorated with the works of several of the ancient painters from the Italian, Dutch, and Flemish schools — many of which pieces are of great merit. The grounds are in extent about ten acres, and contain a variety of indigenous and exotic trees and plants, chosen for their foliage or fragrance ; and the scene is diversified by land and water in a very tasteful manner. A winding walk leads through the shrubberies and copses. At one spot there is a charming prospect of the city; at another a large expanse of water is visible. At the de- scent is seen a creek, overhung with rocky fragments and shaded by the gloom of the forest. Ascending from thence, the greenhouse ap- pears in view, the front of which, including the hothouse on each side, measures one hundred and forty feet and contains nearly ten thousand plants. There is surely no city on the continent in whose vicinity more beautiful country-seats can be found than in the vicinity of Phil- adelphia ; and among these The Woodlands are conspicuous for their taste and elegance. The admirers of rural beauty may here find many objects to arrest their curiosity and to invite their observation." Michaux, who visited Philadelphia in 1802, speaks of The Wood- lands in this manner : " The absence of Mr. W. Hamilton deprived me BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. 425 of the pleasure of seeing him ; notwithstanding, I went into his mag- nificent garden, situate upon the borders of the Schuylkill about four miles from Philadelphia. His collection of exotics is immense, and remarkable for plants from New Holland ; all the trees and shrubs of the United States, at least those that could stand the winter at Phil- adelphia after having once removed from their native soil ; in short, it would be impossible to find a more agreeable situation than the resi- dence of Mr. W. Hamilton." Griswold says: "The Woodlands, now, like Laurel Hill, converted into a resting-place for the dead, was a very charming spot. It extended down to the edge of the river, and the landscape has been frequently represented by artists. It belonged to the Hamiltons, who styled them- selves, somewhat pretentiously, though very appropriately, if I am cor- rect in supposing that their earlier history was obscure, 'The Hamilton family of The Woodlands and Bush Hill.' Mr. William Hamilton, who built the house and decorated the grounds, was a man of great taste in such matters, and embellished his beautiful mansion with such paint- ings and other works of art as were attainable in that day. His table was the frequent resort of artists and bon vivants of different kinds, of whom he entertained a good many at dinner, usually selecting Sunday as his day of indulgence." Of William Hamilton of The Woodlands, Mr. Griswold says : " From his youth he seems to have possessed a high degree of taste. On graduating in 1762 at the Academy of Philadelphia, he gave a fete at The Woodlands to his college friends, among whom were young men afterward known as Judge Yeates, Judge Peters, Mr. Dickinson Ser- geant, the Reverend Doctor Andrews, Bishop White, and others. The beautiful edifice for which his place has since been celebrated was not then erected, and his entertainment was necessarily spread in a tempo- rary building ; but its decorations were so elegant and appropriate as to induce a general admiration of it. He afterward lived in a manner more marked by ostentation than by dignity. His chariot and four, with postilion-boys, attracted wonder from some and envy from others, but not having in the character of its occupant anything remarkable to give respectability to such display, it caused no general sentiment of regard. He owned the large tract on which Hamilton Village now stands, and other land in the vicinity running up to the Permanent Bridge, which, on the advice of Mr. William Cramond, he sold to re- 426 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. lieve himself from some pecuniary inconveniences which his desire to retain landed possessions involved him in." Ann Hamilton, the daughter of Andrew the third, was a young lady of amiable character and accomplishments. Abigail Adams, wife of Vice-President John Adams, writing from Bush Hill after her hus- band occupied that mansion, says to her daughter: "Our Nancy Hamilton is the same unaffected and affable girl we formerly knew her. She made many kind inquiries after you ; so did Mrs. Bing- ham." John Quincy Adams, after his return from Russia in 1785, spoke of the beauty of Miss Hamilton of Philadelphia as equal to that of Mrs. Bingham or of Mrs. Piatt. This Miss Nancy Hamilton after- ward became Mrs. James Lyle of Philadelphia. William Hamilton of The Woodlands, the grandson of Andrew the first of the family, died at the Woodlands June 5, 18 13, aged sixty-eight years, and was buried at the family burying-ground at Bush Hill. Besides his property in the city, he had a noble estate in Lancaster county, and owned the whole of the ground which formed the town-plot of the city of Lancaster. He was never married. His nephew, William Hamilton, succeeded him at The Woodlands, where he died on the 21st of July, 1821, aged fifty-five years. Two of the nephews of William Hamilton of the Revolutionary time were James and Andrew. These gentlemen built for themselves in the early part of the present century a fine house at the north-east corner of Seventh and Carpenter (now called Jayne) streets, where they lived in ease and style. Andrew, who was the fourth of the name, married Eliza Johnson, but James preferred bachelorship. He was an amiable and accomplished gentleman, a good liver, and fond of horses and dogs. He drove a fine tandem pair with his curricle, and kept for his sisters a coach with four magnificent bay horses, which he frequently drove himself Every summer the Hamiltons went to Saratoga in the family coach. On the last occasion of such a visit, one of the horses being slightly lamed, Mr. Hamilton drove the carriage himself, in order to make the labor of the horse as light as possible. It was an excessively hot day, and the amateur driver became much heated. On stopping he exposed himself to a draft of cold air, which caused inflammation of the lungs, of which he died at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., on the 20th of July, 1817. There were four sisters of Andrew and William, one of whom, Nancy, of whom we have before spoken, married James Lyle of the house of Lyle & Newman, brokers, on the BUSH HILL AND THE WOODLANDS. 427 17th of October, 1792. Rebecca married Francis Louis O'Beirne in England. Margaret and Mary died unmarried. Andrew Hamilton the fourth died abroad. His only child, Mary Ann, married Septimus Henry Pailaret in England, and with the death of that Andrew the name of Hamilton in the male line of the family was extinguished. The Lyle family resided in the Hamilton house at Seventh and Car- penter streets for several years. Mary, the oldest daughter, married Henry Beckett of Gledhowen, Leeds, an Englishman of wealth, who purchased Joseph Bonaparte's place near Bordentown, and lived there many years. His son, Hamilton Beckett, resided in England a few years ago, and had married a daughter of Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst. Ellen, the youngest daughter of James Lyle, married Hartman Kuhn of Philadelphia. The strength of the family exists in children and grandchildren representing the Kuhns, Pailarets, and O'Beirnes, whilst in the line of Margaret, who married James Allen, are the Delanceys and Livingstons of New York. FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. ^3 HE establishment of the Bank of Pennsylvania in 1780 led to the creation of the Bank of North America in 1 78 1, and the latter was sufficiently successful to estab- lish in the minds of several citizens and statesmen a belief that all that was necessary to ensure success to the Federal government was the founding of a bank which should act as a regulator of the currency. Upon the necessity of this measure politicians during the first Presidential term were divided. Hamilton was strongly in favor of such an institution, and his position as Secretary of the Treasury gave him important influence in the consideration of that subject. He was supported also by the mercantile and business classes, which agreed with his doctrines, and insisted that the estab- lishment of a bank was absolutely necessary for the proper discharge of the functions of government. Jefferson, who was Secretary of State, was strongly opposed to the plan of a national bank. He objected to it on constitutional grounds. He said : " I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground, that ' all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the power of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power no longer susceptible of definition. The incorporation of a bank and other powers assumed by this bill have not, in my opinion, been 428 FIRST BAMK OF THE UNITED STATES. 429 delegated to the United States by the Constitution." Edmund Randolph, the Attorney-General, was also opposed to the establish- ment of the bank, and the subject was ably and warmly discussed in the Cabinet. Meanwhile, in Congress the charter of incorporation went through with but little excitement. There was scarcely any opposition in the Senate, and the House by a vote of 39 to 20 passed the bill. The act of Congress to incorporate the subscribers of the Bank of the United States was, notwithstanding the objections of some of his constitutional advisers, approved by President Washington on the day he was fifty-nine years old — February 22, 1791. The pre- amble said that the establishment of such a bank upon a foundation sufficient to afford adequate security for an upright and prudent administration of its affairs would be conducive to the successful con- ducting of the national finances, and tend to give facility to the obtain- ing of loans for the use of the government in sudden emergencies, and would be productive of considerable advantage to trade and industry in general. It was directed that a Bank of the United States should be established, the capital of which should not exceed ten millions of dollars, divided into twenty-five thousand shares of $400 each, the subscription to be payable, one-fourth in gold and silver and three- fourths in United States loans. The title of the corporation was to be the " President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the United States," and the bank was to continue until the 4th day of March, 181 1. One of the provisions of the charter was that no person should be allowed to subscribe for more than one thousand shares. The President of the United States was empowered to subscribe two million of dollars to the stock on the part of the government as portion of ten millions capital. The stock was subscribed for with unexampled celerity. The books for subscription were opened on the 4th of July, and before night the subscriptions exceeded very consider- ably the number of shares that could be allotted. An instalment of ;^25 was paid on each share, and the script receipt and promise to issue stock for the value sold for thirty-five dollars per share — an advance of ten dollars in one day. In four days the value of the scrip had doubled. On the 4th of August it was selling at three times the amount paid in. Speculation set in. By the end of that month, the second instalment having been paid in, bank scrip was as high as two hundred dollars for fifty dollars paid. It then began to decline, and in 430 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. a few days fell to one hundred and forty-five dollars, and from that point gradually declined in value until it approached par. The bank was opened in the latter part of the year in Carpenters' Hall. The stockholders chose as directors Thomas Willing, Joseph Ball, James C. Fisher, Archibald McCall, Israel Whelen, Joseph Anthony. William Bingham. Robert Smith, Isaac Wharton, George Cabot, Tristram Dalton, Andrew Cragie, Samuel Breck, James Daven- port, John Lawrence, Nicholas Low, James Watson, Rufus King, Herman Le Roy, John Watts, Heniy Nichol, James McClurg, Samuel Johnson, William Smith. The organization of the bank was com- pleted by the election of Thomas Willing as president, John Kean as cashier and David S. Franks assistant cashier, George Simpson first teller, and Philip Enk second teller. Of the directors, nine were Phila- delphians. Joseph Ball, merchant and alderman of the city, lived in the then fashionable quarter at 71 North Water street. Of Thomas Willing enough has been said heretofore. (See Lansdowne.) James C. Fisher, merchant, of the firm of J. C. & Samuel W. Fisher, lived on the north side of Mulberry street (now called Arch street), west of Front ; the Fishers were in the shipping trade, and were business-men of considerable note. Archibald McCall, merchant, lived at the north- east corner of Second and Union streets ; Balch says : " He was the first East India merchant of his day." His sister Ann was the wife of Thomas Willing, and the daughter of the latter, as has already been said, was wife of William Bingham. Archibald McCall was married in 1762 to Judith Kemble of Mount Kemble, New Jersey. His daughter Mary married Colonel Lambert Cadwalader of the army of the Revolution. His son Archibald was married to Elizabeth Cad- walader, half-sister of General Thomas Cadwalader. Major-General George Archibald McCall, who commanded the division of Pennsylva- nia Reserves during the war of the Rebellion, was their son. Israel Whelen was a grocer at the north-east corner of Fifth and High streets, and his residence was adjoining on the latter street. Joseph Anthony, merchant, was in large business and active as a citizen. He built the fine brick house at the north-east corner of Ninth and Market streets which was afterward the residence of Jacob Gerard Koch. Robert Smith, merchant, lived at 58 South Front street. Ritter says: " He pursued a profitable trade in dry goods for many years, and was well, wide, and popularly known here even in 1795, and more than FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. 43 1 twenty-five years after." Isaac Wharton at this time was not in active business. He Hved as a gentleman at II2 North Front street. The resident Philadelphia directors transacted most of the business. George Cabot, who was United States Senator from Massachusetts, could con- veniently attend during the sessions of the august body of which he was a member. Tristram Dalton was also Senator from Massachusetts in 1 79 1, but was superseded on the 4th of March of that year, at the end of his term, by Caleb Strong. The others gave occasional atten- tion to the business of the bank. The institution was accommodated in Carpenters' Hall until 1797. On the 24th of July of that year the bank was opened to the public in the fine new building specially con- structed for its accommodation on the west side of Third street below Chestnut, The lot of ground was a portion of the Pemberton estate. It was sufficiently .spacious to allow plenty of air and light on all sides of the building, and it extended to Hudson's alley in the rear. The edifice was commenced in 1795. The plans were drawn by Samuel Blodgett, a citizen of Philadelphia, who was not a professional architect. The marble-work was under the direction of C. F. Le Grand, carver and stone-cutter, who prepared the ornamental work in his yard at Tenth and Market streets. It was the first building erected in Phila- delphia with a portico and pillars, and was at that time considered exceedingly large, being ninety-six feet in front and seventy-two feet deep. The portico is of six columns, the angle pairs being coupled ; the style Corinthian. The tympanum is decorated with the American eagle For some reason, not known at the present time, the directors of the bank decided to finish off the pediment with wood instead of marble, and it is no alleviation of the barbarism to be told that the cornice and pediment are highly enriched. On each side of the portico the wings are of marble decorated with pilasters, the windows embellished and handsome. The side and rear walls are of brick. The front is said to be nearly a copy of the front of the Dublin Exchange, without any deviations but the substitution of a door and windows under the portico for an arcade, which Gandom, the architect of the former institution, had designed. The bank remained in this hand- some building for fourteen years. Under the presidency of Mr. Wil- hng and his successor, David Lenox, the affairs of the institution were managed with great discretion. But in the mean while there had been political changes in the United States of much importance. 432 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Jefferson, who was opposed to the creation of the bank at the be- ginning, was President of the United States during the time it was in operation, and was also the apostle of a party. His objections to the existence of the bank had become a portion of a political creed, and the members of the Democratic party were hostile to the continuance of the institution. Powerful efforts were made to obtain a recharter. The Federal press was busy with argument in favor of the measure, and with predictions of ruin if it should fail. Deputations of merchants and mechanics went to Washington to represent to Congress the evils which would follow a refusal to renew the charter. Matthew Carey, in a pamphlet entitled Desultory Reflections upon the Ruinous Conse- quences of a Noji-reneival of the Charter of the Bank of the United States, \vh\ch\V2iS published in May, 1810, said: " To the distractions and derangements of our affairs with the European world we are, with almost incredible folly, preparing, by allowing the charter of the Bank of the United States to expire, to add an azvful scene of internal dis- order and confusion, of private and public bankruptcy. I have gone over my calculations anew; sifted the facts on which my opinions are founded ; turned them over in every possible point of view to discover errors, if any there were. But the result of every examination has been an invariable conviction of the reality of the danger, the moment- ary frenzy of too many of my fellow-citizens, and the awful conse- quences of the prevailing apathy if it should continue." Notwith- standing these predictions, after a full discussion, the opponents of the bank in the House of Representatives succeeded, on the 24th of January, 181 1, in indefinitely postponing the bill to recharter the bank by a vote of sixty-five to sixty-four, showing a very close contest. An attempt was then made to introduce another bill in the Senate, but when it came to the test there was a tie. The question was on a motion to strike out the first section, which would kill the bill, and Vice-President George Clinton settled the question by casting his vote on the same side as that taken by the majority of the House, so that the Senate refused to renew the charter. This vote was given eleven days before the time named for the expiration of the charter of the bank. The officers then made application to the House for such an extension of the charter as would enable it to wind up its concerns. Henry Clay was chairman of the committee. He reported : " That holding the opinion (as a majority of the committee do) that the Con- FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. 433 stitution did not authorize Congress originally to grant the charter, it follows as a necessary consequence of that opinion that an extension of it, even under the restrictions contemplated by the stockholders, is equally repugnant to the Constitution." Disappointed by the action of Congress, the directors of the bank turned for relief to the Legis- lature of Pennsylvania, although the Democrats in the Assembly had succeeded in having resolutions passed, which were offered in the House by Jacob Holgate of Philadelphia, which declared that Con- gress had no right to charter the bank within the respective States ; and if it could do so it might "with equal justice establish insurance companies, and with more plausibility establish an East or West India Company, a European or African Company, under the pretence the better to regulate commerce with foreign nations." The Bank of North America and the Philadelphia Bank sent protests to the Legis- lature against the passage of this resolution, but it was carried, never- theless, in the House by the vote of sixty-eight yeas to twenty nays. It may have been with moderate hope that the trustees of the United States Bank, after the Federal charter had expired, asked the Legisla- ture for a charter as a State institution. This was done on the i8th of March, 181 1, and it was proposed to call the institution the American Bank, capital to be the same as the old United States Bank, with powers to employ portions of the capital in Pennsylvania and other States. It met with little favor. The House negatived the bill by a vote of fifty- five nays to thirty-four ayes. The next year another application was made for a charter by the stockholders. The amount of capital pro- posed was ;^5, 000,000. Liberal offers were made to subscribe to the stock of turnpike, common road, and bridge companies, the whole amount being ^350,000; and in addition the stockholders offered to loan the State a half million dollars at five per cent., to be used for in- ternal improvements. About that time the people of Pennsylvania had waked up to the necessity of improving the means of internal commu- nication. Turnpikes and bridges were considered as necessary. The practicability of constructing great canals was talked about as a possibil- ity to be realized in the future. As for railroads, nothing had been said about them in this country except in the dreamy and wild utterances of Oliver Evans, a luckless inventor who made curious predictions of the wonders which steam would do in land-travelling, and who was generally assigned to the same class of visionaries as John Fitch, the 434 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. steamboat inventor, was held to belong to by the wise world seventy- five years ago. There was a struggle over the tempting offer. Much was to be gained and little to be lost. But the Democrats of the House were true to the principles of Jefferson, and they negatived the bill by a vote of sixty-nine nays to twenty-two yeas. Five days afterward the friends of the measure presented a protest signed by thirteen members, in which they insisted that it was folly to reject such an offer of pe- cuniary assistance at a time when the Commonwealth was in want of money. The argument was a good one on the score of expediency, but the disciples of Jefferson adhered strongly to the proposition of the founder of the party. Trustees were then appointed, and they proceeded to settle up the affairs of the institution. In 1812 they paid over to the stockholders two dividends — one of seventy per cent, and the other eighteen per cent, on the capital. Up to December, 18 17, seventeen per cent, more had been added, which was sufficient to pay the capital in full, with a profit of five per cent. Two or three small dividends were made in after years, but the assets never realized the value affixed to the shares in the stock-market, which at one time was $156 per i^ioo; so that many who purchased at those high rates met with considerable loss on the final settlement. In June, 18 12, Stephen Girard, merchant and mariner, bought the United States Bank building and set up the business of a private banker. He was probably the largest stockholder of the Bank of the United States, and it may be assumed that he was placed in that position by unexpected circumstances, and that he never would have been inter- ested in the institution if he could have controlled his affairs according to his own desires. In the course of his commercial transactions it so happened that the house of Baring Bros. & Co., London, had received on account of Mr. Girard an amount of money which in 18 10 was nearly a million of dollars. In addition to the European war then waging, there was a troubled condition of affairs between the United States and Great Britain, which was ominous of war. Exchange in England upon America was below par. The solvency of the house of Barings was supposed to be in doubt, and how to withdraw safely from England the amount of money held on Mr. Girard's account was a subject which caused him much trouble and anxiety. He took the resolution of ordering his bankers to buy for him United States gov- ernment stock and United States Bank stock, both of which, if not FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. 435 below par, were not in great demand. By this means he succeeded in withdrawing what was due him, and found himself a large stockholder of the bank, with sufficient weight to influence in great degree the ac- tion of the trustees who were winding up the institution. Mr. Girard, in fact, became, to all intents and purposes, the United States Bank under another name, though with not so great a capital. The business and funds of the national institution were transferred to his charge. He succeeded to its financial projects, and the advantage to him was very great. For more than nineteen years he continued in this re- sponsible position. His bank was conducted with great prudence, and passed through every crisis which brought other institutions to suspen- sion without trouble or loss of credit. When he died, on the 26th of December, 1831, the bank was in excellent condition. He had pro- vided by deed of assignment, executed in February, 1826, for the contingency which would happen by reason of his death. Trustees were appointed with power to take possession of the bank upon his demise and wind up its affairs, making return to his executors. Mr. Girard was so methodical in his business that his trustees found a statement up to the Saturday preceding his death in which the amount of the assets and liabilities of the institution were stated. The demands against the bank were over ;^900,ooo. The debts due it were something less than three millions and a half But these assets were not immediately available, and to pay the debts there were but a little more than seventeen thousand dollars in specie in the vaults of the bank. How to discharge the obligations and raise the large amount necessary without oppressing the debtors of Mr. Girard — which course would have created a panic in the community — was a question of unusual difficulty presented to the trustees. Yet they managed to get over it with great tact and discretion, and without causing alarm. Mr. Girard was at the time of his death one of the richest men in the country. His fortune amounted to seven millions and a half He gave two millions for the erection and endowment of the college for the education of poor white male orphans ; $500,000 to the city of Philadelphia for the improvement of the city front; ;$300,000 to the State of Pennsylvania; $140,000 to his relatives and next of kin; and $116,000 to institutions of charity in and about Philadelphia. He gave to the city of New Orleans and to the city of Philadelphia 280,000 acres of land in the State of Louisiana, which 436 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. were subsequently lost to the municipalities by a decision of the Su- preme Court of the United States. The residue of his estate was to go toward the establishment of a better system of police, the improvement of the city front, and the reduction of taxation. To the occupation of the banking-house the Girard Bank, a chartered institution, succeeded. It was incorporated by the legislature in the early part of 1832 with a capital of ;^5, 000,000. Taking bank-stock was in those times consid- ered a ready field for a harvest of gain. The scrip or certificate of subscription to the stock of a bank usually increased in value after the whole of the shares were secured with marvellous celerity, and such investments were considered favorable speculations. The books of subscription to the stock of the Girard Bank were opened in May at Masonic Hall, and a scene of scuffling, outrage, and disturbance fol- lowed which exceeded all other experiences of the kind. Hired bullies were employed to subscribe for prudent citizens who were careful of their clothes. They went in with strong hands and pushed, beat, and kicked others who were anxious to subscribe, and the scene was one of wild disorder. The result was that the stock got into few hands, which caused charges of dishonest action and partiality on the part of the commissioners. The business of subscription to the stock of the Western Bank, the books of which were opened a few days after- ward, was also attended with ruffianism and outrage. A town-meet- ing of indignant citizens was held in the State-House Yard, which denounced all who were engaged in these scenes of disgraceful riot. The grand jury of the Mayor's Court found bills of indictment against five of the commissioners of the Girard Bank for bribery — two of them for misdemeanor in office — and accused them generally of displaying partiality and preference for friends. A citizen who had subscribed for more than five shares of stock, which was all that the law allotted to one person, was indicted for that offence. The legislature was peti- tioned to repeal the charters of the Girard and Western banks on the ground that they had not been organized according to law, but that body refused to take action, and in time the matter was forgotten. The Girard Bank in time found that it had a capital entirely too great for the amount of business within its command, and upon its recharter in 1847 it was reduced to ;^ 1,250,000, and eventually to ;$ 1,000,000. THE SOLITUDE. OHN, as a family name, seems to have been very popular ^^^M||| among the Penns. Three of the members of the family fKb^^W bore it during the last century and a portion of the pres- 1^^^?^ ent. John the American, who was born at Philadelphia during the second visit of his father, William Penn the founder, died a bachelor on the 29th of October, 1746. He was the uncle of John, who was the son of his brother Thomas, and he was the uncle of John, the son of his brother Richard. John, the son of Richard, died without leaving children. The name John went into the next generation in connection with the name Granville, and was born by Granville John Penn, the last living representative of the family in the male line. John, the son of Thomas, was born Feb- ruary 22, 1760. His mother was Lady Juliana Farmor, daughter of the Earl of Pomfret. When he was sent to the University of Cam- bridge he was considered worthy of admission to Clare Hall with the sons of noblemen on account of his maternal descent, which was sufficient to overbalance the objection that might have been made that his father Thomas was a commoner. The education which he received at the university made him a scholar and a poet, having a good command and knowledge of languages, ancient and modern. He travelled through Europe before attaining majority, and, having inherited through his father, Thomas Penn, three undivided fourths of the proprietary rights and property in Pennsylvania, came over in the year 1783 to take care of his interests. He left Falmouth in the 437 438 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. packet, Captain Dillon, in June of that year, bound for New York. Henry Vernon, an English officer, came with him, and John Vaughan, wine-merchant and philosopher, afterward for many years an officer of the American Philosophical Society and a well-known citizen of Phil- adelphia, was a fellow-passenger. The Falmouth packet was not a fast goer. After sev^en weeks' buffeting by the sea her captain struck the shore about sixty miles south of the destined port, and ran the ship on the strand off Egg Harbor, N. J. They were in a danger- ous condition. The vessel lay exposed to the force of the sea, which fortunately was tolerably calm. Captain Dillon fired minute-guns to attract attention and bring assistance. They were heard by Captain Anderson, who commanded the sloop Three Friends, which was bound to New York. He succeeded in taking them off the packet, and they arrived in New York the next morning. In due time they reached Philadelphia, and Penn found his position very agreeable. Although the war was just over, the young Englishman naturally drifted into circles of society in which the rampant patriotism of the Whigs scarcely held a place. He took a strong liking to the country. He considered whether it would not be to his interest and agreeable to his taste to settle in Pennsylvania. He says : " I felt indeed the ac- customed amor patrics and admiration of England, but sometimes a republican enthusiasm which attached me to America and almost tempted me to stay. I may date my becoming wholly an English- man from the breaking up of the Assembly (of 1784) and publication of its minutes relative to the treatment of our memorial ; from the abuse of one party by which, tho' robb'd, we were almost branded as thieves, and the other's apparent devotion in their answer ; and from the reflections this gave birth to, that liberty without justice was in- consistent, since it owed to it its beauty and merit, and rested indeed on that foundation ; and that here were two parties among the mem- bers, being all who represented the State, of which the one urged and supported, and the other, if it wished, dare not oppose, a system of government exploded as infamous by first-rate writers, ancient and modern. Earlier in the year I had made a dear purchase of fifteen acres, costing £600 sterling, and on the banks of the Schuylkill. I named it, from the Duke of Wurtemberg's, The Solitude — a name vastly more characteristic of my place. Advancing in my house, I gradually altered my scheme to the great increase of the expenses it put me to. THE SOLITUDE. 439 I might in part be actuated in this by a motive now grown stronger, the vanity of Enghsh taste in furnishing and decorating the house ; and thought the money less thrown away as I then purposed keeping Solitude, present Appearance a house in the country, either for my agent to wait my return to the old country should my affairs require it." Solitude, although a dear bargain, as Mr. Penn thought, was, ac- cording to his notion when he purchased it, a beautiful spot. The 440 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. solitary beauties of the place before he removed to it inspired Mr. Penn to make the following translation of Gray's ode written at the Chartreux : "O, TU, SEVIRI RELIGIO LOCI," ETC. " Thou guardian of the awful place, Whatever thy name — for none, I deem, Of import light art thou — whose trace ' Mid rocks along the mountain's light, Rough crags and roaring waves between, And in the wood's umbrageous night ! " Than if, in fanes, with Sculpture's truth He boasted gold and Phidian art, Oh hail, and to a wearied youth That calls thee, quiet's balm impart. " Spots thus retired, and silence sweet Should Fortune's will my fate deny. And swift again where billows beat Immerge me, in the storms I fly. " At least, O power, the days of age Give me to pass from tumult free, And leave the loud dispu'tious rage Of crowd and life's anxiety." It is not because these lines are beautiful or impressive that we quote them, but because John Penn seems to have considered them poetry, and has taken care to preserve them as expressions of the raptures of his heart as he roved among the quiet beauties of Solitude. The lines are turgid, and of that mysterious character which tempts the reader to ask, " What is it all about ?" As for that, the reader has the assurance of Penn himself, from whose manuscript we take it, that it was about Solitude ; and his statement ought to be sufficient. In the spring of 1784, whilst the builders were busy in erecting Solitude, Mr. Penn set out upon a long journey through Pennsylvania, which led him to Bethlehem, and thence westward. He returned toward the end of the year, and lived for a time on the plantation in the appurtenant buildings or offices, which were first finished. He took possession of the principal house in 1785. It was a sinall house, just big enough for a bachelor and cosy enough for a poet. Evi- dently, he expected very little company, and when his friends, Mr. and Mrs. Loyd, came to visit him after he got settled in his new quarters, THE SOLITUDE. 44 1 he was very much puzzled what to do with them. " Only one cham- ber in the house being finished," said he — "that, namely, where I slept — and the ladies being inclined to eat, they sate in the offices, and some meat was cooked and brought them. A day or two after I sent these verses on Mrs. Loyd in a letter to her husband : " ' And thou, dread element, of ire devoid, Be hushed in wonder at the blaze of Loyd ; Be smoothed thy surges and appeased the storm, Awed with the radiance of so fair a form. What fiercest brute its inborn rage could keep ? What bird of air ? what monster of the deep ? What heart but feels, at her approach, arise New calms assuasive, new deserts surprise ? Summer her passage hastes to bless and guide Her veering keel thro' the disported tide ; For her the clouds to scatter, lay the waves. And chase the winds to siil)terranean caves ; For her bid breezes move, bid stars appear, And the lone way with half his glories cheer; Assistant to the temporary dearth Of rural change and of assembling mirth. Ere fields or circles light her sparkling eye. Twice the new moon shall reascend the sky. So long the god, in rash reliance bold. Mad youth insults, and envy breathes consoled, So long the garden's dazzling tints invite. The rose is splendid and the lily bright.' " Solitude is a square house of the dimensions of twenty-six by twenty- six feet. On the first floor is a large parlor, twenty-six by seventeen feet, fronting the Schuylkill and opening with glass doors upon a portico, from which there was a fine view up and down the river, terminating at the south with the once-wooded altitude of Fairmount, showing at that time the ramparts and mounds along the sides and at the top which formed the British intrenchments during the time when Sir William Howe's army was in occupation of the cit>'. On the other side the Hills stretched away toward the Falls, crowned with fine old trees and showing delightful variety in river, rock, and ravine. The western side of the mansion was principally occupied by a hall nine feet in width, which extended along the entire western front. The stairway rose from the south-west corner and led to the second story, which was fitted up with small bed-rooms and closets. The library 442 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. was in the south-east corner, and was fifteen by fourteen and a half feet. Into this space Penn managed to crowd five or six hundred books — Latin collection was Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. His particularly strong in the classics — not so much in history as in poetry. Ad- joining the library on the north was a small bed-room, ten and a half by ten and a half, which connected with another bed-room more in the centre of the house, ad- joining which was an alcove sufficiently large to accom- modate a single bed. The roof-story contained two bed- rooms. It rose in a hip, and was lighted by a' dormer on each side. The cellars, it is said by tradition, were stocked with wines. If so, they must have been used sparingly, as the poet gives no evidence in his writings of any deep admiration of Bacchic luxuries. Mr. Penn had pleasant neighbors. The good fellows who were Cabinet given by John Penn to the Philadelphia Library. members of the State in Schuylkill met in pleasant weather at their Castle on the Warner farm, which was just north of him on the other side of the point where Girard Avenue Bridge now touches the western shore. His cousin. Governor John Penn, called the elder, resided at Lansdowne, just above, and farther on was Richard Peters, who, although he had been a devoted Whig, Avas a jolly good fellow in the days before he put on the ermine, and did not always keep his vivacity under judicial surveillance afterward. Mr. Penn lived here during 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788. In the latter year he made pn extensive trip through Pennsylvania by way of Reading, and in Lancaster county became exceedingly pleased with the advantages THE SOLITUDE. 443 and pleasant situation of the Blue Rock farm, of two hundred acres, which he thought of buying, and had an intention of building another house in the style of Solitude, only somewhat larger. He procured a plan for this building from Mr. Yates, a carpenter, and the model of the house on the Schuylkill was perceptibly improved upon. The size was to be forty-five by forty. But for some reason, not now known, Mr. Penn changed his mind, and went back to England about 1789. Many curious stories have been told about Solitude, some of which may need stronger verification than can be given to them now. It seems to be a popular weakness to assign to any old house which has something more than an ordinary history the possession of curi- ous underground passages leading to unexpected places. At Solitude, according to the story, there was a subterranean passage which led to the kitchen and dining-room, or " offices," as John Penn called them. A similar passage to the river was equally necessary to make the reputation of the house in this respect complete. Mr. Penn also has the credit of planting all the trees — some of them is more probable — in the vicinity of Solitude with his own hand. If so, he did a noble work. After John Penn went to England the taste for building which commenced with Solitude was carried out much more elaborately. He built a great house in Kensington Gardens for his town-residence, where he resided at the fashionable seasons of the )^ear. He bought a splendid property at Stoke Pogis. where he erected a grand mansion and laid out a magnificent park, which he planted and adorned. Subsequently he became governor of the island of Portland, on the southern coast of England, about twenty miles west of the Isle of Wight, and opposite Cherbourg on the French coast. Here he con- structed a fine dwelling in castellated .style, which was appropriately named Pennsylvania Castle. John Jay Smith, in the Penn Family, says of this place, which he visited in 1845 : " Below the castle, on the rocks jutting into the sea, are the remains of Bow and Arrow Castle, one of the most ancient in England, built, says tradition, by King Arthur. Ruin as it is, it is still beautifully picturesque and covered with very ancient ivy. The ivy had become yellow from having exhausted the too little nourishment the rocks afforded when an American in 1865, with the assistance of Mr. Penn and the gardeners, supplied its roots with new earth to resuscitate its amber age. The ruin is still in full view of the dining-, drawing-room, and library 444 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. windows of the newer castle, which in itself, though castellated, is a modern residence, calculated for a large family and abounding in every comfort. On a small mounted brass cannon on the front lawn, with its muzzle pointed seaward, is inscribed that it was presented by an intimate friend, a nobleman, to John Penn, member of Parliament. .... The island of Portland is a singularly barren one as regards trees or cultivation, but by careful shelter and artistic planting John Penn succeeded in surrounding the castle with belts of beautiful trees, the admiration of numerous visitors, who resort to the house and grounds during the bathing-season at Weymouth At Portland, John Penn, as governor of the island, was regularly and officially in attendance on the court of George III. when that monarch visited his favorite watering-place, Weymouth, adjoining the island. A likeness of John in full court-dress hangs among the portraits in the picture- gallery at the castle, and there, opposite each other, are very good portraits of William Penn and James Logan. In another picture John is seen in full military array, sword in hand, at the head of the Port- land troop of horse, which he had organized for the defence of the English coast against the expected invasion of Napoleon All along the sea-front of the mansion there is a gallery or hall leading from the very beautiful sunny library to the drawing- and dining-room in the great round tower." John Penn had a morbid dislike of intrusion during the hours of study. John Jay Smith, in the Penn Family, says : " A good story is told somewhere that a servant at Solitude was determined to know how his master employed his time in those hours when he was not visible ; he stationed himself at a keyhole one day, and saw his em- ployer lying on a sofa delightfully reading a volume of his own poems." If this is so, he must have been reading from his Conwion-Placc Book, a copy of which in his own writing is now in the library of the His- torical Society of Pennsylvania. It was not until some time after he left Solitude that his compositions attained the dignity of print. His first work, Tlie Battle of Edington ; or, British Liberty, a tragedy, made its appearance in 1792, and in a doleful spirit of criticism the London Monthly Review said of it : " In truth, it is a heavy performance." The second edition of the same play was published in 1796, with the author's name, and the Review again said : " We are sorry that we cannot rescind our former unfavor- THE SOLITUDE. 445 able opinion." Mr. Penn took up arms in favor of his tragedy, and published a reply to the strictures of the Monthly Rcvieiv in 1797. His poetical and dramatic works were published in 1798 in two volumes; poems consisting of original works, translations, etc., in two volumes ; and poems, being mostly reprints, in two volumes in 181 1. He stands also as the author of some political tracts, some translations from the Italian on tragedy, observations upon Virgil's poetry, and to him is attributed a translation of Horace's Moral Odes. He attained the dis- tinction of a member of Parliament, and served for Cambridge University. He attained the degree of M. A. in 1779, and the honorary degree of LL.D was conferred upon him in 181 k Upon his death, in 1834, the family estates passed into the possession of Granville Penn, his younger brother, who held them about ten years, when they fell to the posses- sion of the son of the latter, Granville John Penn. He died March 29, 1867, "with a will unsigned in his hand, nobody being with him but his man-servant." In consequence of his intestacy his estate went to his younger brother, Thomas, a clergyman, who afterward became a lunatic and died. With him the name of the Penn family was obliter- ated. It may hereafter be taken up by some of the descendants in the female line, of whom there are several, bearing the family names of Fell, Baron, Newcomb, Rawlins, Stuart, Dawson (Cremorne and Dart- rey), Gaskill, Hesketh, Ogilvy, Pole, Knox, Northland and Ranfurley, Read, Alexander, Walker, Gofif, Gomm, Hall, Clayton, and Poynter. Wm. T. Read, Life and Correspondence of George Read, says of John Penn : " He had a particular nervous affection about him, such as was sometimes distressing to himself and others, and was, besides, near-sighted." After John Penn went to England, Solitude, if occupied, was in the possession of a care-taker. Mr. Penn never came back to America. Solitude, as far as related to the presence of the owner, was truly a solitude. It may have been temporarily occupied by Governor Rich- ard Penn, who married Mary Masters, and was uncle of John Penn of Solitude. He revisited Pennsylvania about the year 1808. and brought with him his eldest son William, a young man, whose courses were in no way creditable to the family. Indeed, while here he married inju- diciously. The Rev. Dr. Abercrombie performed the ceremony, and there was great excitement and discussion about it, in which the cler- gyman defended himself upon the principle that the parties were of full 446 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. age and competent to make their own contracts, and that he had no right to stigmatize the character of the woman by a declaration that in his opinion she was unworthy to be the wife of the man. Poverty and want of social position were probably the chief causes of complaint. Mr. Penn in his letter to Chief-Justice Tilghman on the subject, said that in endeavoring to dissuade him from the marriage, Dr. Aber- crombie and his friend, John H. Brown, took part in the discussion. " Each exhausted the dissuasory topics of parents and relatives, high birth, public opinion, and the obscurity and previous errors of the other party." Penn was madly in earnest. It was with great difficulty that he restrained his temper, and told Mr. Brown that nothing prevented him from resenting his conduct as a gentleman " but for his motives and his intimacy with not only myself, but my honored father." In conclusion, this infatuated lover informed Dr. Abercrombie that it was his duty to the Church to perform the marriage ceremony between two adults who were members of the Church, and that if he still refused he (Mr. Penn) would take the blushing creature, who was anxiously wait- ing down stairs to a justice of the peace or alderman, and have the knot tied without delay. This was such a shocking threat in the mind of Dr. Abercrombie that he gave way, and resolved that rather than the Penn family should endure such a disgrace as that he would sol- emnize the marriage in canonical form. The name of the bride Avas Juliet Catharine Balabrega. She was daughter of Jacob and Mary Balabrega. She was born March i8, 1785, and was baptized at Christ Church on the nth of April of the same year. She was married to William Penn on the 7th of August, 1809. The eager bridegroom selected the Bush Hill mansion as the bower in which to spend the honeymoon. From that place he addressed a letter to Dr. Abercrom- bie in reference to the censures which in common conversation had been expressed against the clergyman. They were published by the latter in a pamphlet entitled Documents concerning the Celebration of a Late Marriage. Richard Penn took up his residence at 210 Chestnut street, on the south side, between Eighth and Ninth streets, and lived there about a year, when he went back to England. William returned to Eng- land, and finally died, leaving his widow little property. She went to Europe, and a few years since was living in Paris, still showing traces of former beauty. It is likely that Hannah, daughter of Richard, came THE SOLITUDE. 447 with her father. Her object was to realize something on the estate which came to her through the Masters family. She sold out a large portion of her property at the ruling prices, and went back to England, where she bought an annuity, and lived handsomely with her bachelor brother Richard at Richmond near London. It is probable that for the forty years succeeding there was no Penn at Solitude. But in 1851, Granville John Penn, a dapper and appar- ently well-preserved, middle-aged gentleman of forty-eight, came over to see the country, and perhaps to settle off some of his outstanding real-estate interests. He was made much of in Philadelphia. The City Councils voted resolutions of congratulation ; the Historical So- ciety lionized him ; and all the descendants of the very first families who could trace out an ancestral connection with the Penns in former years were on hand to do honor to the last representative of the pro- prietaries, and thereby swell their claims to social consideration at home. Even the rough democracy was disposed to do him honor, and a firemen's parade being about to take place, the William Penn Hose Company showed its appreciation of his hereditary claims by politely requesting that he would take part in the procession in their customary representation of William Penn and the Indians, and assume the character of his great-grandfather. Mr. Penn was greatly flattered by his reception, and in order to show his appreciation of the civilities he took care to make himself agreeable to all concerned. To the Historical Society he presented a large and showy belt of wampum, which, because it was large and showy, has been assumed to be the very belt presented to William the Quaker at the time when the treaty with the Indians is assumed to have taken place at Shackamaxon. There is no proof that there ever was a treaty of that kind, but legend said so, and West painted a picture to commemorate the supposed event, in which he represented the Friends of 1682 in the costumes of 1770. The story and the painting are quite sufficient to the minds of many to make the transaction authentic, and the belt of wampum neatly finishes up the evidence. Mr. Penn, in acknowledgment of the attentions which he had received, resolved to give a grand fete cham- petre at Solitude, and cards were issued for a large party. The com- pany was received at John Penn's little box by the host, but the enter- tainment was lavishly furnished under tents and marquees. This social reunion was the last time that a Penn was at Solitude. The property 448 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADEIPHIA. remained without a tenant for some years, and finally became a part of Fairmount Park under authority of the act of Assembly of 1867. It remained an object of curiosity and historical interest until the Zoological Society was granted possession of that part of the Park for the purposes of the institution. Since that time the old mansion has formed a notable attraction of the enclosure, despite the counter- attractions of the fine collection in natural history which has been made there. SEDGLEY. ORE than forty-five years ago a writer who had fine taste and appreciation of rural beauty and elegance wrote in this wise : " The natural advantages of Sedgley Park are not frequently equalled, even upon the banks of the romantic Schuylkill. From the height upon which the mansion is erected it commands an interesting and ex- tensive view. The scenery around is of unusual beauty, but its character is altogether peaceful and quiet. The country is covered in every direction with gentle hills, and these are frequently crowned with neat country-seats. The river, after winding in its fan- ciful and rugged path between mountains and beneath precipices, here assumes the nature of everything around, and flows silently beneath, while the busy passage of the canal-boats on the opposite bank gives an agreeable variety to the scene." Sedgley was originally a portion of the property of Robert Morris, and was seized and disposed of when the wrecks of the great landed fortune he had possessed were sacrificed under the auctioneer's ham- mer. Sheriff Penrose sold the northern portion of the Lemon Hill tract, which comprised about twenty-eight acres, on the 25th of March, 1799, to William Cramond. Mr. Cramond entered at once on the work of improvement, and probably in the succeeding year the mansion was commenced and various improvements were made. William Cramond, merchant, was one of the leading men of his day. About 1796 he built a large and handsome brick house at the south-west corner of 29 449 450 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Third and Spruce streets, which is still standing. It is a fine specimen of the Philadelphia mansion about the beginning of the present cen- tury. James Cramond and William Cramond were in business, each upon his own account, as early as 1790. At that time the counting- house of James was at I2i Chestnut street, between Third and Fourth. William was at 153 South Second street, on the east side, north of Spruce. The firm of Philip Cramond & Co. succeeded William at 152 South Second street, directly opposite, but it was dissolved about 1 797, and William conducted the business alone. Sedgley was William Cramond's country-house. The architect was the elder Latrobe, who drew the plans for the building of the Bank of Pennsylvania. Sedgley mansion was the first attempt made in the neighborhood of Philadel- phia to introduce the Gothic style in connection with the country- house. The mansion had every natural advantage in its favor. It stood upon an elevation eighty feet above the waters of the Schuylkill^ and there was a beautiful view from all parts of the house. At the front and at the back was a portico of eight columns, each of which was flanked by arcades in the tower style at the corners. At the north SEDGLEY. 45: and south ends bays rose to the roof, and accommodated the entrances to the mansion, which were protected by porticoes. The house was of two stories, with hip roofs and garrets. It was comfortable and elegant, and the grounds were enriched with shrubbery and fine old trees. The building was seventy-five feet in length, and nearly of the same depth, and possessed ample conveniences and appliances. Mr. Cramond did not have an opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of the elegant seat for any great length of time after it was finished. He became involved in business difficulties, and failed, and John Smith, marshal of the United States, sold the Sedgley mansion and grounds in September, 1806, to Samuel Mifflin, merchant, a man of wealth and influence. The Mifflins lived at Sedgley for about six years. They sold the property in July, 181 2, to James Cowles Fisher. Mr. Fisher was an eminent shipping-merchant, one of the principal business-men of his time. Before the close of the Revolution he was busily engaged with his brother, Samuel W. Fisher, at the north-west corner of Front and Arch streets. It was an old brick house, with three stories on Front street and three and a half on Arch street. The second stoiy on Front street was squared by a pent-house and eaves, while on Arch street at the third story, there was a gable from the eaves over that story which crowned the garret. It was a small house, twenty feet front and perhaps forty feet deep, and would in these days be consid- ered very insignificant quarters for any kind of merchant. But there the Fishers had their counting-house, and, being faithful and industri- ous, they managed to make a large fortune. They lived close by, ac- cording to the fashion of the day. James C. Fisher, at No. 21 Arch street, west of Front, had a fine large mansion, forty feet front and of a convenient depth, with handsome yard, garden, and stables, the latter being reached by an alley from Front street. Samuel W. Fisher about 1797 built himself a dwelling-house adjoining, numbered 23. About 1 800 the Fishers left Front and Arch streets, and placed their store a little farther west, on the north side, at No, 13. Shortly afterward they moved up to No. 33. James C. Fisher's residence was at 409 Market street, near Twelfth. About 1808 he moved into a fine double three- story brick house, specially built for his occupancy, on the north side of Chestnut street, east of Ninth, with garden running up to the latter street, and along the same to the street now called Jayne street. The house was one of the finest specimens of the old-time mansions. It 452 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. was broad and commodious. Here Mr. Fisher lived many years, and his widow remained in the house after his death for a long time. James C. Fisher was active in public life. He was a member of Common Council from 1792 to 1796. He was an active member of charitable associations, and was prominent in all movements which were for the public good. Mr. Fisher varied his ease and elegance by the occupa- tion of Sedgley in the summer season of the year, reserving the Chest- nut street mansion as a winter residence. After Sedgley ceased to be occupied by the family, it was either vacant for some years or under the care of a tenant. In 1836, Isaac S. Loyd, a bold speculator in real estate, who bought and builded with great activity and daring, particularly in the western portions of the city, bought the Sedgley property from James C. Fisher and wife for ^70,000, marked out the lines of streets, and laid out building lots which were made subject to ground-rents. There was some arrangement with Samuel Donner, Jr., of New York, by which Loyd conveyed immediately to Donner, and Donner back again into lots subject to ground-rent. Thus the property was held until June, 1847, when the heirs of Donner seized the property for arrears of ground-rent, and it was sold to them by Henry Lelar, Sheriff In 1 85 1 the Donners sold the whole property to Ferdinand J. Dreer for $26,750. Lemon Hill, which adjoined Sedgley on the south, fell into the ownership of the city of Philadelphia July 24, 1844, and was held for eleven years. That estate was dedicated as a public park on the 1 8th of September, 1855, being separate from Fairmount, and divided from the latter by private property. The completion of this first step toward the foundation of the Park encouraged gentlemen of means and liber- ality to purchase the dilapidated property at Sedgley, with the expec- tation of adding to the size of the Park in that direction. This was accomplished in March, 1857. At that time Mr. Dreer and wife con- veyed the Sedgley property to Henry Cope, Alfred Cope, Joseph Har- rison, Thomas Ridgway, Nathaniel B. Browne, and George W. Biddle in trust for Park purposes. A large sum of money was paid on account of the purchase, but some of the subscribers failing to meet their re- sponsibilities, the property was offered to the city of Philadelphia on condition of assuming the balance of the mortgage. The arrangement was recognized as beneficial, and Sedgley became a part of the Park. SEDGLEY. 453 It embraced the ground west of the Reading Railroad and beyond the northern boundary of Lemon Hill, commencing where the central line of Parrish street would intersect Pennsylvania avenue if laid out in a straight line, and thence extending to the Schuylkill River and up to the Spring Garden Waterworks, crossing the line of Girard avenue, and stretching beyond a distance of 1333 feet. By this time the Sedg- ley mansion was much decayed, and no effort was made to save it from destruction ; so that when the Park authorities directed that it should be taken down there was little difificuly in carrying out their command, for the work was already half accomplished. Nothing remains of the buildings appurtenant to this elegant mansion but the porter's lodge, which was east of the main building, and is known in the Park to- pography as Sedgley Guard-house. HARRITON. f^P^_.^^ N a ship which labored heavily during a rough voyage ^IMil across the Atlantic whilst steering for the American shores was an Irish family consisting of a father, two sons, and three daughters. The parent must have been weak of body, and was unable to bear the straining and de- bilitating effect of sea-sickness. He died before the vessel reached the capes of the Delaware, and his children were compelled to undergo the sorrow of witnessing the sad spectacle of the com- mittal of their father's body to the great deep. This was in 1740, and the youngest boy belonging to that family, whose name was Charles Thomson, and who was born at Maghera, county Derry, Ireland, in November, 1729, was then eleven years old. It is said that the captain of the vessel seized upon the effects of the chil- dren and put them ashore at Newcastle, being anxious to get rid of the responsibility of maintaining them. Charles was placed by the captain, it is said, in the family of a blacksmith, and being bright and active the persons under whose care he remained soon became at- tached to him. Indeed, the young Irish boy quickly demonstrated that he had the capacity of becoming a blacksmith, proving it by the beating out of a nail from the red-hot iron after having seen a work- man do it at the forge. It was a good, solid business, that of the smith, and this friendless boy, it was thought, would be well fixed in a worldly way in his competency to earn his own living if he were taught the trade. But the suggestion did not favorably impress it- 454 HARRITON. 455 self upon his mind, and hearing that it was intended to make an apprentice of him, he determined to leave that refuge and go abroad into the world and seek his fortune. In the night-time, after the family had gone to bed, he arose, packed his little all of clothing in a bundle, and trudged off. He had no particular destination, but after daylight was overtaken on the road by a lady who was travel- ling. Finding him a bright-looking boy, she entered into conversa- tion with him, and asked him what he would like to be. " He promptly answered," says Watson, " he would like to be a scholar or to gain his support by his mind and pen." Rather a high ambition for a runaway tramp ! But the lady was pleased with the appearance of the boy and the frankness of his replies. She took him home with her, and placed him at a school. How long he remained with her is not known. Having mastered the rudiments of a plain coun- try-school education, he obtained instruction in the higher branches of knowledge from the Rev. Dr. Francis Allison at his academy at Thunder Hill in Maryland. In this he was assisted by his elder brother, whose fortunes, after his landing in Delaware, were better than those of Charles. In after years the latter was able to kindly repay this great benefit, and he made a gift of a farm in Delaware to his brother as a testimonial of natural love and affection. The extent of Charles Thomson's acquirements when he left Dr. Allison's academy is not known. He certainly had knowledge of Latin, but could have had no acquaintance with Greek if the story is true that he first became acquainted with that language after he came to the city, where he purchased a part of an old book at an auction-store for a trifle, not knowing what it was except that the crier said it was printed in outlandish letters. Thomson took his prize home, and afterward learned that it was a portion of the Septuagint in Greek. He had partially progressed in the language when, regret- ting that he had not the remainder of the volume, he accidentally stepped into the same store, where he found that the auctioneer was endeavoring to sell the rest of the book. He bought it, and applied himself to the study of Greek with more assiduity than ever. After leaving Thunder Hill, it is said that Thomson taught in Friends' academy, Wilmington, Delaware. If so, it was for a short period. He came to Philadelphia and went into the academy which was the foundation of the College of Philadelphia and the University of 456 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Pennsylvania in 1750 as tutor and instructor, together with David J. Dove. Exactly how long he remained there is not to be ascer- tained from the official catalogue of the department of arts. In 175 1, John Jones, Horace Jones, and Francis Paisley were appointed tutors and instructors, but whether Thomson and Dove retired or remained cannot be clearly made out. Dove, according to Graydon, was teaching a private school when the latter first came to the city, at which time he was six or seven years old. This was about I758~59- Dove must have left the academy in Fourth street some years previous, as his private school was pretty well established, according to what Graydon tells us. For a time Thomson was a resident in Dove's family. The latter was a very satirical grumbler, who scarcely had a good word for anybody, and who used to enjoy himself by writing and publishing lampoons. Thomson was not well pleased with the association, and determined to get out of it, but fearing that if he were to go without ceremony he would not escape Dove's tongue, he prepared for his departure in a novel manner. " He gravely inquired of them [Mr. and Mrs. Dove] one evening if his conduct as a boarder had been satisfactory to them. They promptly replied in the affirmative. ' Would you, then,' said Thomson, ' be willing to give me a certificate to that effect?' ' Oh, certainly ! ' A certificate was accordingly given, and the next day he departed from them in peace." This might have been at the time when Thomson was about to leave the academy. After he left the latter institution he became teacher and master of the Quaker school in Fourth street below Chestnut. For some years he continued quietly to discharge his duties as a pedagogue. He first came into public notice in 1757, during a conference held at Easton between Governor William Denny and his Council and the Delaware Indians of the Susquehanna. According to the idea of the proprietary party, Charles Thomson did a very impudent thing. The audacity of his conduct is related upon the minutes of the Provincial Council of July 25, 1757, in this manner: " As soon as the Governor and Council and Indians had taken their seats, Teedyuscung, by his interpreter John Pumpshire, called for Charles Thomson, master of the publick Quaker school in the city of Philadelphia, placed him by Mr. Trent (assistant secretary of the Governor) at the table, and said he had chosen him for his clerk ; HARRITON. . 457 whereupon he sat down and began to take minutes, without having asked permission of the Governor, who took no further notice of it." This was really a defiance of the governor, who had been applied to by Teedyuscung two days before for permission to have a clerk, " who shall compare his proceedings with the other clerks before they leave the table." The provincial commissioners favored this, but the governor and Council were surprised at their application, the gov- ernor having already given reasons why he could not comply with his request. And he continued to be surprised all that day and the next ; and he was very angry in regard to the subject, particularly as the Friendly Association for Regaining and Preserving Peace with the Indians, which was established in 1756, had undertaken to protect the interests of the Delawares. The governor seemed to consider it an invasion of the rights of the Crown for the Indians to have a clerk, and had determined to deny the request ; but Mr. Thomson's bold manner of compliance with the call surprised him so much that he could do nothing. The services of Mr. Thomson were so satisfactory to the Indians, and his notes of the proceedings were found so correct, that they gave him the name of Weagh-con-lan-mo-iind (" The man who tells the truth"). In May, 1758, Thomson attended, with Tee- dyuscung, a conference with Governor Denny in reference to Indian affairs.' Eventually, Mr. Thomson got out of the traces of the pedagogue and became a merchant and made money. This larger area of activity brought him into connection with public affairs, and he began to take a great interest in them, so that he became a leader among the patriot politicians of the time. He came into notice in this connection as soon as the news of the passage of the Stamp Act reached America. He was appointed by the town-meeting held at the State-House on the 5th of October. 1765, a member of a committee, together with James Tilghman, Robert Morris, Archibald McCall, John Cox, William Richards, and William Bradford, to wait upon John Hughes, the stamp-agent for Pennsylvania, and request him to resign. That obnoxious individual was found to be sick in bed, but he declined to comply with the request of the people. Mr. Thomson signed the Non-Importation Agreement of November 7, 1765. He became a member of the Merchants' Committee, a very important body, authorized to enforce obedience to the agreement and expose such 458 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. attempts as might be made to violate the understanding. In 1770, as a member of this committee, he refused to sanction an abandonment of the agreement of 1765 because the merchants of New York had receded from it and because the people of Rhode Island had modified the terms. The measure being carried against him, he withdrew from the committee with ten of his associates. In 1774, Charles Thomson, together with John Dickinson, Joseph Reed, and Thomas Mifflin, met Paul Revere of Boston, who brought with him a letter from the committee of that town requesting advice from the people of Philadelphia upon the occasion of the passage of the Boston Port Bill. They resolved to call a meeting of citizens at the City Tavern May 20, 1774, and some two or three hundred persons were present. Watson says : " Mr. Dickinson, who had the confidence of the Friends, took moderate grounds, but Mr. Thomson was so ve- hement and zealous for making common cause with Boston that he fainted and was carried out." He must have returned, as resolutions from his pen were adopted, under which a committee of correspond- ence was appointed, of which Mr. Thomson was one, with instructions to write to the people of Boston, " assuring them that we truly feel for their unhappy situation, that we consider them as suffering in the gene- ral cause, that we recommend to them firmness, prudence, and modera- tion, and that we shall continue to evince our firmness to the cause of American liberty." On the i8th of June he attended a meeting in the State-House Yard at which Thomas Willing and John Dickinson presided and Rev. William Smith made an address. Thomson was appointed a member of a committee of forty-three persons who were empowered " to ascertain the sense of the people of the Province with regard to the appointment of deputies to a general congress, and to institute a subscription for the relief of the sufferers in Boston." The circular sent out to all the counties of Pennsylvania requested deputies to be sent to a general conference at Philadelphia on the 15th of July. When the representatives came they met at Carpenters' Hall. Thomas Willing was appointed chairman, and Charles Thomson secretary. It was the beginning of his labor in one of the most important offices in connection with a representative body, and it may be said that the commencement of his service here demonstrated his abilities to such a degree that he was thenceforth a perpetual secretary, as he was during the whole Revolution and up to the establishment of the Federal HARRITON. 459 government. This conference recommended the Assembly of Penn- sylvania to take steps to ensure the calling of a congress of delegates from the various colonies; which the Assembly afterward approved, and sent as delegates to the congress Joseph Galloway, their Speaker, Samuel Rhoads, Thomas Mifflin, Charles Humphreys, George Ross, and Edward Biddle. At the election in October, 1774, Mr. Thomson was chosen a member of the General Assembly for the city of Philadelphia. When the Congress met on the 5th of September at Carpenters' Hall, the delegates needed a secretary who was not a member of the Con- gress. Charles Thomson was chosen, the nomination being made by Thomas Mifflin. Perhaps no man was ever summoned on so import- ant a duty under such circumstances. John Adams, in his diary of the occurrences of a few days previous, says, speaking of a visit to the house of Mr. Mifflin : " Here we had much conversation with Mr. Charles Thomson, who is, it seems, about marrying a lady, a relation of Mr. Dickinson's, with ;^5000 sterling. This Charles Thomson is the Sam Adams of Philadelphia." Between the time mentioned and the 5th of September the marriage had taken place. The lady was Hannah Harrison, a maiden who had reached the ripe age of forty- seven. Thomson himself was well along in years, but was two years younger than his bride. She was a daughter of Richard Harrison, a Friend who originally came from Maryland, by his wife, Hannah Norris, daughter of Isaac Norris and granddaughter of Governor Thomas Lloyd. Thomson's marriage took place the day before Con- gress met, and what might be called the bridal-trip had been taken on the morning of the 5th in a ride by the bride and groom from the paternal mansion of the lady to the city. They were just alighting from the chaise when a messenger with the compliments of President Peyton Randolph requested Mr. Thomson's attendance at the session of Congress. He was informed what was required of him, and sat down at once to a table and proceeded with his labors. He received no compensation for his service in the first Congress, but that body before its adjournment voted that a present should be made to Mrs. Thomson as a compensation for the unexpected interruption of her honeymoon. The article designated by her as an acceptable memento was a silver urn ; and this, which was large and handsome, was pro- cured, and subsequently cherished in the family as a precious memorial. To the secretaryship Mr. Thomson succeeded in the second Con- 460 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. gress, and continued for fourteen years to discharge the confidential and responsible duty. He was a witness of all the events which were attendant upon the birth, growth, and maturity of the Continental gov- ernment and of the government of the States under the Confederation. No man could have known more of the secret history of the times than he ; no one could have been better fitted to write a history of the Revolution, to which task he was urged by many eminent statesmen. He gave the matter serious consideration, and actually commenced the work. But as he went on, memory brought to his mind so many in- stances of selfishness and doubtful motive on the part of men who afterward became celebrated for their patriotism, and he found it would be necessary for him to tear away the mask which protected so many reputations, that he considered it better for posterity that a veil should be dropped over the subject. It is said he destroyed all his papers bearing on the Revolution, with the determination that they should not be used by others. Hannah Harrison was the second wife of Charles Thomson. His first wife was a daughter of Charles Mather of Chester county. They had two children, who died in infancy. By his second marriage Mr. Thomson became a resident of his wife's property at Harriton. It was then within the boundaries of the county of Philadelphia, at Lower Merion, twelve miles from the city — a portion of our ancient territory which has since been assigned to the county of Montgomery. Upon this property was a house which even at that time was considered ancient, having been built in 1704 by Rowland Ellis, a native of Wales and a preacher of the Society of Friends. He took up the plantation on which the house stood, contain- ing about seven hundred acres, and the whole of it was sold by Ellis in 1 7 19 to Richard Harrison. The latter had been living in Maryland at a place called The Cliffs, not far from Annapolis, but his wife, desirous perhaps of closer association with her own family, induced him to remove, and he came to Pennsylvania with his wife and children, his farm-property, his horses and cattle, and his negro slaves. Richard Harrison would have named his place after himself, it may be inferred, were it not that such proceeding might cause imputations of vanity. He did the next thing, and called it Harriton, his own name to a /. In this proceeding he had the example of his wife's kinsmen, the Norrises, who called their great estate in the northern part of Philadelphia county Norriton, instead of Norriston — a piece of affectation which lll'ifll' HARKITON. 463 the people of later times have set aside by giving the full name to the thriving town built on the tract. The Harriton house is of stone. It is two stories in height, with a high-pitched roof, and with a garret-room lighted in front by three dormer windows, and in the rear by a dormer on each side. The front building is about thirty-seven feet in length by twentj^-tvvo in width. In the rear is an addition to the central part twenty-two by nineteen feet, so that the end rooms of the front building may be lighted by windows in the back. The ground-plan of the house is in shape like a letter T. There are some peculiarities in the building not common in country residences. The front-door does not open into an entry, but directly into a large room, which was occupied of old as the sitting- room. Another room adjoining, smaller in proportion, is used as a parlor. The staircase is in the back part of the house, and is approached from a side entrance. A dining-room is beyond, the kitchen being a shed arrangement in the rear. An addition on one side, constructed in later years, one story in height, adjoining the main building and a portion of the back building, gives additional accommodation to the family. In the second story the rooms are divided into chambers, and there is also accommodation in the garrets. The rooms on the first floor were originally wainscoted in the ceilings, panels being formed between the projecting beams. In later times the wainscoting was removed, and the space occupied by it Avas plastered, but the original beams are still visible. Mr. and Mrs. Thomson left no children. In 1798 he joined with his wife in the execution of a deed by which was reserved to themselves and their survivor a life-estate in six hundred acres of the Harriton property. The remainder in the land was settled on Charles McClenachan, a grandson of Thomas Harrison, who was the brother of Hannah, wife of Charles Thomson. Mrs. Thomson died in Septem- ber, 1807, and Charles Thomson on August 16, 1824. Charles McClenachan did not live to enjoy this settlement. He died in 181 1. His only daughter, Naomi, inherited his rights, and she, having married Levi Morris, succeeded to the ownership and occupation of the property. A better and more modern house was erected for the use of Mrs. Morris near by, on the same estate, but the old mansion remains as a tenant-house, maintained very much in the same style and bearing the same appearance which it presented one hundred and 464 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. seventy-three years ago. It is situate back from the old Gulf Road and about half a mile from Bryn Mawr Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad. After Mr. Thomson retired from his position in Congress he with- drew from public life and devoted himself to study. He had done something for historical literature shortly after the Indian troubles, in which he was the trusted agent of Teedyuscung. He was the author of an essay published in London in 1759, entitled an Inquiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Delaivare and Shaiunee Indians from the British Interests, and into the Measures taken for Recovering their Friend- ship, etc., with notes by the editor explaining sundry Indian customs. His old age was given to classic labors, the most important of which was a translation of the Scriptures, entirely his own work. It was published in 1804, in four volumes, under the following title: The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Covenant, commonly called the Old and Nezv Testament. Translated from the Greek. The Old Cove- nant was translated from the Septuagint. It was at that time, and until 1844, the only English translation which had been made of the Sep- tuagint. He also published a synopsis of the four Evangelists in 1815, which was accomplished in the words of his own translation of the Bible and Testament. Rev. Ashbel Green says in regard to the translation of the Bible : " He made three or four transcriptions of this whole work, still endeavoring in each to make improvements on his former labors. There was then no translation of the Septuagint into the English language, and he determined to make one ; and to this, when accomplished, he added a version of the New Testament varying very considerably from that in common use in language, but not in sense." Delighted with his employment, he was reluctant to quit it, and his last work was a Harmony of the Four Gospels, in the language of his own version. The Indian name given to Charles Thomson was also assigned to him by his contemporaries. He was eminently a man of truth. When secretary of Congress his name when appended to official reports was sufficient to entitle them to belief in the public mind. When there were painful rumors, Watson says, and the public knew not what to believe, the appearance of an official notification satisfied all doubt : " Here comes the truth ; here comes Charles Thomson." Rev. Ash- bel Green, speaking of Revolutionary times, says : " When a man re- HARHITON. 465 ported anything in the way of news which seemed to be doubted, he sought to confirm it by saying, ' It is true as if Charles Thomson's name were to it ' I do not remember that any representation to which the name of this estimable man was attached ever proved to be false or in any material circumstance incorrect." In regard to Mr. Thomson's personal appearance, Mr. Green says : " He was tall of stature, well- proportioned, and of primitive simplicity of manners." Mr. Watson, who visited him in 1824, Thomson being then in his ninety-fifth year, said : " I found him still the erect, tall man he had ever been, his countenance very little changed, but his mental faculties in ruins." The Abbe Robin, who was with Rochambeau in 1781, says of Mr. Thomson : " His meagre figure, furrowed countenance, his hollow sparkling eyes, his white straight hair, that did not hang quite so low as his ears, fixed our thorough attention, and filled us with surprise and admiration." Before the Revolution, Mr. Thomson was owner of an estate on the Ridge road near the Falls of Schuylkill, which was called Summer- ville. During Howe's occupation of the city, British soldiers took their revenge on the secretary of Congress by burning his mansion, about the same time that Peel Hall, Fairhill, and the country-seats of Mifflin and Francis were destroyed. There was a family burying-ground on the Harriton estate, and here Mr. Thomson was interred by the side of his wife — not to rest, how- ever. His remains were removed about fourteen years after his death and placed in Laurel Hill Cemetery, where a cenotaph, with appropri- ate inscription written by John F. Watson, was erected. This transfer, it is said, was made without the consent of the surviving relatives of his wife, for, though Mr. Thomson had no children, he had collateral relatives. There was a bitter controversy about it, and it was alleged that the whole transaction was wrong, the bones of the patriot having been taken from the only place in which he desired to remain, and that without the consent of relatives who were as near to him as those who wished the action to be corfeummated. WALNUT GROVE. HE plain Quaker for whom the mansion called Walnut Grove was built about the year 1735 could never have anticipated the military pageant which, invading the quiet spirit that prevailed amid its trees and shrub- bery, would turn the whole peaceful enclosure into a wild mimicry of the sports of chivalry. It was the most unlikely place in the world to be appropriated to such use. Its owners were consistent members of the Society of Friends, and although they might, in common with many members of the sect, have sympathized with the cause of the Crown, they took no public part in the proceedings of the time, and escaped that sort of censure which was visited upon their associates who were free-spoken rather than prudent. Joseph Wharton was the original owner of Walnut Grove. He was born at Philadelphia on the 4th of August, 1707, and lived long enough to witness the events connected with the commencement of the Revo- lution and to know that independence had been declared. He died in the latter part of July, 1776, being buried on the 27th of the same month in Friends' ground at Fourth and Arch streets. He was the son of Thomas Wharton, who emigrated to Pennsylvania before 1688. The father of Thomas was Richard Wharton of Kellorth in the parish of Orton or Overton, Westmorelandshire, England. He was a mem- ber of the Church of England. Thomas was baptized at All Saints', Orton, on the 7th of November, 1663. It is not known whether he 466 WALNUT GROVE. 467 adopted the principles of the Society of Friends before or after he came to Pennsylvania. He was in unity with Friends at the time of his marriage at the Bank meeting-house, January 20, 1688-89, when he took for his wife Rachael Thomas, a native of Wales. She was a year or two younger than her husband. This couple had eight chil- dren, two of them being named Joseph. The first of the name was the first-born, and lived but seven months. The name must have been a favorite, for it was given to the youngest child. Joseph, afterward of Walnut Grove, was married at the age of twenty-two on the 5th of March, 1729-30, to Hannah Carpenter, who was a granddaughter of Samuel Carpenter, merchant, the first of the name, long known as an influential and public-spirited citizen, and one of the best-trusted friends of William Penn. The father of Hannah was John Carpenter, who married Ann Hoskins. Mrs. Hannah Wharton lived with her husband over twenty-one years, and during that time bore to him eleven children. After her death Joseph married a second time, in little less than eleven months, a widow, Mrs. Hannah Ogden, who had been married to John Ogden. Her maiden name was Owen. Her father, Robert Owen, married Susan Hudson, who was a daughter of William Hudson, once mayor of Philadelphia.' By this wife Mr. Wharton had seven children. Mrs. Hannah Wharton the second sur- vived her husband over fourteen years, and died in January, 1791. Joseph Wharton was a cooper. On the 26th of February, 1731, he bought of Charles Brockden and wife a tract of ground situate below the limits of the city of Philadelphia in the township of Wicaco, upon the west side of Moyamensing road, which contained eighteen acres. For this piece of property Wharton gave the ridiculously small price, as it would seem now-a-days, of ^^153. Four years afterward he bought some adjoining lots of Joseph Shippen, so that the area of his ground was considerably increased. The mansion upon this enclosure was probably built soon after the first purchase was made, possibly before 1735, but there are no means of knowing exactly at what time it was finished. It was a plain house, in the general style of the country-seats of the day. There was a central entrance with projec- tion and gable. Steps rose to the principal doorway ; there were comfortable rooms on each side of the entry, and in the second story there were three sets of rooms front and three back, besides at least six rooms in the attics, lighted by dormer windows. The mansion was 468 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. flanked, as was frequently the case with buildings at that time, with an outbuilding- on either side, which might be a kitchen, a washhouse, a place for storage, or a residence for servants. To this seat the family gave the name of Walnut Grove. Joseph Wharton, although a cooper — by which title he describes himself in various deeds before 1750 — became after that time, according to conveyances in which his name appears, a " gentleman." He prob- ably retired from business about the latter period. He is said to have been a man of very dignified manners, and from this circumstance Walmt Cruve (Wharton II()Use). received the nickname of " Duke." Graydon tells a story in relation to him of an interview which he had with Sir William Draper, who was immortalized by Junius: "Sir William, observing that he [Duke Wharton] entered the room and remained with his hat off, begged that, as it was contrary to the custom of his Society to do so, he would dispense with this unnecessary mark of respect. But the ' Duke,' feel- ing his pride piqued at the supposition that he should uncover to Sir William Draper or to any other man, promptly corrected the mistake into which Sir William's considerate politeness had betrayed him, by WALNUT GROVE. 469 plainly giving him to understand that his being uncovered was not intended as a compliment to him, but was for his own convenience and comfort, the day being warm." Of the eighteen children of Joseph Wharton, one of the most eminent in local affairs was Robert, the second child by the second marriage. He was born on the 12th of January, 1757, and lived until 1834, when he died in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was of man's age before the war of the Revolution was over, but probably took no part in it on the patriot side. His early taste was in the direction of a mechanical occupation, and he was bound apprentice to a hatter when he was fourteen years of age, his ambition then being to become a disciple of St. Clement. Hatting in those days was a thorough trade, which began by cutting the fur and wool from skins and pelts, and carried the workman through the processes of making the body, felting, to blocking, coloring, ironing, and finishing. The hatter stood over a great caldron of boiling water, and worked his hat-body by alternate shrinkings, caused by dipping it into the kettle and rolling it on a wooden rim or cover, commonly called " the plank." It was not a pleasant avocation, and it is not wonderful that after a few months' experience young Wharton concluded to abandon the trade. His indentures were cancelled, and, turning his attention to merchandise, he entered the counting-house of his half-brother Charles, who was then an eminent merchant. Robert was in business on his own account as a flour-merchant in Water street above Walnut before the year 1785, and afterward became a wholesale grocer. He was elected a common councilman in 1792, and was appointed an alderman of the city in 1796. At that time the aldermen had ceased to be members of the city corporation, but they exercised the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. He first came into notice during the mayoralty of Hilary Baker (1796-97) by the courage with which he, at the head of the city constables, attacked and overcame an organized body of sailors who were disposed to become riotous in consequence of a controversy with shipping-merchants about their wages. There was a regular battle between the opposing forces, in which the constables finally triumphed, taking one hundred prisoners. The prowess shown by Alderman Wharton made him a marked man, and he was appointed mayor, to succeed Mr. Baker, in 1798-99. Several times afterward he was called to fill the chief municipal office, and did so in 1806-07, 470 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 1810, 1 8 14-19, 1820-24. His energy was very great, and his courage undoubted. This was shown during the yellow fever of 1798 by his attention to his duties as mayor, and by the bold manner in which he repressed a riot at Walnut street prison, in the course of which one of the convicts was killed by Mayor Wharton's own hand. The matter was investigated by a grand jury, which declared the killing to be a case of justifiable homicide. Mayor Wharton was a man of fine form and of great strength. He was fond of field-sports, and was at one time president of the Gloucester Fox-Hunting Club and member of the Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill. He became a mem- ber of the First City Troop in 1798, and was captain of that company from 1803 to 1 8 10. In the latter year he was colonel of the cavalry regiment in Philadelphia, and was elected brigadier-general of the City Brigade in 18 10, and served until 18 14, when he was displaced by the action of a special law passed by the Legislature to effect his removal, he being a Federalist, and the politicians being determined to have a Democratic brigadier-general. George Bartram succeeded Gen- eral Wharton in command of the brigade, but did not hold the Com- mission long, being succeeded by General Thomas Cadwalader. Mr. Wharton married Salome Chancellor, sister of William Chancellor. He had but one son, Robert Owen Wharton, who died before his father. The Wharton family in Pennsylvania, so far as it was connected with the public events of the Revolution, was conspicuous in the case of one of its members for patriotism, and in the instance of another for the want of it. Thomas Wharton, Jr., who was the first president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, and who was earnest and active during the Revolution, was a nephew of Joseph Wharton of Walnut Grove, the son of his brother John, who from early life was a resident of Chester county, where he died. Thomas, Junior, must not be confounded with his cousin, Thomas Wharton the elder, who was the son of Joseph Wharton of Walnut Grove, and was born on the 15th of January, 1730. Thomas Wharton the elder had been an associate of Galloway and Goddard in the establishment of the Chronicle, and was a man of considerable wealth and influence. He was apprehended among the Tories who were arrested in 1777 by order of Congress and sent to Virginia. Subsequently he was at- tainted and his estates confiscated. When the royal army took possession of Philadelphia in September, WALNUT GROVE. 47 1 1777, Joseph Wharton of Walnut Grove had been dead about thirteen months. His widow was in the fifty-seventh year of her age. Whether she was hving at Walnut Grove, or had abandoned it during those troublous times for the better protection of the city, is a matter of con- jecture. From the free and easy manner with which the British officers entered upon the premises, it is to be presumed that they were unoccupied. According to the account of the Mischianza pub- lished in the London Anttual Register for 1778, and attributed to Major John Andre, the Wharton mansion was taken possession of completely by the royal officers in the effort which they made to do honor to that military failure, Sir William Howe. They trespassed upon the grounds, and erected pavilions and arches, a refreshment-hall and a ball-room. The supper-room was a magnificent saloon of two hundred and ten feet by forty feet in width, and was twenty feet in height, showing that very extensive arrangements had been made upon the grounds, in the course of which trees and shrubbery must have suffered severely. The account does not state to what use the mansion-house was put. It was an old-fashioned building, comfortable but not large, and might have been dedicated to the purpose of the general's head-quarters. Andre's account of this " piece of tomfoolery," as a cynical old major in the royal army called it, is well known, and has been frequently repub- lished in full. Twenty-two field officers subscribed the necessary funds. They called the frolic the Mischianza, but the word is fre- quently spelt Meschiajiza. The title was chosen because " it was made up of a variety of entertainments." First, there was a grand regatta, which may be said to have been an aquatic procession. The company consisted of the officers of the army, the ladies who were invited, and the civilians who were permitted to be present, of whom there were but few. They were transported from Knight's wharf in the Northern Liberties to the Old Fort or Association Battery, which was south of the town, and which afterward became the site of the United States Navy Yard. The boats were in three divisions. Each division was composed of five flatboats, which preceded a galley which brought up the rear of the line, and in which were accommodated the grand offi- cers — Sir William Howe, Lord Howe, General Knyphausen, Sir Henry Clinton, and such. At the head of each division was a flatboat upon which was a band of music ; and in order to keep off the crowd of boats, which contained ignoble Philadelphians, six barges did police 472 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHIIADELPHIA. The Association Batikrv. duty. So they proceeded, music playing, flags and streamers flying, and passed by the British ships of war and transports, which were moored in a long line stretching from Kensington and the Northern Liberties to Southwark and Moyamensing. It was intended to proceed during the whole course in the stately manner of the Doge of Venice when he went to wed the Adriatic. But loyalty occasioned some delays which broke up the programme. Between the armed ship Fanny and Market street wharf the boats stopped and the rowers laid on their oars. The music played " God save the King ;" the crews of the ships and transports manned the yards and gave three cheers, which were returned by the multitude on shore. Everything was loyal and enthusiastic — all but the tide, which, being composed of rebel floods, as Hopkinson called them in " the Battle of the Kegs," was not disposed to hold back its regular course, even to favor the commander-in-chief of the British army. The flood-tide became too strong for the galleys to advance, and all the generals and admirals and colonels and captains which they contained were compelled to remove WALNUT GROVE. 473 from the grand and exclusive means of conveyance in which they had started, and empty themselves, with undistinguished people of less degree, into the ordinary barges. When they arrived opposite the fort seventeen guns were fired from the Roebuck and the Vigilant. The company was all got ashore and formed in procession, which moved through a line of grenadiers in front, supported by ranks of the light- horse behind, up to the lists at Walnut Grove, all the bands in the army preceding them and playing triumphal music. There was to be a grand tournament, and everything was fantastic. There were heralds in old-fashioned costume, blackamoors tricked out with blue and white silk, and with silver clasps around their necks and arms. The knights were equally gay. One company of them, they of the Blended Rose, were apparelled in habits of white and red silk, and their horses were caparisoned in trappings of the same colors. The Knights of the Burning Mountain represented the adverse host. They wore colors of black and orange, and their horses rejoiced in ornaments of the same tints. As for the young ladies in whose honor all this frippery and affectation was pretended, there were seven of them in each party. Each of them was represented by a knight, who was attended by his squire. The general motto of the champions of the Blended Rose was, " We droop when separated," which illustrated the device of two roses intertwined. The Knights of the Burning Mountain were dis- tinguished by the emblem of a volcano in full blaze, with the motto, " I burn for ever." The ladies belonging to the respective sides were attired in Turkish habits, and bore in their turbans the favors with which they meant to reward the knights who were to contend in their honor. The damsels of the Blended Rose each wore a white silk polonaise dress, which formed a flowing robe and was open in the front to the waist. The pink sash six inches wide beshone with spangles ; the shoes and stockings were spangled, as was also the veil, which was edged with silver lace. The headdress was towering, in the style of the time, and was filled with a profusion of flowers and laces and jewels. The ladies of the Burning Mountain wore white silk gowns trimmed with black, and white sashes edged with black, their costumes resembling in other particulars those of the ladies of the Blended Rose. The Knights of the Blended Rose were — Chief, Lord Cathcart, in honor of Miss Auchmuty; squires. Captain 474 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Hazard and Captain Brownlow ; device, Cupid riding on a lion ; motto, " Surmounted by Love." First Knight, Honorable Captain Cathcart, in honor of Miss N.White ; squire, Captain Peters ; device, a heart and sword ; motto, " Love and Honor." Second Knight, Lieutenant Bygrove, in honor of Miss Craig ; squire, Lieutenant Nicholls ; device, Cupid pacing a circle ; motto, " Without End." Third Knight, Captain Andre, in honor of Miss P. Chew; squire, Lieutenant Andre ; device, two gamecocks fighting ; motto, " No Rival." Fourth Knight, Captain Horneck, in honor of Miss N. Redman ; squire, Lieutenant Talbot ; device, a burning heart ; motto, " Absence cannot Extinguish." Fifth Knight, Captain Matthews, in honor of Miss Bond ; squire, Lieutenant Hamilton ; device, a winged heart ; motto, " Each Fair by Turns." Sixth Knight, Lieutenant Sloper, in honor of Miss M. Shippen ; squire. Lieutenant Brown ; device, a heart and sword ; motto, " Honor and the Fair." The Knights of the Burning Mountain were — Chief, Captain Watson, in honor of Miss Franks ; squires, Captain Scott and Lieutenant Lyttleton ; device, a heart with a wreath of flowers ; motto, " Love and Glory." First Knight, Lieutenant Underwood, in honor of Miss S. Shippen ; squire, Ensign Haverkam ; device, a pelican feeding her young ; motto, " For those I Love." Second Knight, Lieutenant Winyard, in honor of Miss P. Shippen ; squire. Captain Boscawen ; device, a bay-leaf; motto, " Unchangeable." Third Knight, Lieutenant Delaval, in honor of Miss B. Bond ; squire, Captain Thorne ; device, a heart aimed at by several arrows, and struck by one ; motto, " Only One Pierced Me." Fourth Knight, Monsieur Mont Luisant (lieutenant of Hessian Chasseurs), in honor of Miss R. Redman ; squire. Captain Campbell ; device, a sunflower turning toward the sun; motto, " Te vise a voiis." Fifth Knight, Lieutenant Hobbart, in honor of Miss S. Chew ; squire, Lieutenant Briscoe ; device, Cupid piercing a coat-of-mail with his arrow ; motto, " Proof to All but Love." WALNUT GROVE. 475 Sixth Knight, Brigade-Major Tarleton, in honor of Miss W. Smith ; squire, Ensign Heart ; device, a Hght dragoon ; motto, " Swift, Vigilant, and Bold." In due time the ceremonies began. One herald proclaimed, amid flourishes of trumpets and with great dignity, " that the ladies of the Blended Rose excel in wit, beauty, and every accomplishment those of the whole world," in token of which the knights whose devoirs were due to those ladies were ready to maintain their assertion by deeds of arms in accordance with the laws of ancient chivalry. This challenge, after some parade and trumpeting, was taken up by the herald of the Knights of the Burning Mountain, who not satisfied to merely prove by daring deeds the superiority of the beauties whom his knights adored beyond all others, asserted that the fair ones whose honor they defended were " not excelled in beauty, virtue, or accomplishments by any in the universe." And so they went in to the lists. Gauntlets were thrown down and taken up with great ceremony. The knights met in full career, and shivered their lances on each other's shields without particular damage to anybody. The stock of lances must have been insufficient for a second round, for instead of meeting again with spear or with sword in the good old jousting fashion of the Middle Ages, the knights encountered each other in the second and third onsets with vulgar gunpowder, and fired off their pistols without hurting each other, no doubt to the sore trepidation of the gentle ladies of the Blended Rose and the Burning Mountain. The chiefs of the band. Lord Cathcart of the Blended Rose and Captain Watson of the Guards as Knight of the Burning Mountain, then met in furious com- bat in the centre of the lists, and might have done something desperate had not the marshal of the field, Major Gwyne, with great discretion, rushed in before blood was spilled, declaring in a loud voice that the fair damsels of the Blended Rose and the Burning Mountain were per- fectly satisfied with the proofs of love and the feats of valor given by their knights, and commanded them, as they prized their future favors, to immediately desist from further combat. They were satisfied, poor things ! with the shivering lances and the noise of pistols, and were terrified nearly to death when the brave Cathcart and the stalwart Watson met a Vcmti-ance. It was time that this sanguinary farce should cease ; and as none but the brave deserved the fair, and as the fair were satisfied that the brave were very brave, it was not necessary 476 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. to break any more bones or risk the limbs of the gallant participants. Cathcart and Watson sheathed their swords. The ladies and their knights and the musicians marched through the two arches — one erected in honor of Lord Howe with naval trophies and ornaments, and the other to celebrate the triumphs of Sir William Howe in the military line. Neptune surmounted the top of the admiral's arch, whilst Fame crowned the arch of the general. The interval between the arches was three hundred feet, and the second arch was in front of the garden which surrounded the mansion-house. The walls of the dancing-hall were painted in imitation of Sienna, in white and black marble. One of the rooms was appropriated for the use of what Andre called a " Pharaoh " table, the uses of which were symbolized by a painting of an elegant cornucopia filled with flowers, which was conspicuous upon entering the room, and by an empty cornucopia placed in such a situation as to attract attention when the unlucky gambler went out. The ball-room was ornamented with blue and gold and natural festoons of flowers ; also by eighty-five mirrors borrowed for the occasion from Tory families and decorated with rose silk ribbons and artificial flowers, the whole being illuminated at night with wax lights properly disposed. In the evening there was a grand exhibition of fireworks, which was conveniently arranged so as to be visible from the ball-room. There were rockets, burst- ing balloons, transparencies, fountains of fire, stars, and other devices. The supper was the grand consummation. Fifty-six large pier-glasses, eighteen lustres of twenty-four lights each, and one hundred branches with three lights in each, together with three hundred wax tapers dis- posed along the supper-tables, made the dining-hall as bright as day. There were four hundred and thirty covers and twelve hundred dishes, and the waiters were twenty-four black slaves in oriental dresses, with silver collars and bracelets. They feasted, flirted, laughed, and were merry, and after supper returned to the ball-room, and continued to dance until four o'clock in the morning. When the knights left this scene of enchantment and repaired to the city with their ladies, there were evidences that some- thing unpleasant had taken place. All this parade and ceremony could not be prepared for without the circumstances becoming known to the Americans, who considered the occasion an excellent one on which to make an attack on the British lines. About ten o'clock WALNUT GROVE. 477 at night, whilst the ladies and their gallant knights were enjoy- ing themselves. Captain Allen McLane, with one hundred infantry and Clow's dragoons, divided into four squads, reached the abattis north of the city, which stretched from Cohocksink Creek to Fair- mount Hill. Having camp-kettles filled with combustibles, they dis- posed them along the line of defences, and at a given signal set fire to them. In a few moments the timber of the abattis was in a blaze. The British were taken by surprise. They beat the long-roll along the whole line of their encampments and fired the guns in their redoubts, the echoes from which were taken up by the ships in the river. There was a general alarm all over the city, and the noise of it reached even to Wicaco and Walnut Grove, and occasioned some remark among the ladies, who were assured by their cavaliers, however, that it was all in honor of the Mischianza — part of the ceremonies, in fact. The British horse sallied out against the daring Yankees who had ventured upon this piece of audacity. McLane took the Wissahickon road, and eventually swam his horse across the Schuylkill, where he was pro- tected by Morgan's riflemen. Some of the pursuers went as far as Barren Hill. This was the last public appearance of Sir William Howe as a com- mander. In less than a week afterward he left the Delaware, and after he reached home he was the subject of very unpleasant criticisms in consequence of this piece of folly. In a pamphlet printed at London in 1780, entitled Stnctures upon the Philadelphia Mischianza ; or. The Triumph of Leaving America Unconqiiered, the writer with great sever- ity speaks of the pageant in this wise : " Should the reader ask what it was the general last did among them, his panegyrist has here told us. He bounced off with his bombs and burning hearts, set upon the pil- lars of his triumphal arch, which at the proper time of the show burst out in a shower of squibs, crackers, and other fireworks, to the delec- table amazement of Miss Craig, Miss Chew, Miss Redman, and all the other misses dressed out as the fair damsels of the Blended Rose and the Burning Mountain for this farce of knight-errantry. What would not have been said of the Duke of Marlborough's vanity if, after forty thousand enemies killed and taken at the battle of Blenheim, he had encouraged his officers and dependants to dedicate to him a triumphal arch, and had employed even the enemy's standards taken in battle in forming an avenue for himself and his fellow-conquerors to have 478 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. walked through ? What are we, then, to think of a beaten general's debasing the king's ensigns — for he had none of his enemies' — by- planting all the colors of the army in a grand avenue of three hundred feet in length, lined with the king's troops, between two triumphal arches, for himself and his brother to march along in pompous proces- sion, followed by a numerous train of attendants, with seven silken knights of the Blended Rose and seven more of the Burning Moun- tain, and their fourteen Turkey-dressed damsels, to an area of one hun- dred and fifty yards square, lined also with the king's troops, for the exhibition of a tilt and tournament or mock fight of old chivalry in honor of this triumphant hero — and all this sea-and-land ovation made — not in consequence of an uninterrupted succession of victories like those of the Duke of Marlborough — not after the conquest of Canada by a Wolfe, a Townshend, and an Amherst, or after the much more valuable conquest of all the French provinces and possessions in India under the wise and active general Coote — but after thirteen prov- inces wretchedly lost and a three years' series of ruinous disgraces and defeats ?" The damsels who participated in this pageant were young and thoughtless, and could have had no expectation that it would become historic. Except Miss Auchmuty, who was an English girl, they were all Philadelphians. It is of interest to know what became of these ladies in after life. It may be said that nearly all of them who were fortunate enough to marry settled down as good and faithful American wives. The following facts have been ascertained : Ladies of the Blended Rose. Miss Auchmuty married Captain A. F. Montresor of the Guards. Miss N. (probably Nancy or Ann) White. Miss J. (Jane) Craig was the lady who furnished John F. Watson with her reminiscences of the Mischianza. She died in Philadelphia, unmarried. Miss P. (Peggy or Margaret) Chew married Colonel John Eager Howard of the Continental army, of Baltimore, Mar>'land. Miss N. (probably Nancy or Ann) Redman was a daughter of Dr. Thomas Redman. Miss Bond was probably the daughter of Dr. Phineas Bond, and was married to General John Cadwalader of the Pennsylvania Line January 30, 1779. WALNUT GROVE. 479 Miss M. (Mary) Shippen, daughter of Chief-Justice Edward Shippen, married Dr. WilHam Mcllvaine. Ladies of the Burning Mountain. Miss (Polly or Mary) Franks, daughter of David Franks, married Colonel (afterward General) Sir Henry Johnson of the British army. Miss S. (Sarah) Shippen, daughter of Chief-Justice Edward Shippen, married Thomas Lea. Miss P. (Peggy or Margaret) Shippen, daughter of Chief-Justice Shippen, married April 8, 1779, General Benedict Arnold, the traitor. Miss B. (Becky or Rebecca), daughter of Dr. Phineas Bond, went to England after the Revolution with Mr. Erskine, the British minister, and died in that country, unmarried. Miss B. (Becky or Rebecca) Redman, daughter of Dr. Thomas Red- man, married Col. Elisha Lawrence of New Jersey, December i, 1779. Miss S, (Sophia) Chew, daughter of Chief-Justice Chew, married Henry Phillips of Maryland. Miss Williamina Smith, daughter of Rev. William Smith, Provost of the College, married Charles Goldsborough of Long Neck, Dorset county, Maryland. Concerning the subsequent history of the British officers who par- ticipated in this affair as much is not known. Lord Cathcart married, April 10, 1779, Miss Eliot, daughter of Andrew Eliot, who had been collector of customs at Philadelphia under the Crown. Cathcart was of an ancient Scotch family. He was commander-in-chief of the British army before Copenhagen in 1807. He was created an English viscount and earl, and died in 1843. The history and fate of Lieutenant John Andre are too well known to need any further reference to his unfortunate history. Brigade-Major Banastre Tarleton, a dashing dragoon officer, after- ward became odious for his cruelty in his military operations in the southern part of the United States, particularly for the massacre at Waxhaw Creek in May, 1780. He was defeated by Sumter at Black Stocks in November, 1780, and by Morgan at the Cowpens June, 1781. He surrendered with Cornwallis at Yorktown, went to England, where he became a member of Parliament, and was made a baronet and a full general. He married a daughter of the Duke of Ancaster. At the death of Joseph Wharton of Walnut Grove in 1776, his property went under his will, and was devised to his numerous heirs. 480 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. He directed that at the end of four years his real estate should be divided among his ten children, or such of them as should be living four years after his death. He was the owner of very large real-estate interests, principally in the city and Southwark. but his bequests were confined almost entirely to his family. He gave freedom to two slave- women, and devised a small piece of ground to each. He made a devise of a lot of ground in Southwark to the Society of Friends for the pur- pose of building a meeting-house. Under the partition a considerable number of pieces of real estate were set out for the heirs. In this division the Walnut Grove mansion-house, with some adjoining ground, went to Isaac Wharton. When the latter died he also left a large amount of property, and in the partition which was made the mansion-house fell to the share of Thomas I. Wharton, his son. The latter held the property until 1823, in M^hich year he conveyed the ground to the " Guardians of the Poor of the City, Southwark, and the Northern Liberties." The lot then took up the whole square from Prime or Washington to Federal street, and from Fifth street on the east to Arabella street on the west. Here, in the old mansion, the Guardians of the Poor opened an asylum for poor children, which was maintained for several years. In 1825 the Legislature gave authority to the Guardians to sell the premises, and they disposed of it in 1835 to Thomas Mitchell, a conveyancer. In the ensuing year he sold the mansion and appurtenant lot to George Jeffries, coachmaker, formerly of the firm of Jeffries & Nuttle. Jeffries turned the old building into a coachmaker's shop, and in the apartments which rang with the laughter of the belles of the Mischianza and the flatteries of their red-coated admirers the sound of the plane and the saw and the hammer was heard, and the smell of varnish and paint drowned the fragrant memories of beauty and grace. Jeffries held the premises until 1842, when they became the property of James M. Lin- nard. The Controllers of the public schools rented the old building and occupied it as a secondary school-house, which was called the Coach-Factory School. Ten years afterward Mr. Linnard sold the premises to the Controllers. After the purchase, finding that the mansion was not very well fitted for school purposes, the house was torn down and a much larger and more suitable edifice for the pur- poses of education was erected, to which the Controllers gave the appropriate name of the Wharton School-house. FAIRHILL. SAAC NORRIS, Sr., removed from the Slate-Roof House in 1717. Before that time he had acquired by various purchases large adjoinining tracts of land in the Liberties, which ex- tended from the lands fronting the Delaware, and mostly taken up by the Swedes before the arrival of William Penn, over to Frankford road, and across the same to the eastern side of German- town road and northward to Gunner's Run, To the eastern portion of this ground, which lay to the east of Frankford road, Mr. Norris gave the name Sepviva. The western portion was called Fairhill — a name given to it, it is presumed, in consequence of its nearness to Fairhill meeting-house, which immediately adjoined the property on the north. The various titles in the hands of Isaac Norris were con- firmed to him by patent issued on the 8th of October, 1713. The Sepviva plantation was estimated to be one hundred and fifty-five acres and the Fairhill estate five hundred and thirty acres. On the latter property Isaac Norris, about 17 16-17, erected a mansion-house, which thenceforth, during the remainder of his life, was his perma- nent place of residence. It was not magnificent in dimensions nor lofty in appearance, but it was comfortable. It might be said to have been only one story in height, but a basement, a considerable portion of which was above ground, and a lofty hip roof, lighted by three dormers in front and three in the rear, made the house, in fact, one of three stories. It was a square building sixty feet front, with a recessed porch approached by a flight of six steps, on either side of 31 481 482 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. which were two windows belonging to the basement rooms and two to the principal rooms. The doorways were plentiful. There was one on each side of the house. The interior was cut up into rooms, of which there were four upon the principal story, whilst in the garret the chambers were at least six. The parlors and halls were wain- scoted with oak and red cedar, unpainted, but polished with wax and Pairhill Manskjn, originally built by Isaac Nonis, 1717; destroyed by the British during the Revolution; afterward rebuilt, and still standing. kept bright. The library was papered, and everything was substantial. There was a graduated carriage-way which led through the lawn to Germantown road, and which was bordered with trees and shrubbery. The wooded accesories of the seat were plentiful. The fine forest trees remained, and the grounds were laid out with gardens,. walks, FAIR HILL. 483 green-house, and fish-ponds, the part of the plantation which was under cultivation for such purposes consisting of several acres. The garden was laid out in the old English style of square parterres and beds, and was intersected by gravelled walks and alleys with clipped hedges. Francis Daniel Pastorius of Germantown, himself a man of taste, pronounced the Fairhill garden the finest he had seen in the whole country. There were not only the indigenous plants and trees, but exotics which had been obtained from time to time by Isaac the father and Isaac the son which had cost considerable money. Some of the trees and plants came from France. There were catalpas brought from the Southern colonies, and it was here were grown the first willow trees in Pennsylvania, the introduction of which is told by Franklin in his account of noticing the sprouting of a willow which had been used in a basket which he saw on board a ship which came to a wharf on the Delaware. Franklin took the sprout and presented it to Debby Norn's, a daughter of Isaac the elder, who planted it, whence it became the parent of many trees of the same species which have since become so common. The kitchen arrange- ments were in the basement. The house was a pleasant one for sum- mer, but not so attractive in the winter season, although it seems that Isaac Norris, Sr., generally lived there all the year round, as did his son Isaac and other members of the family. The elder Norris, besides his son Isaac, had another son named Charles, who was a merchant, and occupied the fine house on Chest- nut street between Fourth and Fifth which was known to our grand- fathers as the " Norris Mansion." He built that commodious dwelling about the year 1750, and it was for a long time esteemed one of the finest houses in town. The main house was sixty feet front, and was divided into four apartments by a wide hall which ran through the centre to a cross-entry, which was at the foot of a spacious staircase and opened on the piazzas on each side. The stairway was built of cherry wood, fine grained, highly polished, and as dark as mahogany. It was lighted by windows in every story, and its flat roof, which was surrounded by a balcony, gave an uncommon appearance to the whole building. The mansion-house was three stories high. The upper chambers were convenient and pleasant. " The whole house, with its balconies and piazzas, was in its appearance altogether singular, and in its days of splendor, with its ample lot extending to Fifth street and 484 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. garden undiminished, was really a beautiful habitation." There were the usual outhouses, kitchen, washhouse, and the hothouse was one of the first established in the city. The garden was considered particularly elegant, and was stocked with the finest fruits. Everything here was in a condition of careful cultivation, whilst no expense was spared to ren- der the house comfortable. Deborah Norris, who married Dr. George Logan, was a daughter of this Charles Norris, and resided in the Chestnut street house at the time of the battle of Germantown, the events of which she has graphically described. The wife of Charles Norris was the only daughter of Joseph Parker of Chester, Delaware county. Their son, Joseph Parker Norris, was for a long time pres- ident of the Bank of Pennsylvania. The Norris property was sold in 1 8 19 to the second Bank of the United States. Isaac Norris the elder, on his death in 1735, devised Fairhill to his son, Isaac Norris, Jr., who succeeded him in public life, as has already been said, and in fact was more conspicuous than his father in Provin- cial affairs. The younger Isaac also resided at Fairhill, and being a man of education and taste for study, surrounded himself with rare and valuable books, so that his libraiy, next to that of James Logan, was probably the most extensive in the Province. He had a knowledge of Hebrew, and wrote in French and in Latin with ease. He was married to Sarah, daughter of James Logan. That lady, who was born on the 9th of December, 17 15, died on the 13th of December, 1744, at the early age of twenty-nine years. She was the mother of four children. Her sons Isaac and James died young ; her daughters Mary and Sarah grew up to womanhood. Their father died in 1764, and these two girls were left alone as the tenants of the Fairhill property. Yet they were lively and courageous. Among the Pem- berton papers are many letters from Mary and Sarah, dated at Fair- hill, to their cousins, James and John Pemberton, in which, whilst they occasionally allude to their fears and their lonely condition at P'airhill, they treat the matter in a spirit of hopeful good-humor which shows their determination to bravely meet their responsibilities. Sarah, the younger, did not long survive her father. She had reached the womanly age of twenty-five when she died in the year 1769. Mary had a different fortune. She was born on the i6th of September, 1740, and when she reached thirty years, in the year 1770, married John Dickinson, the lawyer, politician, and author of the Fannei^s Letters. FAIR HILL. 485 Dickinson, by virtue of his marriage, became a resident of Fairhill, and restored the property to something like its former scholarly uses under the Norrises. His library was extensive. The fame of it was wide- spread. Dickinson was a man of contradictions. One of the earliest and strongest advocates of the rights of the Colonies, he weakened down into opposition to independence, and was for a time su.spected of having abandoned all his former principles. A member of the Society of Friends by birth and education, he became a soldier during the Rev- olution, and after the war closed sympathized with the Society of Friends, if he did not again join it. Strong at the outset of the diffi- culties with England, weak at the crisis, he yet recovered himself in public estimation, and after being disgraced in 1776 by being super- seded in his place in Congress, he gained credit afterward to such an extent that he held high offices. He was the son of Samuel Dickin- son of Maryland by his second wife, Mary Cadwalader. He was born in Maryland, was subsequently taken by his father to the Lower Coun- ties on the Delaware, then became a law-student with John Moland, a leading practitioner in Philadelphia, and studied in London at the Temple. He went into the Assembly in 1762 as a member from the county of Philadelphia, and was re-elected in succeeding years, serving until the end of the session of 1764-65. The Assembly elected him, together with Messrs. Joseph Fox, George Bryan, and John Morton, a delegate from Pennsylvania to the conference of representatives of the Colonies which was to meet in New York in 1765 upon occasion of the passage of the Stamp Act. He took great interest in the disputes with Eng- land, and by his education as a lawyer was led to consider the merits of the question in a point of view not ordinarily taken. During the agitation in regard to the Stamp Act his pen was active, and his in- fluence was given to the popular side. After the proposal of the act to impose a tax on glass, painters' colors, lead, tea, etc. imported into America, he prepared a series of letters, the first of which was pub- lished in the Pomsjlvania Chronicle December 2, 1767. The writer commenced by stating in effect that he was a farmer living near the Delaware, that he had a competency sufficient for his desires, and that he spent his leisure in his library, where, in consultation with his books and in conversation with his friends, he was enabled to give some thought to public interests. Eleven letters followed, the last being published on 486 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. the 17th of February, 1768, and when completed they were collected un- der the title Letters of a Farmer of PeimsylvaJiia to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies. They were argumentative, and went very fully into the rights of Englishmen, and de- nied that there was power to tax the people of the Colonies without representation in Par- liament. The time chosen for the appearance of these epis- tles was most auspicious. The \_ people of America were anx- ious and disturbed in mind by reason of the bold and unpre- cedented demands of power. The traditional rights of Eng- lishmen were set aside, as they believed, and it was impossible to imagine how far the arbitrary and unconstitutional measures might be carried. The Farm- er s Letters revived the discus- sions and restated the princi- ples of the English constitution, which had been settled after centuries of struggle between the Crown and the Parliament and people. Dickinson set forth clearly the prin- ciples of constitutional law. and while moderate he was forcible and unanswerable. The people of Boston in town-meeting voted him a resolution of thanks. The Fishing Company of Fort St. David on the Schuylkill presented him an address in a box of heart of oak, which was decorated in gold letters with emblems, mottoes, and inscriptions. Dickinson took part in the proceedings of the meet- ing at the City Tavern upon the occasion of Paul Revere's visit to Philadelphia in May, 1774, in order to obtain assistance and sympathy for the people of Boston. He was appointed chairman of the Committee on Correspondence chosen by that meeting, which was the first committee of a revolutionary character estab- lished in Pennsylvania. He was chairman of the committee chosen June 14 in order to ascertain the sense of the people with regard to READING-brAND BELONGING TO DICKINSON, NOW IN Philadelphia Library. FAIR HILL. 487 the proposition of calling a general congress and to secure subscrip- tions for the relief of the people of Boston. He was chairman of the committee for the city and liberties and Southwark chosen by ballot at the State-House on the 14th of November of the same year. He was member of the Committee of Safety appointed by the Assembly on June 20 and in October, 1775. He was member of the Northern Liberties committee for executive purposes elected by the people August 16, 1775. After the first Congress of September, 1774, he was added to the Pennsylvania delegation when the Assembly met in October, and was author of the solemn and earnest petition to the king which was adopted by that body in the hope of averting a conflict. He was continued in the delegation to the second Congress, which met in May, 1775, and again advocated a petition to the king, in which measure he was successful against the opinion of many strong patri- ots. This petition was taken over by Richard Penn, and it received less attention than the first. He wrote the declaration of Congress of the causes of the taking up of arms which was adopted on the 5th of July, 1775, and sent to the European courts, besides being made pub- lic and applauded all over the country. Yet a year later Mr. Dickinson was opposed to the logical consequences of the contest, the beginning of which he had so eloquently described. Meanwhile, although of Quaker ancestry and education, he was willing to draw the sword in defence of his country. He was elected colonel of the First Battalion of the Association, which was raised immediately upon news of the battles of Concord and Lexington m April, 1775, Those battalions were some- what in the nature of militia, and it was supposed that their services would be reserved for home defence. After Mr. Dickinson lost his political influence by his course upon the question of independence, which led to his being suspended by the Provincial convention in July, 1776, he remained steadfast to his military duty. It was an error of opinion which led him away from the final act of independence, which was necessary for the accomplishment of the work of revolution. Whether it was weakness or an unhappy want of judgment which moved him to oppose the Declaration of Independence is immaterial. He suffered for his course in public opinion. Yet he retained his mil- itary command, and when, by action almost simultaneous with the pas- sage of the Declaration, it was resolved to create a flying camp for ser- 488 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. vice in New Jersey, Colonel John Dickinson was ready for duty. The preparations necessary to be made for the embodiment of that force caused delay, and meanwhile, until the flying camp was ready for ser- vice, it was resolved to call upon the Philadelphia Associators and some of the State battalions. Colonel Dickinson left the city for Amboy in the middle of July, 1776, and his battalion, with those of Colonel John Bayard, John Cadwalader, Thomas McKean, and Timothy Matlack, was stationed in New Jersey at Amboy, Eliza- bethtown, Woodbridge, and other points, together with the Pennsyl- vania State battalions of Colonels Miles, Atlee, and Broadhead. This force was discharged about the latter end of August, and came home. After he returned. Colonel Dickinson seems to have resigned command of the battalion, which in the operations at Tren- ton and Princeton was led by Jacob Morgan, Jr. Dickinson must have been desponding about this time, for a letter was intercepted from him to his brother Philemon, in which he advised him to receive no more Continental money on his bonds and mortgages. Washington, to whom a copy of it was sent, experienced regret and surprise at its tenor. In Delaware, Mr. Dickinson retained the con- fidence of public men. He was elected by the Assembly of that State as a delegate to Congress in 1777, together with George Read and John Evans. He declined the office in consequence of domestic rea- sons. In the latter part of 1777 he was commissioned brigadier-gen- eral of the militia of Delaware, which he also declined. He remained out of public life until 1779, when he was elected to Congress from the State of Delaware. He accepted the office. In 1780 he was chosen a representative of Newcastle in the Assembly of Delaware, and in the same year was elected president of that State. Before 1782 he had returned to Philadelphia, and in October of the the latter year was elected a member of the Supreme Executive Coun- cil of Pennsylvania to represent Philadelphia county. In less than a month he became the president of that body, and held the executive power until October, 1785, when Benjamin Franklin was elected pres- ident. He seems to have returned after this to the State of Delaware, which he represented in the convention of 1787 to frame a Federal Constitution. He published nine letters under the signature of " Fa- bius " in support of the instrument, which was adopted. He was a member of the convention to revise a constitution for the State of FAIRHILL. 489 Delaware in 1792. He died at Wilmington February 14, 1808, aged seventy-five years. His body was interred in the Friends' burying- ground at that place. No stone marks his grave. John Adams, who saw Dickinson at the lodgings of General Ward, thus describes him : " Just recovered from an illness, he is a shadow ; tall, but slender as a reed, pale as ashes ; one would think at first sight he could not live a month, yet upon a more attentive inspection he looks as if the springs of life were strong enough for many years." In the next year a coolness sprang up between Adams and Dickinson, caused by the action of the latter in advocating the petition to the king. Passing along Chestnut street, Adams took off his hat and bowed, and Dickinson passed haughtily by. The particular cause of offence was, that Adams in a letter to Warren spoke of Dickinson thus : "A certain great fortune and piddling genius whose fame has been trumpeted loudly has given a cast of folly to our whole doings." This letter was intercepted and published. Adams said : " We are not to be on bowing or speaking terms for the time to come." William T. Read [Life of George Read) thus gives his recollections of Mr. Dickinson, whom he saw when he was a boy : " I have a vivid impression of the man — tall and spare, his hair white as snow, his garb uniting with the severe simplicity of his sect a neatness and elegance peculiarly in keeping with it ; and his manners beauti- ful emanations of the great Christian principle of love, with the gentleness and affectionateness, which, whatever be the cause, the Friends, or at least individuals of them, exhibit more than others, combining the politeness of a man of the world, familiar with society in its most polished forms, with conventional canons of behavior. Truly he lives in my memory as a realization of my beau-ideal of a gentleman." Dickinson was considered a rich man. His father was an extensive owner of lands in Kent county, Delaware. By his marriage with Mary Norris his fortune was increased. Before his death he gave liberally toward the establishment of a college at Carlisle, the charter for which was obtained at the time he was president of Pennsylvania. The trustees of the school, in memory of his services to the country and of his donation, resolved that the institution should be called Dickinson College. He was first president of the board, and acted as such during the remainder of his life. 490 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Fairhill was necessarily abandoned by the family during the Revolu- tion, and being, as it was, the residence of a man of mark, it was doomed to destruction by the British troops. It was set on fire on the 22d of November, 1777, by British soldiers — a wanton destruction of property. Deborah Norris (afterward Logan), writing to Colonel Garden in relation to this devastation, said : " From the roof of my mother's house in Chestnut street [between Fourth and Fifth] we counted seventeen fires,* one of which we knew to be the beautiful seat of Fairhill, built by my grandfather Norris and owned by his family, but in the occupation of the excellent John Dickinson, who had married my cousin. It was full of furniture and a valuable library, which the pressure of the times prevented the family from securing when they sought their own safety in flight." The ruin remained for some time after the British left Philadelphia. The house was finally rebuilt, as nearly according to the original plan as possible, and was occupied for many years by Joseph Parker Norris. It is said that the property was destroyed under the belief that it belonged to Mr. Dickinson, which was not the case. The British troops who com- mitted the act were commanded by Colonel Twizleton, afterward Lord Say and Sele. A portion of the library escaped destruction, having been removed by Mr. Dickinson before the house was abandoned by the family. Finally, the books went to Dickinson College. The Fairhill property was devised by Isaac Norris, Sr., in 173 1, to his wife Mary for life, afterward to any of his heirs who might be in- clined to take it in the division of the estate. Isaac Norris, Jr., seems to have made that agreement. He died intestate, but it was always his intention to settle Fairhill in the male line of his brother Charles. After his death his daughters Mary and Sarah determined to carry out what they knew were their father's wishes, but the consummation was postponed until Sarah died. Mary afterward, on the 14th of August, * A map of the neighborhood of the British lines, drawn by Colonel Lewis Nicola, has marked upon it the situation of these burned houses. There were twenty seven of them, two of which were inside the British lines. Robert Morton, in his diary, says: "November 22, 7th day of the week. This morning, about ten o'clock, the British set fire to the Fair- hill mansion-house, Jonathan Mifflin's, and many others, amounting to eleven, besides outhouses, barns, etc. The reason which they assign for this destruction of their friends' property is on account of the Americans firing from these houses and harassing their pick- ets." Christopher Marshall says, under date of November 26 : " News of the day is. . . . that the enemy had burnt Isaac Norris's house, Jonathan Mifflin's, Peel Hall, and sundry other houses." FAIR HILL. 491 1769, in anticipation, perhaps, of her marriage with John Dickinson, conveyed the property in trust for the use of Isaac Norris, son of their uncle Charles, and to his heirs male, subject to a right of tenancy on the part of Mary for twenty-one years. Subsequently, Isaac hav- ing died, Mrs. Mary Dickinson revoked the trust, and with John Dick- inson her husband made a new conveyance, insuring the fee simple to Joseph Parker Norris and his heirs. In later times, the Norris estates being divided, Fairhill ceased to be considered the family seat. Some years ago the enclosure and grounds — which are now upon Sixth street near Germantown road — were ap- propriated to the purposes of a lager-beer establishment, and merry Teutons quaffed the beverage of Gambrinus beneath the fine old trees of the Norris estate. It was quite a transformation, but it was not so great nor so strange as that made by the Boniface who afterward leased the property, and who gave to the building — the walls of which were constructed in early Colonial times, and the interior of which belongs to the era of the Confederation, or perhaps of the Federal govern- ment — the name of the Revolution House. There was a house which stood there during the Revolution, but by British recklessness it was destroyed. The present building, in all except the bricks and mortar of the foundation and a portion of the walls, dates its construc- tion from a period after the days that tried men's souls. The old Fairhill meeting-house, which stands north of the Nor- ris property, is built on a piece of ground of about four acres, which was bought in 1703 for the use of the Monthly Meeting of the So- ciety of Friends. It adjoins a larger lot of twenty acres, which was granted by the commissioners of William Penn on the 28th of August, 1705, to Samuel Carpenter, Anthony Morris, and Richard Hill, in trust for the Meeting of Friends. This last lot was a gift in compensation for what was called George Fox's lot. William Penn had promised Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, the gift of one thousand acres of land in Pennsylvania out of affection and esteem for him. This would have entitled him to sixteen acres of lib- erty land and two town-lots. But the patent for the property was never made out to Fox, and when he died he devised his lands in Pennsyl- vania to his sons-in-law, Thomas Lower, John Rouse, and Daniel Abraham — all but sixteen acres, which by his will " he gave to Friends there, ten of it for a close to put Friends' horses in when they came afar 492 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. to the meeting, that they may not be lost in the woods, and the other six for a meeting-house, a school-house, and a burying-place, and for a play-ground for the children of the town to play on, and for a garden to plant with physical plants, for lads and lasses to know simples and to learn to make oils and ointments." There was trouble about this piece of generosity on the part of Fairhill Meeting-House. Penn, and the Quakers, who were very greedy, pressed for the ap- portionment of the sixteen acres in the heart of the city. Penn was vexed at such inconsiderate conduct, and declared that he would not permit himself to be deluded into making so large a grant within the bounds of the city — a measure which would have overthrown the plan of the city and created great dissatisfaction among other FAIRHILL. 493 owners of lots. At last a compromise was effected, by which the ground at Fairhill was conveyed in satisfaction of George Fox's gift. About 1707 the Fairhill meeting-house was built, and although so long a time has elapsed, it was still standing in 1877 as a building appurtenant to the Fairhill cemetery, which the Society of Friends, in accordance with the original terms of the gift, have laid out on the grounds adjoining. In fact, there was a graveyard there at an early day. The building is now used as a kitchen to a building adjoining. It is twenty-five feet in length by fifteen in depth, and is built of red and black bricks, with the black bricks on the rear side arranged in lozenge shapes, a style of ornamentation in use between 1700 and 1720, and to be found in Plain Pleasant House on Pas- syunk road near Broad street, built in 1701 ; Trinity Church, Ox- ford, built in 1709; and the farmhouse of the Fairhill mansion, built in 1717. The interior of the Fairhill meeting-house is one room, rising to the pitched roof, the timbers of which were painted red ; there was no ceiling. There was a great fireplace, sufficient to hold a large number of logs of the cord-wood size, and there was a small gallery on each side — one for men, the other for women. The build- ing was constructed in the good old honest style of the last century, and is likely to stand as long as the " hand of improvement " is withheld from it. CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTA- TION. Y force of intellect, activity of mind, strong predisposition to take part in public affairs, integrity, and intelligence, the Pcmberton family for nearly a hundred years was the most prominent in Pennsylvania. Phineas Pemberton, the founder in this country, was a glover, who came to America from Boston in Lancashire, England, in the autumn of 1682, and landed in Maryland on the 30th of October. He had with him his wife Phebe, his children Abigail and Joseph, and his father and mother, each of the latter being beyond the allotted earthly span of threescore and ten. The wife of Phineas Avas a daughter of James Harrison, shoemaker, also of Boston, who likewise came with Pem- berton. Their destination was toward the falls of the Delaware, and afterward they were found to be located in Bucks county. James Harrison, with Phineas his son-in-law, set out from Maryland about the beginning of November, and came overland until they reached the Delaware not far beyond its confluence with the Schuylkill. They were, in fact, upon the site of the future Philadelphia, but so wild and solitary was the territory that they could find no accommodation for their horses, and were compelled to turn them out in the woods over night. Next morning the animals were missing, and, being unable to find them, they were obliged to take water-conveyance, and went up the river, and having found a fine and fertile tract they concluded to settle in that district. Israel Pemberton was the son of Phineas, and was born in Bucks CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION. 495 county in 1684. In his boyhood he was placed in the counting-house of Samuel Carpenter, merchant of Philadelphia, and subsequently, upon undertaking business for himself, was very successful, and be- came one of the principal merchants of the city. He took an active part in the proceedings of the Society of Friends, and became in time an approved minister. He was sent to the Assembly of Pennsylvania as a delegate from the city in the year 17 18, succeeding Richard Hill, who for several years held that position. Pemberton remained in this office but for a single session, and did not again become a member for thirteen years. He was chosen a burgess for the city of Philadelphia, together with Dr. John Kearsley, in 1731, and was returned annually until the session of 1749-50. when his public services closed. He died suddenly on the 19th of Januaiy, 1754, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, leaving a widow, Rachel Pemberton, who was an elder in the Society of Friends, and who survived him eleven years. Phila- delphia Monthly Meeting said of Israel Pemberton, in a memorial adopted after his death : " He was endowed with a peculiar sweetness of disposition, which rendered his company agreeable and instructive. His benevolence and extensive charities gained the general esteem of his fellow-citizens. He proved himself a faithful elder, manifesting by his meekness and humility that, having submitted himself to the dis- cipline of the cross, he was qualified to counsel others in the way of holiness." Rachel Pemberton was a daughter of Charles Read and a sister to the wife of James Logan. She was born at Burlington in West Jersey in the year 1691, and was married to Israel Pemberton about the year 1709, and he "united with her in a pious concern for the prosperity and prevalence of the cause of truth." She filled the station of an overseer and elder in the Meeting. After her husband's death " she continued her house open for the reception of Friends, near and from remote parts, as it had been in her husband's time, particu- larly for the entertainment of those who came from Europe on re- ligious visits to America, with whom she was often dipt into much and feeling sympathy under their weighty travail and exercise." Israel and Rachel Pemberton had ten children, but only three of them — Israel, James, and John — survived their parents. Israel, Jr.^ was the eldest child, and it was said of him that he was " endowed with a clear intellect and ardent temperament, which, being brought under right government by divine grace, made him a useful member 496 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of civil and religious society." Like his father, Israel the second, who was usually known as Israel Pemberton, Jr., was engaged in commerce. His first appearance in public life, in which he became conspicuous, was in 1740, when he became involved in a difficulty with the lieuten- ant-governor, George Thomas, which arose from a controversy respect- ing a proposed alteration in the charter of the city of Philadelphia con- cerning the imposition of taxes. The city corporation, consisting of the mayor and common council, possessed extensive powers of tax- ation, and it was proposed to take them away and vest them in com- missioners and assessors to be elected by the people. A bill for that purpose was passed by the Assembly, but the governor refused to sign it. The quarrel was really between the proprietary party and the people. The city corporation was a close body, originally composed of persons nominated by William Penn, and keeping up succession by the election of councilmen and aldermen by those already in office, so that the policy of the corporation was guarded from the interference of persons whose views might have differed from those of the council- men. In this controversy the Assembly struck the keynote which sounded thirty-six years afterward in the Declaration of Independence. The ground was taken that, as the inhabitants of the city had no right to choose the members of the city corporation, the latter should not have the power of taxing the people without their own consent ; that the king claimed no power of levying taxes without the consent of Parliament; and that there should be no taxation without representa- tion. The governor was strongly censured, and Israel Pemberton, Jr., speaking very freely, said " that it was the governor's design to endeav- or to overturn the constitution and reduce this to a king's government." This coming to the ears of the governor, he called the attention of the Council to the matter. Pemberton, on hearing of it, said that " he was very glad it had come to the governor's knowledge, since by this means he had heard truths which the sycophants who kept the gov- ernor's company would never tell him." The Council determined to bring Pemberton before them. He was arrested, but applied for a habeas corpus, by which means he got out of the hands of the sheriff. The governor declared that the judge had acted illegally, and issued a second warrant, but Pemberton evaded the officer. At last the governor, probably considering that by setting aside the habeas corpus he was invading a privilege dear to Englishmen, pru- CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION. 497 .dently abandoned the attempt to arrest Pemberton, with a frivolous declaration, however, that " his attempts to avoid arrest were a proof of guilt, and that it was not necessary for him to carry the matter further." Israel, Jr., succeeded his father in the Assembly immediately upon the latter's withdrawal, being elected from the county of Philadelphia in 1750. But he was not disposed to continue in that body. His influence in Pennsylvania was very great, but it was exercised in moulding the policy of the Quaker party outside of the Assembly. Israel Pemberton, Jr., confined himself to business, but gave great at- tention and constant activity to the councils of the Society of Friends, wherein he did not scruple to array himself against the proprietary policy. Israel was one of the principal promoters of the formation of " The Friendly Association for Preserving Peace with the Indians," which was established in 1756, and almost entirely supported by the Quakers. They raised a very large sum of money, and honestly ex- erted themselves to prevent the horrors of war. There were troubles on the frontiers. The Delawares were divided, Some took part with the French, a few inclined to the side of the Province, whilst others were lukewarm. Governor Robert Hunter Morris offered a reward of seven hundred pieces of eight for the heads of Shingas and Captain Jacobs, chiefs of the Delawares, and shortly afterward bounties were offered for the scalps of Indian men and women or for the delivery of prisoners of either sex. The Quakers were much concerned about these hostile demonstrations. The Friendly Society presented an address to the governor, and protested against the war on the Del- awares which was about to be declared. The British ministry ex- pressed intense displeasure at the manner in which the Friendly Association counselled the Indians and seemed to thwart the designs of the proprietary family, and they stigmatized their conduct as the " highest invasion of His Majesty's prerogative royal." The Colo- nial records contain several instances of treaties made with the In- dians which the members of the Friendly Association attended. Those records abound with indignant remarks on their interference with the proceedings of the governor and Council. During the ex- citing period when the Paxton Boys were marching upon Philadel- phia the members of the Friendly Association were the objects of denunciation, which ran to such a degree that it was dangerous for 32 498 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. some of the members to remain in the city. Israel Pemberton, Jr., prudently withdrew to New Jersey, and was absent until after the negotiation which took place at Germantown between the deputation of citizens and the leaders of the rioters, after which the Paxton Boys marched home again. Israel during this period was designated by the nickname of " King Wampum," and he was the subject of two or three caricatures, which were rendered intelligible by dog- gerel inscriptions engraved below the pictures, the sentiment of which bore very hard upon the Quakers. In the early part of the Revolution, Israel Pemberton, Jr., was arrayed on the side of relig- ious liberty. The delegates to the Congress of 1774 were addressed by the Philadelphia Baptist Association in reference to the hardships visited upon the members of that sect in Massachusetts, by which they were deprived of their full rights of religious worship. Israel and James Pemberton were consulted in reference to this matter, and counselled the calling of a meeting of delegates from Massachusetts ; which was accordingly done, some other members attending. Israel, Jr., was the spokesman, his subject the important one of the liberty of conscience. The union of the Colonies, which was the object of the congress, was, according to his opinion, beset with difficulties unless liberty of conscience was established. John Adams, whose mind had evidently been poisoned against Israel Pemberton, notices the occurrence in his diary, and stigmatizes the Quaker as " an art- ful Jesuit," whose design was to break up Congress or withdraw the Quaker party from the support of the measures of Congress. What- ever foundation there might have been for this suspicion, it may be said to have been demonstrated afterward by the attitude of the So- ciety of Friends during the Revolution, in the course of which two of the Pembertons, John and James, were sent to Virginia as hostile to the interests of the Continent. Israel did not live to see the war concluded. He died in 1779. Mary, the wife of Israel, was a daugh- ter of Nathan and Mary Stanbury, and was a second time a widow when she was married by Pemberton. Her first husband was Richard Hill ; her second, Robert Jordan. She was married to Israel Pember- ton in the year 1747. The removal of her husband to Virginia in 1777 was a cause of great affliction to her, which threw her into a decline. She died in October, 1778, aged seventy-four years. James Pemberton, brother of Israel, Jr., was elected to the Assembly CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION. 499 for the county in December, 1754, for the session of 1754-55, in place of Edward Warner, who died in December of the former year, but he resigned before the end of the year 1755. Governor Denny was urgent for action on the part of the Province in support of the king's ser- vice and pecuniary assistance for army supphes during the war with France. Money! money! was the constant cry of the Heutenant- governors representing the English government, and Conscience ! conscience ! was the reply of the Quakers. The English ministry created great indignation among the Quakers by their denunciation of the Provincial militia law, which was passed by the Pennsylvania Assembly, and which permitted Quakers and other non-combatants to decline military service. The expressions of the English govern- ment officers were so strong that some of the Quakers determined to withdraw from the public service. James Pemberton and five others vacated their seats, and new elections were ordered. In 1767, James was again chosen a delegate from the city, together with John Ross, and was re-elected in 1768-69. His services ended with the session of 1769-70. The fact was, that the situation of affairs was becoming very critical, and the restless spirit of the Whigs demanded decision of character in regard to public events from their represent- atives in the Assembly. James Pemberton was born on the 26th of August, 1723. He was educated at Friends' school in Philadelphia, travelled to Carolina in 1745, visited Europe in 1748, and journeyed much through England. He survived his brothers several years, and died in February, 1809, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. He was also a leading member of the Friendly Association, was one of the founders of the Pennsyl- vania Abolition Society, a generous contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital, and a constant assistant in all charitable enterprises. Long after the Revolution he cherished the costume of his fathers. Watson says of him that he was " almost the last of the race of cocked hats, and certainly one of the very best .... illustrations of the bygone times and primitive men." John Pemberton was the third son of Israel, Sr. He was active on the side of Friends during the disputes with the Provincial governors. An approved member of the Society of Friends, he was much given to travel. He went to Europe on a preaching-tour as early as 1750, in company with John Churchman. In 1782 he again went abroad, and 50d HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. was absent five years. After a rest at home for five years there was again a concern on his mind to preach the gospel in foreign parts. He embarked for Amsterdam in 1794, and entered upon rehgious labor in Holland. Thence he proceeded to Pyrmont, Westphalia, where there was a Monthly Meeting of Friends, but he was taken ill at Bielfield with a fever, from which he recovered, but on reaching Pyrmont his health was very much impaired, and he died there in 1795. The memorial adopted by the Yearly Meeting in relation to his death said : " In his disposition he was modest, yet when his duty led him among the great and distinguished his manner was plain, solid, and dignified ; with the different ranks of sober people he was open and communicative ; to the poor he addressed himself with great tender- ness and condescension. It was admirable with what ease and delicacy he would enter into the private concerns of poor families with a view to do them good. He might indeed be said to be the poor man's con- fiding counsellor and friend. If the sober and industrious wanted capital to begin business, if he had it not of his own he went to borrow for them, and entered into security for the payment." Israel Pemberton the elder had his city residence in the early part of last century most agreeably situate at the south-west corner of Front and Market streets. There he was seated exactly in the middle of the life and bustle of the city. He remained in that house, which after- ward became the London Coffee-House, until 1745, when he purchased the much more magnificent establishment at the south- west corner of Third and Chestnut streets, known as Clarke Hall. The lot originally, by deed of June 12, 1694, had been conveyed by Thomas Rouse to William Clarke of Lewes in the Lower Counties upon the Delaware, gentleman. He was a lawyer and a man of wealth. He was one of the members of the original Council of the governor, appointed in 1682-83. He Avas made collector of customs under the king for the territories in 1692. Mr. Clarke must have been one of those persons ambitious to have a town-house, although he was substantially a resident of the country and had no interest in city affairs. He continued to describe himself as a resident of Lewes until his death, but was nevertheless determined to have one of the finest mansions in the neighborhood of the city. Third and Chestnut streets was not very far from the city at that time, which was principally clustered about Front street. Still, it was out of town, upon the out- CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION. 50 1 skirts, and Mr. Clarke had room not only for a grand house according to the ideas of the period, but for a fine garden. The lot was ninety- nine feet in front on Chestnut street, and about two hundred and fifty- five feet deep. The house was described as being built of brick, with a double front, two stories in height, and a hipped roof It had many parlors and chambers, and in size was considered the largest house in town. Mr. Clarke did not enjoy this property very long. He was blessed with a son who seemed to have the failings frequently noticed in the sons of rich men, and was inclined to be a spendthrift. On the 22d of April, 1704, William Clarke. Sr., conveyed this prop- erty at Third and Chestnut streets to his son, William Clarke, Jr., and Rebecca Curtis of Barbadoes, reciting by deed that a marriage was soon to take place between said William and Rebecca, " with whom he is likely to have a considerable estate." The father in the deed declared that he was pleased at the prospect of his son's marrying such " a worthy and virtuous person as the said Rebecca, and in consider- ation thereof, and from motives of affection to his son," he made the gift, the same to be void if the marriage was not solemnized in six months. The deed recited that the property was then in the ten- ure of John Evans, lieutenant-governor, who was living there with William Penn, Jr., James Logan, and Judge Mompesson. William Clarke and Rebecca Curtis were married, but the match could not have been a happy one, judging from subsequent events. In fact, William Clarke the younger in less than fourteen years ran through his property, and does not seem to have been in a condition to make arrangements with his creditors. The Assembly of Pennsylvania on the 31st of May, 17 18, passed an act in which it was directed that the house and lot at Third and Chestnut streets should be vested in Charles Read and other trustees, and sold for the payment of the debts of Wil- liam Clarke, Sr., and William Clarke, Jr. The trustees by deed of December 8, 171 8, sold the property to Anthony Houston, and nine days afterward Houston conveyed the premises to Andrew Hamilton in fee. By virtue of this conveyance Hamilton occupied the house as his city residence during his lifetime, but for a considerable period after his purchase he must have felt that he was residing in a house in which he had legally no right to live, although equitably, having paid full price for it, he ought to have been protected. It was a bad feature 502 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, of the dependence of the Province of Pennsylvania upon Great Britain that all the laws passed by the Assembly were required to be submit- ted for the approval of the Privy Council in England ; and it frequently followed that that body acted out of favor, prejudice, or ignorance, and that wholesome laws passed in Pennsylvania were repealed in England, always to the inconvenience of the people, and sometimes to the in- jury of the community and of private persons. It was so in this case. The act of Assembly providing for the sale of Clarke Hall was repealed by the Privy Council, and Mr. Hamilton was laid under the disadvan- tage of occupying premises from which there was a possibility that he would be dispossessed. In fact, suit was commenced in the High Court of Chancery in England by some of the representatives of Wil- liam Clarke, Jr., which, after the usual delay, was brought to a decree, which was, that the defendant, Andrew Hamilton, had no title to the premises. He was at the time of the decree dead, but James Hamil- ton, his son, entered into a compromise with the claimants and bought their rights in Clarke Hall, and these he conveyed to Israel Pemberton February 5, 1745. On the west the property was bounded by the house and ground of William Hudson. A lot on the south, extending west, which was purchased by Israel Pemberton after the transfer from James Hamil- ton, gained an outlet on the passage afterward known as Whalebone (or Hudson's) alley. There was space sufficient in the ground appur- tenant to the mansion to render it exceedingly attractive to the way- farer along Third street who crossed the bridge at Dock Creek and walked northwardly, or to him whose errand was toward the south, and who passed down the street. The ground rose gently from the creek toward Chestnut street in a succession of terraces or platforms. There was a low fence along Third street which allowed a full view of the gardens, upon which care and attention were spent. Graydon de- scribes their condition about the year 1767, as they appeared to him during his daily journeys from his mother's residence at the Slate- Roof House to the Quaker school-house in Fourth street below Chest- nut. He described the garden as an agreeable object, " laid out in the old-fashioned style of uniformity, with walks and alleys nodding to their brothers, and decorated with a number of evergreens carefully clipped into pyramidal and conical forms. Here the amenity of the view usually detained me for a few minutes ; thence turning Chestnut CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION. 503 Street corner to the left, and passing a row of dingy two-story houses, I came to the whalebones which gave name to the alley at the corner of which they stood. These never ceased occasionally to be an object of some curiosity, and might be called my second stage." It is said that it was a part of the bargain when the title to Clarke Hall was assured to James Hamilton, that one of the heirs, a daughter of William Clarke the second, should be maintained for life on the premises. It seems to be tolerably well established that one of the Clarkes did live in the house until the time of her death, under both the Hamiltons and the Pembertons. There were four children of William Clarke the younger — Mary. Anne, Elizabeth, and Rebecca. Rebecca Clarke married Zachariah Richardson. Under the will of Israel Pemberton, Clarke Hall went into possession of John Pemberton. He resided in it during his lifetime. Ann Pem- berton, his widow, lived there for some time after the death of her husband in 1795. The mansion, however, was much larger than was necessary for her comfort and accommodation. She therefore with- drew to the western portion of the building, which was numbered 102 Chestnut street. The eastern portion, numbered 100, was rented to the Treasury Department of the government of the United States, and was occupied in 1795-96 by the Secretary, Oliver Wolcott, Jr.; Controller, John Davis ; and Register, Joseph Nourse, with their clerks and at- tendants. It remained in that tenancy until the removal of the seat of the Federal government to the city of Washington. As became a gentleman of means and of position in society, Israel Pemberton had his country-house. In February, 1738, he bought of Thomas Masters seventy-six acres of ground immediately south of the city, east of the road to the Lower Ferry, extending from Cedar street or its neighborhood southward. Here Israel built a mansion-house before the year 175 1, which was called Evergreen. It was a plain house, not very large, but sufficient for the family of Israel. On the death of the latter he devised Evergreen to his son, James Pemberton. The site of Evergreen mansion was probably on the line of the present Twentieth street, and near where Fitzwater street goes through. A street (now called Evergreen street) runs east and west near the site. John Kinsey, who was a noted man in Pennsylvania in his day, be- ing member of the Assembly from 173 1 to 1749-50, Speaker from 504 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 1739 to 1746-47, and again in 1749, chief-justice of the Supreme Court from 1743 to 1750, owned a property immediately opposite Evergreen, on the west side of the road leading to the Lower Ferr}^ Here he built for himself a solid house, convenient, but not beyond the ordinary size of country-seats at that time. It was square in shape, of one story with a basement, a high hipped roof with a flat top, which was finished off with a balustrade, affording a pleasant lookout in summer. A broad entry ran through the house, dividing the lower story into two parts, each of which was divided into two rooms. It may be said that there CLARKE HALL, EVERGREEN, THE PLANTATION. 505 were four rooms on the first floor, four in the garret, and four in the basement or cellar. In general appearance this mansion was very much like Fairhill, except that instead of a recessed vestibule or porch in front, steps ascended to the door, which was in a projec- tion slightly in front of the wall on either side, and was crowned by a gable. From the house was afforded a pleasant view of the Schuyl- kill River, which coursed along the western boundary of the property. The view was unrestricted up to the floating bridge at the Middle Ferry, and was equally visible to and beyond the Lower Ferry. On the western side of the Schuylkill, after the Hamiltons settled at the Woodlands, the fine trees and lawns of that elegant seat finished off the landscape with bland and delightful accessories. Contrary to the usual practice, no name was given either by Kinsey or the Pemberton family to this mansion. It was situate upon the Plantation, and when spoken of was ^ called the Plantation House. After Mr. Kinsey's death — which occurred in 1750 — this property was sold as the estate of James Kinsey, son of John, by James Coultas, sheriff, to James Pemberton in July, 1758. It was held by him until his death in 1809, and under direction of his will sold by his executors in the same year, and bought by George Pepper. It went through other hands until it was owned by Timothy Abbott, who in June, 1826, sold the premises adjacent to the mansion to the United States of America for the purpose of a naval school and asylum. About 1829 the old Plantation House was torn down. The buildings for the use of the government were commenced in 1830, and were formally oc- cupied for the purposes for which they were constructed on December 15, 1831. The city residence of James Pemberton for many years was on the west side of Second street, north of the street afterward known as Lodge alley, and now as Gothic street. He was next-door neighbor to William .Logan, son of James, who occupied the double three-story house at the north-west corner of those streets. Both of these old houses are still (in 1877) standing. The Pemberton house is of un- usual width in comparison with the ordinary Philadelphia brick house. The ground extended back to a broad court which opened into Lodge alley, and which bears the name of Pemberton's court to this day. In after years this house was for a long time occupied for the office of the National Gascttc by William Fry, publisher, and Robert Walsh, editor, 5o6 HISTORIC MANSIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. and afterward by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Next door south, on what was the Pemberton side-lot and garden, Jesper Harding published and Robert Morris edited the Pennsylvania Inquirer. Both of the above-named journals were printed in buildings fronting on Pemberton court. The house of William Logan was a stately double three-story brick, with quite a pretentious doorway. It was built between 1750 and 1760; occupied by William himself until his death in 1772, when by his will it became the property of Charles Logan. David Franks, who was the father-in-law of Andrew Hamilton the second and of Lieutenant- General Sir Henry Johnston of the British army, lived here during the Revolution. Subsequent tenants were William Bingham while his mansion on Third street was being built ; Dr. Benjamin Rush, whose son James, the founder of the Ridgway Library, was born there ; Joshua Fisher and others. William Lehman and his copartners, William and Samuel Smith, bought it and altered it into a drug store, which was subsequently occupied by Algernon S. and Edward Roberts. The children of Israel Pemberton, Jr., at the time his father made his will in 175 1, were Mary, Rachel, Sarah, Israel, Joseph, and Charles. Rachel died before her grandfather ; Mary married Samuel Pleasants ; Sarah married Samuel Rhoads, Jr.; Charles, on his death at Barbadoes in 1772, left a widow, Esther; Joseph was a man in active business; Israel the third died in 1764, being still in his minority. James Pemberton was twice married. His first wife was Mar\% daughter of Daniel Smith. Mary, daughter of James, was married to Anthony Morris, whose descendants to this day keep up carefully in their middle names the remembrance of their origin from the Pembertons. Rachel, daughter of James, married Dr. Thomas Parke. The Pemberton family in the male line is now represented by Israel, Clifford, and John C. Pemberton, the two former being resi- dents of Philadelphia. The latter was a graduate of West Point Military Academy, an officer of the United States army, and distin- guished himself in Mexico. In the war of the Rebellion he joined the Confederate side, was made major-general, and surrendered to General Grant at Vicksburg July 4, 1863. INDEX. Abbott, Timothy, 505. Abercrombie, Rev. Dr., marries William Penn, son of Richard, to Catherine Juliet Balabrega, 285, 446. Abolition Society, Pennsylvania, founded, 499. Abraham, Daniel, 491. Academy, on Fourth street, 155-170; incorporated, 167 ; title changed to the College, 167 ; opened, 167, Academy, Union M. E. Church at, 169, 170. Active, privateer, capture of, and Arnold's claim arising therefrom, 227, 259, 260. Adet, French minister, 247, 394. Adams, John, President of United States, his pew at Christ Church, 84 ; his encomiums on Dr. Duche, 88; Vice-President, in; inaugurated President, 112; on Independence Committee, 118-120; describes the selection of Carpenters' Hall for the meeting- place of the First Congress, 200, 201 ; dines at Mount Pleasant, 214; dmes with Benjamin Chew, 233; Vice-President, resides at Bush Hill, 269; removes to Indian Queen Hotel, 269 ; leases the house in Market street vacated by Washington, 269; committee on Lee's resolution, 307; minis- ter at Paris, 342; at Lansdowne, 347; member of the Board of War, 387; lives at Bush Hill, 422; describes Charles Thomson, 459: describes John Dicl ; holds pub- lic office, is deputy governor three" times, arrested during the Revolution, 417-419 ; obtains leave to go to Northampton, dangerous condition of his health, 419, 420 ; desires to come to the city while it is occupied by the British, correspondence in reference thereto, 420, 421 : his death, 421 ; lives at Bush Hill, 422; perfects title in Clarke Hall, Hamilton, James, the second, his mansion at Sevenih and Carpenter streets, lives in style, goes to Sara- toga, dies, 426. Hamilton, Lieutenant, at Mischianza, 474. Hamilton, Margaret, daughter of Andrew the first, marries Chief-Justice William Allen, 421. Hamilton, Margaret, daughter of Andrew the third, dies unmarried, 427. Hamilton, Mary, daughter of Andrew the third, dies unmarried, 427. Hamilton, Mary Ann, daughter of Andrew the fourth, marries S. H. Pailaret, 427. Hamilton, Rebecca, daughter of Andrew the third, marries F. L. O'Beirne, 427. Hamilton, William, son of Andrew the first, dies, 417. Hamilton, William, son of Andrew the second, 421 ; raises a regiment for Continental service, becomes indifferent to the cause, resigns, is arrested for high treason, trial and acquittal, 421, 422; re-ar- rested, ordered to depart the State, has a passport to New York, 422 ; death of, 426. Hammond, George, British minister, 247; marries a daughter of Andrew Allen, 394. Hampton, Colonel Richard, purchases Arnold's interest in Mount Pleasant, 229. Hancock, John, at Slate-Roof House, 50; gift of a gold head for a cane to Robert Morris, 375. 5i6 INDEX. Handschuh, Rev. J. F., Lutheran minister, 131, 133, 138. Hanger, Major, 319. Hansell family, 132. Hardie's City Directory, 316. Harding, Jesper, ^\iSA\stiiLX oi Pennsylvania Inquirer. 506. Harrison, Benjamin, letter to, from Washington, on extravagance, 258 ; member of Board of War, 387- Harrison, George, marries Sophia Clymer, 174. Harrison, James, 24; comes to Pennsylvania, 494. Harrison, Hannah, marries Charles Thomson, 459, 463. Harrison, John, joiner at State-House, no. Harrison, Joseph, Jr., machinist and locomotive- builder, 188 ; goes to Russia, returns, 188, 189 ; part purchaser of Sedgley, 452. Harrison, iM.iry, marries Rev. William White, 93. Harrison, Phebe, marries Phineas Pemberton, 494. Harrison, William H., President, at Independence Hall, 126. Harrison, Richard, father of wife of Charles Thom- son, 459; buys Plantation in Lower Merion, comes to Pennsylvania, 460. Harrison, Thomas, 463. Harriton, 454-465. Hart. Abraham, buys Lawrence and Duponceau house, erects Hart's Building, which is burned and rebuilt, 320. Hassell, Sanmel, member of Colony iji Schuylkill, public offices, 174. Haverkam, Lieutenant, at Mischianza, 474. Haviland, John, architect, 125. Hawl 146. Shippen, Edward, son of Joseph, father of Judge Shippen, letter upon the Burd marriage and the Arnold courtship, 222. 525 Shippen, Edward, lawyer, afterward judge of county courts and chief-justice, father of Peggy Shippen, 219 ; complains of an expensive family, 221 ; allusion to the Arnold courtship, 222 ; buys Mount Pleasant after Arnold's treason, sells it to Gen- eral Jonathan Williams, 229, 479; judge of High Court of Errors and Appeals, 248. Shippen, Edward, Jr., arrested, put upon parole, 419. Shippen, Joseph, son of Joseph, arrested, 419. Shippen, Joseph, son of Edward, sells ground to Joseph Wharton, 467. Shippen, Miss Mary, lady of the Mischianza, 474 ; marries Dr. William Mcllvaine, 479. Shippen, Miss Sarah, lady of the Mischianza, 474; marries Thomas Lea, 479. Shippen, Peggy, lady of the Mischianza, hand solici- ted by Gen. Arnold, the courtship, opinions of the family, marriage, residence with Arnold, children, etc., returns to Philadelphia after her husband's treason, ordered to leave the Commonwealth, re- turns after the war, is received coldly, goes back to her husband and dies, 219-226, 474, 479. Shippen, Dr. William, trustee of the New Building, 162 ; his private medical school, professor in the College, 168. Shippen, Dr. William, Jr., certifies to the ailment of James Hamilton, 420. Shoemaker, Hannah, marries Robert Morris, Jr., 26. Shubert family, 132. Simcock, John, councillor, 24; commissioner, 25. Simes, Rev. Snyder B. , of Gloria Dei Church, 64, 65. Simpson, George, teller and cashier of first Bank of United States, 207, 430. Slate-Roof House, 37-55 ; James Logan at, 144. Sloane, Sir Hans, of London, friend of Bartram, 185. Sloane, James, 328. Sloper, Lieutenant, at Mischianza, 474. Smart, John, 59. Smith, Daniel, 506. Smith, Mrs. Hannah, daughter of James Logan, 146, 405. (See Hannah Logan.) Smith, Jonathan, cashier of second Bank United States, 211. Smith, Jonathan B., secretarj' of second Provincial convention, 206. Smith, John, 98 ; marries Hannah Logan, 146. Smith, John, marshal, 210; sells Sedgley, 451. Smith, Colonel James, member of Congress, 353. Smith, associate justice of Supreme Court, opinion of, in case of Patrick Lyon, 210. Smith, John Jay, descendant of James Logan, Libra- rian of Philadelphia Library, 406, 409 ; descrip- tion of Pennsylvania Castle, 444. Smith, Lloyd P., descendant of James Logan, Libra- rian of Philadelphia and Loganian Libraries, 406, 409. Smith, Lieutenant Matthew, killed at the battle of Germantown, 241. Smith, Matthew, of Supreme E.xecutive Council, makes certain inquiries of Benedict Arnold, 256. Smith, Mary, daughter of Daniel, marries James Pemberton, 506. Smith, Robert, director Bank of the United States, 430. Smith, Robert, P. E. bishop, 85. Smith, Thomas, brickmaker, 18. Smith, W., director Bank of the United States, 430. Smith, Rev. William, D.D., provost of the College, 80 ; his sermon to Associators, 84 ; ordained pro- vost of the College, dwelling-house built for, goes to England and obtains subscriptions for the Col- lege, defends the College, 168, 169 : speaks at meet- ings at the State-House, 206. 458, 506; purchases and sells the Lansdowne property, 333 " ■ " ik of ■ nia, 208. Smith, Jonathan, cashier of the Pennsylva- Smith, Miss Williamina, lady of the Mischianza, 475 ; marries Charles Goldsborough, 479. Snowden, Isaac, of Colony in Schuylkill, 172. Solitude, 437-448. Somers, Richard, 331. Somerset, Duke of, his daughter marries Henry F. Thynne, descendant of William Bingham. 349. Sower, Potts & Co., booksellers, 271. Springett, Gulielma Maria, 19. Springettsbury Manor, portions of, sold to James Lo- gan, 149 ; and to Andrew Hamilton, 417. Springettsbury House, seat of the Penns, 337. St. George's Methodist Episcopal church, Arnold's effigy procession formed in rear of, 228. St. John (CreveccEur), Hector, describes John Bar- tram, 181, 183, 184. St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church, Washington attends, 122. St. Michael's Lutheran church at Germantown, 129, 140 ; burying-ground of, sold, 140. St. Tammany's Day celebrated, 246. Stafford's City Directory, 316. Stamp Act, meeting in reference to, at State-House, 115, 116; repealed, 116 ; excitement, 336. Stamper, Mary, marries William Bingham, Sr., 378 Stamper, Sarah, marries Colonel Thomas Lluyd Moore, 27. Stanbury, Mary, marries Richard Hill ; second, Rob- ert Jordan ; third, Israel Pemberton, Jr., 498. Stanbury, Nathan and Mary, 498. Standards, British, captured at Yorktown, 123. State-House at Penn's Cottage, 21. State-House, Chestnut street, 103-128; sold to city, 117; banquet to First Congress at, 203,204; meet- ing at, in reference to Boston Port Bill and the calling of a Continental Congress, 206; Library Company at, 401. State-House bell, new one cast by John Wiltbank, 108 ; another cast by Menealy & Kimberly, 109. State-House clock made by Isaiah Lukens, 109 ; by Seth Thomas Clock Company, 109. State-House Square, lot of ground upon, sought by Library Company, 402. State in Schuylkill Fishing Company below Gray's Ferry, the Penn pewter platters, new site for Castle on Wissahickon Creek, 177-179, 442, 470. Steamboat, John Fitch's, 123, 403, 433, 434. Steel, General John, collector of customs, 210. Stein, Jacob, neighbor of Washington, 269. Stenton, 141-154; Indians at, 149; occupied by Wil- liam Logan, 151; General Howe's head-quarters, 151 ; George Logan at, 151-153 ; Albanus C. Lo- gan at, 154. Stephens, Abijah, of Valley Forge, 291, 292. Stephens' City Directory, 316. Stephens, David, of Valley Forge ; his fort, 292, 293. Stern, British general, at Germantown, 238, 240, 277. Steuben, Baron, puts up at Slate-Roof House, 53, 54; becomes lessee of Mount Pleasant, probably never occupied it, he goes South with General Greene, and enters into a campaign against General Ar- nold, 228; at Schuylkill, 229 ; at Valley Forge, 292; organizes and disciplines the troops, 298, 299 ; at Belmont, 394. Stiles, Edward, 100. Stiles, Joseph, of Colony in Schuylkill, 172. Stirling, General (Lord), exposes the Conway Cabal, 304- Stocker, John Clement, director of Bank of Pennsyl- vania, hearing of Patrick Lyon, 208 ; suit against, Story, Thomas, 97; marries Ann Shippen, offices, mansion on Second street, sells his house to James Logan, death of his wife, his return to England, 144-146; letter of, to James Logan, 150. Stokes, James, 6g. Stoops, James, brickmaker, no. Streiter, John Philip, 129. Stretch, Isaac, of the Colony in Schuylkill, 173. Stretch, Joseph, member of Colony in Schuylkill, 173. Stretch, Peter, makes State-House clock, 108. Stretch, Thomas, Governor of the Colony in Schuyl- kill, 172. 526 INDEX. Strettel, Robert, trustee of New Building, 162. Strong, Caleb, United States Senator, 431. Stroup, Jacob, bell-ringer of German Reformed church, Germantown, 287. Stuart, Gilbert, paints portrait ofWashington for Mr. Bingham, it is sent to the Marquis of Lansdowne, copy engraved by Heath without the permission of the artist, Stuart's anger, 346. Stuart, General Walter, marries Deborah McClena- chan, 247 ; neighbor ofWashington, 252. Stuart, William, 320. Stuart family, descendants of William Penn, 445. Suder, Robert, 80. Styles, Joseph, 331. Sullivan, General John, at Germantown, 239, 240, 243. Sully, painter, his portrait of La Fayette, 126. Summerville, Charles Thomson's place, burned by British, 465. Surgeons' Hall, 168. Swanwick, John, partner with Willing & Morris, 342, Swedes' Church (Gloria Dei), 56-67, 130. Swedes' Ford crossed by Washington, 290. Swedish Lutherans, 79. Sweet Brier, a portion of Fairmount Park, 385. Swenson, Catharine, 61. Swenson, Swen, 61. Swift, John, of Schuylkill Fishing Company, public services, 174, 175. Syng, Philip, member of Colony in Schuylkill, 173; trustee of New Building, 162. Syng, Philip, Jr., goldsmith and engraver, 398. Talbot, Lieutenant, at Mischianza, 474. Talbot, Lady, her beauty, 342. Tarleton, B., Brigade-Major, at Mischianza, 475,479. Taxing act of British Parliament, 116. Taylor, Abraham, colonel of Associators, 117: trus- tee of New Building, 162. Taylor, Christopher, 24. Taylor, George, elected member of Congress, 353. Taylor, James, 46. Taylor, President Z., at Independence Hall, 126. Tea-ship, protest against, and town-meeting, 116, 117. Teedyuscung, Delaware Indian chief, at treaty of Easton, 456, 457. Tegohtias (Talking Bird), Indian name given to Judge Peters, 391. Tempest, Robert, and Joseph Marshall, in Slate-Roof House, 54. Temple, Sir John, British consul-general, 394. Tennent, Revs. Gilbert and William, imitate White- field's style of preaching, 156, 157, 161. Test, John, 18. Tetard, Rev. Mr., clerk in office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 319. Theatre, Chestnut Street, enriched with bas-reliefs from Robert Morris's house, 360. Thomas Clock Company make a clock for the State- House, 109. Thomas, Edward, trustee for State-House, 106. Thomas, Gabriel, about Penn's house, 14, 29,38; on building-stone, 38 ; account of the establishment of Church of England, 79. Thomas, Lieutenant-Governor George, 418 ; contro- versy with the Assembly and Israel Pemberton, Sr., about a law to change the City charter; pro- ceedings against Pemberton, 496. Thomas, Rachel, marries Thomas Wharton, 467. Thompson, General William, his quarrel with Mc- Kean, 77, 78 ; his death, 78. Thomson, Charles, 27 ; on committee to wait on John Hughes, 72, 116: tutor in the College, 16S; at City Tavern meeting about Boston circular, 206; birth, education, teacher in College and Quaker school, acts as clerk for the Delaware Indians at Easton, indignation of the governor thereat, sat- isfaction of the Indians, becomes a merchant, takes part in public affairs, Boston Port-Bill meet- ing, State-House Yard meeting, 454-458 ; secre- tary of Provincial conference, 206, 458 ; member of Assembly, 459 ; secretary of the First Congress, 201, 459 ; described by John Adams, marries Han- nah Harrison, is called into service of Congress, receives present of a silver urn, secretary of Sec- ond Congress, urged to write a history of the Rev- olution, his first wife, Hannah Mather, settles on the Harriton property, conveys his interest in the property, death of his wife, 463 ; his literary works, translation of the Scriptures, his Indian name, his appearance, his property at Summer- ville burned, buried at Harriton, disinterred and taken to Laurel Hill, 459-465. Thomson, Peter, 330. Thornton, Dr. William, architect of Philadelphia Library building, his talents and career, 403. Thynne, Henry F., son of Marquis of Bath, descend- ant of William Bingham, married to daughter of Duke of Somerset, 349. Thorne, Captain, at Mischianza, 474. Till, Mary, marries A. Hamilton the second, 421. Tilbury, Thomas, of the Colony in Schuylkill, 173. Tilghman, Joseph, committeeman of stamp-meeting, Tilghmkn? Chief-Justice ^yilliam, buried in Christ Church ground, 95; opinion of, in case of Patrick Lyon, 210 ; warning to Robert Morris, 370 ; let- ter to, from William Penn, son of Richard, 446. Tilly, Major, trick played upon, 286. Timothee, Lewis, librarian of Philadelphia Library Company, 409. Tomlinson, Eleazar, carpenter at State-House, no. Torkillus, Rev. Reorus, 56. Turner, Joseph, trustee of New Building, 162. Turner, Robert, describes improvements in city, 17, 18; Provincial commissioner, 25 ; Provincial judge, 28. Treasury department of the United States, 503. Trent family, 47. Trent, William, buys Slate-Roof House, builds the Plain Pleasant house, death of his wife, offices held by him, founds the town of Trenton, New Jersey, marries a second wife, 47. Tresse, Thomas, 81. Trinity Church, Oxford, 493. Truitt & Co., hardware-merchants, 271. Trumbull, Colonel Joseph, of the Board of War, 387. Tyson, lime-burner, no. Underwood, captain of British sloop Active, 259. Underwood, Lieutenant, at Mischianza, 474. Union Methodist Episcopal church builds on the Academy property, 170. United States, Bank of, 341. University of Pennnsylvania founded, acts independ- ent of College, united with it, 169. (See Old Acad- emy. See Academy and Charity School.) Valley Forge, Washington visits, in 1787,122; Wash- ington's head-quarters at, 289-306; new building erected, mills, factories, etc., 301; Washington's second visit, 302, 303; proclamation for supplies, 304, 305. Van Berckel, Francis P., Dutch minister, 394. Van Buren, M., President, at Independence Hall, 126. Van Polanen, R. G., Dutch minister, 394. Varle's map, 369. Varnum, General, at Valley Forge, 293 ; marches after Lord Cornwallis, 294, 297, 306. Vaughan, John, wine-merchant and philosopher, 438. Vaughn, Samuel, plants elms in State-House Yard, no. Vaux, Richard, 331. Vernon, Henry, friend of John Penn of Solitude, 438. Villatti, trial for illegal enlistment, 388. Von Wrangel, Rev. Charles Magnus, 62. Walker, aide-de-camp to Baron Steuben, 228. Walker, Isaac, of Valley Forge, Friends' meeting at his house, 300. INDEX. 527 Walker, James, of Valley Forge, 292. Walker, Joseph, of Valley Forge, 291, 292. Walker family, descendants of William Penn, 445. Walnut Grove, 466-480. Wallace, Captain, in royal navy, 49. Wallace, Horace Binney, 267. Wallace, Joshua, 73. Wallace, Mrs. Susan, description of Washington's appearance and habits, 267, 268. Walsh, Robert, editor of National Gazette, 506. Walter, Thomas U., architect, restoration of interior of Christ Church, 83. Wansey, English traveller, visits William Bartram and describes his house, 186; breakfasts with Washington, 268; describes Willing's city man- sion, 268. Warder, John, 97, 98. Warder, John & Co., of Dublin, debtors of Robert Morris, fail, 364. Warner estate, 333. Warner, Edward, 499 ; committeeman on State- House, 107. Warner, Isaac, becomes Chief Warden of State in Schuylkill, 176. Warner, Joseph, Jr., 331. Warner, Margery, 333. Warner, William, l^aron of the Colony in Schuylkill, 171, 172. Washington, Bushrod, justice United States Supreme Court, 388. Washington, General George, at Slate-Roof House, 50; his pew at Christ Church, 84; receives a letter from Dr. Duche, 90; inaugurated Presi- dent, 114; president of Federal Convention, 115; chosen commander-in-chief, 120 ; escorted by City Troop, elected president of Federal Convention, attends Roman Catholic church, 122; visits Moore Hall and Valley Forge, 122 ; entertained at Castle of the State in Schuylkill, 176; member of First Congress, 201 ; dines with Benjamin Chew, 233; his plan for the battle of Germa-ntown, 239, 240, 242, 243 ; at marriage of Peggy Chew, 248, 249 ; describes e.xtravagance and luxury in Phila- delphia, 258 ; becomes tenant of house of Robert Morris, formerly of Richard Penn, 265 ; his family arrangements, 265, 266; levees, 266, 267; his habits, 267; his coach, servants, 268; domes- tic arrangements described by Wansey, 268 ; Horace Binney dines with him, 269; his neigh- bors, 269 ; breaks up Whicemarsh camp, 289, 290 ; his head-quarters at Valley Forge, 289-306 ; at Isaac Potts's house. Valley Forge, 293, 294; re- monstrates to Congress about deficiency in sup- plies at Valley Forge, 297 ; measures to feed the army, market opened, 297 ; at Valley Forge when President of Unitecf States, 302, 303; his opinion of Conway, 303, 304 ; at Lansdowne, 347; portrait of, by Stuart, 346 ; Heath's engrav- ing of, 346 ; presents his portrait by Marchioness de Brehan to Mrs. Bingham, 347 ; at Belmont, 393( 394 ; approves act to incorporate Bank of United States, 429. Washington, Mrs., her levees, 267, 268; described by Wansey, 268; at Valley Forge, 294. Washington Mansion, Market street, 250-271. Waters, Thomas, of Valley Forge, 291, 292. Watson, James, director Bank of United States, 43°- Watson, John F., describes James Logan's appear- ance, 151 ; statement that Whitefield preached at Loxley House, 191 ; recollections of Blair Mc- Clenachan, 247 ; places stones over graves of Lieutenant Bird and General Agnew, 279 ; his description of the office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 318 ; statements in regard to Morris's Folly, 359; collection of local views, 413; description of Charles Thomson, 465. Watson, Captain, at the Mischianza, 474-476. Watts, John, director of Bank of United States, 430. Wayne, General Anthony, at battle of Germantown, 239, 240; at Valley Forge, 290-292. Weathercock of German Reformed church at Ger- mantown, 286. 287. Webb, George, his poem oi Bachelor' s Hall, 180. Webb, John, tailor, in Slate- Roof House, 54. Weedon, General, at Valley Forge, 291. Welcome, ship, voyage in 1682, 17. Welton, Rev. Richard, non-juring bishop, at Christ Church, 86, 87. Wesleys, the, founders of the sect of Methodists, George Whitefield's companionship with, 155. West, William, deputy-clothier-general, 255. West India Company, 56. Weiser, Anna, marries Rev. H. M. Muhlenberg, 136. Weiser, Conrad, 136. Weiss, Rev. George Michael, 273; founder of Ger- man Reformed congregation in Philadelphia, 273. Weissenger, Daniel, 129. Weld, Isaac, English traveller, description of Mor- ris's Folly, 359, 360. Welsh, William, Provincial judge, 28. Wetherill, Dr. Charles M., 327. Wetherill, Captain John Price, busy in public affairs, 327. 331- Wetherill, John Price, the second, 328. Wetherill, Samuel, his avocations, his character, 327, 328 ; his excellence as a preacher, 328. Wetherill, Samuel, Jr., 331; clerk of the Free Qua- kers, 325. Wetherill, Samuel P., 327. Wetherill, Dr. William, 327. Wharton family, 41. Wharton, Charles, 469. Wharton, I., director Bank of United States, 430, 431. Wharton, John, 470. Wharton, Joseph, owner of Walnut Grove, his birth, death, descent, his father and mother, marries Hannah Carpenter, death of his wife, marries a second time, his trade, buys ground in lower part of city, 466-471, 479. Wharton, Joseph, Jr., his action in relation to Gover- nor Penn and Chief-Justice Chew, 236; member of Colony in Schuylkill, 173. Wharton, Richard, father of Thomas, 466. Wharton, Robert, member of State in Schuylkill, his public offices, 175 ; mayor, attends the hearing of Patrick Lyon, 208; brigadier-general, 469 ; pub- lic offices and service, 469, 470; marries Salome Chancellor, 470. Wharton, Robert Owen, 470. Wharton, Thomas, father of Joseph, comes to Penn- sylvania, 466; unites with Friends, marries Ra- chael Thomas, 467. Wharton, Thomas, Sr., sent to Virginia, 470. Wharton, Thomas, Jr., member of Colony in Schuyl- kill, 173 ; president Supreme Executive Council, 470; marries Susanna Lloyd, 27. Wharton, Thomas I., 480. Wharton School, 480. Wheaton, Henry, reporter United States Supreme Court, 393. Wheeler, John, 18. Whelen, Israel, director of Bank United States, 430. Whiskey war insurgents, 388. Whitby Hall, built by James Coultas, 173. White's City Directory, 313, 314. White, Elizabeth, daughter of Bishop White, mar- ries General John Slacpherson, 93. White, Mary, sister of Bishop White, marries Robert Morris, 93, 375 ; her death, 376. White, Mary, daughter of Bishop White, marries Enos Bronson, 03. White, Miss N., lady of the Mischianza, 474-478. White, Colonel Thomas, father of Bishop White and Mrs. Robert Morris, 91, 375; trustee of the New Building, 162; marries Mrs. Newman, 03. White, Thomas Harrison, son of Bishop White, 93; marries Mary K.. Heath, 94. .28 White, Right Rev. William, elected Bishop of Penn- sylvania, 85 ; takes oath of allegiance, chaplain to Congress, a founder of the American Protest- ant Episcopal Church, chosen bishop, death of, his family, marries Mary Harrison, 91-93 ; chap- lain United States House of Representatives, 114 ; son of Colonel Thomas White and brother of Mrs. Robert Morris, 375 ; ordained, 388 ; at the Woodlands, 425. White, William, son of Bishop White, 93. White, Matthias, 93. Whitefield, Rev. George, his visits to America, his style of speaking, preaches at Christ Church, 155, 156; his manner described by Franklin, 156; he is opposed by members of the Established Church, 156; preaches at Germantown, 156; at Society Hill, 156; sarcastic attacks against, through the public press, 157, 158; his subsequent reflections on his course as a preacher, 158 : a building erect- ed for public worship under his control, 158: preaches in the New Building, 160; his creed, 163-167; preaches at Loxley House, 191, 192 Whitemarsh, skirmish at, 289 : Howe retreats from, 289. Wicaco, block-house and church at, 57. Wignell,T., manager of theatre, and Mrs. Bingham, 345. Wiltbank, John, casts bell for State-House, 108, 109. Wilcocks, Alexander, marries a daughter of Benja- min Chew, 248. Wilcocks, John, 83. Wilkinson, Bryan, carver of decorations for the State- House, no. Wilkinson, John, disowned by the Quakers because he served as member of the Assembly, 326. Wilkinson, Gen., account of the attack on Chew's House, 242, 244 ; his part in Conway Cabal, 304. Willard, John, 29. Willetts, J ohnny, schoolmaster at Carpenters'Hall, 21 1 . William and Sarah, ship, conveys German emigrants to Pennsylvania, 272. WiUiams, Daniel, of Colony in Schuylkill, 17;. Williams, Henry J., occupies Mount Pleasant, 229; marries Julia Rush, 349 ; executor of Dr. James Rush, 409. Williams, General Jonathan, buys Mount Pleasant, his public and patriotic services, 229. Williams, Mary, lives in the Letitia House, 33. "Williamson, Dr. Hugh, graduate of College, 167. Willing, Abigail, marries Richard, son of Judge Peters, her children, death, 393. Willing, Ann, marries William Bingham, 337, 430. Willing, Anne, marries Tench Francis, Jr., 174. Willing, Charles, trustee of New Biulding, 162, 174; receives Robert Morris as an apprentice, 352. Willing, Dorothy, marries Thomas W Francis, 174. Willing, Richard, marries Eliza Moore, 27. Willing, Thomas, 174; president of the Provincial conference, 206, 458 ; presides at a meeting at the State- House which denounces Boston Port Bill and advocates the calling of a Continental Con- gress, 206, 458 ; president of the first Bank of the United States, 207, 285, 430, 431 ; father of Ann, who marries William Bingham, his public ser- vices, justice of Supreme Court, as member of Con- gress votes against the Declaration of Independ- ence, subscriber to Bank of Pennsylvania, director and president of Bank of North America, presi- dent of first Bank of United States, his death, 339-344; partner with Robert Morris, 352 ; mem- ber of Continental Congress, opposed to independ- ence, left out of Pennsylvania delegation, 353 ; his daughter Abigail married to Richard Peters, 393. Willing, William Shippen, son of Thomas, marries Maria W. Peters, 393. Willink, Messrs.^ of Amsterdam, 366. Wilson, Rev. Dr. Bird, buried in Christ Church ground, 95. Wilson, James, justice of Supreme Court of United States, 112, 388; connection with Fort Wilson riot, 246 ; his house attacked by a mob, 280-283 : counsel for Roberts and Carlisle, 281 ; resides at south-west corner of Seventh and Market streets, 316, 317; favors the Declaration of Independence, 353 ; gift of ^ cane to Robert Morris, 375 ; mem- ber of Board of War, 387. _ Wilson, Alexander, ornithologist, 66; comes to the United States, 186 ; schoolmaster, becomes ac- quainted with William Bartram, is induced to study ornithology, his works, 187 ; his verses in relation to Philadelphia Library, 414. Winans, Thomas, of Baltimore, locomotive-builder, goes to Russia and returns, 188, 189. Wingohocking Creek, 147. Winyard, Lieutenant, at Mischianza, 474. Wistar, Dr. Casper, 273. Wistar, Casper, from Hilspach, Germany, 273. Wister House, Germantown, 272-288. Wister's Row, 274. Wister, Charles J., Sr., marries Rebecca Bullock, Wister, Charles J., the second, 285, 287. 288. Wister, Daniel, son of John, 279, 285, 286. Wister, John, emigrates to Pennsylvania, 273; he purchases ground in Philadelphia and German- town, builds the Wister House, 274; lays out a garden, his character, his death, 275. Wister, Sally, her account of a trick played upon an officer, 285, 2S6. Wister, Sarah Butler, description of Stenton, 147. Wister, William, of Belfield, 285. Woelper family, 132. Wolbert, Charles J., auctioneer at Carpenters' Hall, 211. Wolcott, Oliver, Secretary of the Treasury, 503. Wolcott, Mrs. Oliver, 268. Wolf, Governor, 137. Wood, William, Provincial judge, 28. Wood, William B., anecdote of Mrs. Bingham, 345; account of Robert Morris in prison, 372, 373. Woodford, General, at Valley Forge, 291, 292. Woodlands, The, and Bush Hill, 415-427 ; property bought from Stephen Jackson, 423. Woodman, Henry, statement of, in regard to the con- dition of things at Valley Forge, 299, 301-303. Woods, Joseph, agent for Library Company, 410. Woods, Samuel, Sr., agent for Library Companj', 410. Woods, Samuel, Jr., agent for Library Company, 410. Wooley, Edmund, master carpenter at State-House, no, 160, 162. Woolpack Hotel, William Penn's Cottage, 35. Wurtemberg, Duke of, his place the Solitude, 438. Yard, Joseph, 59. Yates, Mr., a carpenter, 443. Yeates, Jasper, judge of High Court of Errors and Appeals, 45, 248 ; at The Woodlands, 425. Yellow fever of 1 798 in the Prune street prison, 372. Zachary, Dr. Lloyd, trustee of New Building, 162. Zeigenhagen, F. M., 129. Zenger, John Peter, of New York, prosecuted for libel on the government, defended by Andrew Hamilton, 416, 417. Zimmerman, Gottlieb, 34. Zion Lutheran Church, 129-140; its new edifice, 139. Zinzendorf, Count, assumes authority over Luther- ans, 130; builds a church for them, afterward Moravian, 130. Zoological Society, grant of use of Solitude property to, 448. ^ 9^s^