USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. II > Part 59
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Samuel Osgood (born at Andover, Massachusetts, February 14, 1748, died in New York, August 12, 1813) was graduated from Cambridge with the highest honors in 1766 ; he studied theology, but, losing his health, became an importing merchant. In 1774, in view of the disturbed relations with Great Britain, he abandoned business, and was immediately sent to the Essex County Convention, and thence a delegate to the Provincial Congress of Massachu- setts. He took part in the battle of Lexington, but was shortly elected to the State Legisla- ture, and left the army, thinking he could serve the country best in a civil capacity. From 1780 to 1784 he was a member of the Continental Congress, and from 1785 to 1789, first com- missioner of the United States Treasury ; the bonds required for this last office were so heavy that he was about to decline the appointment rather than ask his friends to become security, but the Legislature of Massachusetts came forward in a body and became his bondsman, an honor never accorded to any other private individual. With the organization of the new government, he was made the first Postmaster-General of the United States. He subsequently held several positions of great trust in New York, where he resided until his death. He was distinguished for integrity, piety, and public spirit, and for scientific and literary attain-
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THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT.
he was not the king. He was at least equal to a king in his own estima- tion. And the more ignorant the man the greater his assumption of equality. " The literary people here, observing the abuses of their mo- narchical form," writes Morris, "imagine that everything must go better in proportion as it recedes from the present establishment, and in their closets they make men exactly suited to their systems; but unluckily they are such men as exist nowhere else, and least of all in France."
Notwithstanding the contrariety of opinion concerning the new Con- stitution, there was but one mind in the choice of a President. The Ameri- can heart turned as naturally to Washington as the morning-glory of the garden to the rising sun. It is an isolated instance in the history 1789. of nations for one man to so possess the confidence and affection of a great people as to command every voice and vote in his favor, with- out the aid of a nominating convention, or any electioneering process whatever. But it was thus with the first President of the United States of America.
The election of the first Federal Congress under the Constitution was one of the most orderly elections the country had ever witnessed. The presidential electors met upon the day appointed and gave in their ballots. The results were immediately known, and preparations made accordingly, although no action could be given the new political machinery until Congress should assemble. The 4th of March was the time ap- March 4. pointed. The City of New York was awakened at early dawn
of that particular morning by the roar of cannon and the ringing of bells. But eight senators and thirteen representatives appeared - not enough for a quorum in either house - which was owing partly to the severity of the weather and muddy roads. Stages were as yet few, and in out-of- the-way districts they had no fixed days for leaving specific points ; and
ments, wrote several volunies on religious subjects, and was the author of a work on chronol- ogy. He was the son of Peter Osgood, descended from John Osgood of Wherwell, England, who sailed for Boston in 1638. He married Martha Brandon, in 1775, who died childless in 1778. Eight years afterward he married Maria Bowne, the widow of Walter Franklin, whose father was Daniel Bowne, and whose mother was the sister of Governor Winthrop of Massa- chusetts. She had three daughters at the time of her marriage to Mr. Osgood, Maria Frank- lin, first wife of De Witt Clinton ; Sarah Franklin, who became Mrs. John Lake Norton ; and Hannah Franklin, who married George, the brother of De Witt Clinton. The children of Samuel and Maria Bowne Osgood were : Martha Brandon Osgood, second wife of the French Minister, Citizen Edmond Charles Genet, and mother of Mr. George C. Genet, of New York (the first wife of Genet was Cornelia Tappan Clinton, the second daughter of Governor George Clinton) ; Julia, who married her cousin, Samuel Osgood ; and Susan Maria, who married Moses Field of New York - great-grandson of Benjamin Field and Hannah Bowne, daughter of John Bowne, the first of the Bownes in this country - and was the mother of Judge Maunsell B. Field, assistant secretary of the Treasury under Chase.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
they not infrequently tarried on the route for storms to pass, or to repair breakages. March was the worst month of the year for traveling, all comfortable facilities were wanting, and the roads in many places, as well as the fords of the rivers, were rendered impassable by floods.
" We crossed the Raritan, at New Brunswick, in a scow, open at both ends to receive and discharge the carriage, without unharnessing or dis- mounting," wrote a traveler of the time, " and the scow was pulled across the river by a rope. We passed the Delaware in another scow, which was navigated only by setting poles." De Warville described a journey from Philadelphia to New York, made in "a kind of open wagon, hung with double curtains of leather and woolen cloth - carriages," said he, " which keep up the idea of equality, the member of Congress riding beside the shoemaker who elected him, in fraternity." Between New York and Boston stages were constructed usually without springs. " By the time we had run thirty miles among the rocks," wrote De Warville, "we were convinced that a carriage with springs would very soon have been overset and broken." The mails were conveyed to and from New York, Boston, Albany, and Philadelphia three times a week in summer and twice a week in winter. But the reader will readily perceive that communication between distant portions of the country was liable to serious delays.
The first business after the organization of Congress, on the 6th of April 6. April, was to open and count the votes for President. Washing- ton received every one. The majority of the votes for vice-Presi- dent elected John Adams, who had returned from his mission to England in 1788. The same day Secretary Thompson was appointed to convey official information to Washington, and the next morning left New York on horseback for Virginia ; about the same hour a messenger started for Boston, to communicate the intelligence to John Adams.
A puzzling question immediately arose. How should the President be addressed in his official capacity ? The first title suggested was “Ex- cellency." This did not meet general approval. "Roger Sherman has set his head at work to devise some style of address more novel and dignified," wrote John Armstrong on the 7th. " His Highness the President of the United States and Protector of their Liberties " was proposed ; also, "His Serene Highness," and "High Mightiness." After mature consideration it was decided to reject all titles whatever and adopt the simple name of " President of the United States."
Thompson arrived at Mount Vernon on the 14th, and on the morning of the 16th Washington started for the seat of government. April 16. He wrote to Knox that his "feelings were not unlike those of a culprit going to the place of execution "; and in his diary recorded
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ARRIVAL OF WASHINGTON IN NEW YORK CITY.
his "mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than he had words to express." His journey, however, was like one con- tinued triumphal procession. Cities, towns, and villages vied with each other in doing him honor. People gathered by the roadside and shouted as he rode by. Soldiers were paraded, triumphal arches were erected, and flowers were strewn along his pathway. At Gray's Ferry, over the Schuylkill, he was escorted through long avenues of laurels transplanted from the forests, bridged with arches of laurel branches, and as he passed under the last arch, a youth concealed in the foli- age dropped upon his head a beautiful civic crown of laurel, at which tumultuous shouts arose from the immense multitude. At Trenton a magnificent triumphal arch, supported by thirteen pillars, had been erected by the ladies, and as the hero passed under it on his white charger, thirteen lovely maidens carrying baskets scattered flowers plen- tifully before him, singing at the same time an ode composed for the occasion. At Elizabethtown Point he was received by a committee from Congress, of which Elias Boudinot was chairman, and by Chan- cellor Livingston, Secretary Jay, Secretary Knox, the Commissioners of the Treasury, the Mayor and Recorder of New York, and other dignitaries.
An elegant barge constructed for the purpose of conveying him to the city was in waiting, manned by thirteen masters of vessels in white uniforms, commanded by Commodore Nicholson, in which he embarked, and as it moved from the shore other barges fancifully decorated fell into line. The glittering procession glided through the narrow strait between New Jersey and Staten Island, when, as if by magic, dozens of boats gay with flags and streamers dropped into its wake. All the vessels and sloops in the bay were clad in holiday attire, and each saluted Washington as he passed. The Spanish man-of-war, Galveston, displayed every flag and signal known among nations, as the presidential barge came abreast of her. Upon a sloop under full sail were some twenty-five gentlemen and ladies, singing an ode of welcome written for the occasion to the tune of "God save the King." Another small vessel came up, distributing sheets of a second ode, which a dozen fine voices were engaged in singing. Bands of music on boats upon all sides, perpetual huzzas, and the roar of artillery, filled the air, while over the whole exhilarating scene the sunshine fell from cloudless heavens.
The ferry stairs at Murray's Wharf were carpeted, and the rails bung with crimson. Governor Clinton received the President as he landed upon the shore which had been recovered from a powerful enemy through his own valor and good conduct, at which moment popular enthusiasm was at its climax. The streets were lined with inhabitants as thick as
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they could stand, and the wildest and most prolonged cheers rent the air. Military companies were in waiting to conduct Washington to the man- sion prepared for his reception, but it was with difficulty that a passage could be pressed through the joyous throng. Colonel Morgan Lewis, aided by Majors Morton and Van Horne, led the way, and the various regiments were followed by the officers of the militia, two and two, the committee of Congress, the President elect with Governor Clinton, the President's suite, the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of New York, the clergy, the foreign ministers, and an immense concourse of citizens.
Every house on the route was decorated with flags and silken banners, garlands of flowers and evergreens. Every window, to the highest story, was filled with fair women and brave men. Every inanimate object seemed alive with the waving of handkerchiefs and hats. From the skies, apparently, fell flowers like snow-flakes in a storm. And in every possible form of unique device and ingenious ornamentation the name of WASHINGTON was suspended from roof to roof, and upon fanciful arches constructed for the occasion. The multitude shouted until hoarse, and the bells and the guns caught up the echoes, and with ceaseless clamor and deafening din proclaimed the universal gladness.
Upon reaching his destination Washington was immediately waited upon and congratulated by the foreign ministers, and by political charac- ters, military celebrities, public bodies, and private citizens of distinction. He then dined with Governor Clinton at the gubernatorial residence in Pearl Steet. In the evening the entire city was brilliantly illuminated.
John Adams had arrived in New York two days before, and taken the oath without parade and his place as president of the Senate. In his opening speech he said it would be impossible to increase the confidence of the country in Washington, or add in the smallest way to his glory ; he asked : "Where, in looking over the catalogues of the first magistrates of nations, whether called presidents, consuls, kings, or princes, shall we find one whose commanding talents and virtues and overruling good- fortune have so completely united all hearts and voices in his favor - engaging the esteem and admiration of foreign nations and fellow-citizens with equal unanimity ? .... Providence has indeed marked out the head of this nation with a hand so distinctly visible as to have been seen by all men and mistaken by none."
Richmond Hill House became the residence of the Vice-President. Mrs. Adams was charmed with the loveliness of the situation, and her vivid pen-touches invest our authentic illustration of the mansion upon a former page with fresh interest. "In natural beauty," she writes, “it might vie with the most delicious spot I ever saw. It is a mile and a
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THE INAUGURATION.
half distant from the city of New York. The house stands upon an eminence ; at an agreeable distance flows the noble Hudson, bearing upon its bosom innumerable small vessels laden with the fruitful produc- tions of the adjacent country. Upon my right hand are fields beautifully variegated with grass and grain, to a great extent, like the valley of Honiton in Devonshire. Upon my left the city opens to view, inter- cepted here and there by a rising ground and an ancient oak. In front, beyond the Hudson, the Jersey shores present the exuberance of a rich, well-cultivated soil. In the background is a large flower-garden, enclosed with a hedge and some very handsome trees. Venerable oaks and broken ground covered with wild shrubs surround me, giving a natural beauty to the spot which is truly enchanting. A lovely variety of birds serenade me morning and evening, rejoicing in their liberty and security."
This rural picture of a point near where Charlton now crosses Varick Street naturally strikes the prosaic mind familiar with the locality at the present day as a trick of the imagination. But truth is stranger, and not infrequently more interesting, than fiction.
The six never-to-be-forgotten days between Washington's arrival and his inauguration were devoted to the perfection of preparations for the imposing ceremonial. The city opened its hospitable doors for the enter- tainment of guests from all parts of the Union. The crush was bewil- dering. Every public house was filled to its utmost capacity, and the private mansions overflowed. " We shall remain here if we have to sleep in tents, as many will have to do," wrote Miss Bertha Ingersoll. "While we are waiting at Mrs. Vandervoort's, in Maiden Lane, till after dinner, two of our beaux are running about town, determined to obtain the best places for us to stay at which can be opened for love, money, or the most persuasive speeches." New York had never before housed and sheltered a gathering of such magnitude. Everybody struggled for a glimpse of Washington. The aged declared their readiness to die if they could once behold his face. The young described him as looking more grand and noble than any human being they had ever seen.
A national salute ushered in the morning of the 30th of April. The day had arrived for the final step in the creation of a national government. All business was suspended. The streets were April 30. filled with men and women in holiday attire, while constant arrivals from the adjoining country by the common roads and ferry-boats, and by packets which had been all night on the Sound or coming down the Hudson, swelled the eager throng. At nine o'clock the bells pealed merrily from every steeple in the city, then paused; and presently in slow measured tones summoned the people to the churches "to implore
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the blessing of Heaven on the nation and its chosen President - so universal was a religious sense of the importance of the occasion." 1
At the close of these solemn services the military began to march from their respective quarters with unfurled banners and inspiring music. At noon they formed under the immediate direction of Colonel Morgan Lewis, in Cherry Street, opposite the Presidential mansion. From the Senate, Ralph Izard, Tristam Dalton, and Richard Henry Lee, and from the House of Representatives, Egbert Benson, Charles Carroll, and Fisher Ames had been chosen a joint committee of arrangements. The procession moved in the following order: the various regiments, the sheriff of the city and county of New York, the committee of the Senate, the President elect, the committee of the House of Representatives, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, Secretary John Jay, Secretary Henry Knox, the Commis- sioners of the Treasury, and distinguished citizens. They marched through Pearl Street and Broad to Wall Street ; when in front of Federal Hall the troops formed in line upon each side of the way, through which Washington, having alighted from his chariot, walked in the midst of his illustrious attendants to the building, and ascended to the Senate Chamber, where Congress had just assembled; he was received at the door by the Vice-President, and conducted to the chair of State. After formally introducing Washington to the august body, Adams addressed him with stately ceremony : -
" Sir, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States are ready to attend you to take the oath required by the Constitution, which will be administered by the Chancellor of the State of New York."
"I am ready to proceed," was the grave reply.
The Vice-President then conducted Washington to the balcony, ac- companied by the senators, and other gentlemen of distinction. Broad Street and Wall Street, each way, were filled with a sea of upturned faces - the windows and house-tops crowded with gayly dressed ladies - and a silence reigned as profound as if every living form which composed the vast assemblage was a statue carved in stone. Washington's fine figure appeared in the centre of the group of statesmen between the two pillars,
1 The clergymen of the city in 1789 were Rev. Dr. John Rodgers of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. John Mason of the Scotch Presbyterian, Bishop Provost, Rev. Benjamin Moore (afterwards Bishop), and Rev. Abraham Beach of the Episcopal, Rev. Dr. John Henry Livingston and Rev. Dr. William Linn of the Dutch Reformed, Rev. Dr. John Christopher Kunze (Professor of Oriental Languages in Columbia College) of the Lutheran, Rev. Dr. John Daniel Gross (Professor of the German Language and of Moral Philosophy in Columbia College) of the German, Rev. Mr. Morrill and Rev. Mr. Cloud of the Methodist, Rev. Benjamin Foster of the Baptist, and Rev. Gershom Siexas of the Jewish Synagogue.
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WASHINGTON TAKING THE OATH.
his head uncovered, and his powdered locks gathered and tied in the pre- vailing fashion of that day. Opposite Washington stood the Chancellor in his robes, ready to administer the oath of office, and between them the Secretary of the Senate held an open Bible upon a rich crimson cushion, upon which Washington rested his hand.
The Chancellor pronounced slowly and distinctly the words of the oath. The Bible was raised, and as the President bowed to kiss the sacred volume, he said audibly, "I swear," adding with fervor, his eyes closed, that his whole soul might be absorbed in the supplication, " so help me God."
Washington taking the Oath.
" It is done, " said the Chancellor ; then, turning to the multitude, he waved his hand, crying in a loud voice, -
"Long live George Washington, President of the United States !"
Silence was at an end. A flag was instantly displayed on the cupola of Federal Hall, and all the bells in the city rang one triumphant peal. Shouts and acclamations burst from the waiting thousands, and repeated again and again, echoed and re-echoed, and were answered by cannon from every direction upon both land and water, until it seemed as if the city would be jarred from its very foundations.
And even now, at the end of nearly a century, who among us can be brought into a close review of the sublime incidents of this creative epoch in the history of nations without a draught from the same ecstatic foun- tain of. emotion. With the act which completed the organization of the
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government of the Union - the impressive oath, solemnly administered and reverently uttered - the life-current leaped into a perpetual flow, and our national greatness was secured.
Washington bowed to the assemblage, and returned to the Senate Chamber, where, after the members of Congress and other dignitaries had taken their seats, he arose and delivered a short inaugural address. He then proceeded to St. Paul's Chapel in Broadway, attended by Vice- President Adams, Chancellor Livingston, Secretary Jay, Secretary Knox, Commissioners Osgood and Walter Livingston, the members of Congress, and many other distinguished characters, where prayers were read by Bishop Provost, who had been chosen one of the chaplains of Congress. These services concluded, the President was escorted to his own resi- dence.
In the evening the city was illuminated with unparalleled splendor. Every public building was in a blaze of light. The front of the little theatre in John Street was filled with transparencies, one of which represented Fame like an angel descending from heaven to crown Wash- ington with the emblems of immortality. At the Bowling Green was an enormous transparency, with Washington's portrait in the centre under a figure of Fortitude, and the two branches of the new government upon his right and left under the forms of Justice and Wisdom. All the private residences of the city were brilliantly lighted, but none more effectively than those of the French and Spanish ministers, who seemed to have exercised a generous rivalry in their preparations. They both lived on Broadway, in the vicinity of the Bowling Green. The doors and windows of De Moustier's mansion were bordered with lamps, which shone upon numerous paintings suggestive of the past, the present, and the future of American history, from the pencil of Madame de Brehan, the sister of the Minister. Don Gardoqui's decorations were even more elaborate; the principal transparency in front of his residence contained figures of the Graces artistically executed amid a pleasing variety of emblems ; and in the windows were moving pictures so skillfully devised as to present the illusion of a living panorama in a little spot of fairy- land. One of the vessels at anchor off the Battery resembled a pyramid of stars. The display of fireworks, under the direction of Colonel Bau- man, was the finest New York had ever seen. Washington drove to the residence of Chancellor Livingston, on Broadway, from whose windows he obtained a full view of the imposing spectacle.
The days immediately following were chiefly occupied by the President in acquainting himself with the details of domestic and foreign affairs. In his desire to master the whole subject of our relations with other
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FORMS AND CEREMONIES.
nations, he applied himself with energy to the task of reading all the correspondence that had accumulated in the office of the Secretary since the close of the war. He also produced with his own hand abstracts of the reports which were made by the Secretaries Jay and Knox, and the Treasury commissioners, that he might better impress the actual con- dition of the different departments upon his memory. He employed Samuel Fraunces, proprietor of the famous Fraunces' Tavern, steward of his household. David Humphreys, the soldier, diplomatist, and poet, rendered essential service in the matter of admitting callers, instinctively understanding who were best entitled to an audience, and in what manner to dismiss others without giving offense. But the door was besieged from morning till night, and it was evident that some system must be established for the reception of visitors, in order that the President might have time for the performance of public duties. It was an affair of great delicacy. Popular theories must not be rudely jarred. Republicanism was a novelty, and it was fondly expected that the chief magistrate of the people would be accessible to every citizen. Washington was in favor of receiving every visitor on proper occasions and for reasonable purposes. But he was deeply impressed with the necessity of maintain- ing the dignity of his office with forms that would command deference and respect ; and he hoped to draw a well-balanced line between too much ceremony on the one hand and an excess of familiarity on the other.
He took counsel of the renowned group of statesmen by whom he was surrounded and sustained. Opinions upon this subject, as upon all others, were at variance. Vice-President Adams, like Lord Bellomont nearly a hundred years before, had seen power so constantly associated with pomp in foreign lands, that he found it difficult to believe that the substance would exist unless " human minds collected into nations " were dazzled by the trappings. He talked of chamberlains and masters of ceremony. Secretary Jay better understood the American disposition, and calmly advocated an orderly uniform system which should not overstep the limits of republican simplicity. Hamilton was in favor of maintaining the dignity of the office, but pertinently suggested caution, lest too high a tone shock the prevalent notions of equality. A line of conduct which, it was hoped, would combine public advantage with private convenience was finally adopted. The President appointed Tuesday afternoon, from three o'clock until four, for the reception of visits of courtesy. No invitations were extended, but he was prepared to see whoever came. Visitors were shown into the room by a servant, and retired at their option without ceremony. "At their first entrance they salute me, and I them, and as many as I can, I talk to," wrote Washington. "Gentlemen, often in
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