USA > New York > Old New York : or, Reminiscences of the past sixty years > Part 11
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"Upon what principle will you explain the fact that the abrupt and early departure of my precious son induees keener anguish, a more profound grief, a more irreconcilable state of mind, eveu at
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BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY.
this present time of writing, than was created at the onset of the calamity ? It is even so, and is likely to increase in every diurnal revolution for the future. God grant that I may be able to with- stand the current !
"I think I may safely say, that for a period of forty-seven years and cleven months I have never withdrawn from the active pur- suits of my professional calling for a half-dozen hours together, until this my sojourn at Newport. It might have been inferred that a full fruition of joys would have attended this vacation from toils. But it is otherwise. Circumstances peculiarly inherent in my present cogitations may in part induce this state of inquietude ; yet I am frank to allow it is rather a constitutional condition than one wrought by accidental causes. I have never, since my earliest youth, indulged in any relaxation from cares and business, save when some extraordinary matter may have awakened new zeal or led to knowledge curious and instructive. I have thus, by fresh- ness of impression and the force of novel associations, kept the inward faculties entire, and by diversity of vocation found relief from continuity of toil in the self-same labors. Let me give you the assurance that of all the diversified engagements which absorb life, there is none that possesses the richness and the satisfaction which flows from intellectual devotion. Man is distinguished by his in- tellect: the material most precious, beyond all others, to his wholesome vitality. But you must be aware of this, in the recre- ative powers which you have summoned at command in the busi- ness of your life. And you, too, will reap the harvest; present satisfaction is yours, future consideration the issue. My most fervent hope is that your great literary undertaking may be recog- nized as its merits deserve; mere reputation you need not wish. If the glow of American feeling cnkindles the heart of our people, as I feel some confidence that in such a matter it will, your triumph will be complete, and you will hereafter be recognized as the liter- ary historians of American intellect.
"Our friend - is in the possession of renewed vigor, bodily and mentally; he commands the esteem and the affections of all who become acquainted with him; he is widely known, and has that deference yielded him which mental possessions always have at command. He has just entered my room, and begs to be re- membered in grateful accents to you.
"I seized upon Saturday last, and made a visit to Boston and Cambridge, returning at twilight. The greatest affair of art I saw
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APPENDIX.
was the Beethoven of Crawford. It struck me with reverence not unlike that I felt when looking at the statue of Newton by Rou- biliac.
"But I will weary you no longer, and only add that, as I admired your father, so I love his sons.
"Truly yours,
"JOHN W. FRANCIS."
IX.
[From the "Knickerbocker Magazine."]
A MORE widely representative-funeral never occurred in this city than that of Dr. Francis : rich and poor, savant and mechanic, phy- sician and author, merchant and printer, the actor and the preach- er, the statesman and the apprentice, onc and all, gathered tearfully around his coffin, and gazed affectionately upon the face which had so long turned benignantly upon them. Among the promi- nent scientific bodies in attendance were the Faculties of the various Medical Colleges, the members of the Academy of Medi- cine, the Typographical Union, the Historical Society, and mem- bers of various literary and charitable associations. The following gentlemen acted as pall-bearers :--
Rev. G. W. Bethune, Henry T. Tuckerman, William Jephson, Joseph G. Cogswell, Henry Grinnell, George B. Rapelye, General George P. Morris, Moses H. Grinnell, Augustus Flemming, Presi- dent Charles King, with the physicians Dr. Valentine Mott, Dr. William H. Van Buren, and Dr. R. S. Kissam.
The services at the Church were of the Episcopalian form, and were conducted by Rev. Dr. Hawks, assisted by Rev. Dr. Morgan of St. Thomas's Church, Rev. Dr. Wells of Boston, and Rev. Dr. Cutler of Brooklyn.
X.
THE following lines, which appeared in the "Evening Post," emanating from one of the members of a family who had large
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BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY.
experience of the good physician's disinterested self-devotion, express the feelings of many to whom his death was a personal bereavement :-
"His touch had healing in it. But what touch Shall heal the hearts that mourn him? They, the few, Who entered in and all his nature knew ; And they, the unnumbered many, who loved mueh, Howe'er so seldom met. Oh! unto such Whenee now will come the benison that, through His quaint, familiar greeting, ever drew The case of friendship from the good and true ?
Whenee now the cheering voice, that writhing pain Seemed even in advance to comprehend, Fleeing the couch his presence did attend ? Where now the memories of that teeming brain ? Oh, dear, life-giving, and life-loving friend ! We will not think all these have found an end.
"C. K. T."
OLD NEW YORK.
Historical Discourse.
OLD NEW YORK ; OR, Reminiscences of the Past Sixty Years.
BEING AN ENLARGED AND REVISED EDITION OF THE
ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE
DELIVERED BEFORE
The New York Historical Society, (November 17, 1857,)
BY JOHN W. FRANCIS, M. D., LL. D.
NEW YORK : W. J. WIDDLETON, PUBLISHER. 1865.
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by SAMUEL W. FRANCIS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.
PREFACE.
THE continued demand for this Discourse, and the interest expressed in its general scope and aim, have induced the author to prepare a new edition, the original one having been exhausted shortly after its publication. He has improved the opportunity thus afforded, to make several additions, some of which, he trusts, will be found to add materially to the biographical data, and others to augment the record of incidents which have marked the annals of the city.
It will be observed that, as in the first edi- tion, these additions have a relation more or less immediate, with the origin and progress of the New York Historical Society : the plan of the Discourse, therefore, at first adopted, has in no
6
PREFACE.
manner been changed. The numerous occur- rences which have characterized the history of the metropolis, during the period under con- sideration, however briefly told, might fill vol- umes, but such an undertaking is left for others to perform. The social movements of a city which, from time to time, engage the attention of the peo- ple, betray something, at least, of the phases which illustrate the actual state of society at the period : with this view farther notices are given of Eccle- siastical affairs ; the Dramatic incidents have been enlarged ; some account has been inserted of Clubs-friendly, social, patriotic, and literary ; some details have been given of the advancement of the Fine Arts among us ; and to that pro- fession to which the affections of the author have ever been most inclined, he has added particulars which may serve as a guide to the future Med- ical historian : a brief parallel drawn between the New York of Sixty Years Ago, and its present commanding attitude, closes this humble volume.
There is one practical inference which the in- terest expressed in these Reminiscences justifies : it is, that our local historians have a great duty to perform, in rescuing from oblivion and recording
7
PREFACE.
with emphasis and completeness, the history of the men, the measures, and the events which render our native State and City illustrious. Compare the full annals of the smallest New England town with the fragmentary and meagre chronicles which describe the scenes and characters of this State and Metropolis. Gouverneur Morris eloquently as- serted the claim of New York to original and in- stinctive aspirations for Liberty, a fact which some of our eastern brethren, those prolific votaries of the pen, have either ignored or traced to a Puritan origin ; and a younger, but not less patriotic son of our State, Charles F. Hoffman, was justly indig- nant that two of her noblest children owe their renown to New England historians. " Children of commerce," says Gouverneur Morris, "we were rocked in the cradle of war, and sucked the prin- ciples of liberty with our mother's milk."
Should any hint contained in these pages, in- duce those who have more leisure and as much attachment to New York as the author, to expand into a full and finished narrative, the story which is now told but in outline and episode, a fond wish of his heart will be gratified. It only remains to add, that having revised and enlarged what he had
8
PREFACE.
the honor to submit to the Historical Society, he trusts it will now be found more worthy of the unexpected favor with which it was originally re- ceived by the public.
J. W. F. March 30, 1858.
INTRODUCTION.
IT was considered desirable, on the occasion of in- augurating the new and beautiful edifice erected by the liberal contributions of the merchants and profes- sional gentlemen of this city, for the permanent de- posit of the manuscripts, books, and other property of the New York Historical Society, that the chief elements of civil and social development which have marked the annals of this metropolis, should be sketched in their origin and progress. As this could be most effectually done through personal reminis- cences, the author of this brief historical record was chosen to perform the duty ; partly because he is one of the few surviving early members of the Institution, and partly on account of the intimate relations he sus- tained to many prominent citizens in all departments of life and vocation. Alive to the earnestly expressed wishes of his fellow-members, and cherishing a deep interest in the annals and prosperity of his native city,
1*
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INTRODUCTION.
while he found the task accordant with his sympathies, he yet felt that the absorbing cares of an arduous profession were essentially opposed to the research and finish appropriate to such an enterprise; and he therefore craves the indulgence of his readers, as he did that of his audience. As delivered, this survey of New York in the past was unavoidably curtailed ; it is now presented as originally written.
The author cherishes the hope that it may be in his power, at a future time, to enlarge the record of local facts and individualities associated with the un- precedented growth of New York, since and imme- diately preceding the formation of her Historical So- ciety. It will be seen that his aim has been to review the condition of the site, institutions, and character of our city, during the last sixty years, and, in a measure, to trace their influence on its future prospects : as the commercial emporium of the Union and the seat of its most prosperous Historical Society, there is every reason to hope that our new and extensive arrange- ments will secure a large accession of valuable mate- rials. Yet those members who bear in recollection the vast changes which have occurred within the pe- riod of our existence as an association, need not be told that the original landmarks and features of the metropolis have been either greatly modified or en- tirely destroyed ; while carelessness, or the neglect of
11
INTRODUCTION.
family memorials, renders it extremely difficult to re- produce, with vital interest, even the illustrious per- sons who have contributed most effectually to our prosperity and renown.
If the author succeeds, by means of the present brief sketch or a future more elaborate memoir, in awakening attention to the men and events which have secured the rapid development of resources on this island, both economical and social, he will rejoice. Such a task, rightly performed, should kindle anew our sense of personal responsibility as citizens, of gratitude as patriots, and of wise sympathy as scholars. Even this inadequate tribute he has re- garded as an historical duty, and felt it to be a labor of love.
J. W. F. NEW YORK, November 17, 1857.
At a meeting of the NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
held at the Library, on Tuesday evening, November 17, 1857, to celebrate the Fifty-Third Anniversary of the founding of the Society,-
Dr. JOHN W. FRANCIS delivered its Anniversary Address, en- titled, "New York during the Last Half Century."
On its conclusion the Rev. FRANCIS L. HAWKS, D. D., LL. D., after some remarks, submitted the following resolution :
Resolved, that the thanks of the Society be presented to Dr. FRANCIS for his highly interesting address, and that a copy be re- quested for publication.
The resolution was seconded by CHARLES KING, LL. D., and was then unanimously adopted.
Extract from the minutes.
ANDREW WARNER,
Recording Secretary.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
HONORED PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATES OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY :
WHAT a contrast ! This meeting of the New York Historical Society and that which was held now some fifty years ago. Ponder awhile upon the circumstances which mark this difference. At the period at which our first organization took place, this city contained about sixty thousand inhabitants ; at present it embraces some seven hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. A large majority of the residents dwelt below Cortlandt street and Maiden Lane. A sparse population then occupied that portion of the island which lies above the site of the New York Hospital on Broadway ; and the grounds now covered with the magnificent edifices which ornament Upper Broad- way, the Fifth Avenue, Fourteenth street, Union Place, and Madison Square, were graced with the sycamore, the elm, the oak, the chestnut, the wild cherry, the peach, the pear, and the plum tree, and further ornamented with gardens appropriated
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
to horticultural products, with here and there the artichoke, the tulip, and the sun-flower. Where now stand our Astor Library, the Mercantile Li- brary, the New York Medical College, the Acade- my of Music, the Medical University of the State, Cooper's Institute, and the Bible Society House, the old gardens of our Dutch ancestors were most abundant, cultivated with something of the artis- tic regularity of the Hollanders, luxuriating in the sweet marjoram, the mint, the thyme, the currant, and the gooseberry. The banks of our majestic rivers on either side presented deep and abrupt declivities, and the waters adjacent were devoted to the safety of floating timber, brought down from the Mohawk, on the Hudson River, or else- where obtained, on the Connecticut, in mighty rafts, destined for naval architecture and house- building. Our avenues, squares, and leading roads, were not yet laid out by Morris, Clinton, and Rutherford, and our street regulations in paving and sidewalks, even in those passes or high- ways now most populous, had reached but little above the Park, and in the Bowery only within the precincts of Bayard street. The present City Hall was in a state of erection, and so circum- scribed, at that time, was the idea of the City's progress, that the Common Council, by a slender majority, after serious discussion, for economy's sake, decided that the postern part of the Hall
15
EARLY RESIDENCES.
should be composed of red stone, inasmuch as it was not likely to attract much notice from the scattered inhabitants who might reside above Chambers street.
Some fifty years ago the most conspicuous of the residences of our prominent citizens were the Government House at the Bowling Green, and the Kennedy House, now converted into the Wash- ington Hotel, No. 1 Broadway, an object of singu- lar interest. During the Revolution it was occu- pied by Howe and Clinton. Here Andre com- menced his correspondence with Arnold ; and here John Pintard held an interesting conversation with Andre on their respective claims to Hugue- not blood. Captain Peter Warren, who erected this famous building, was afterwards knighted, and became a member of Parliament. The house was long occupied by Kennedy, subsequently Earl of Cassilis ; and again by Sir Henry Clinton ; afterwards it was long held by Nathaniel Prime, of the banking house of Prime & Ward. We next, in those earlier days, observed the stone dwelling, situated at the lower part of Broad- way, once occupied by Governor Jay ; the man- sion of Governor George Clinton, of revolutionary renown, situated near the North River, at the termination of Thirteenth street ; Colonel Rutgers' somewhat sequestered retreat, near the head of Cherry street, where Franklin sometimes took a
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
patriotic meal ; the Hero of Fort Stanwix, Colo- nel Willett's humble cottage in the vicinity ; General Gates' ample establishment higher up near Twenty-fourth street, overlooking the banks of the East River, where Baron Steuben, Colonel Burr, and many other actors of the War, partici- pated in the festivities, so amply provided by the host, with song and sentiment. The famous Club of the Belvidere, on the banks of the East River, is also entitled to commemoration : at its head was Atkinson : here royalty and democracy had their alternate revelries, with blessings on the king or laudations of the rights of man. Still standing, in pride of early state, we notice the Beekman House, near Fiftieth street, also on the East River banks, where British Officers rendez- voused, in revolutionary times ; where Sir Wil- liam Howe kept those vigils commemorated in the Battle of the Kegs, and where Andrè passed his last night previous to entering on his disastrous mission. Adjacent to the Beekman House recently stood the ample Green House, where Nathan Hale, called the spy, was examined by Lord Howe, and, as such, executed on the following morning, meet- ing his fate with heroism, and regretting that he had but one life to lose for his country.
Eminently conspicuous in former days was the Mansion, located on Richmond Hill, near Lispe- nard's Meadows, at the junction of Varick and
17
RICHMOND HILL .- BURR.
Van Dam streets, then an elevated and command- ing sight. So many now before me must retain a strong recollection of this spot, which afterwards became the Theatre of the Montressor Opera Company, that I am compelled to dwell a moment longer concerning it. This imposing edifice was built about 1770, by Mortier, the chief paymaster of the British government. It was surrounded by many and beautiful forest trees ; it was often subjected to the annoyances of the sportsmen, and Mr. Van Wagenen, a direct descendant of Garret Van Wagenen, almost the first and earliest of our city schoolmasters, a true son of St. Nicholas, still honoring us in his life and in his devotion to New York, could give you a curious account of the en- joyments of the field on these premises in those early days. While Congress sat in this city, this celebrated mansion was occupied by the elder Adams, and some of the most charming letters of the Vice President's wife are dated at this place. It subsequently became the residence of Aaron Burr, into whose possession it fell, by purchase from the executors of Abraham Mortier ; in 1804 it became by purchase the property of John Jacob Astor. While Burr resided there, its halls occa- sionally resounded with the merriment which gen- erous cheer inspires ; yet at other times, and more frequently, philosophy here sat enthroned amidst her worshippers. Here Talleyrand, who in the
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
morning had discourscd on the tariff with Hamil- ton, passed perhaps the afternoon of the same day with Burr, on the subject of the fur trade and commerce with Great Britain, associated with Volney, whose portly form gave outward tokens of his tremendous gastric powers, while the Syrian traveller, in his turn, descanted on theogony, the races of the red men, and Niagara. I cannot well conceive of a greater intellectual trio. Perhaps it was at one of those convivial entertainments that the dietetic sentiment originated, in relation to some of the social peculiarities among us, that our republic, while she could boast of some two hundred varieties of religious creeds, possessed only one variety of gravy.
Here it may be recorded lived Burr, at the time of the fatal duel with Hamilton : informed by his sagacious second, Van Ness, that the Gen- eral was wounded, Burr remarked, " O, the little fellow only feigns hurt," but catching an idea of the nature of the wound, from Hamilton's action, he hastily left the field, and fled for shelter from the wrath of an indignant people, while rumor spread that the constituted authorities were in search of him. It was believed by the populace that he had passed through New Jersey toward the south, yet on the very afternoon of that fatal day, while the whole city was in consternation, and on the look-out, he had already reached his
19
HAMILTON .- CITY HOTEL.
domicile on Richmond Hill, and was luxuriating in his wonted bath, with Rousseau's Confessions in his hands, for his mental sustenance.
But I proceed with these hasty notices of our city in these earlier times, about the period when the organization and establishment of the Histori- cal Society were contemplated, and about to be incorporated by legislative wisdomn.
Our City Library was now in possession of its new structure in Nassau street, and justly boasted of its rare and valuable treasures, its local docu- ments of importance, and its learned librarian, John Forbes. Kent's Hotel, on Broad street, was the great rendezvous for heroic discussions on law and government, and for political and other meet- ings ; and here the great Hamilton was at times the oracle of the evening. The City Hotel, near old Trinity, was the chosen place for the Graces ; here Terpsichore presided, with her smiling coun- tenance, and Euterpe first patronized Italian mu- sic in this country, under the accomplished disci- pline of Trazzata. This long known and ample hall is not to be forgotten as the first building in this city, if not in this country, in which slate was used as a roof-covering, about the year 1800, thus supplanting the old Dutch tile of the Hol- landers, in use from the beginning of their dynas- ty among us.
Our museums were limited to the one kept by
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
old Gardener Baker, himself and his collection a sort of curiosity shop, composed of heterogeneous fragments of the several kingdoms of nature. Hither childish ignorance was sometimes lost in wonder, and here too was the philosopher occa- sionally enlightened. Scudder did not lay the foundation of his patriotic enterprise until five years after our incorporation, and although his bc- ginning was but an humble demonstration, he astounded the natives with his vast tortoise, and Alexander Wilson, the ornithologist, gave him cheering counsel, and enkindled his zeal. Our famous Vauxhall Garden of these earlier days -occupied the wide domain of the Bayards, situated on the left of our then Bunker Hill, near Bullock, now Broome street, and here the Osage Indians, amidst fireworks of dazzling efficacy, (for we had not the use of calium or strontium in these artis- tic displays in those days,) yelled the war-whoop and danced the war-dance, while our learned Dr. Mitchill, often present on these occasions, trans- lated their songs for the advancement of Indian literature, and enriched the journals with ethno- logical science concerning our primitive inhab- itants.
The Indian Queen and Tyler's were gardens of much resort, situated toward the Greenwich side of our city : at the former military evolutions were often displayed to the satisfaction of the
21
KIP'S FARM.
famous French general, Moreau, with Generals Stevens and Morton among the staff as official inspectors, while Tyler's is still held in remem- brance, by some few surviving graduates of Co- lumbia College, as the resort for commencement suppers. I shall advert to only one other site, which, though in days gone by not a public gar- den, was a place much frequented. On the old road towards Kingsbridge, on the eastern side of the island, was the well-known Kip's Farm, pre- eminently distinguished for its grateful fruits, the plum, the peach, the pear, and the apple, and for its choice culture of the rosacec. Here the élite often repaired, as did good old Dr. Johnson and Boswell for recreation at Ranelagh ; and here our Washington, now invested with presidential hon- ors, made an excursion, and was presented with the Rosa Gallica, an exotic first introduced into this country in this garden ; fit emblem of that memorable union of France and the American colonies in the cause of republican freedom. These three gardens were famous for their exquisite fruit, the plum and the peach ; equally as were Newtown and Blackwell's Island for the apple, known to all horticulturists, abroad and at home, as the New- town pippin. Such things were. No traces are now to be found of the scenes of those once grati- fying sights ; the havoc of progressive improve- ment has left nought of these once fertile gardens
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