USA > New York > New York City > The Memorial History of the City of New York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892, Volume III > Part 13
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good-tempered, gentlemanly, and scholarly Dr. Provoost, Bishop of New-York,- a chaplain of Congress, and a welcome guest at the din- ner table of his friends." The doctor had been devoted to the Ameri- can cause, was a native of the city, and of Dutch or combined Dutch and Huguenot descent. For even then the city presented the curious "contradiction in circumstances," so often repeated since and seen to-day, that in the Dutch pulpits stood men without a particle of Dutch blood in their veins, while in the Episcopal churches the purest Knickerbockers led the devotions of the people. The bishop was in every respect a most estimable and agreeable person; and, in addi- tion to his Hebrew, classic, and ecclesiastical lore, he is said to have been familiar with French, German, and Italian. It is even affirmed that as a literary recreation -and the circumstance seems more sig- nificant in view alike of his Epis- copal duties and the times - he had made a new poetical transla- tion of Tasso. He was in a posi- tion, therefore, to flavor his con- versation at social gatherings with the elegancies of modern literature, as well as to edify men with "the weightier matters of the law." He was a neighbor of the Rev. Dr. Rodgers, who lived at 7 Nassau street, while the bishop resided at No. 2. In person it is recorded of him that he had a round, full face, was rather above the medium in Same Provoost stature, of portly figure, and very dignified in demeanor.1 He was a public-spirited man, hospitable, and so liberal to the poor as to in- fringe rather too deeply upon his moderate salary of seven hundred pounds per annum, with house rent-free; the pound in America then being of the value of but about two and a half dollars.
The medical profession was represented at that day by Dr. John Charlton, Drs. John and Samuel Bard (father and son, who operated at the lancing of a carbuncle from which Washington suffered during his residence in the Franklin house), Dr. Wright Post, Dr. Richard Bailey, Dr. Benjamin Kissam, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Jones, Dr. Nicholas Romaine, Dr. Charles McKnight, Dr. James Tillery, and several others. The whole membership of the Medical Society in 1789 amounted to twenty-eight. On the dinner-list appear only the names of Drs. Charlton, Kissam, and Johnson. Dr. Charlton lived at 100
1 Wilson's "Centennial History of the Diocese of New-York," p. 127.
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Broadway, and thus within easy call of Jay's house, and he may have been the family physician.1 Under one date on the list; the only guests for dinner are Dr. and Mrs. Charlton, and this little repast, almost en famille, would lend support to the theory. But the name most fre- quently occurring is that of Dr. Johnson. Dr. Ben- jamin Kissam may have been the father of the more celebrated Dr. Rich- ard Sharpe Kissam, who graduated at Edinburgh in 1789 and began prac- tice in New-York in 1791. The former resided at 156 Queen (now Pearl) street; to judge from the num- ber - counting above
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Hanover Square - the doctor's house must have been a few blocks above Franklin Square. It is surprising that some of the greater lights of the profession - so eminent a surgeon as Dr. Wright Post, for one - were not found more frequently at the social gatherings of the day. It would be singular if they appeared elsewhere and were not among the honored guests at Secretary Jay's.
Prominent upon Mrs. Jay's list are, of course, the names of the old New-York families -the Bayards, the Beekmans, the Crugers, the De Peysters, the Livingstons, the Morrises, the Schuylers, the Van Hornes, the Van Cortlandts, the Van Rensselaers, the Verplancks, the Wattses. While some of these furnished men for high positions in the service of the nation, the State, or the city, their position in society was assured, independently of that, by the descent from those who bore these names with honor from the earliest colonial times, as well as by the possession of ample wealth and the refinement which several gen- erations of affluence will naturally bestow. Hence the majority of the names just mentioned owed their prominence solely to social dis- tinction. But now that New-York was the capital of the Confederacy, the social sphere comprised names of honor and fame from other parts of the country. By the presence of the Congress in the city some of the most eminent of the statesmen and generals of "the old
1 His portrait in crayon, of life-size, representing a handsome, portly gentleman, hangs in the Jay house at Bedford.
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thirteen " who had helped to vindicate the independence and lay deep the foundation of the republic, mingled with her sons and daughters. Among the names of Mrs. Jay's list, therefore, may be found those of John Langdon and Paine Wingate, from New Hampshire: the former to be the first president of the United States Senate in 1789, biding the arrival of John Adams; the latter destined to reach the extraor- dinary age of ninety-nine years, having been born in 1739 and dying in 1838; - Roger Sherman and Benjamin Huntington, of Connecticut; Elias Boudinot and John Cadwallader, of New Jersey; Robert Morris and George Read, of Pennsylvania; Charles Carroll, of Maryland; William Grayson, Theodoric Bland, and James Madison, of Virginia; Pierce Butler, Ralph Izard, Daniel Huger, and Thomas Tudor Tucker, of South Carolina; and William Few, of Georgia. Truly a brilliant galaxy of names, well known, just fresh from the political and military fields of contest, and adding now, or soon to add, new laurels to their fame in the more subtle conflicts which were to construct and per- petuate a strong federal republic out of the feeble and incoherent materials of the Confederation.1
These gentlemen were, in many cases, accompanied by their fami- lies, representing in part the higher circles of New England, Philadel- phia, Baltimore, and the south. The letters of the day which have been preserved, both of Americans and Frenchmen, allude frequently to the grace, beauty, and attrac- tiveness of many women then in society. Among them were Lady Mary Watts and Lady Kitty Duer- in reality, and according to a more republican nomenclature, Mrs. John Watts and Mrs. William Duer. They were the daughters of William Alexander, real, or at least titular, Earl of Stirling; and there was enough of old-time courtli- ness left in the States to defer to English usage and apply to them the title of "Lady," as above. So there was also Lady Christiana Griffin, the wife of Cyrus Griffin of Virginia, the president of the
1 Among the prominent members of the Conti- nental Congress of this period who were well known in New-York society were John Hancock, Theodore Sedgwick, and Rufus King, of Massachu- setts; John L. Lawrence, Melancthon Smith, and Peter W. Yates, of New-York; Lambert Cadwal-
lader, John Cleve Symmes, and Josiah Horn- blower, of New Jersey; Colonel John Bayard, William Henry, General Arthur St. Clair, and James Wilson, of Pennsylvania ; James Monroe and Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, and Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina. EDITOR.
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Continental Congress; she belonged to a noble Scottish family. Mrs. Ralph Izard, though from South Carolina, was at home in New- York society, where she had many relatives, for her maiden name was Alice De Lancey, and she was the niece of the whilom chief jus- tice and lieutenant-governor. Soon after her marriage her husband took her to Europe, where he was engaged to some extent in the diplomatic service of the Confed- eration. Mrs. Alexander Hamil- ton has already been referred to. We may mention briefly Mrs. James Beekman, who was Miss Janet Keteltas; Mrs. Theodore Sedgwick, formerly Miss Pamela Dwight; and Miss Wolcott of Connecticut, who afterward be- came Mrs. Chauncey Goodrich.
To the groups already pre- sented there must be added one that formed a very essential ele- ment of social life in that day, namely, the small circle of diplo- mats accredited to the United Inomrayando" States, among whom may be logically counted also the occa- sional European travelers who were attracted by the rising greatness of the young republic, and from whose memoirs may be gathered so vivid a picture of the social events at which they assisted and the "society people" whom they met. We are enabled to look in upon one of these events by means of the dinner-list and of a letter writ- ten by a lady who was a participant. Mrs. William S. Smith, the daughter of John Adams, writes to her mother and tells her that Mrs. Jay gives a dinner to the diplomatic corps on Tuesday evening of every week. On May 20, 1788, this lady attended one of these dinners, and on the next day discourses of it in the following style: "Yesterday we dined at Mrs. Jay's in company with the whole corps diplomatique. Mr. Jay is a most pleasing man, plain in his manners, but kind, affectionate, and attentive; benevolence is stamped in every feature. Mrs. Jay dresses showily, but is very pleasing on a first acquaintance. The dinner was à la Française, and exhibited more of European taste than I expected to find."
1 Colonel John Bayard was born in 1738, and died in 1807. He distinguished himself during the Revolution, and in 1785 was elected a member
of the Continental Congress. He was descended from Stuyvesant's sister, and was the representa- tive of the oldest branch of the Bayard family.
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Now let us observe who were actually present at this dinner. Attention is due first of all to the president of Congress, Cyrus Grif- fin. On the list he is often merely referred to as President, or Mr. President, so that, if dates are not watched closely, we are apt to think of the great Washington. His position in the country, as well as in society, deserves a moment's consideration. He was undoubt- edly the first citizen. Brissot de Warville, the stanch French repub- lican, happy to be in a country where his fond ideals were in actual operation, says of the office: "A presi- dent of Congress is far from being sur- rounded with the splendor of European monarchs; and so much the better. He is not durable in his station; and so much the better. He never forgets that he is a simple citizen, and will soon return to the station of one. He does not give pompous dinners; and so much the better. He has fewer para- sites, and less means of corruption." The vivacious Frenchman might have added another tant mieux to the last item. But although one of these characteristic comments was attached to the lack of pompous dinners, still Mr. Griffin felt called upon to give dinners of some kind. At one of these Brissot was present, and he MRS. JAMES BEEKMAN. has recorded that fact with some
circumstantiality. "I should still be wanting in gratitude," he says, "should I neglect to mention the politeness and attention showed me by the President of Congress, Mr. Griffin. He is a Virginian, of very good abilities, of an agreeable figure, affable and polite. . . . I re- marked that his table was freed from many usages observed else- where; no fatiguing presentations, no toasts, so despairing in a numerous society. Little wine was drank after the women had re- tired. These traits will give you an idea of the temperance of this country : temperance, the leading virtue of republicans."
The president was, of course, accompanied by his lady, sometimes playfully called the "presidentess" in the correspondence of those days. Passing now to the American guests before we single out the diplomats, we notice that, besides Mrs. Colonel Smith and her hus- band, there are General James Armstrong, the defender of German- town in 1777; Mr. Arthur Lee, active in diplomatic work abroad during the Revolution; Mr. and Lady Mary Watts; their son and
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daughter-in-law; Mr. William Bingham, of Philadelphia, reputed the richest man in Pennsylvania, and celebrated for the magnificent hospitality dispensed by him and his beautiful wife at their own home; Mr. Daniel McCormick; and Mr. John Kean, delegate to the Continental Congress since 1785 from South Carolina, yet voting against the extension of slavery to the northwestern territory.
First among the diplomats on the list, and presumably at the din- ner on this 20th of May, appears the minister of France, the Marquis de Moustier. Eléonore François Elie, Marquis de Moustier, was sent to America in 1787. Throughout his career he was a devoted and self-sacrificing adherent of the Bourbons, and suffered greatly on that account. But it led him into the mistake of making himself disa- greeable in his official capacity here, inasmuch as he gave too much evidence of despising the republic which his own master had helped to establish. Yet, whether a welcome guest or not, as a member of the diplomatic corps he could not well be left out of the invitations. Quite different was the case with Don Diego de Gardoqui. "In the summer of 1785 the Court of Spain appointed practically a resident minister to the United States, though under the modest title of encargado de negocios, with a view to settle the controversy about the navigation of the Mississippi, which had been guaranteed to the United States by the treaty of peace; also to arrange a commercial treaty."1 Though representing a more intense despotism, and a government which had diligently shunned all intercourse with our country during the war, De Gardoqui became exceedingly popular in New-York, and his departure in 1789 was greatly regretted. He re- sided at No. 1 Broadway, and De Moustier was a near neighbor, his house also facing the Bowling Green.
The Spanish diplomat seems to have been unaccompanied by a lady, but with the French minister came his sister, the Marquise de Brehan ; a near relative of hers must have been the Comte de Bre- han, who also appears on the list for this date, unless it is in error about the title; perhaps the " comte" was really the Marquis de Bre- han and the brother-in-law of De Moustier; or the marquise was only a comtesse. Besides the minister, France had a chargé d'affaires to represent her, M. Louis G. Otto. He had come to America in 1779, and evidently liked republican ways and people, for he married a Miss Livingston, a relative of Mrs. Jay's. He afterward became Count de Mosloy. A sister republic was among the first to recognize the American commonwealth, and the ink was hardly dry upon the treaty of 1783 when Francis P. Van Berckel presented his credentials as minister plenipotentiary from the United Netherlands to the United States. He was a widower, but the honors of his domestic
1 George Pellew's "John Jay." p. 232.
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establishment were borne by his daughter, Miss Van Berckel. There was as yet no minister from England, but the nearest in rank and functions to that position was that of consul-general, and Sir John Temple held that office at this time. He had been lieutenant-governor of New Hampshire from 1761 to 1774, and, strangely enough, in view of his present post, was removed for too great an "inclination toward the American cause." He was a native of this country, and had married a daughter of Governor James Bow- doin, of Massachusetts. They were both at the dinner of May 20.
Among the distinguished foreigners on Mrs. Jay's list is found the name of M. Brissot de Warville, from whose well-known work on America we have already quoted more than once. It was written on his return to Europe; and while the first volume (in the English translation) is devoted to an interesting account of his voyage to and experiences in this country, the J. Pumpk! second treats almost exclusively of commercial matters. He had come over especially to make a study of these, in order to establish, if possible, improved mercantile rela- tions between France and America. Brissot had been bred to the profession of the law, but in the stirring times preceding the Revolu- tion had drifted into journalism. When the outbreak finally occurred he was on the side of conservative patriotism, and of the party of the Girondists. He opposed the execution of the king, and in con- sequence he, together with several other Girondists, was arrested on October 3, 1793, and guillotined on the 31st. Brissot had brought to Mr. Jay from La Fayette a letter commending him as a writer on the side of liberty, and as one of the founders of the society in behalf of the blacks; for Jay was well known to be an antislavery man. On September 2, 1788, he dined at the secretary's table.
A marked influence was wrought upon the social world in New- York by the inauguration of the federal government, and the resi- dence here of the president of the United States. With the latter's advent, the prominence of Jay, especially as regards diplomatic con-
1 The portrait of Sir John has been copied from a photograph, made in 1890, of the original paint- ing in the possession of his grandson, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, of Boston, Mass. That of Lady Temple was made in like manner from a photograph of the original in the possession of
her grandson, the late Grenville Temple Win- throp, now in the keeping of Hon. Robert C. Winthrop. These paintings are from the hand of the celebrated portrait-painter, Gilbert Stuart. The death of Sir John occurred in 1798. Lady Temple died in 1809. See also note on p. 124
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nections, gave way to the distinctive, as well as distinguished, head of the republic. And from the social standpoint it is interesting to consider, first of all, the discussion which took place about the title, or mode of address, proper to the president. Some suggested "Most Serene Highness," or "Serene Highness," thinking it a safe appella- tion inasmuch as none of the rulers in Europe bore it. Madison gave it as his opinion that the chief magistrate should be spoken of simply as the president. General Muhlenberg, with an eye to the high-sounding title assumed by the States General of the Dutch repub- lic, suggested "High Mightiness"; but Washington was never quite cer- tain whether Muhlenberg was in jest or in earnest. Speaking on the sub- ject at the president's table, Muhlen- berg remarked aptly: "If the office could always be held by men as large as yourself, it would be appro- priate; but if by chance a president as small as my opposite neighbor were elected [he might have referred to Hamilton] it would be ridicu- lous." Bancroft informs us that when the style, "The President of the United States of America," was determined on, "the clause that his title should be 'His Excellency' was E: Templi. still suffered to linger in the draft."1 This unwritten and therefore extra-constitutional title, however, was the one finally fixed upon. In the furor of French sympathy excited by the first outburst of the Revolution, the adherents of the demo- cratic clubs inveighed against this title.
Their republican wrath rose also to a high pitch of fervor against the president's receptions, which society, at his own instance, called "levees," smacking thus most unsavorily of monarchical institutions in Europe. The stately and majestic president loved these courtly manners. When he had a message to deliver to Congress, he did not intrust it to a page or a messenger, but rode to Federal Hall in a coach and six, with outriders besides. Yet he could be plain in his own house, as befitting the American Cincinnatus. Mr. Paine Win- gate tells of a dinner the day after Mrs. Washington had arrived in New-York: "The chief said grace, and dined on boiled leg of mutton. After dessert, one glass of wine was offered to each guest, and when
1 "History of the United States," 6: 342 (ed. 1883).
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it had been drunk, the President rose and led the way to the draw- ing-room." The president's "levees" were held on Tuesday after- noon; Mrs. Washington received on Friday evening, from eight to ten o'clock. At the levees, we are told, "there were no places for the intrusion of the rabble in crowds, or for the mere coarse and boister- ous partisan, the vulgar electioneerer, or the impudent place-hunter, with boots, frock-coats, or roundabouts, or with patched knees and holes at both elbows. On the contrary, they were select and more courtly than have been given by any of the President's successors. None were admitted to the levees but those who had either a right by official station, or by established merit and character; and full dress was required of all."
It need not be said here that President Washington resided at first in the Franklin house, on the present Franklin Square, corner of Cherry street. The huge bridge now has one of its piers standing on or near the spot, and the house has disappeared. Later, he occupied the Macomb house, at 39 Broadway, because the other was inconve- niently "far out of town.". In the appropriate place both of these houses have been described. And we are fortunate in having a minute account of the house of one of the cabinet officers, the secre- tary of war, Major-General Henry Knox, situated at No. 4 Broadway. It was advertised for sale in 1789, "a four-story brick house on the west side of Broadway [No. 4 at present is on the east side], 31} feet wide by 60 feet deep, containing two rooms of thirty feet in length, one of twenty-six, three of twenty-three feet." Ample opportunity, therefore, in this generous mansion for the gatherings of the society of a capital; for "fashionable society in New-York in 1789," says Thomas E. V. Smith, "seems to have consisted of about three hundred persons, as that number attended a ball on the 7th of May, at which Washing- ton was present." This number bore a fair proportion to the popula- tion of the city at that period, and at the same time represented, not simply the society of the State of New-York, but that of her sister States, in the presence of distinguished statesmen and diplomats, whose names, already conspicuous in the republic, are now identified with its important history.
At these gay assemblies the dress worn by ladies and gentlemen was modeled then, as now, after the fashions prevailing in London and Paris. Brissot de Warville observes: "If there is a town on the American continent where the English luxury displays its follies, it is New-York. You will find here the English fashions. In the dress of the women you will see the most brilliant silks, gauzes, hats, and bor- rowed hair. The men have more simplicity in their dress." But that France also contributed to set the fashion of that day in New-York we may gather from the "New-York Gazette" of May 15, 1789, de-
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scribing several costumes imported from Paris. "One was a plain celestial blue satin gown with a white satin petticoat. There was worn with it, on the neck, a very large Italian gauze handkerchief with satin border stripes. The head- dress with this costume was a pouf of gauze in the form of a globe, the creneaux or head-piece of which was made of white satin having a double wing, in large plaits, and trimmed with a large wreath of artificial roses which fell from the left at the top to the right at the bottom in front, and the reverse behind. The hair was dressed all over in detached curls, four of which fell on each side of the neck and were relieved behind by a float- ing chignon. . . . The newest cos- tume consisted of a perriot and petticoat of gray striped silk trim- med with gauze cut in points. A PHILIP LIVINGSTON.1 large gauze handkerchief bordered with four satin stripes was worn with it on the neck, and the head-dress was a plain gauze cap such as was worn by nuns. Shoes were made of celestial blue satin with rose colored rosettes." 2
As for the gentlemen, they wore very long blue riding-coats, the buttons of which were of steel, the vest, or waistcoat, being at the same time of scarlet color, and the knee-breeches yellow. The shoes were tied with strings, and low; but gaiters were fastened above them, running up nearly to the knee, and made of polished leather. But for evening dress the gaiters were omitted, and the legs (more or less genuine as to shape) were incased in silk stockings. It was not until toward the end of the century that material modifications in the dress of gentlemen occurred. The hair was no longer powdered, nor worn long and tied in a queue at the back. The locks were worn short, or at a length considered proper to-day. For the close-fitting knee-breeches and stockings or gaiters upon the legs, loose pantaloons reaching to the shoe were substituted. "The women in 1800 wore hoops, high- heeled shoes of black stuffs, with silk or thread stockings, and had their hair tortured for hours at a sitting to get the curls properly
1 Philip Livingston, the second Lord of the Manor, was born at Albany, July 9, 1686. Was deputy secretary of Indian affairs, and afterward (in 1722) secretary. Was a member of the provin- cial assembly from Albany in 1709, and county clerk
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