History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 10

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992

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Mrs. Esther Reed, who had but recently arrived in Philadelphia, gives her first impressions in a letter to her brother,' Mr. DeBerdt, dated Nov. 14, 1770. We quote as follows : " Miss Pearson is making a fortune by going to England and bringing back new fashions

in her way. Articles for gentlemen's use would an- swer as well. As to the common articles of wear, the country will soon be overstocked. Vast quantities of goods come already from New York and Maryland, and all the country people are spinning coarse linen, which they find their account in. . . . I am sure, after the first weeks, you would like this place very well. The city does not answer my expectations. The plan, undoubtedly, is remarkably good, but the houses are low, and in general paltry, in comparison of the ac- count I had heard. . We made our appearance on Thursday at the Assembly with Mrs. Foxcroft, and my ladyship opened the ball, much to the satisfaction of the company, as something new to criticise on. The belles of the city were there. In general, the ladies are pretty, but no beauties. They all stoop, like country girls. So much for this city."

Two months later Mrs. Reed wrote: "We meet with much civility, but I can't say the place suits me very well. The people must either talk of their neighbors, of whom they know every particular, of what they both do and say, or else of marketing, two subjects I am very little acquainted with. This I only say to yon, for we hardly dare tell one another our thoughts, lest it should spread and be told again all over the town."

In 1772 the following was published as a descrip- tion of a beau in Philadelphia :

"It has a vast quantity of hair on its head, which seems to stand on end and gives it the appearance of being frightened. That hair is loaded with powder and pomatum, all little enough, too, to keep any degree of life or heat in the few brains that are in small particles scattered about in the cavities of that soft skull it covers. The rest of it chiefly consists of French silk, gold lace, fringe, silk stockiogs, a hat and feather, and sometimes a cockade, and then it is quite irresistible. White hands, a diamond ring, a snuff-box, a scented handkerchief, and a cane. Its em- ployment is to present that snuff-box, to wield that cane, to show its white teeth in a perpetual grin, to say soft things in every sense of the word to ladies, to follow them everywhere like their shadow, aod to fetch and carry like a spaniel."

The average citizen, however, was more modestly equipped. A recently-arrived Englishman is repre- sented as wearing his hair tied behind, well dressed in a brown broadcloth coat, lapelled jacket, and breeches of the same material, a castor hat, brown stockings and shoes, with pinchbeck buckles, while a teacher, who had got himself in some trouble with the sheriff, is described as clad in a blue coat, with a red collar and wristbands, sugar-loaf-shaped metal buttons, a blue surtout coat, Nivernais hat, and ruffled shirt ; he, also, wore his hair tied behind.

The lady's hat for out-door wear was a very flat, round hat, worn so as to stand up perpendicularly on the right side of the head, or rather of the immense edifice of hair reared high over the head, the back and crown of which was protected by a sort of loose hood. A cloak of some bright color was worn in winter. Scarlet cloaks, when first imported, were great favorites with the leaders of fashion, but public taste condemned them and the mode did not last. We took our fashions from England, and the Philadel-

I We are indebted for this and subsequent extracts to a very interest- ing " Life of Esther DeBerdt, afterward Esther Reed," printed for pri- vate circulation in 1853, without the author's name, but which is known to be by Mr. Wilham B. Reed, of Philadelphia.

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

phia ladies were probably careful to follow the direc- tions contained in a "London Pocket-Book" of the period,1 viz., " Every lady who wishes to dress her hair with taste and elegance should first purchase an elastic cushion exactly fitted to the head. Then, having combed out her hair thoroughly, and properly thickened it with powder and pomatum, let her turn it over her cushion in the reigning model. Let her next divide the sides into divisions for curls, and adjust their number and size from the same models. If the hair be not of a sufficient length and thick- ness it will be necessary to procure an addition to it, which is always to be had ready-made and matched to every color."

During the next ten years there were as many dif- ferent styles of dressing the hair. Curls, crisp or long, feathers, flowers and ribbons, powder and po- matum, each had their turn, or were combined into so many enormities that they aroused the poet's sarcasm,-

"Give Betsy a bushel of horsehair and wool, Of paste and poDatum a pound, Ten yards of gay ribbon to deck her sweet skull, And gauze to encompass it round. Her cap flies behind, for a yard at the least, And her curls meet just under her chin, And those curls are supported, to keep up the jest, By a hundred, instead of one pin."

A custom prevailed at the funeral of young girls which has long since ceased to be: it was that the coffin should be carried to the grave by some of the most intimate companions of the dead girl. Miss Sarah Eve in her journal, July 12, 1773, has the fol- lowing entry : "In the evening B. Rush, P. Dunn, K. Vaughan and myself carried Mr. Ash's child to be buried; foolish custom for girls to prance it through the streets without hats or bonnets."?

Miss Sarah Eve, the daughter of Oswell Eve and Anne Moore, 3 was a highly accomplished young lady,

1 The Eighteenth Century, by Alexander Andrews,

2 The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, from which we copy these extracts from the journal of Miss Sarah Eve, says in n note concerning this custom : " As late as Dec. 19, 1813, it appears to have undergone but little change from the time mentioned in the diary, 88 Miss Hannah M. Wharton recorded in her journal : ' We have had a melancholy occurrence in the circle of our acquaintance since 1 last wrote in the death of the accomplished and amiable Fanny Durden. Six young ladies of ber intimate acquaintance, of which I was one, were asked to be the pall-bearere. We were all dressed in white, with long white veils.'

" The child whose funeral was mentioned in the text was Rebecca, second child of Col. James Ash. . . . Col. Ash was born in 1750, and lied in 1830. TIe married three times, and had twenty-four children. His first wife, whom he married when he was quite yonng, was Sarah Hinchman."

3 Surah Eve was one of the surviving six of thirteen children. This gifted young Indy died Dec. 4, 1774, aged twenty-four years. She had received n good education, and was familiar with the best poetical and post writers in the English language. Hler disposition was as amiable as her understanding was strong and her imagination brilliant. A member of the family wrote of her, " ller hnir, though red, was always fashionably dressed, and her appearance very stately. On ene derasion, when n companion said she 'was too proud,' another unswered, 'There is more humility under Sarah Eve's high head than under many a Quaker bonnet,'"

with a quick and naturally observing mind. The following extracts from her journal give an insight of the social life in her time :

"February 26th. As fine a day as in April. In the morning Dr. Shippeu came to see us. What a pity it is that the doctor is so fond uf kissing; he really would be much more agreeable if he were less fond. One hates to be always kissed, especially as it is attended with so many inconveniences; it decomposes the economy of one's handkerchief, it dis- orders one's high roll, and it ruffles the serenity of one's conutenance; in short, the doctor's, or a sociable kiss, is many times worse than a formal salute with bowing and eurtseying, to ' this is Mr. Such-an-one, and this Miss What-do-you-call-her.' 'Tis true this confuses one no little, but one gets the better of that sooner than to readjust one's dress."

In another entry she remarks playfully, " I never once thought of it before I heard Mrs. Clifford mention it, why such an exemplary man as Mr. Duche should sit every day and have his hair curled and powdered by a barber. Since I have thought about it greatly, and would like to hear his sentiments on this subject. But, my dear ma'am, what would a parson be with- out powder ? it is as necessary to him as to a soldier, for it gives a more significant shake to his head. and is as priming to his words and looks. As to having his hair curled, he perhaps thinks it of little or no con- sequence, since curled or uncurled locks will turn so gray, or perhaps he may look upon it as more humili- ating to wear his own hair than a wig, as then his head must serve as a block on which the barber must dress it."

She goes with Maj. and Mrs. Hayes to visit a lady from "Tren Town" who lodged at Dr. Duffield's, and the visit is an ovation for writing this graphic pen-picture of shallow fashionable life: "We went down to the doctor's where I was introduced to the lady, her name

The Pennsylvania Magazine says of her family, "Io 1745 Oswell Eve, the elder, was a sea-captain, commanding the ship 'George,' and was so prosperous that, from 1756 to 1760, he was part owner in no less than twenty-five different vessels. During part of this time he was a shipping merchant of Philadelphia, and in 1756 was a lieutenant in Capt. Samuel Mifflin's company of Philadelphia Associators. In 1766 he became a member of the Society for the Relief of the Poor, Aged, nod Infirm Masters of Ships, their Widows and Children.

" A daughter of Oswell Eve, Jr, writes that her grandfather ' lived in a large stone house in Philadelphia ; the sons and daughters were edu- cated in Philadelphia, and my father was a classmate and nssociate of Drs. Rush, Shippen, and James. His father was the owner and captain of the British war-brig "The Roebuck ;" my uncle, Joseph, had his father's epmimission in his possession. As soon as his eldest sons, John and Oswell, were large enough, he took them to sea with him, leaving the restof the family at n place near Philadelphia, where his wife and danghter lived until near the commencement of the war, in very com- fortable circumstances, seeing a great deal of company. It was then Dr. Rush became engaged to my aunt, but she died three weeks before the event was to take place.'

" As will be seen by the journal, Captain Eve, having met with mis- fortunes in business, left his family, May 1, 1768, and with his sons, John and Oswell, went to the West Indica, where he engaged in business, which wus principally transacted at Montego Bay, Jamaica. After nn absence of over five years he felt that his affairs would nllow him to re- turn to his family, and it is while looking forward with pleasant ex- pectations for this event that the diary of his daughter closes." . . . " It is likely the house (occupied by Captain Eve's family) was situated on the stream which supplied the Globe Mill at Germantown rond and Canal Street, the dam of which was west of the present line of Fifth Street Above Thompson, H site now covered with houses, but until lately occu- pied by glue-factories and tan-yards, presenting a scene greatly different from that described in the jonrual as a place where wild flowers could be gathered."

EARLY PHILADELPHIA BOFTIME". [From old prints in Pennsylvania Historical Society.

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

when a compatu. is more humility under Sarun - Quaker bonnet.'"

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EARLY PHILADELAHUN GAOTISIE .. { From old prints in Penn- Ivania Historical Society.

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MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, 1700-1800.

is Brayen, her husband is a doctor and a man of for- tune. We found her agreeing with a man about framing a picture for her, how soon one may discover some people's predominant passions. I thought I had hers before the man left her, and by evening I was pretty sure of it. Though by appearance fond of show and gayety, if I mistake not, and I did not see her good man, she is mistress. She had just returned from buying wine for the doctor as he preferred her taste before his own. 'Your price rather, thought I, for peace sake poor man!' She put on her cloak and bonnet, and we went a shopping with her, she wanted a hundred things, she cheapened everything, and bought nothing! She offered ten pence a yard for trimming which the woman said cost her four- teen, and accordingly for everything she wanted. At one o'clock she left us to go home and dress as she was to dine with us. At half after two she came to us, and at three we sat down to dinner, for my part, at that time of day, I should have thought tea full as proper, my impolite appetite unaccustomed to be so served, had left me two hours before, so that I had little to do with the original intention of dining and a greater opportunity of observing (dare I call it the shallow elegance of my surroundings, and the more shallow compliments and conversation of the greater part of the company). 'Where, my dear Mrs. Hayes,' said the doctor's lady, 'did you get everything so much handsomer and so much finer than anybody else?' a proper stress to be laid on the word so. The other lady with pleasure sparkling in her eyes and a con- sciousness that the compliment was no more than her due, exclaimed she was very polite and very obliging, and in this entertaining manner we passed an hour and a half at the table. We drank tea at candle light, the silver candlesticks very handsome and much admired. As soon as possible I bade the company good-night, except Capt. Stainforth, who saw me safe to my brother's. I came home, thanking fate that I had so little to do with high life and its attendants."

In another letter of Mrs. Reed's (Oct. 12, 1772), she mentions several articles of apparel which she desires her brother to send to her, as she cannot procure them easily in Philadelphia, viz., Black calma shoes, a dozen of eight-bowed cap wires, a quilted cap for her little girl, and a " quartered cap for her boy; for herself, a half-dressed handkerchief or tippet, or what- ever is the fashion, made of thread lace; a handsome spring silk, fit for summer, and new fashion." In a subsequent letter, however, she countermands the order concerning the silk gown, as she finds she can have one made in Philadelphia.

On the 20th she writes, " You will no doubt hear of the failure of a very considerable house in New York ; it seems to have been very unexpected, as they were in great credit. Many failures are expected here; the city is so much overstocked with goods that in many shops you may buy cheaper than in London, and the needy trader is constantly obliged for the

sake of ready cash to send his goods (often bales un- opened) to vendue, where they sometimes sell under prime cost, which is productive of universal bad con- sequences." This repletion of the market was not to last, however. Yet another year or two and how dif- ferent the aspect of things will be ! The grievances of the colonies have become unbearable. The people of Boston have destroyed the cargoes of the tea-ships ; the Philadelphians, with that decorum and dislike of violence inherited from their Quaker ancestors, have compelled the vessels sent to their port to leave it without discharging their obnoxious cargo. Non-im- portation is resolved; the Revolution is commenced. The effect on society was to create division. We will not introduce the political history of Philadelphia in a chapter devoted exclusively to manners and cus- toms, but even these will show the divisions of par- ties. A lady's dress revealed at once the side taken by her family; the patriotic fair ones proclaiming their resolve to encourage home manufactures, while the wives and daughters of the men who doubted the wisdom of the Revolutionary measures recently adopted, clung to English fashions and English goods. Still, at this closing page of the ante-Revo- lutionary period, there was neither the folly and ex- travagance, nor the trials and sufferings which marked the great struggle. There was no scarcity of the good things of this world, and the delegates to the Congress held in 1774 had no cause to complain of the hospitality of the Philadelphians. When the delegates from Massachusetts reached Frankford, a number of gentlemen from Philadelphia, including Mifflin, McKean, and Rutledge, went out with car- riages, and, having cordially welcomed the delegates, brought them to the city. Here they were introduced to a number of other gentlemen, who vied with one an- other in paying them attention. During their stay it was a continual round of invitations to dinner par- ties, receptions, etc. One of the delegates-John Adams-kept a diary, and in this he noted with much exactness the many invitations he had accepted, even to putting down the bill of fare. A few extracts from these curious memoranda will show how well the wealthy Philadelphians lived :

"September .- Went with William Barrell to his store, where we drank punch and ate dried smoked sprats with him.

* * #

* * * " Dinner with Joseph Reed. An elegant supper. We drank senti- * * mente until eleven o'clock. Lee had dined with Dickinson, and drank Burgundy all the afternoon.

* * % *

"Dinner at Mrs. Fisher's: Ducks, hams, chickens, beef-pies, tarts, creams, custards, jellies, fools' trifles, floating islands, beer, porter, wine, punch, and a long, etc. * * % * . "At Mr. Powell's: Curds and cream, sweet-meats of various sorts, twenty sorts of tarts, fools' trifles, floating islands, whipped syllabnbs, Parmesan cheese, punch, wine, porter, beer, etc.

" At Willing's: Turtle, and everything else.

# "At Dr. Cox's, Water Street: Claret, Madeira, Burgundy, pears and penches. Breakfast : Buckwheat-cakes, muffins and toast. 4 *

. *

* *

" Dinner at Chew's : Turtle, etc. ; sweetinrats, trifles, etc. Dessert : Raisins, almonds, pears, peaches, and Madeira very fluel."

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

Silas Deane, a New England delegate, was not so well pleased with our markets. He wrote as follows concerning them in 1774:

"Their meat is brought in the neatest order and appearance, and their mutton excels. But in the whole market there was nothing of the fish kind, and I scarcely saw any fowls of any kind worth naming. Fruit of but few kinds, and those very inferior (watermelons excepted, which you may think ought to be good when I tell you I saw them sold for two shillings each). Among their roots and vegetables I saw none of the first quality, and none at all of several which we value. I saw no celery, not a root ; no kinds of salads, one basket of endive excepted ; no beans but what were fit to shell ; and the cucumbers offered for sale were older than we ever ate them. The roots and vegetables worth no- ticing are, cabbages and potatoes, goud; turnips, carrots, and radishes, as tough as a dry, sandy soil can make them. But the red beets are good. . .. They expose horses, cattle, sheep, earthenware, stockings, etc , in the market with other things, so that they really have an assort- ment. But everything, without exception, is dearer than at New York. The common price of butter is sixteen pence per pound."

Nor was he favorably impressed with the beauty of the Philadelphia ladies, if we judge from the follow- ing extract from a subsequent letter :

" A brother delegate, remarkably fond of fine ladies, at a late fair, when the whole country was collected, asked me if I saw one pretty gill. I replied in the negative, He was then very free (as he was very well acquainted in New England, though not an inhaltant of it) in praise of your ludyships there, and taking a guinea out of his pocket, said, ' Denne, here is a vast crowd of girls; I will follow you, and the first that you shall say has a pretty face I will give the guinea to.' We strolled through the whole fair, and though I sincerely wanted him to Jose the guinea, yet I could not in conscience say that I found our hand- some face. From this judge of the general complexion of girls here,"1

1 All strangers were not as fastidions as Mr. Deane. The Duke de Lauzun de lared that " for beauty, grace, and intelligence" he bad never seen the superiors of the Philadelphia ladies. The Marquis de Chastel- lux has devoted many nn enthusiastic page of his " Voyage dans l'Amer- ique" to his fair Philadelphia acquaintances. The Abbr Robin, a chap- lain in Rochambeau's army, says, "They are tall and well-proportioned, their features are generally regular, their complexton is very fair and without colour, they have less ease and grace but a more noble bearing thau French ladies Indeed, I have noticed in many of them something of the loftiness which characterzes some of the chef d'œuvres of the old artists." The Chevalier de Branjam, after describing the men, remarks, " The women have more of that deheate beanty which belongs to their sex, and, in general, have finer features and more expression in their phystognoms. Their statme is nsnally tall, and nearly all are possessed of a light and airy shape, the breast Ingh, a fine head, and theit colour uf a dazzling whiteness. Let us imagine, under this brilhant forin, the most modest detneanur, a chaste and virginal air, accompanied by those simple and unaffected graces which flow fr in artless nature, and we may have an idea ut their style of beanty ; but this beauty passes and fades inam bient, At the age of twenty -five their form changes, and it tlaity the whole of their charms Lave heappeared." This thing remark is apphed to AAmer can wom imn _ netal.

Bot trmiks still more ratifying than fas ral le comments on Amer- iran leanty wife made by those foxe, pers. They describe su jets as it was it the auf yet the hat i, an f the high tribute which they pay to the scrivi thesent the w tien off Ame i a is the mor . procons te. calls+ it 1 st Ile- ved, Est. tiletselon,s d E'ir pran " civiliza- tion ' Marshal t 0012 de R Fancom, falls " Moo sen the War of the Best att n't maths me dodal; " >og w non . the til their marriage . . . But when they have 0f ered the state f matrimony In the rural distincts, a woman 4 lo -e Bothers "

The Duke de la Rocheter ant l. L.rune mit " Voyag . dans les Etits- Unis" canmirenta favoral by on the from, somarchy aburre, all med to young American girls, He sayao the marie I womet , ' In the conn try she is, as in Europe, a necessary tried to the mangement of domes- thenffalis, she la the soul of the family. In town she as si tuo, She is un indi-pensable resemire for domestic atlais, while her husband is et- gaged In his own affurs, as every one is in America, She iran assidu-

"It may be noticed," says Mr. Westcott in his " History of Philadelphia," " that the fairs were held in the public market-places, and were most generally attended by the country people, most of whom at that time were used to hard work, frequently in the fields, and were without the advantages incident to luxury and leisure and refinement, which give to women of taste opportunities to display their personal charms to the best advantage. The apology for Mr. Deane is that he did not get into the best society, which at that time was affected generally in favor of the crown."

The troublous times have come. The battle of Lexington has been fought, and independence has become a fact. Washington, appointed commander- in-chief in June, 1775, has started for Boston, where the Continental army is organizing; a number of Philadelphians accompany him. In Philadelphia everything bears a warlike aspect. We hear no more of races, of cock-fighting,-the favorite but cruel amusement hitherto so much in vogne,-no more bull-baiting or bear-baiting ; the men have something else to think of, they discuss the war news, they pre- pare for war. Mrs. Reed, whose husband is appointed lieutenant-colonel of one of the three battalions of Pennsylvania, writes, "Two thousand men in the field, all in uniform, make a very military appear- ance. A regiment of men, whom they call riflemen, dress themselves like Indians, and make a very for- midable show." Even the ladies have lost all interest in their wonted amusements, the ball-room is forsaken, dress affords no pleasure ; war is the universal theme, the all-engrossing subject.

The newspapers belonging to the party of armed resistance made use of various devices illustrative of union, the essential element of success. The dis- jointed or dissevered snake was a favorite device at the time of the Stamp Act excitement, and when, in 1774, the colonists had resolved to take the important step for the promotion of union, namely, the assembling of a Continental Congress of delegates, that device was revived, with some modifications. The illustra- tion of a disjointed snake, each part representing a colony, with the initials thereof," first appeared in the heading of the Pennsylvania Journal, where it remained for about a year, or until the colonies were fairly united, on the meeting of the Second Conti- mental Congress in May, 1775. The device excited the ire and disgust of the loyalists, and the Tory writers spoke in harsh terms of it. A writer in Riv- ington's Royal Gazette, in New York, called it " a scan- dalons and saucy reflection ;" to which a correspond- ent of the Journal, signing himself "New Jersey," replied as follows :

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 10

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 992

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992