History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 4

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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This company was under the management of - Murray aud Thomas Kean. They remained in New York over a year, and the casts of the plays performed by them during that period were published in the New York papers.

Society in 1750 was certainly more lively than in the earlier part of the century. Dancing was freely indulged in, although not countenanced by the Friends. Entertainments were frequently given, at which conviviality sometimes exceeded the bounds. The use of strong drinks, justifiable in the case of the first settlers as intended to counteract the effect of exposure to the inclemencies of the seasons and hard out-door work, had become widespread, and habitual intoxication was not uncommon. It became necessary to check this fatal practice ; but it was no easy matter to impress upon the people the evil consequences of a long-contracted habit that had become hurtful only because it had been carried to excess. Friends, with their usual thoughtfulness, were the first to move in this matter. They did so cautiously, yet denouncing the evil and adopting repressive measures so far as the members of their own society were concerned. In 1726 Yearly Meeting adopted strong resolutions against the practice of giving liquor to persons pres-

ent at public vendue, which had the effect of exciting bidders and creating au incantious rivalry between them, thereby stimulating them to offer much higher prices than the goods were worth. The Yearly Meet- ing determined that members of their profession who indulged in this practice should be dealt with. In 1743 a petition was sent to the Assembly from Chester County complaining of this same practice of giving liquor at public vendue,-

" the excessive drinking uf which frequently produced swearing, quar- reling, and other scandalous enormities, and, moreover, was often the cause that poor people gave extravagant prices for unnecessary things, whereby families were much oppressed, and sometimes ruioed."

In 1736 Yearly Meeting repeated its advice against the frequent use of drams, or other strong drink, in families or elsewhere, and particularly to be cautious of giving them to children, and thereby accustoming them to the habit of drinking such strong liquors. In 1738 it was resolved to caution Friends against the " too frequent use of strong liquors." This advice was repeated in 1749 and 1750. In the Pennsylvania Ga- zette of 1733 are some remarks upon dram-drinking, caused by the fact that a woman had been found dead from the use of liquor.

These remarks of the Gazette give us a correct no- tion of what sort of a breakfast the good dames used to eat, and describe the consequences of tippling in a most graphic manner. Says the Gazette,-

"It is uow become the practice of some otherwise discreet women, instead of a draught of beer and toast, or a chunk of bread and cheese, or a wooden noggin of good porridge and bread, as our good old English custom is, or milk and bread boiled, or tea and bread and butter, or milk, or milk coffee, &c., they must have their two or three dranie in the moro- ing, by which, as I believe, their appetite for wholesome food is taken away, and their minde stupefied, so that they have no longer that pru- dent care for their family to manage well the business of their station, nor that regard for reputation which good women ought to have. And though they find their husbands' affairs every day going backward, through their negligence, and themselves want necessaries ; though there be no bread in the house, and the children almost barefoot this cold weather, yet, as if drinking rum were part of their religious worship, they never fail their constant daily sacrifice."

This was a sad state of society, and the wonder is how the Philadelphians ever succeeded in shaking off the incubus of drink. They were in a fair way of becoming a community of sots.

In 1729 the Weekly Mercury said that on the 1st, 2d, and 3d nights of October, in the previous year,- that being about election time,-there was drank and thrown away, in and about the city, four thousand five hundred gallons of common beer.

Drunkenness was attacked and defended in verse, the following having been published March 21, 1734:

" Thie town would quickly be reclaimed If drams no more had veut, And all the aorte that could be named To Strombolo were sent.

" If none did tif or Sampson mix, And punch were quite rejected, And all the rum thrown into Styx, The work would be perfected.

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"For brewers' skill is mostly auch, Their art is so diviue, Scarce nuy ode would driok too much, Except a goat or swipe.

" Yours, R. W."

A reply, March 28, 1734, was as follows :

"ANSWER TO 'R. W.'

"This town would quickly be reclaimed If every mian was wise, Or (bs & lesser number named) The persons wbo advise.

" To tell of Strombolo and Styx, But not the way to either, W's still shall tiff and Sampson mix- Drams, punch, sod rum together.

" Pray, since the brewers' urt divine, And beer so much surpasses, Bid them a faithful skill to join, And to reject molasses. "W. R."

Edward Shippen, in a letter written to his son Ed- ward, afterward chief justice, gives a feeling picture of the habits of the young men of that period. After noting particularly the fact that himself and his son Joseph did their work at Lancaster "without tasting a drop of strong liquor, confining their drinking in the evening to a little wine after eating a light sup- per," and recommending this practice most affec- tionately to Edward, he goes on to say,-

"It is too common a thing for young men, when they first appear opon the stage of action, to aim at grandeur and politeness. They de- light to see their friends (often falsely so called) frequently at their houses, and to entertain them in a genteel manuer. The friends are pleased with this, and bring other acquaintances with them to dine, etc. Then, afterwards, they sit at tabls two or three hours tippling of wine and pnoch, which, rendering the company nufit for any business, a walk to the Bowling Green or billiard-table is proposed and consented to ; and on their return from thencs in the evening, instead of being calm and cool, and having the pleasure of reflecting upon a well-spent day, either for the advantage of their family or of hoth, they are hecome ao stupid that they don't know what to do with themselves, but either go to a tavera or to one or other of their houses to drink away care till the clock strikes twelve ; and then, being quite devils and quite beasts, they stag- ger Hway home to snore and gronn by the sides of their innocent young wives, who deserve ten thousand better things at their hands, and all this nfter the poor young things have been mopiog at home and bemoan- ing themselves of their hard fate, and crying out one hundred times in an evening, 'Well, if these hs the pleasures of matrimony, would to heaven that we had remained under our parents' roof !' But, to return, when they have wallowed in their beds nutil about eleven o'clock next morning, they then raise their uuclean bodies in order to act the same part over again. Can any rational creature excuse such heliavior to God, to his wife and family, or even to himself?"

There were already many taverns in those days,- not such coffee- and chocolate-houses as they had in London, where the most famous literary and political clubs held their meetings, and which were frequented by fashionable men, who sought the society of the wits,-such places as the "Chapter Coffee-House," where Dr. Buchan, Sir Richard Phillips, Alexander Chalmers, Dr. Busby, and other celebrities met, or the immortal "Button's Coffee-House," the head- quarters of the Spectator's Club, where Addison, Steele, Pope, Ambrose Phillips, and others could be found enjoying social converse, and eriticising the

vices and follies of their time. Philadelphia could not yet boast of such places of resort, although it had long possessed establishments yclept "coffee- houses," a name that indicated a claim of superiority over the taverns, but whose frequenters called oftener for liquors, malt and spirituous, than for the fragrant Arabian berry or the nutritious bean of the cocoa- bush.

The old taverns of Philadelphia were certainly not all objectionable; many were quiet, respectable houses, where people arriving in the city might obtain re- freshments, or a citizen might enter to have a social glass and chat with an acquaintance; but many, too many, perhaps, were bacchanalian resorts, frequented by dissipated young bloods and, often, by very bad characters. It is not to be wondered at that the practice of hard drinking prevailed to such an ex- tent, and if we have dwelt at some length on this subject it is not that the vice was peculiar to this community ; far from such being the case, it is a matter of congratulation that our forefathers should have succeeded in resisting and finally eradicating a practice which was generally accepted in England at the time. Drunkenness and profligacy of the worst kind prevailed in the higher ranks of society in the old country; the former was checked before it had destroyed the manhood of the colonists, the importa- tion of the latter was a failure, if ever attempted, and though our grandmothers may have imitated the ex- travagance in dress of the court ladies, they never imitated their morals.

Weddings were occasions for feasting and frivolity, and the drinking on such occasions was often ex- cessive. The practice was discountenanced by prudent parents and by Friends generally. Thomas Chalkley, in his journal for 1725, notes the fact that he went home after attending a marriage at Horsham, at which Governor Keith was present, without going to the marriage dinner, " being sensible that great companies and preparations at weddings were growing incon- veniences among us, which I was conscientiously concerned to discourage."

As early as 1716, the Yearly Meeting had advised that Friends everywhere avoid all extraordinary pro- visions at their marriages ; and also, "as much as may be, avoid inviting those who are not Friends or that will not be under our discipline." In 1720, Yearly Meet- ing scented a new danger : with an increasing popu- lation representing a diversity of creeds, the social cirele had become very much mixed; the Friends could not hold themselves aloof from the rest of the people, however much they might differ on religious questions; now, many a pretty Quaker girl had won the heart of some gay gentleman, and a sober-minded young Friend was not always proof against the blandishments of some worldly beauty. The meeting solemnly advised against marriages between Friends and such as were not of that persuasion. That patri- archal body furthermore recommended that all con-

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cerned " take care, at the houses or places where they go to or are at, after the meeting is over, that no re- proach arise or occasion be given by any intemperate or immoderate feasting or drinking, or by any un- seemly, wanton discourse or actions, but that all behave with such modesty and propriety as becomes a people fearing God."

A great abuse and evil of the burial customs at this time was in feasting, eating, and drinking among the persons attending on these occasions. This custom prevailed in England. When a person of high rank died the body was kept for several days "lying in state" for the public and their neighbors to come and look at it, and also to give time for the relatives who lived at a great distance to make the journey and be present at the funeral. These visitors had to be en- tertained, and in course of time what had been a matter of necessity became a general custom, and there was an entertainment at every funeral, be the deceased ever so obscure. The Yearly Meeting ad- mitted that at some burials where people may come from a long distance there may be occasion for re- freshments, but recommended that these may be taken in moderation. Friends, when they attended the burials of those not in communion with them, were advised to keep themselves and their children from going with the dead into their worship houses. They were instructed by the Concord Monthly Meet- ing in 1729 to desist from such " idolatrous practices" as putting names and dates upon coffins.

The English practice of burying by torchlight, satirized by Pope as a vain ostentation in the lines, --

" When Hopkins dies, a thousand lights attend The wretch, who, living, saved a candle's end,"

was never general in Philadelphia. A few such funerals, however, are on record. The interment took place in Christ Church. Robert Asheton, re- corder of the city, was buried in that way in 1727. In 1734, Lady Gordon also had the honors of a torch- light funeral.

The order of march at funerals in Philadelphia was as follows : The parson walked before the bearers, and if the deceased was a woman the ladies walked in procession next to the mourners, and the gentle- men followed after them. But this order was reversed if the deceased was a man, and the gentlemen pre- ceded the ladies.1 Samuel Keimer, in 1723, describes in elegiac verses the funeral of Aquila Rose, a printer, a poet, keeper of the ferry at High Street, Schuylkill, and clerk of the Assembly, a much lamented young man. The description is graphic, if not of the highest order of poetry :

" His corpse attended was by friende eo soon- From seven at moro till one o'clock at noon; By master-printers carried to his grave, Our city printer euch an honor gave.

A worthy merchant did the widow lead,

And then both mounted on a stately steed.

Next preachers, common council, aldermen ;

A judge and sheriff graced the solemn train ; Nor failed our treasurer in respect to come, Nor stayed the keeper of the rolls at home. Our aged postmaster here now appears,

Who had not walked so far for lwice twelve years;

With merchants, shopkeepers, the young and old-

A numerous throng, not very easy told.

The keeper of the seal did on him wait :

Thus was be carried, like a king-in state ;

And, what still adds a further lustre to't, Some rode well mounted, others walked afoot.2

Church folke, dissenters, here with one accord,

Their kind attendance readily afford.

To show their love, each differing sect agree

To grace his funeral with his company ; And what was yet more grateful, people cried. Beloved he lived, see how beloved he died !

" When to the crowded meeting he was bore I wept so long till I could weep no more ; While beauteous LIGHTFOOT did, like Noch's dove, Sweetly declare God's universal love, His words like balm (or drops of honey) laid To heal those wounds grief in my heart had made. Three other preachers did their task fulfill,- The loving Chalkley and the lowly Hill. The famous Langdale did the sermone end For this our highly honored, worthy friend."

In 1748, " burial biscuit" is advertised for sale by a baker in the city, a proof that the feasting at funerals, so much inveighed against by Yearly Meeting, was as strong as ever, and even inspired the genius of speculation. To have "burial biscuits" to dip in their wine probably intensified the grief of the dear departed's friends. In fact, the chronicler in attempt- ing to describe the manners and customs of the early Philadelphians must be continually drawing the line of distinction between the Friends and the remainder of the community. The former had their peculiar views about everything, and these views were some- times greatly at variance with not only the accepted code of English society, but with the laws of the land. In the early days of the province the prepon- derance of the Friends was such that the settlement was in almost every respect a Quaker community ; but in time the character of the immigration which steadily swelled the numbers of the city population changed. It was no longer the poor and the persecuted who fled to Philadelphia ; the glowing reports of the prosperity of the colony, published in Europe, at- tracted many people, merchants with ample means, men of rank and of culture, who brought their families to this new Garden of Eden, adventurers who ex- pected to make their fortunes in that wonderful El-

1 This custom was not, as some writers believe, peculinr to Philadel- phia. It prevailed (and may still prevail) in New Orleans, at least at the funeral of women, the ladles not attending the funerals of men.

2 The names of some of the dignitaries who officiated on this occasion were as follows:

Master-printers-Andrew Bradford, Samuel Keimer, and Jacob Taylor.

City printer-Andrew Bradford.

Sheriff-Owen Roberte. Treasurer of the province-Samuel Preston.

Postmaster-Henry Flower.

Keeper of the rolls-Robert Asheton.

Keeper of the seal-James Logan.

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

dorado. The ideas and habits brought by these new- comers could not but clash with the unostentatious quiet ways of the Friends. Their moral and religious views were different. What some deemed innocent pleasures the others condemned as sinful practices. Too much freedom on the one side, too much restraint on the other, created social antagonism. Time alone could effect the desirable fusion, and its work was slow. When, therefore, we describe customs that do not agree with the principles of Quakerism as set forth in the actions of their meetings. it must be under- stood that these customs were not followed by the Friends. On the other hand, it is clear that the de- cisions of the meetings could not be binding on the other denominations. Yet it must be confessed that if the Friends showed unnecessary opposition to many harmless practices, they never failed to oppose and condemn that which was really hurtful and im- moral. Their influence checked many a vice, their seriousness was a counterpoise to the frivolity of those who obeyed the worldly code brought from Europe. The happy result of this struggle for the good, was that in little more than half a century so- ciety in Philadelphia had reached that happy medium between extravagant frivolity and exaggerated seri- ousness which has stamped it indelibly with the mark of true gentility, and left it to this day without a superior.

But we must go back to the early days. Yearly Meeting adverted again and again to the pomp and extravagance introduced in funeral ceremonies. The practice of Friends was to take the body from the residence to the grave, where it was interred amid profound silence. After the burial the company ad- journed to the adjoining meeting-house, where there was speaking and praying. This silent parting with the dead, witnessed in an English burying-ground, inspired Miss Lucy Collins with the following very appropriate lines :

"ON SILENT FUNERALS. " When expectation anxious wishing Eloquence of words to hear, The solemn pause of awful silence Mortifies the itching ear.

" As such, perhaps, the great Dispenser Sees it best to deal with man, The depth of whose unerring counsel Human wisdom cannot scau.

" The striking scene of death before us, What can more instructive plead ? Since 'tis a road we all must follow, 'Tis a path that none evade.

" Though learned phrase and flowery language Please the proud, exalted part, Yet deeply searching home reflection ('an alone amend the heart."

In 1729 the meeting resolved against "the vanity and superstition of erecting monuments and entomb- ing the dead with singular notes or marks of distinc- tion, which is but worldly pomp and grandeur, for no encomium nor pompous interment can add worth

to the deceased." It ordered the erection of tomb- stones over the graves of Friends to be stopped, and the tombstones already so placed to be removed. This order not having been generally obeyed, the meeting, in 1731, ordered the overseer to remove the tombstones so remaining.

As a closing remark to the not over-gay subject of funerals and tombstones, we will note here that the custom of issuing special invitations to persons to attend funerals prevailed, and such importance was attached to this mark of respect to be paid the dead, that funerals were delayed if the parties invited did not arrive at the time appointed. Yearly Meeting very properly condemned such delays. The cards of invitation to funerals had deep mourning borders and other emblems of death. They were imported from London.

Marriages between relatives were disapproved, and the question gave rise to much perplexity. In 1731 it was determined that Yearly Meeting would not pro- ceed to prohibit marriages in degrees of affinity and consanguinity allowable by the laws of England. But this minute did not give satisfaction, the Burling- ton Monthly Meeting declaring that they had lately been exercised "with sundry marriages, to wit, one person marrying two sisters, etc., by persons profess- ing truth." A committee of fourteen Friends was appointed in the succeeding year to consider the matter. In 1733 the committee made its report, con- demning not only marriage with a sister-in-law, but with a wife's first cousin. The meeting did not think proper to prohibit marriages, " further than a man may not marry his wife's sister," but in 1739 a resolu- tion was adopted against the marriage of a man with his wife's first cousin.

Courtship among the Quakers was a very solemu business. Before declaring himself, before he had a chance of winning the regard of the object of his affections, the lover must speak to her parents and obtain their permission to sue for her hand. This permission granted, he came " a courting ;" that is, he must strive by his grave demeanor and solid conver- sation to make an impression on the fair one. While he strove to show his sentiments hy these means he could not have the faintest idea of what were those of his inamorata toward him, unless a soft glance from her downcast eyes told the story. He could not, like other young men in worldly sphere, whisper his vows during a moonlight ramble, or squeeze her dainty fingers while crossing hands at the dance. The only pleasures they participated in together were eating and drinking and going to meeting. Such a thing as a pair of lovers going anywhere unattended by a chap- eron was unheard of. They must make love in pres- ence of witnesses. The chaperons, it is to be sup- posed, were often obligingly deaf and blind, for the young people generally came to a perfect understand- ing.

As the Friends ignored all frivolous pleasures, they

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made up for this deprivation by the more substantial enjoyments of the table. Every Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly Meeting brought to the city considerable numbers of Friends who had to be entertained, and during their stay dinners and tea-parties were nu- merous. It is probable that the pleasure of meeting for social converse, more than the love of good cheer, constituted the principal attraction of these love- feasts.

The city during the first half of the eighteenth century had considerably improved in appearance. Peter Kalm testified to this in his description of Phila- delphia in 1748, by the following remarks :

" All the streets except two which are nearest to the river run in a straight line and make right angles at the intersectione. Some are paved, others are not, and it seems lees necessary sinco the ground is sandy, and therefore soon absorbs the wet. But in most of the streets ls a pavement of flags, n fathom or more broad, luid before the houses, and posts put on the outside three or four fatliome asunder. Under the roofs are gutters, which are carefully connected with pipes, and by this means those who walk under them when it rains, or when the snow melts, need not fear being wetted by the dropping from the roofs.

"The houses make a good appearance, are frequently several stories high, and built either of bricks or of stone; but the former are more commonly used, since bricks are made before the town and are well burnt. The stone which has been employed in the building of other honses is a mixture of black or gray glimmer. Very good lime is burnt everywhere hereabouts for masonry. * % * *

* * *

"The bonses are covered with shingles. The wood for this purpose is taken from the Cupressus thyoides, Lion., a tree which the Swedes here call the white juniper tree, and the English the white cedar. The wood is very light, rots less than any other, and for that reason is good for roofs, for it is not too heavy fer the walls and will serve for forty or fifty years together.

* *

* * * * *

"The good and clear water in Philadelphia is likewise one of its od- vantages. For though there are no fountains in the town yet, there is a well in every honse and several in the streets, all which afford excel- lent water for boiling, drinking, washing, and other nses. The water is commonly met with at the depth of forty feet. The water of the river Delaware is likewise good."

A more particular description of some of the build- ings erected just before or soon after Mr. Kalm's visit will not be without interest.

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 4

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