USA > Pennsylvania > The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX > Part 5
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· See Codicil, Pecl HIall.
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GIRARD'S WILL.
[JANUARY
the purposes of the institution; the doors to them from the outside shall be on the east and west of the building; and access to them from the inside shall be had by steps, descending to the cellar floor from each of the entries or halls hereinafter mentioned; and the inside cellar doors to open under the stairs on the north-east and north-west corners of the northern entry, and under the stairs on the south-east and south-west corners of the southern entry; there should be a cellar window under and in a line with each window in the first story-tbey should be built one half below, the other half above the surface of the ground, and the ground outside each win- dow should be supported by stout walls; the sashes should open inside, on hinges, like doors, and there should be strong iron bars outside each window; the windows inside and outside should not be less than four feet wide in the clear: There shall be in each story four rooms, each room not less than fifty feet square in the clear; the four rooms on each floor to occupy the whole space east and west on such floor or story, and the mid- dle of the building north and south; so that in the north of the building, and in the south thereof, there may re- main a space of equal dimensions, for an entry or hall in each, for stairs and landings : In the north-east and in the north-west corners of the northern entry or ball on the first floor, stairs shall be inade so as to form a double stair-case, which shall be carried up through the several stories; and, in like manner, in the south-east and south-west corners of the southern entry or hall, stairs shall be made, on the first floor, so as to form a double stair-case, to be carried up through the several stories; the steps of the stairs to be made of smooth white marble, with plain square edges, each step not to exceed nine inches in the rise, nor to be less than ten inches in the tread; the outside and inside foundation walls shall be at least ten feet high in the clear from the ground to the ceiling; the first floor shall be at least three feet above the level of the ground around the building, after that ground shall have been so regulated as that there shall be a gradual descent from the centre to the sides of the square formed by High and Chesnut, \ and Eleventh and Twelfth Streets: all the outside foun- dation walls, forming the cellars, shall be three feet six inches thick up to the first floor, or as high as may be necessary to fix the centres for the first floor; and the inside foundation wall, running north and south, and the three inside foundation walls running east and west (intended to receive the interior walls for the four rooms, each not less than fifty feet square in the clear, above mentioned, ) shall be three feet thick up to the first floor, or as high as may be necessary to fix the centres for the first floor when carried so far up, the out- side walls shall be reduced to two feet in thickness, leaving a recess outside of one foot, and inside, of six inches-and when carried so far up, the inside founda- tion walls shall also be reduced, six inches on each side, to the thickness of two feet; centres shall then be fixed on the various recesses of six inches throughout, left for the purpose, the proper arches shall be turned, and the first floor laid; the outside and the inside walls shall then be carried up of the thickness of two feet through- out, as high as may be necessary to begin the recess in- tended to fix the centres for the second floor, that is, the floor for the four rooms, each not less than fifty feet square in the clear, and for the landing in the north, and the landing in the south of the building, where the stairs are to go up-at this stage of the work, a chain, composed of bars of inch square iron, each bar about ten feet long, and linked together by hooks formed of the ends of the bars, shall be laid straightly and horizon- tally along the several walls, and shall be as tightly as possible worked into the centre of them throughout, and shall be secured wherever necessary, especially at all the angles, by iron clamps solidly fastened, so as to pre- vent cracking or swerving in any part; centres shall then be laid, the proper arches turned for the second floor and landings, and the second floor and landing's
shall be laid; the outside and the inside walls shall then be carried up of the same thickness of two feet throughout, as high as may be necessary to begin in the recess intended to fix the centres for the third floor and landings; and, when so far carried up, another chain similar in all respects to that used at the second story, shall be in like manner worked into the walls throughout as tigbtly as possible, and clamped in the same way with equal care; centres shall be formed, the proper arches turned, and the third floor and landing's shall be laid: the outside and inside walls shall then be car- ried up, of the same thickness of two feet throughout, as high as may be necessary to begin the recess intend- ed to fix the centres for the roof; and, when so carried up, a third chain, in all respects like those used at the second and third stories, shall in the manner before de- scribed, be worked as tightly as possible into the walls throughout, and shall be clamped with equal care; cen- tres shall now be fixed in the manner best adapted for the roof, which is to form the ceiling for the third story, the proper arches shall be turned, and the roof shall be laid as nearly horizontally as may be, consistently with the easy passage of water to the eaves: the outside walls still of the thickness of two feet throughout, shall then be carried up about two feet above the level of the platform, and sball have marble capping, with a strong and neat iron railing thereon: 'The outside walls shall be faced with slabs or blocks of marble or granite, not less than two feet thick, and fastened together with clamps securely sunk therein,-they shall be carried up flush from the recess of one foot formed at the first floor where the foundation outside wall is reduced to two feet: The floors and landings as well as the roof shall be covered with marble slabs, securely laid in mortar; the slabs on the roof to be twice as thick as those on the floors. In constructing the walls, as well as in turning the arches, and laying the floors, landings, and roof, good and strong mortar and grout, shall be used, so that no cavity whatever may any where remain. A furnace or furnaces for the generation of heated air shall be placed in the cellar, and the heated air shall be introduced in adequate quantity wherever wanted by means of pipes and flues inserted and made for the pur- pose in the walls, and as those walls shall be con- structed. In case it shall be found expedient for the purposes of a library, or otherwise, to increase the num- ber of rooms, by dividing any of those directed to be not less than fifty feet square in the clear, into parts, the partition walls to be of solid materials. A room most suitable for the purpose, shall be set apart for the reception, and preservation of my books and papers, and I direct that they shall be placed there by my exe- cutors, and carefully preserved therein. There shall be two principle doors of entrance into the college, one into the entry or hall on the first floor, in the north of the building, and in the centre between the east and west walls; the other into the entry or hall in the south of the building, and in the centre between the east and west walls; the dimensions to be determined by a due regard to the size of the entire building, to that of the entry, and to the purposes of the doors. The necessity for, as well as the position and size of, other doors, in- ternal or external, and also the position and size of the windows, to be, in like manner, decided on by a con- sideration of the uses to which the building is to be ap- plied, the size of the building itself, and of the several rooms, and of the advantages of light and air: there. should in each instance be double doors, those opening into the rooms to be what are termed glass doors, so as to increase the quantity of light for each room, and those opening outward to be of substantial wood work well lined and secured; the windows of the second and third stories I recommend to be made in the style of those in the first and second stories of my present dwelling house, North Water Street, on the eastern front thereof; and outside each window I recommend that a substantial and Deat iron balcony be placed suffi,
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GIRARD'S WILL.
1832.]
ciently wide, to admit the opening of the shutters against the walls; the windows of the lower story to be in the same style except that they are not to descend to the floor, but so far as the surbase, up to which the wall is to be carried, as is the case in the lower story of my house at my place in Passyunk Township. In mi- nute particulars, not here noticed, utility and good taste should determine. There should be at least four out- buildings, detached from the main edifice and from each other, and in such positions as shall at once answer the purposes of the institution, and be consistent with the symmetry of the whole establishment: each building should be, as far as practicable, devoted to a distinct purpose; in that one or more of those buildings, in which they may be most useful, I direct my executors to place my plate and furniture of every sort.
The entire square, formed by High and Chesnut Streets, and Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, shall be en- closed with a solid wall, at least fourteen inches thick. and ten feet high, capped with marble and guarded with irons on the top, so as to prevent persons from getting over; there shall be two places of entrance into the square, one in the centre of the wall facing High Street, and the other in the centre of the wall facing Chesnut Street; at each place of entrance there shall be two gates, one opening inward, and the other outward; those opening inward to be of iron, and in the style of the gates north and south of my Banking house; and those opening outward to be of substantial wood work well lined and secured on the faces thereof with sheet iron. The messages now erected on the south-east corner of High and Twelfth Streets, and on Twelfth Street to be taken down and removed as soon as the college and out-buildings shall have been erected, so that the establishment may be rendered secure and private.
When the college and appurtenances shall have been constructed, and supplied with plain and suitable furni- ture and books, philosophical and experimental instru- ments and apparatus, and all other matters needful to carry my general design into execution; the income, issues and profits of so much of the said sum of two millions of dollars as shall remain unexpended, shall be applied to maintain the said college according to my directions.
PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE COLLEGE.
1. The institution shall be organized as soon as prac- ticable, and to accomplish that purpose more effectually, due public notice of the intended opening of the col- lege shall be given-so that there may be an opportu- nity to make selections of competent instructors, and other agents, and those who may have the charge of orphans, may be aware of the provisions intended for them.
2. A competent number of instructors, teachers, as- sistants, and other necessary agents, shall be selected, and when needful, their places from time to time sup- plied: they shall receive adequate compensation for their services: but no person shall be employed, who shall not be of tried skill in his or her proper depart- ment, of established moral character, and in all eases persona shall be chosen on account of their merit, and not through favour or intrigue.
3. As many poor white male orphans, between the ages of six and ten years, as the said income shall be adequate to maintain, shall be introduced into the col- lege as soon as possible; and from time to time as there may be vacancies, or as increased ability from income may warrant, others shall be introduced.
4. On the application for admission, an accurate statement should be taken in a book prepared for the purpose, of the name, birthplace, age, health, condition, as to relatives, and other particulars useful to be known of each orphan.
competent authority, shall have given, by indenture, relinquishment, or otherwise, adequate power to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of Philadelphia, or to directors, or others by them appointed, to enforce, in relation to each orphan, every proper restraint, and to prevent relatives or others from interfering with, or withdrawing such orphan from the institution.
6. Those orphans, for whose admission application shall first be made, shall be first introduced, all other things concurring-and at all future times, priority of application shall entitle the applicant to preference in admission, all other things concurring; but if there sball be at any time, more applicants than vacancies, and the applying orphans shall have been born in different places, a preference shall be given-first, to orphans born in the city of Philadelphia; secondly, to those born in any other part of Pennsylvania; thirdly, to those born in the city of New York ( that being the first port on the continent of-North America at which I arrived;) and lastly, to those born in the city of New Orleans, being the first port on the said continent at which I first traded, in the first instance as first officer, and subse- quently as master and part owner of a vessel and cargo.
7. The orphans admitted into the college, shall be there fed with plain but wholesome food, clothed with plain but decent apparel, (no distinctive dress ever to be worn) and lodged in a plain but safe manner; Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and they shall have suitable and rat'onal exercise and recreation; They shall be instructed in the various branches of a sound education, comprehending reading, writing, gram- mar, arithmetic, geography, navigation, surveying, practical mathematics, astronomy, natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy, the French and Spanish languages, (I do not forbid, but I do not recommend the Greek and Latin languages)-and such other learn- ing and science as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant: I would have them taught facts and things, rather than words or signs: And, especially, I desire, that by every proper means a pure attach- ment to our republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of conscience, as guaranteed by our happy con- stitutions, shall be formed and fostered in the minds of the scholars.
8. Should it unfortunately happen, that any of the orphans admitted into the college, shall, from mal-eon- duct, have become unfit companions for the rest, and mild means of reformation prove abortive, they should no longer remain thercin.
9. Those scholars, who shall merit it, shall remain in the college until they shall respectively arrive at be- tween fourteen and eighteen years of age; they shall then be bound out by the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, or under their direction, to suitable occu- pations, as those of agriculture, navigation, arts, me- chanical trades, and manufactures, according to the capacities and acquirements of the scholars respectively, consulting, as far as prudence shall justify it, the inclina- tions of the several scholars, as to the occupation, art, or trade, to be learned.
In relation to the organization of the college and its appendages, I leave, necessarily, many details to the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, and their successors; and I do so, with the more confidence, as, from the nature of my bequests and the benefit to result from them, I trust that my fellow citizens of Philadelphia, will observe and evince especial care and anxiety in selecting members for their city councils, and other agents.
There are, however, some restrictions, which I con- sider it my duty to prescribe, and to be, amongst others, conditions on which my bequest for said col- lege is made and to be enjoyed, namely : first, I enjoin and require, that, if, at the close of any year, the in- come of the fund devoted to the purposes of the said
5. No orphan should be admitted until the guardians or directors of the poor, or a proper guardian or other | college shall be more than sufficient for the mainte-
14
GIRARD'S WILL.
JANUARY
nance of the institution during that year, then the ba- lance of the said income, after defraying such mainte- nance, shall be fortbwith invested in good securities, thereafter to be and remain a part of the capital; but, in no event, shall any part of the said capital be sold, disposed of, or pledged, to meet the current expenses of the said institution, to which I devote the interest, income, and dividends thereof, exclusively: Secondty, I enjoin and require that na ecclesiastic, missianory, ar minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold ar exercise any statian or duty whatever in the said college; nor shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, ar as a visiter within the premises appropriated to the purpases of the said college :- In making this restriction, I do not mean to cast any reflection upon any sect or person whatsoever; but, as there is such a multitude of sects, and such a diversity of opinion amongst them, I desire to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are to derive advantage from this bequest, free from the ex-
citement, which clashing doctrines and sectarian con- troversy are so apt to produce; my desire is, that all the instructors and teachers in the college shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars, the purest prin- ciples of morality, so that, on their entrance into active life, they may fram inclination and habit cvince benevo- lence towards their felliny creatures and a love of truth, sa- briety and industry, adopting at the same time such re- ligious tenets as their motured reason may enable them to prefer .- If the income, arising from that part of the said sum of two million of dollars, remaining after the construction and furnishing of the college and out- buildings, shall, owing to the increase of the number of orphans applying for admission, or other cause, be in- adequate to the construction of new buildings, or the maintenance and education of as many orphans as may apply for admission, then such further sum as inay be necessary for the construction of new buildings, and the maintenance and education of such further number of orphans as can be maintained and instructed within such buildings as the said square of ground shall be adequate to, shall be taken from the final residuary fund here- inafter expressly referred to for the purpose, compre- hending the income of my real estate in the city and county of Philadelphia, and the dividends of my stock in the Schuylkill Navigation Company; my design and desire being, that the benefits of said institution shall be extended to as great a number of orphans as the limits of the said square and buildings therein can accommodate.
IMPROVEMENTS ON THE DELAWARE.
XXII. And as to the further sum of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars, part of the residue of my personal estate, in trust, to invest the same securely, and to keep the same so invested, and to apply the income thereof exclusively to the following purposes: that is to say-
1: To lay out, regulate, curb, light and pave a pas- sage or street, on the east part of the city of Philadel- phia, fronting the river Delaware, not less than twenty- one feet wide, and to be called Delaware Avenue, ex- tending from South or Cedar Street, all along the east part of Water Street squares, and the west side of the logs, which form the heads of the docks, or thereabouts; and to this intent to obtain such Acts of Assembly, and to make such purchases or agreements, as will enable the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of Philadelphia to remove or pull down all the buildings, fences and ob- structions which may be in the way, and to prohibit all buildings, fences, or erections of any kind to the east- ward of said Avenue; to fill up the heads of such of the docks as may not afford sufficient room for the said street; to compel the owners of wharves to keep them clean and covered completely with gravel or other hard materials, and to be so levelled that water will not re- main thereon after a shower of rain; to completely clean and keep clean all the docks within the limits of the
city, fronting on the Delaware; and to pull down all platforms carried out, from the east part of the city over the river Delaware on piles or pillars.
REMOVAL OF WOODEN BUILDINGS.
2. To pull down and remove all wooden buildings, as well those made of wood and other combustible ma- terials, as those called brick-paned, or frame buildings filled in with bricks, that are erected within the limits of the city of Philadelphia, and also to prohibit the erection of any such building, within the said city's lim- its at any future time.
WIDENING WATER STREET.
3. To regulate, widen, pave and curb Water Street, and to distribute the Schuylkill water therein upon the following plan, that is to say-that Water Street be wi- dened east and west from Vine Street all the way to South Street, in like manner as it is from the front of my dwelling to the front of my stores on the west side of Water Street, and the regulation of the curb-stones continued at the same distance from one another, as they are at present opposite to the said dwelling and stores, so that the regulation of the said street be not less than thirty-nine feet wide, and afford a large and convenient footway, clear of obstructions and incumbrances of every nature, and the cellar doors on which, if any shall be permitted, not to extend from the buildings on to the footway more than four feet; the said width to be increased gradually, as the fund shall permit, and as the capacity to remove impediments shall increase, until there shall be a correct and permanent regulation of Water Street, on the principles above stated, so that it may run north and south as straight as possible. That the ten feet middle Alley, belonging to the public, and running from the centre of the east squares to Front Street all the way down across Water Street to the river Delaware, be kept open and cleaned as city prop- erty, all the way from Vine to South Street; that such part of each centre or middle Alley as runs from Front to Water Street, be arched over with bricks or stone, in so strong a manner as to facilitate the building of plain and permanent stone steps and plat-forms, so that they may be washed and kept constantly clean; and that the continuance of the said Alleys,from the east side of Wa- ter Street be curbed all the way to the river Delaware, and kept open for ever. (I understand that those mid- dle or centre Alleys, were left open in the first plan of the lots, on the east front of the city, which were grant- ed from the east side of Front Street to the river Dela- ware, and that each lot on said east front has contribut- ed to make those Alleys by giving a part of their ground in proportion to the size of each lot; those Alleys were in the first instance, and still are, considered public pro- perty, intended for the convenience of the inhabitants residing in Front Streetto go down to the river for wa- ter and other purposes; but, owing to neglect or to some other causc, on the part of those who have had the care of the city property, several encroachments have been made on them by individuals, by wholly occupying, or building over them, or otherwise, and in that way the inhabitants, more particularly those who reside in the neighbourhood, are deprived of the benefit of that wholesome air, which their opening and cleansing throughout would afford. ) That the iron pipes, in Wa- ter Street, which, by being of smaller size than those in the other streets, and too near the surface of the ground, cause constant leaks, particularly in the winter season, which in many places render the street impassable, be taken up and replaced by pipes of the same size, qual- ity and dimensions in every respect, and laid down as deeply from the surface of the ground, as the iron pipes, which are laid in the main streets of the city; and as it respects pumps for Schuylkill water and fire-plugs in Water Street, that one of each be fixed at the south- west corner of Vine and Water Streets, and so running southward, one of each near the steps of the centre
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GIRARD'S WILL.
1832.]
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Alley, going up to Front Street; One of each at the south-west corner of Sassafras and Water Streets, one of each near the steps of the centre Alley going up to Front Street, and so on at every south-west corner of all the main streets and Water Street, and of the centre Alleys of every square, as far as South or Cedar Street; and when the same shall have been completed, that all Water Street shall be repaved by the best workmen, in the most complete manner, with the best paving wa- ter-stones, after the height of the curb-stones shall have been regulated throughout, as well as the ascent and descent of the street, in such manner as to conduct the water through the main streets and the t'entre Alleys to the river Delaware, as far as practicable; and when- ever any part of the street shall want to be raised, to use nothing but good paving gravel for that purpose, so as to make the paving as permanent as possible. By all which improvements, it is my intention to place and mintain the section of the city ahove referred to, in a condition which will correspond better with the general cleanliness and appearance of the whole city, and be more consistent with the safety, health and comfort of the citizens. And my mind and will are, that all the in- come, interest, and dividends of the said capital sum of five hundred thousand dollars, shall be yearly, and every year, expended upon the said objects, in the order in which I have stated them as closely as possible, and upon no other objects until those enumerated shall have been attained; and, when those objects shall have been accomplished, I authorize and direct the said The May- or, Aldermen, and Citizens, to apply such part of the income of the said capital sum of five hundred thousand dollars, as they may think proper to the further improve- ment, from time to time, of the eastern or Delaware front of the city.
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