USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Warwick's Keystone commonwealth; a review of the history of the great state of Pennsylvania, and a brief record of the growth of its chief city, Philadelphia > Part 20
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country districts. All the dreadful scenes of 1793 were re-enacted.
The
streets were deserted, business ceased, men suddenly taken ill, crept into the vacant houses and died there, and it was days before their bodies were discov- ered. The whole city became lifeless and men looked at each other aghast. Friendships were ignored and family relations forgotten. It was each man for himself. Hilary Baker, who had succeeded Matthew Clarkson as Mayor, was carried away by the epidemic. A man who left his family in the morning would not know whether they would see him in the evening or whether they would be there upon his return. As in prior years, Stephen Girard remained in the city and gave comfort and aid at the risk of his life to the poor and suf- fering. On the return of the cold weather, the fever subsided, but was fol- lowed in 1799 by another epidemic, but not so violent in its character.
On the night of the seventeenth of December, 1799, a courier brought in- formation to the city of Philadelphia of the death of General Washington which had occurred three days before. The news staggered the people, for they now recalled the services he had rendered and the deeds he had accom- plished in their behalf. Congress Hall was draped in black, and emblems of mourning were displayed throughout the city. A solemn funeral procession started from the State House and proceeded to Christ Church. The military headed the column, the drums were muffled and the bells tolled throughout the day. Clergymen of all denominations walked in line, two by two. The bier was carried by soldiers, followed by a riderless white horse, with a pair of boots reversed thrown across the saddle. Bishop White pronounced the fun- eral service, and General Henry Lee, "Light Horse Harry," delivered a touch- ing oration.
CHAPTER XV.
REMOVAL OF NATIONAL CAPITAL. ROBERT MORRIS. MRS. BINGHAM. THE ASSEM- BLY. MODE OF LIVING. FIRST WATER WORKS. STEPHEN GIRARD.
I N 1800, the seat of government was removed from Philadelphia to Wash- ington. At this time the new capital was still a barren waste. A few buildings were scattered here and there, but the place had no appear- ance of a town and gave no indications of ever becoming a thriving settlement. The President's house was still in course of construction and in
no suitable condition for occupancy. The Capitol itself was described as "a palace in the woods."
Philadelphia, no longer the seat of government, began to utilize the build- ings that had been used for national purposes. The President's house on Market street, became a hotel, and the rooms in the State House that had been occupied by the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Su- preme Court were now devoted to county and city uses.
The population in the State hav- ing extended westward, a movement was set on foot to remove also the Capital of Pennsylvania to a more central situation. A number of towns were considered in connection with this matter. but finally Lancaster was chosen because of its location, its pros- perity and the size of its population, which was said to be in the neigh- MRS. WILLIAM BINGHAM. borhood of five thousand. Another advantage was that the town was on the main road leading to the west, and this was one of the few highways that had been turnpiked.
Although Philadelphia had lost her preeminence as the capital of the nation she did not cease the gayety of her social life. Her women of society were re- nowned throughout the country as well as abroad for their great beanty. Mrs. William Bingham, the daughter of Thomas Willing, was the recognized leader and she was a woman of rare accomplishments. She had been pre- sented at the French Court, and her grace and ease of manner distinguished her even in that polite circle. "Her figure," says Griswold in his "Republican Court," "which was somewhat above middle size, was well made, her carriage
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was light and elegant while ever marked by dignity and air. Her manners were a gift." Her receptions and dinners were sumptuous and correct in all their appointments, and she had the advantage of being surrounded by a group of women almost as beautiful and as well skilled in the art of entertain- ment as she was herself. The Misses Allen, the Misses Chew and the Misses Willing, from all accounts would have shone resplendently in any company or assemblage. William Bingham, a member of the United States Senate, had accumulated a vast fortune in commercial enterprises in the West Indies, and had the reputation of being the wealthiest man in the whole country. His town house was located on Third street near Spruce, set in the midst of three acres of lawns and gardens, where, during the spring and summer flowers beautifully arranged grew in profusion, but when winter approached they were carefully removed to adjoining hot-houses.
Mrs. Robert Morris had been the social leader, but her husband, the great financier, had met with reverses and was compelled to quit his sumptu- ous mansion and to abandon the con- struction of his new residence on Chestnut street, which was so ele- gant and extravagant as to call forth the criticism of his neighbors and to be designated "Morris's Folly." He removed to a humble house on Prune street, a great fall from his former opulence, but even there he was not allowed to rest for the constables overwhelmed him with their writs and he was at last committed to the debt- ROBERT MORRIS. The Financier of the American Revolution. ors' apartments in the Walnut Street Jail. Here he was confined for over three years, and this period covered 1798 when the scourge of yellow fever raged so violently throughout the city. The sick and the dying lay around him on all sides, and there was no friend to give him a helping hand or to release him from this dreadful confinement. He who had been the companion of Washington and Hamilton, he who had done so much in the days of the Revolution to advance the American cause, he who had been the great financier of that period and had re- lieved the troops while in camp at Valley Forge became almost a pauper. He had been undone by speculation. The western lands which he had purchased and which promised so much in the way of increased value as time ran on, were seized by his creditors, his mortgages foreclosed, and great tracts sold in default of the payment of taxes. His reduction to poverty and his fall from so high an estate is one of the sad pictures of that day.
The meetings of the Assembly were still the social events of the season and the heart of many a fair debutante fluttered with anxiety in anticipation of receiving an invitation, for an entrance to this exclusive circle was considered
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a social distinction in itself. In the Managers was vested the power of selec- tion, but, of course, their list had to be revised by the leading dames of society, and no class of women from that day to this can be so cruel as these haughty ones in the use of the blue pencil as they strike objectionable candidates from the list. In their little empire they are as inexorable as the Fates themselves, and the laws that govern them are as fixed as those of the Medes and Persians. When Squire Hillegas' daughter, a young woman high in social circles, mar- ried a jeweler doing business on High street, she was immediately dropped from the list of eligibles because her husband was not in the set and she was not the only one by any means who was treated in this summary and peremptory manner.
Visiting foreigners of distinction who were familiar with the pomp and circumstance of the European Courts were surprised at the etiquette and social display of the entertainments given in the houses of the rich. Guests, as they entered the rooms, were announced by a liveried servant who called their names in a loud tone of voice. When the ladies of this select circle drove abroad to visit their friends they were accompanied by liveried coachmen and footmen and in some instances by postillions. This ostentatious show was not in keep- ing with republican simplicity and it, of course, created envy and jealousy in the hearts of the people. Breakfast in the fashionable houses, instead of being a light meal was quite a substantial one, consisting not only of coffee, toast and eggs, but of numerous side dishes, such as salt fish, beef steak, broiled chickens and buckwheat cakes and sausages. The last two made a combination that was a dish peculiar to Philadelphia. The dinner, however, was the principal and ceremonious meal of the day, and was spread at three or four o'clock in the afternoon. Full courses were served with a generous libation of wine. Drinking was a general custom and seems to have been indulged in by every- body, and there was no stint in the use of liquors. If twelve men were to sit down at a banquet, sixty bottles of Madeira were put aside for their use, that is five bottles for each guest, nor was this the limit if the dinner was prolonged, and at the end of the feast it is reasonable to suppose that some of the com- pany had to receive assistance on their way home. John Adams, in describing a visit he made at the home of Chief Justice Chew at Cliveden, says that "wines most excellent and admirable were served and I drank Madeira at a great rate and found no inconvenience in it." It was a day of feasting and drinking and every occasion was seized upon for the giving of a banquet. There were considerably over a hundred taverns in the city where all classes of people could be accommodated, from the highest to the lowest. Some of these Inns, in the course of time, became quite disorderly, and had to be suppressed by the authorities.
The places of public interest in the city were Gray's, Hamilton's and Bar- tram's Gardens, all located on the west bank of the Schuylkill. Many wander- ing shows stopped to give exhibitions, and Rickett's Circus, where there was a fine display of horsemanship, made a permanent settlement here and its per- formances were visited by the leading people of the city. The building was destroyed by fire in 1799, and was not rebuilt. Lailson, a French equestrian, also set up a circus at Fifth and Prune streets, which was quite a favorite re-
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sort, but he unfortunately met with misfortune, and the building closed after a few seasons. The Chestnut Street Theatre, on the north side of Chestnut street above Sixth, was quite a pretentious builling where the old standard English plays were produced in an effective manner. Washington himself made more than occasional visits to this playhouse, and when he appeared at the door he was escorted in great state to his box by a footman in livery bear- ing candelabra with lighted candles. Fireworks displays and balloon ascen- sions also gave amusement to the people.
The market place vas still one of the interesting features of the town
THE CHEW HOUSE (CLIVEDEN ), GERMANTOWN.
life, and here on Saturday morning about daybreak the farmers gathered from all the surrounding country, even from a distance of sixty miles. Standing outside of the sheds, at times almost choking the highways, were vehicles of every description from the Conestoga wagon to the ox cart. The horses, un- harnessed, were fastened to the rear of the wagons where they were supplied with their fodder. Peddlers cried their wares, while the sneak thief watched his chance, under the very eyes of the drowsy watchman. The mountebank played his tricks before a group of gaping countrymen, while scores of pretty young women dressed in gay summer gowns, followed by their black servants carrying the family market baskets, added color to the scene. Upon the stalls were displayed poultry, game, fruit, vegetables and all kinds of meats. It is a wonder how, in the summer, they kept their butter, milk and meats pure and sweet, in view of the fact that there was no ice to be had. Robert Morris was about the only person who had an ice vault. This was but a hole deep in the ground at his country place, where the ice taken from the adjoining river in
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the winter, was packed and covered with straw and saw dust. The Oellers Tavern had a refrigerator which held a body of ice forty feet thick and twenty feet square and it was the only hotel in the town where cold drinks were served. That which has become in modern times one of the staples as well as one of the necessaries of life could not be secured then by the everyday people at any price. During the many scourges of yellow fever patients could not ob- tain a piece of ice as big as a walnut to cool their swollen lips and parched tongues. The farmers from the western part of the State brought great quan- tities of game, such as quail, pheasants, wild turkeys, and venison to the mar- ket. Philadelphia was noted for her butter and poultry then as she is today. Virginia .ham, which is now considered such a delicacy and brings so high a price had its counterpart in the meat of the half wild pigs that roamed through the woods even in the suburbs of the city. These hogs gathered in great droves and fed on nuts and acorns which gave to the flesh a rich and most delicate flavor, that wild and gamey taste so highly prized by epicures. The young swine were turned out in the early spring and allowed to run free until late in autumn when they were rounded up as the ranchmen in the west do their cat- tle, each farmer identifying his pigs by a brand which had been marked upon them when young. Even after the markets were closed on Saturdays, the town presented a lively appearance. Vehicles of all kinds traveled to and fro on the roadways, the sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians for many of the country people remained to do their shopping; the store windows displayed their goods in the most attractive manner, while a portion of the pavement was used to expose samples of the wares that were on sale inside. The Inns and tap rooms , were filled with roystering farmers and teamsters who made their visit to the city a holiday, and like Tam O'Shanter, many a laggard sat "bousing at the nappy, gettin' fou and unco happy" long after he should have taken his de- parture.
With the growth of the population there had been introduced many mu- nicipal improvements. A number of the principal streets were paved with cobble stones, sidewalks had been laid, although the row of posts marking the line of demarcation between the pavements and the carriage ways were still left standing. A letter dated, Philadelphia, May 25, 1799, at 128 North Sec- ond street, written by Mr. Enos Bronson to. Mr. Claudius Herrick, residing at Deerfield, Massachusetts, says, "This city ( Philadelphia) is delightfully situated and very elegantly built. I have, however, one fault to find with it. It made my heels intolerably sore walking on the pavements."
The City Government was working bravely under an amendment to the Charter that had been made in 1796. The Councils consisted of two cham- bers called the Select and the Common branches, the former composed of twelve citizens elected for three years and the latter of twenty members elected annually. The Governor appointed a Recorder and fifteen Aldermen to hold office during good behavior. The Aldermen were virtually Justices of the Peace, their duties were exclusively judicial and it was from their body that the Select and Common Councils chose the Mayor for one year.
The revenue from all sources was less than $150,000 annually, a sum en-
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tirely too small to meet the demands for municipal improvements for the city was spreading out in every direction.
An increased and a more healthful supply of water had become a neces- sity. The repeated fires and the almost annual visitation of the yellow fever had to be guarded against. A number of fire companies had been organized bnt the town pumps, which were the only means of serving water, were not equal to the task. Besides this, no matter how clear in appearance the water
Flytt Campbell #038450 thanet & # Filed" 199
HIGH STREET,. from Ninth Street PHILADELPHIA. MARKET STREET FROM NINTH STREET IN 1799, FROM AN OLD ENGRAVING.
might be, it was found to be contaminated by the filth that in rainy weather soaked through the earth. Even in the most elegant homes water had to be carried from the pumps in buckets and pitchers for household uses. Many of the yards in the rear of the houses were depositories for dirt and rubbish. The few sewers that were constructed were of no general advantage and the pools of water that gathered in the highways during the storms either were taken up by the sun or allowed to drain through the surface of the earth. The pumps were located about sixty or seventy feet apart on the line that separated the footpath from the carriage way. Everywhere there were sinks and privies, but no water closets, even in the best appointed homes, such as are in use to- day. To provide against this unwholesome water, plans were set on foot to improve the supply by the construction of water works. An Englishman by
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the name of Latrobe submitted plans to the city which, after some argument and consideration, were accepted. The water from the Schuylkill River at Chestnut street was forced into a tunnel that ran down that street to Broad, and up Broad to Centre Square, where it was pumped into a reservoir thirty- six feet above the ground. From this reservoir it was distributed through the city in hollowed pine logs which were laid in all the principal highways. The plan was not looked upon favorably in some quarters, and in fact, the work, during the course of construction, was at times interfered with by vandals who were bent on destruction. Latrobe, however, kept steadily at his task, built a handsome engine house at Centre Square and laid six miles of trunk pipe in the beds of the streets for the purposes of distribution. Having hurriedly com- pleted his work and fearing that by delay it might be further interfered with, he gave notice to all those who had connected with the pipes to leave their hydrants open, for water might begin to flow at any moment without further notice. On the night of January twenty-first, 1801, with his own hands, La- trobe kindled the fire under the boiler and the engine began to work. On the next morning the people were surprised and delighted to find that the hydrants conveyed a stream of clear river water. The project was successful, criticism ceased and the city for the first time in its existence had an abundant supply of water that was at hand without the necessity of individual pumping.
In the summer of 1797 the United States Bank moved into its new build- ing on Third street below Chestnut. Up to this time the architecture in the city had been of the style of the Georgian period, but this building was classical in form and was the first introduction of a new order, for it is said to have been copied after a Greek Temple in Nimes. This building is still standing and so beautiful is it in its outlines, so pure in its design, that it remains one of the architectural features of the city.
In 1802 the Law Library Company was formed with the purpose of mak- ing a collection of books upon legal subjects. At this time, the Philadelphia Bar was preeminent and contained the ablest lawyers to be found in the pro- fession the country over. In medicine, too, the city was in the foremost rank. Benjamin Rush, Casper Wistar, Philip Syng Physick stood in the very front rank of the profession. The College of Physicians, established in 1787, and the Philadelphia Medical Society, organized in 1780, were in a flourishing condition. The American Philosophical Society which had the honor of hav- ing for its first president, Benjamin Franklin, and after his death David Rittenhouse, and at the demise of the latter, Thomas Jefferson, seemed to de- vote itself more to the consideration of the current party questions than to the theories and principles of philosophy. One of the great political controversial- ists of that day was William Duane. Bache and Freneau had been violent and vituperative in their condemnation of political opponents, but their shafts were nothing as compared with those hurled by Duane. He was born in this coun- try, of Irish parents, and was taken to Ireland in a very carly period of his life. Subsequently he found his way to India, but in his wanderings returned to England, and at last arrived in this country about 1795. He was employed as an assistant editor on the "Aurora," and when Bache, the proprietor, died in 1798, Duane married his widow and thus fell into possession of the paper.
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He was a master of vituperation and his language at times was most scurrilous. Ile could not find language sufficient to express his contempt for Adams, and it is said that Jefferson attributed to him his election when he was a candidate for the Presidency. He seemed to rejoice in litigation, and was never so well pleased as when one of his articles was answered by a suit for libel.
The election of Jefferson in 1800 was celebrated by the Democrats, or, as they were called in those days, the Republicans,-throughout the country. Bar- becues and ox roasts in the open air and banquets in the different taverns cele- brated the event. John Adams, at the expiration of his term of office, on his way from Washington to Braintree, Massachusetts, stopped in this city for the purpose of greeting some of his old friends. He was feted and dined by a few distinguished citizens but the people gave him no hearty reception, and after a sojourn of a few days he passed on his way to New England.
Philadelphia, at this time, was the leading commercial city of the Union. Hler merchants were men of enterprise and venture, and her port was filled with vessels hailing from every land. Among all her merchants, however, the greatest was Stephen Girard. He was a Frenchman by birth, born near Bor- deaux, but early in life came to this country and became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He reached this city in 1777, at the time the British were in possession and when Lord Howe's vessels were riding at anchor in the Delaware. Shortly afterwards he married a young woman by the name of Mary Lum, and settled permanently in Philadelphia to devote himself to com- mercial pursuits. He occupied a building on Water street which he used both as store and dwelling. Here he lived economically and comfortably without show or function. He owned a farm in Passyunk, to which he made almost daily visits, and he traveled there in a gig drawn by one horse, and as a lunch- con on the way he carried a loaf of bread and a bottle of claret, but he brought back to his home in the city as a rule, butter, eggs and poultry. Ilis farm was considered a model in its way, and his cattle were well bred. Ile met with un- paralleled success in almost every enterprise he undertook. Everything that came to his hand seemed to turn to gold. He was a familiar figure upon the public streets, and his plain one horse chaise gave no suggestion of the im- mense wealth of the occupant. At the time of the revolt of the slaves against their masters in San Domingo, one of his vessels lying in port was used as a receptacle for the treasures and wealth of the white inhabitants. After deposit- ing their valuables, many returned to the shore to wage battle against the blacks and they never returned to claim their property, the amount of which was never accurately ascertained, but it is said to have been a large sum. This, of course, became the property of Mr. Girard and added materially in the ac- cumulation of his great fortune. His name and paper were known and hon- ored in every bank of exchange throughout the civilized world, his vessels traded with every port and whitened every sea. His business transactions were on the largest scale, and they reached from Philadelphia to London and from London to Cathay. He seems to have been greatly misunderstood in his life. time, but a careful study of his career shows that he was a man of courage and deeply philanthropic at heart. Ile was exact and close in making a bargain. In other words, he was what is called strictly business in all his dealings and
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he gained the reputation of being close, sharp and penurious, but we are far enough away now to have a clear perspective and his character presents fea- tures that mark him as a man not only of charity but of courage. In 1793, during the yellow fever scourge, and also in the fatal year 1798, he displayed in the face of death, the greatest heroism. When men were fleeing from the city he stood at his post and volunteered his services as a nurse to care for the sick and dying in the houses of pestilence. At this time he was in the very prime of his life and on the flood tide of his successful career as a merchant, but bravely and resolutely he faced the crisis, risking everything, life, health and business in his devotion to duty. He was rather liberal in his religions views, being. a disciple of the French philosophers. He was not in any sense of the word a sectarian and his faith did not repose within the limits of any dogma. This brought down upon his head the condemnation of many citizens who were narrow and intolerant in their views, but when he died and his will was opened it was found that he had created a charity second to none in this country, a charity that stands today an immortal monument to his memory.
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