USA > Virginia > City of Richmond > City of Richmond > Virginia, especially Richmond, in by-gone days; with a glance at the present: being reminiscences and last words of an old citizen > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19
78
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
Hay's, Blair's, Dobie's, Graham's and Hay's again. They all continue to flow in obscurity, no doubt, but the kindness of Nature in bestowing them on thirsty man and beast, and on the arid earth, is no longer estimated-like benefactors whose gifts are forgotten, when no longer enjoyed.
BLACK COCKADES AND TRI-COLORED.
I have a faint recollection of seeing cockades mounted in the hats of many gentlemen, toward the close of Washington's administration.
A black rosette denoted the attachment of the wearer to the policy of Washington ; that of strict neutrality toward England and France, when the latter violated our nationality by fitting out priva- teers from our ports and sending prizes into them ; and when the former had very unwisely espoused the cause of her old enemies, the dethroned Bourbons.
The partisans of France decorated their hats with the tri-color (as if they had no nationality of their own), sung Ca Ira and Carmagnole, and accused their opponents of being monarchists or aristocrats, because they did not rejoice with them and make bonfires, when Louis and Maria Antoi- nette were guillotined, and because they sup- ported Washington when he no longer recognized the French minister and consuls, who had violated our laws; as another minister and other consuls of another power have done more recently.
79
BLACK COCKADES, ETC.
Such was, if I am correct, the origin of the opprobrious epithet "Black Cockade Federal- ist," applied by their political opponents, in after years, to those who had been the advocates of law and national rights and the supporters of Wash- ington.
It may be asked, why is this subject introduced in a volume on Richmond ? The reply is that Richmond was one of the strongholds of Federal- ism, and black cockades were the prevailing fash- ion, and when the emblem disappeared, the prin- ciples remained unchanged through more than one generation.
CHAPTER VII .*
OLD RESIDENCES AND THEIR OCCUPANTS.
WHEN Shockoe hill began to change its aspect from fields and forests, to streets and squares, the
* Kind reader, if you have no local nor personal attachment to Richmond, pardon for the sake of those who have, a portion of this and the next chapter, which to you may seem mere twaddle, but to them, (and for them it is written,) and to their children it may be an interesting record.
I have, however, to relieve the extreme dryness of some of the pages, ventured to intersperse occasionally an anecdote, which though stale to my old readers, may be fresh to the younger ones.
80
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
larger portion of the latter were held by wealthy and by professional gentlemen. The bar of Rich- mond toward the close of the last century possessed a greater number of members of distin- guished talent, than almost any other in the Union, and many of them resided on Shockoe hill.
To each residence, with few exceptions, was attached the ground of an entire square of two acres, or at least that of half a square. A strong contrast to what may now be seen, when the old domicile and its appurtenances are supplanted and occupied by twenty or more tenements. If the crowding system continues to contract our space, we may presently emulate the bee-hive system of some parts of Baltimore, where a man can scarcely stand with his arms a-kimbo on his front steps, without jostling his neighbor, should he happen to be in a similar position.
Among the oldest and most respectable of the occupants of Shockoe hill was the Ambler family, of which the Treasurer, Jaquelin Ambler was the head *- his own residence yet stands, between
* The name of Jaquelin, was derived from the celebrated Huguenot family of La Roche Jaquelin of La Vendée. Edward Jaquelin, came to Virginia in 1697, settled in Jamestown, and married a Miss Cary. Their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, mar- ried Richard Ambler, an emigrant from Yorkshire, who settled in Yorktown as a merchant. His son Jaquelin, the Treasurer, married Rebecca, daughter of Lewis Burwell, and their daughters were the ladies here mentioned. Their son, John Ambler, inherited the estate of Jamestown, a large farm.
81
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
Marshall and Clay streets, and is occupied by his last surviving son-in-law.
A letter written by one of the daughters of Treasurer Ambler, on the removal of the family to the new seat of Government at Richmond, gives a lively description of it in that day :
" It is indeed a very lovely situation, and may at some future period be a great city, but it will at present afford scarcely one comfort of life. With the exception of two or three fami- lies, the little town is made up of Scotch factors, who inhabit small tenements here and there, from the river to the hill, some of them looking, as Col. Marshall observes, as if the poor Caledonians had brought them over on their backs; the weaker of whom were glad to stop at the foot of the hill, others a little stronger, proceeded higher, while a few of the strongest and boldest reached the summit, which once accomplished affords & situation beautiful and picturesque. One of these hardy Scots has thought proper to vacate his little dwelling on the hill, and though our family can scarcely stand up together in it, my father has determined to rent it, as the only decent tenement on the hill." .
The house here spoken of stands next to St. James' Church on Fifth street, in larger dimen- sions than it originally possessed, in perfect pre- servation and neat in appearance.
The writer is indebted to Bishop Meade's History of Old Churches in Virginia for this letter of the lady, who was afterwards Mrs. Carrington, and the gentleman she speaks of, was afterwards Chief Justice Marshall, her brother-in-law.
Mr. Ambler's daughters were married to gentle-
82
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
men who built their dwellings not far from the paternal mansion, and a distinguished circle they formed. Chief Justice (then General) Marshall is entitled to priority. His residence yet stands on the street named in his honor, the only house on that street coeval with the present century, except one or two ruinous wooden ones, but the grounds have been reduced to a fraction of their original extent, and a number of fine dwellings have been erected in his former garden, between Eighth and Ninth streets. Of Judge Marshall I will not presume to say more than that his per- sonal appearance and deportment as a citizen were of the most unpretending character-of true republican simplicity-but natural, not assumed- his dress was plain even to negligence, of which he seemed unconscious. He marketed for himself, and might be seen at an early hour returning home, with a pair of fowls, or a basket of eggs in his hand, not with ostentatious humility, but for mere convenience. His style of travelling to and from Raleigh, N. C., about 175 miles each way, to preside at the Federal Court held there, was for many years, in that primitive sort of vehicle, a stick gig (or chair as it was then called), with one horse and with no attendant. The modest and unassuming simplicity of his character is evinced to the last, in the inscription which he directed for his tombstone :
83
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
"John Marshall, son of Thomas and Mary Mar- shall, was born the 24th of September, 1755. Intermarried with Mary Willis Ambler, the 3d of January, 1783. Departed this life the 6th of July, 1835."
During many of the latter years of her life, Mrs. Marshall was unable to attend Church; and on every Sunday before he went there, Judge Mar- shall read the morning service to her. After her death, he continued to perform the same devotion, seated in the same chair, near to the one which she had occupied, as if her spirit accompanied his to the Heavenly Throne.
When his will was opened there was found within its folds an euloguim on his wife, from which I am permitted by one of her neices to make the following extract; it was written in his own hand December 25th, 1832 :
" This day of joy and festivity to the whole Christian world is, to my sad heart, the anniversary of the keenest affliction which humanity can sustain. While all around is gladness, my mind dwells on the silent tomb, and cherishes the remembrance of the beloved object which it contains.
"On the 25th of December, 1831, it was the will of Heaven to take to itself the companion who had sweetened the choicest part of my life ; had rendered toil a pleasure, had partaken of all my feelings, and was enthroned in the inmost recess of my heart. Never can I cease to feel the loss and to deplore it. Grief for her is too sacred ever to be profaned on this day, which shall be, during my existence, marked by a recollection of her virtues.
84
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
"On the 3rd of January, 1783, I was united by the holiest bands to the woman I adored. From the hour of our union, to that of our separation, I never ceased to thank Heaven for this its best gift. Not a moment passed in which I did not consider her as a blessing from which the chief happiness of my life was derived. This never dying sentiment, originating in love, was cherished by a long and close observation of as amiable and es- timable qualities as ever adorned the female bosom. To a person which in youth was very attractive; to manners uncom- monly pleasing; she added a fine understanding, and the sweetest temper which can accompany a just and modest sense of what was due to herself. She was educated with a profound rever- ence for religion, which she preserved to her last moments. This sentiment, among the earliest and deepest impressions, gave a coloring to her whole life. Hers was the religion taught by the Saviour of man. She was a firm believer in the faith inculcated by the Church (Episcopal) in which she was bred.
"I have lost her! and with her, have lost the solace of my life! Yet she remains still the companion of my retired hours; still occupies my inmost bosom. When alone, and unemployed, my mind still recurs to her. More than a thousand times since the 25th of December, 1831, have I repeated to myself the beau- tiful lines written by General Burgoyne under a similar affliction, substituting ' Mary ' for ' Anna : '
"Encompassed in an Angel's frame, An Angel's virtues lay ; Too soon did Heaven assert its claim, And take its own away ! My Mary's worth, my Mary's charms, Can never more return !
What now shall fill these widowed arms? Ah, me! my Mary's urn! Ah, me! ah, me! my Mary's urn !"
85
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
Judge Marshall erected a dwelling immediately opposite to his own, for his eldest son, Thomas, who did not long occupy it. He and his brothers preferred to reside in Fauquier county, on farms obtained from their father, who bought part of the great Fairfax estate there. Thomas, in the prime of life and of usefulness as a good citizen, was killed in Baltimore by the fall of a brick from the walls of the Court-house.
Col. Edward Carrington, also a soldier of the Revolution, married another of the Misses Ambler, a most excellent lady, as was each of her sisters. He was a member of the Old Congress in 1785-6. The high estimation in which Col. Carrington was held by his personal friend General Washington, is shown by his connecting him with Gen. St.Clair and Alexander Hamilton, in 1780, in a commission to meet commissioners on the part of the enemy for settling a general cartel; by his offering him in 1795 the department of War, and consulting him as to persons proposed for other departments, and by selecting him to be Quarter-master General, when in 1798 war with France was expected, and an organization of officers formed for the crisis.
Under John Adams's administration, Colonel Carrington held the office of Commissioner of the Revenue of the United States for Virginia ; direct taxes being then resorted to, in consequence of the depredations on our commerce. 8
:
86
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
The very humble edifice, yet standing, shaded by an old Catalpa tree, at the north-west corner of Marshall and Eleventh streets, was the office of the Commissioner .* His residence, which was demolished a few years ago, was on the same square, fronting on Clay street. Col. Carrington was a man of dignified deportment, which was well sustained by his tall and massive figure. He was a pure patriot, and pure in all the relations of life. He died October 28th, 1810, aged 61.
Daniel Call, a distinguished lawyer, married another of the sisters Ambler, and his residence on the square between the Capitol and Broad street, was also taken down a few years ago to be substi- tuted by Mr. Valentine's large store.
Mr. Call was a very tall, thin man, loosely jointed, so that when he walked his arms had a great swing, and his head moved from shoulder to shoulder ; when he sat, his legs would be twisted round each other, and his jaws even seemed to par- take of the general relaxation-but not so with his mind. His high position at the bar, and at such a bar as Richmond possessed, was a sufficient proof of the strength of his mental powers. To give a little variety to what the reader may find dull, the following anecdote may not come amiss : A client entered Mr. Call's office, and found him writing.
* Demolished in June, 1858.
87
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
He took a seat and told Mr. Call he wanted his legal advice-(let us put it in dialogue form) :
Client-"My father died and made a will."
Mr. Call-(Writing steadily)-" You say your father died and made a will !"
Client-" Yes, sir, my father died and made a will."
Mr. Call-(Still writing and paying no atten- tion)-"Humph."
Client-"I say, Mr. Call, my father died and made a will."
Mr. Call-" Very strange !" (writing and not noticing the man.)
Client-(Taking out his purse and laying a fee on the table)-" Mr. Call, I say again, my father made a will and died."
Mr. Call-(All attention)-" O, now we under- stand each other; your father made a will before he died. Why didn't you say so at first ? Well, now go on, let's hear."
George Fisher married a fourth sister, and he, a retired merchant, and one of our oldest citizens, was the survivor of all that I have mentioned, and the occupant of the patriarchal mansion of Treasurer Ambler, on Marshall, between Ninth and Tenth streets .*
* Mr. Fisher died on the 25th March, 1857, in his 82d year. The old homestead is sold, and the grounds around it are covered with handsome houses, but it still retains its ancient air of respectability (1860).
88
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
One brother, Major Ambler, had his residence on Clay, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets, nearly opposite to Col. Carrington's, on the brow of the hill commanding a splendid landscape, where Mrs. Bruce's fine mansion has supplanted its ruinous predecessor .* Previous to Major Am- bler's occupancy, it was the residence of Lewis Burwell, a gentleman of the old school in dres's and style of living.
On the western half of the same square Dr. Brockenbrough built a large house, (now Mr. Caskie's,) but not being satisfied with it, he built a much more costly one, (now Mr. Crenshaw's,) at the natural terminus of Marshall and Twelfth streets. Dr. B. was for many years Cashier, and for many subsequent ones President of the Bank of Virginia. He became proprietor of the Warm Springs, where he died in 1853.
On the opposite square resided Judge Philip Norborne Nicholas. He married Miss Byrd, a . lineal descendant of the founder of Richmond. The death of her brother, Colonel Francis Otway Byrd, late a resident of Clarke county, is just announced (May, 1860.) He served under Gen'l
Scott, in the war of 1812.
The distinguished jurist and statesman, Benja- min Watkins Leigh, lived for some years in this
* Since the death of that excellent lady it has passed out of the family (1859).
89
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
neighborhood (corner of Clay and Tenth), in a house built for Dr. McClurg, whose grand- daughter, Miss Wickham, was Mr. L.'s third wife. J. M. Gregory, Esq., is now the occupant. A much more stately edifice has arisen near it.
Mr. Leigh was a politician of unswerving princi- ple and of spotless purity. One of a class less rare in by-gone than in later days, but not yet entirely extinct. Not to be met with, however, in the crooked and devious paths which now lead to office, if not to honor; and into which so many of all parties have strayed from the broad high road of disinterested patriotism.
On the square east of Treasurer Ambler's, was the mansion of Col. John Harvie, Register of the Land office. He removed to the fine country seat Belvidere, built by Col. Byrd, the son of the foun- der of Richmond, beyond its western limit, and commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country. After passing through various hands, its last occupants were a number of families of iron workers, and thus, "fallen from its high estate," it was recently destroyed by fire.
Burnaby, an English clergyman, who published a book of travels a century ago, speaks of Belvi- dere as a beautiful seat of Col. Byrd in 1759.
The city residence of Col. Harvie, shaded by noble elms, became that of the celebrated lawyer, John Wickham, the eloquent, the witty and the
90
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
graceful. After him, it had many successive occu- pants.
TO A FAIR FRIEND, WHO WAS AMONG THE LATEST OF THESE, AND ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST, GENTLEST AND FAIREST THAT HAD GRACED THOSE HALLS, AND WHO GRACED EVERY STATION THAT SHE OCCUPIED, IN PROSPERITY OR IN ADVERSITY, IN WHOSE VEINS FLOWS (LONG MAY IT FLOW ) THE BLOOD OF A SISTER OF WASHINGTON, THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED.
Mr. Wickham sold this residence, and erected a splendid dwelling on the same square. The site of the former one is now occupied by the spacious edifice of the Baptist Female Institute.
The writer feels an unaffected diffidence in speaking of distinguished men with whom he had little or no intercourse, for there was a lapse of twenty-five years, during which he was not a resi- dent of Richmond, yet he trusts to be pardoned for introducing into his pages something, however inadequate, respecting its prominent citizens.
Mr. Wickham was a gentleman of the most elegant and graceful deportment, of the most pol- shed and easy manners ; full of wit and reparteee, and whether at the bar or at the festive board, always distinguished-profound as a lawyer, bril- liant as a companion.
The following passage between him and Mr. George Hay, in court, is given as a slight instance of his repartee : Mr. Hay was a man of fine per-
91
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
sonal appearance, of very dignified manners, and withal, rather pompous. He also was a lawyer of considerable eminence. These two gentlemen were employed as joint counsel in an important suit, and when it was about to be called Mr. Wickam asked Mr. Hay to open the case, which he declined to do. Mr. W. repeated the request in more urgent terms some two or three times, until Mr. H., in a somewhat excited manner, said : " Sir, I will not be made a catspaw of." "O!" replied Mr. W., in the most complaisant manner and gentlest tone, " then, I will be the catspaw and you shall be the -" He left the last word to inference.
A son of Col. Harvie, with a higher military title, and who married a daughter of Judge Mar- shall, built on and occupies the square north of the Ambler house .*
On Marshall street, opposite to the Ambler square, we now pass the former residence of Ben- jamin Botts, a learned member of the bar, who was one of the victims of the conflagration at the theatre, in 1811. He was the father of John Minor Botts, the conspicuous politician. His local but not his immediate successor, was the eminent and distinguished lawyer, Chapman Johnson, who
* This gentleman died since the above was written, and his mansion has been sold and re-sold. His daughters occupy that of their grandfather, Judge Marshall, who bequeathed it to them, (1857).
92
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
left Staunton for the more extensive forensic field of Richmond, where most of the higher courts were concentrated, and where there was an ample field for the exercise of his talents ; but incessant labors in his profession wore out his vision and indeed weakened his mental faculties, which were exerted to attain a competency,
" Not for to hide it in a hedge, nor for a train attendant, But for the glorious privilege of being independent."
His form and features bore Nature's impress of nobility. His son, Carter Page Johnson, was one of the professors in the Richmond Medical College, and was lost in the steamer Arctic, on his return from a visit to Europe in 1854, and Carter's brother, George Nicolson Johnson, a lawyer of established and increasing celebrity, did not long survive him.
On the same square with Mr. Botts's, stands the many-angled house erected by Alexander McRae, a lawyer of eminence, but, in the latter part of his career, Consul at Paris.
Mr. McRae and Mr. McCraw, were both mem- bers of the Executive Council under the first and best Constitution of Virginia. Rotation in that of- fice was then regulated, not by a term of service, but by a rule, that in each third year, one of the members should be elected out, by a joint vote of the Senate and Delegates. The least popular member would of course obtain a majority ; this ostracising process was termed scratching.
93
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
When it came to the scratch on one occasion, the unsought contest lay between the two gentle- men above named, who divided the negative popu- larity between them, and when the ballots were read, the names of McRae, McCraw, McCraw, McRae came in continued succession. The effect was so ludicrous, that a gentleman in the gallery wrote the following parody on one of Swift's coarse effusions, but not like that, obnoxious to decency, running thus-
" Hurray for McRae and Hurrau for McCraw ! Hurray and Hurrau for McRae and McCraw ! Hurrau for McCraw and Hurray for McRae ! Hurrau and Hurray for McCraw and McRae ! Hurrau for McRae and Hurray for McCraw ! Hurray and Hurrau for McRae and McCraw ! Hurray for McCraw and Hurrau for McRae ! Hurrau and Hurray for McCraw and McRae !! "
At a popular election, Mr. McRae being present when Mr. Thomas Taylor voted for the candidate whose cause Mr. McRae espoused, he said, " Mr. Taylor, that is the first correct vote you ever gave." "Perhaps it is," replied Mr. T. in his blandest manner, "for I once gave a vote to you, Mr. McRae."
Mr. McRae was elected to the office of President of the Virginia Mutual Assurance Society, which he filled for some years, and he sold to that Insti- tution his dwelling and its extensive appurtenances.
94
RICHMOND IN BY-GONE DAYS.
. He was not a diffident man, and he was congratu- lated by Mr. Wickham, "on his election to the Presidency of the Assurance Company, which he was so well qualified to fill." Mr. McRae was subsequently appointed Consul at Paris, which he filled several years until his death.
Continuing up Marshall street we pass the Railway work-shops, where formerly stood the residence of George Pickett, and nearly opposite stands that erected by his partner, Robert Pollard -the quiet and peaceable gentleman, who offered, a little sarcastically, to relinquish his horse rather than stand a law-suit with Mr. Banks.
The introduction of Mr. Pickett, reminds me of an instance of Yankee cuteness, which I heard him relate. A Connecticut trader came to Richmond with a cargo of Yankee notions, and in addition to the customary medley he had a few casks of fine Madeira wine, not then, as now, made at the North. In seeking customers for such commodities he would of course call on Mr. Pickett. He proffered to him a bargain in apples, onions, fish and Hing- ham buckets, at all which, particularly the onions and fish, Mr. Pickett turned up his nose. The trader then mentioned the wine, at which Mr. P. rather smacked his lips, and was invited, with some other connoisseurs, to test its flavor. It proved quite satisfactory and the price was not unreasona- ble. Mr. P. who was not dull at bargaining, told
95
OLD RESIDENCES, ETC.
the Yankee that he had no money to lay out in wine, but he had some Western lands on the Ohio, and if they would serve for payment, he would take a few casks. The Yankee demurred at the barter but would consider of it, if Mr. P. would take the "sarce " and other notions ; which being disdainfully rejected, the chaffering was closed- or rather suspended-for soon after, the trader called at Mr. P.'s counting room in a careless way, and the offer of the lands was repeated and that of the onions, &c., urged as a sine qua non. At length the Yankee asked to look at the land war- rants and surveys, and from among them, selected one or more, which he said contained as much land as he could take. The prices were after due higgling agreed on, the barter was made and so were the conveyances. After the deeds and the wines had been duly delivered, Mr. Pickett said to " the party of the second part," "Now, my friend, let me give you a piece of advice, don't again buy wild lands unless you have seen them." The Yankee thanked Mr. P. for his advice, and not willing to be exceeded in generosity, said he " would offer some in return, which was, never to sell wild lands until you have seen them." "Why," said Mr. P. " what do you know about the land ? " To which the reply was "I have traded on the Ohio and looked about the country; examined the soil and the advantages of situation, and found
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.