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 7
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Among the broad spaces formerly occupied by old citizens, was the square extending from Frank- lin to Main and from Seventh to Eighth streets, on which stood on the summit of a high hill, the resi- dence of Archibald Blair, Clerk of the Council of State, opposite to where the United Presbyterian Church now stands. At the foot of the hill was a pond, fed by a spring and shaded by forest trees and shrubs. The hill and the trees have been cut down, the pond has been filled up, and Mr. Stew- art's row of fine dwellings covers a part of the leveled surface. The front on Main street remains unimproved, except by workshops, and less at- tractive, except for the hum of industry, than when in a state of nature. Mr. Blair's territories extended over one or two other squares, which have also submitted to the leveling system.
His neighbor, John Graham, a Scotchman, and among the first to engage in coal-mining, trans- planted his vineyard from Main and Twelfth streets (where some tall and splendid stores now rear their fronts) to the square above Mr. Blair's, now built up chiefly by Mr. W. H. Allen. A portion of this square contains the former resi-
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dence of the late John Robinson,* for fifty years clerk of various courts, according to the changes of. organization, and one of his sons became his successor in that which he last filled. His other sons are distinguished, Conwayt as a jurist, Mon- cure and Edwin by their connection with railroads. Another portion of the Graham square contains the fine edifices erected by the Messrs. James and occupied as the Arlington House. Such was the inequality of the ground in this part of the city, that Mr. Allen had to build two stories above the foundations to reach the surface of the street, while on the next square the original surface was as high as the second stories of the present dwell- ings.
On an adjoining square, Edward Cunningham, an Irish gentleman, engaged in the milling and mercantile business, erected a capacious dwelling, afterwards the residence of the late Dr. Watson, and still occupied by his family.
The occupant of this lot in the last century was John Dobie, whose house now forms an office within the yard. He was the architect of the Capitol, if not a capital architect, as the want of symmetry in the columns of that building would imply. A
* Demolished (1860) to make room for three others.
ยก The author is indebted to this gentleman for various useful hints and corrections in this edition.
.
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fine sycamore tree planted by him flourishes on Franklin near Sixth, where he resided.
One of the dwellings between the Washington Tavern and the Catholic Church was the residence of John Brown, who had been the Clerk of the District Court, General Court and Court of Ap- peals, in succession, and a most accomplished one in all that regarded the duties of the station. In his office and under his instruction, was formed that corps of clerks so distinguished for the beauty and neatness of their records, in many Virginia Courts, some years ago, before judges, clerks and sheriffs were elected by universal suffrage ! ! Anthony Robinson was one and John Robinson another of that corps. They were his successors in the Clerk- ship of the District Court. The latter served fifty years after John Brown's resignation of that office.
Mr. Brown accompanied General Marshall as his secretary, when he went to Paris with Pinck- ney and Gerry, Envoys Extraordinary to the French republic. James Brown, Jr., late Auditor, is the only surviving member of his father's family .*
Two fine elm trees on Broad street, planted pro- bably before the introduction of those upstarts, the Lombardy poplars, are all that remain to designate the former residence, at the corner of Broad and
* His death in 1859 is mentioned in a previous page.
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Seventh streets, of John Hopkins, Commissioner of Loans of the United States, and of the distin- guished occupant who succeeded him, John A. Chevallie, of whom I shall probably take occasion to speak elsewhere.
Let us look at the other side of the square, where the sycamores grow; for the lot extended through to Marshall street. This front was built on by Mr. H. Moncure, and is made conspicuous by three enormous Turkish cannon balls wrought out of stone and mounted on pedestals at the cor- ners. These balls were quarried and rounded to be served to the mouths of cannon on the shores of the Bosphorus. They were brought from thence by one of our naval officers to be presented to a public institution, and were landed at Rocketts. There they lay, until tired of inactivity, they were about to roll into the river, when Mr. Moncure rescued them from a watery grave and mounted them around his house. These balls are thirty inches in diameter, larger than any used at Sebas- topol. When the property changed hands they ob- tained the name of Duval's pills, from the vocation of the owner, and they would no doubt be very efficacious if skillfully administered. Dr. Wellford is now the proprietor of them, and it is gratifying that they are in such good hands, and that our city has such an accession to the faculty and to its society.
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On the north side of Broad, between Fourth and Fifth streets, yet stands a wooden building* (as most of that date were), the former residence of the Braxton family, whose inclosure embraced the square-now converted into shops, the names on which would indicate a German colony. Indeed, the line of Broad street is occupied chiefly by Ger- mans, as is a considerable portion of many other streets. The Braxtons removed to their estates on the Pamunky many years ago, and that family and the community sustained a heavy loss about two years since, in the sudden death of General Braxton, of Chericoke, a most estimable man and useful citizen.
The mansion of the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge, at the south-east corner of Grace and Seventh was erected by the father of Mrs. W., Mr. Andrew Nicolson, and has been for fifty years the abode of his family. May it long retain its present occu- pants, in health and happiness, and descend to as worthy ones.
The dwelling at the south-west corner of Grace and Seventh streets, with the ground extending to Sixth, including that now (1856) occupied by the handsome mansions of Mrs. Cabellt and Mrs. Stanard, was in 1800 the residence of Mr. Brydie,
* Demolished to make room for brick stores (1860).
+ This lady, the daughter of Col. Mayo and sister of Mrs. General Scott, died April 24, 1860.
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a Scotch merchant of the firm of McClure, Brydie & Co. Mr. McClure was a gentleman of scientific pursuits, and his name will be found in annals of that character.
Mr. McCredie, who on the death of Mr. Brydie became his successor both in his mercantile and domestic establishments, met with his death in a manner that created great excitement in the city. On occasion of an alarm of fire, he was hastening across the Capitol Square, when the sentry hailed him. He did not hear, or did not heed the chal- lenge, and the sentry most unwarrantably fired and shot him dead.
The commercial house of McClure, Brydie & Co. was one of the first in the city in respectability as well as seniority. It was located near Shockoe Warehouse, and on the steep and now dirty alley extending down to Virginia street, may yet be seen a portion of the stone wall which enclosed their premises of the same extent.
The death of Mr. McCredie reminds me of another that occurred near the same spot. Col. Tatem, an old soldier, and either very eccentric or deranged, and moreover poor, determined to close his life on the fourth of July. He took his station near the artillery, when a salute was being fired, and watching his opportunity, stepped in front of a cannon at the moment the match was applied. His body was blown to atoms.
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An unpretending wooden building near the cor- ner of Leigh and Fifth streets was the residence of the Rev. Richard Channing Moore, Bishop of Vir- ginia. What would an English Primate think of such a palace ?
This worthy minister was invited, in November, 1813, by Bushrod Washington, then residing at Mount Vernon, and E. J. Lee at Alexandria, to take charge of the Episcopal Church then building at Richmond (the Monumental), with the intention to make him Bishop of the Diocese, which was effected, and in 1814, he was consecrated at Phila- delphia. This reverend prelate was much beloved, not only by those of his own Church, but by the community generally. He died at Lynchburg, in 1841, while in the performance of his episcopal duties, at the age of seventy-nine.
One of the few residences on L, now Leigh, be- tween Seventh and Eighth streets, was built by Joseph Jackson, and I think occupied by some of the Southall family, a name then and now con- spicuous. It was afterwards the residence of Patrick Gibson, a respectable merchant, con- nected in business with a nephew of Mr. Jefferson. Of late years, Mr. N. Mills has been the proprietor of these extensive grounds.
I must insert a few omissions which I discover in my Shockoe Hill rambles. The Powhatan House, opposite to the City Hall, is an extension
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and elevation of the former residence, store and strong hold of Wright Southgate, once an officer in the British navy. A very high wall, protected against escalade by a capping of broken glass, enclosed the grounds, and each opening on the lower floor was secured by chains, bolts, bars and bells. Two of his nephews were among the most respectable and enterprising merchants in Norfolk, and one of his sons, not submissive to man-of-war discipline, went penniless from home, and attained to eminence and great wealth in Kentucky, and another followed some years later.
Adjoining this castle was the cottage of a wor- thy old couple, Jacob Cohen and his wife, whose residence dates back some twenty years in the last century. Their cottage is supplanted by the hand- some block of dwellings erected by Mr. Jaquelin Taylor.
Opposite to this on Twelfth street, was the resi- of Mr. Samuel Myers an intelligent merchant and useful citizen, and of his neighbor, Mr. Wiseham, of hospitable memory. The latter house is substi- tuted by Mr. Morson's three fine dwellings, and Judge Crump has embellished Mr. Myers's old mansion.
On the theatre square, north of Mr. Myers', and built after the model of his, were the resi- dences of Mr. Prosser and Mr. Moncure, partners in an extensive auction business. One of these is
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now "the Carleton House," the other Mr. John Jones' dwelling. Mr. Myers' son, Gustavus, has introduced a different style of architecture and an improved one, in his dwelling adjoining the pater- nal homestead.
On the lot where the First Baptist Church stands, and adjoining the residence in old times of Charles Copeland, attorney, James Heron, a re- tired merchant and worthy citizen, was preparing to erect a comfortable residence for his old age, and commenced by building a capacious kitchen. But just as the walls were erected, he, by the im- prudent exercise of a close inspection, met with a fall which proved fatal. The kitchen, converted into a dwelling, was long occupied by his family, and by John G. Blair, who married one of the daughters, who have a long line of descendants.
The square on the south side of Franklin, be- tween First and Second streets, was the residence of Charles Ellis, of the long existing firm of Ellis & Allan, worthy members of our community for nearly half a century. This unpretending man- sion, now overtopped by those around, is still occupied by his family. The square opposite to it was Mr. Ellis's garden, embellished by a row of fine Linden trees along its front. Most of the Lindens have disappeared, but have given their name to the square, now built up with fine resi- dences. A few of the trees have survived the
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trimming process, their scarred trunks almost be- reft of branches and of beauty. If there are "tongues in trees," as the great poet imagined, each limb would cry aloud "against the deep dam- nation of its taking off. " Those who wantonly or tastelessly mutilate trees can have neither poetry nor "music in their souls, and are fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils." This is a general plea in favor of the groves, not a special one in the case before us. But if the Lindens have disappeared, the square can now boast of superior attractions, in beauties of a more animated nature ; and these, while yet in bloom, will doubtless be severed from the parent stem, but not like the Lindens, to dis- appear, both root and branch.
I fear that my readers will think I am imposing on them an antiquated directory, in which they feel as little interest as in any similar compilations ; but I trust that some of the survivors may be willing to take a retrospect of the homes of their parents and more remote ancestors, and of others who conferred distinction on our metropolis. I will therefore venture to continue the subject- indeed, I must do so, in justice to some memorable personages whom I have omitted as yet to mention. Among these is Albert Gallatin, the distinguished financier and statesman. He came to Richmond a young man. But we will let him speak for him- self, by inserting the following extract of a letter
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to Wm. Maxwell, Esq., Corresponding Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, dated New York, February 15, 1848, in his 87th year, and eighteen months before his death :
" It was in Richmond where I spent most of the winters between the years 1783 and 1789, that I was received with that old proverbial Virginia hospitality, to which I know no parallel anywhere within the circle of my travels. It was not hospitality only that was shown to me. I do not know how it came to pass, but every one with whom I became acquainted appeared to take an interest in the young stranger. I was only the interpreter of a gentleman, the agent of a foreign house that had a large claim for advances to the State; and this made me known to all the officers of the Government and some of the most prominent members of the Legislature. It gave me the first opportunity of showing some talent even as a speaker, of which I was not myself aware. Every one encour- aged me and was disposed to promote my success in life. To name all those from whom I received offers of service would be to name all the most distinguished residents at that time in Richmond. I will only mention two: John Marshall, who though but a young lawyer in 1783, was almost at the head of the bar in 1786, offered to take me into his office without a fee, and assured me that I would become a distinguished lawyer. Patrick Henry advised me to go to the West, where I might study law if I chose, but predicted that I was intended for a statesman, and told me that this was the career which should be my aim. He also rendered me services on more than one occasion. But I must stop; and if there be some egotism in what I have said, the feelings which I have expressed come at least from a grateful heart."
I will venture to relate an anecdote which I have heard concerning Mr. Gallatin, though I cannot
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vouch for its authenticity. When he came to Rich- mond, he boarded in the house of Mrs. Allegre, to whose daughter he became attached, and he asked the mother to sanction his addresses. The old lady was quite wroth at his presumption, and seizing a spit, threatened to transfix and baste him, if he dare aspire to her daughter ! She must have relented, however, for the marriage took place, and I hope the indignant old lady lived to see her son- in-law a member of Congress, Secretary of the Treasury, and Minister Plenipotentiary. In 1794 he married a daughter of Commodore Nicholson, U. S. N.
The taste of Mr. Gallatin, a native of Switzer- land, would naturally prefer a hilly to a level sur- face, and he purchased for a residence the square between Leigh and Clay, and Seventh and Eighth streets, through which runs a deep ravine, or valley rather, for its slopes are well wooded with native growths and still retain the wild aspect of nature. This house was rendered singular in appearance by its tall, round chimneys. Two acres were attached to it, in which was the wooded dell. This property was sold by Mr. Gallatin in 1789, to a French gentleman, Savary de Valcoulon, from whom it passed, in 1792, to Bushrod Washington, who planted a number of sycamore trees in the form of the letter W about the grounds, some of which are still thriving. In 1801 Judge Washing-
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ton, after his removal to Mount Vernon, sold the property to Dr. J. D. McCaw for $3000! and he resided there many years. In 1842 it passed from him to Conway Robinson, Esq., who has erected a new dwelling near to the old one.
P. S. 1860. It is with no slight regret I record that soon after the preceding paragraph was written, our city lost Mr. Robinson as a resi- dent-a great loss, for few have rendered her such important services, and no one has yet replaced
him. He now resides near Washington city. His new house in Richmond became the property of Mr. Bresee, and the preceding description no longer applies to the grounds. The dell has been filled up, and utility has taken the place of the picturesque. The melody of the mocking-bird that has long nestled securely in that dell will be hushed ere long, and be succeeded by the tones of the piano, which to the lovers of nature will scarcely compensate for the loss of the little songster's imitations and variations.
In my progress down Fifth street, I omitted to mention the former residence of Major Gibbon, an officer of the Revolution, and distinguished early in life as a leader of one section of the forlorn hope at Stony Point, in 1779. He was for many years Collector of Customs for the port of Rich- mond, and resided at the corner of Main and Fifth streets. His enclosure embraced the ground
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now occupied by the Second Presbyterian Church and by private residences up to Franklin street.
A son of Major Gibbon distinguished himself in the Navy during the war with Tripoli. He was betrothed to Miss Conyers, a niece of Mrs. Galle- go, their opposite neighbor. They were in the Theatre on the night of the fire, and in endeavoring to save Miss C., he perished with her, as did Mrs. Gallego.
Another extensive domicil in the same neighbor- hood, is opposite to Major Gibbon's, on the south side of Main street. As the property of David Meade Randolph it embraced the entire square, on part of which now stand the Second Baptist Church, several handsome dwellings and the ex- tensive carpenter shops of the industrious brothers Gibson.
Mr. Randolph was Marshal of Virginia until the election of Mr. Jefferson, and being one of those federal office-holders who would "neither die nor resign," the only. alternative was to remove him. A gentleman, whose propensity for ascer- taining and for conferring names was one of his characteristics-Mr. E. W. Rootes-dubbed the Randolph establishment Moldavia, after Molly and David, its mistress and master. Mrs. Randolph was one of the remarkable and distinguished per- sons of her day. When her husband was deprived of the office of Marshal, he found it necessary to
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sell his house and to retrench his establisment, which had not probably been an economical one. Mrs. R., who lacked neither energy nor industry, determined to open a boarding-house, feeling as- sured that those who had, in her prosperity,' partaken of her hospitality, would second her exer- tions when in adversity. The friend who had named Moldavia, now conferred on her the title of Queen, and aided in enlisting subjects for her new realm. This was on Cary street (a name which she gave it), in a house which now consti- tutes a small portion of the Columbian Hotel. * It was then a quiet spot, with very few houses in its immediate vicinity. The Queen soon attracted as many subjects as her dominions could accommo- date, and a loyal set they generally were. There were few more festive boards than the Queen's. Wit, humor and good-fellowship prevailed, but excess rarely. Social evenings were also enjoyed, and discord seldom intruded. In the course of a few years, noise and dust interfered with the royal comfort, and the throne and its supporters were transferred to a more pleasant palace, where they remained until the abdication of the sovereign.
The lovers of comfort and of cool beverages, are indebted to Mrs. R.'s ingenuity, for the invention of the 'Refrigerator' as she called it. The first
* This portion is razed to the foundation, (1857.)
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one was constructed according to her plan, for her own use. It was said that a shrewd Yankee, who was an inmate of her house for a few days, to whom she showed it, carried the invention with him, perhaps obtained a patent, and it soon got into general use.
The Queen's eldest brother, Thomas Mann Randolph, (Governor of Virginia) an eccentric and talented man, married a daughter of Mr. Jefferson, a peerless woman, and her descendants have graced society at home and abroad, "to the remotest Ind."
One of the Queen's sisters was the wife of Mr. Hackley, Consul at Cadiz, during the Peninsular War. She is the survivor of her sisters and brothers, and her life has been one of utility to many besides her own children. *
Another of the sisters became the wife of the distinguished Gouverneur Morris. In early life he engaged in the strife of the Revolution ; in mature years, in that of diplomacy, and, retiring from these, he sought matrimony late in life; but left an heir to his name and possessions.
I have spun out a long yarn for the Queen's web, and will introduce only one strand more, too bright to be left unwoven.
The son of Dr. Chapman, of Philadephia,
* This worthy lady died in 1859.
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married a neice of my royal heroine; and her daughter (I hope she will pardon me, if she ever hears of my presumption) is the most beautiful woman these old eyes ever gazed on. She has proved that beauty can subdue Power. Her face and form should be perpetuated in the purest marble, so that if the Venus de Medici shall be lost, there may be a substitute for her, if an- other Praxiteles can be found to mould another Venus.
Moldavia passed into the possession of Mr. Gallego, the great miller, whose name and flour are known to bakers all over the civilized world, and some portion of the semi-barbarous.
After Mr. Gallego's death, the worthy Scotch merchant John Allan, commonly called Jock, to distinguish him from his Irish and English namesakes, became Hospodar of Moldavia, and his successors retain a part of the territory, having contracted its boundaries. It was to Mr. Allan that the poet, Edgar Allan Poe, an orphan, was indebted for his education-and might have been for his promotion.
The square immediately above, and west of the Queen's ancient dominion on Cary street, now covered with blocks of warehouses, was occupied by Andrew Ronald, a native of Scotland and an eminent lawyer, who was one of the counsel op- posed to Patrick Henry in 1791, in the great suit
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arising from the confiscation of British debts during the war of the Revolution. Mr. Ronald's dwelling fronted the Basin, or rather where the Basin now is, and his garden was separated from Shockoe Warehouse by the street and an open space between them. The present aspect of the place is anything but quiet and retired.
South from Mr. Ronald's and beyond a deep ravine which the supplementary Gallego mills are now partly filling up, on the summit of a cliff over- hanging the river and overlooking Haxall's mills, stands a wooden building,* the former residence of the celebrated David Ross, the original owner of the mill, a Scotch merchant anterior to the Revo- lution. He became the possessor of most valuable lands and mines in various parts of Virginia, when Virginia was bounded by the Mississippi, and some of his descendants now reside, I believe, on a portion of his territories in the western regions, no longer in the Old Dominion. Mr. Ross was remarkable for his unerring judgment of the talents of others, and how to use them.
I must travel beyond the former limits of the city to mention a territory now partly included in them. I mean the lands and former residence of a most worthy citizen and enterprising merchant,
* 1860. The cliff is cut down, except the small spot on which the house stands, towering in loneliness and ruin.
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the late Thomas Rutherfoord. The inclosure ori- ginally attached to his dwelling embraced what now constitutes several squares, and his possessions beyond it were very many acres. I have heard that he became possessed of a large portion of this extensive territory by the judicious investment of a thousand pounds, given to him as a wedding present by an uncle in Scotland, on the occasion of his marriage, and by an equally judicious pur- chase of the rest.
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